Baked Honey Garlic Meatballs — These honey garlic meatballs are easy, can be prepped in advance, and hold well at room temp. They’re juicy, tender, and the honey garlic sauce gives them so much flavor!
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Sticky Honey Garlic Meatballs
Recently I was having an informal get-together with friends and was thinking about what to make that most everyone would enjoy. And that’s easy on me as the cook, that can be prepped in advance, and that holds reasonably well at room temp.
I decided that cocktail meatballs would be great and everyone loved these. You can either serve these honey garlic meatballs more fancy with toothpicks or in a big ole bowl.
They’re juicy, tender, and the honey garlic sauce gives them so much flavor. They’re perfect for parties, events, holidays, game days, tailgating, or just because.
After baking, it’s as easy as tossing them in the delectable honey garlic sauce. The sauce is how the word awesomesauce came to be, I’m sure.
Honey Garlic Meatballs Ingredients
This honey garlic meatball recipe has two components: the baked meatballs and the honey garlic sauce.
Meatballs:
- Ground beef
- Egg
- Milk
- Breadcrumbs
- Sweet Vidalia onion
- Salt and pepper
Honey garlic sauce:
- Unsalted butter
- Garlic
- Ketchup
- Honey
- Low-sodium soy sauce
Note: Scroll down to the recipe card section of the post for the ingredients with amounts included and for more complete directions.
How to Make Honey Garlic Meatballs
Baked meatballs with garlic and honey sauce are a breeze to make! Here’s a look at how the meatballs with garlic are made:
- Combine the ground beef meatball ingredients in a large bowl.
- Scoop the mixture into 2-tablespoon balls.
- Bake until the centers of the meatballs are no longer pink and are cooked through.
- Meanwhile, stir together the honey garlic sauce in a skillet over medium heat.
- Once the meatballs are baked, gently stir into the sauce and continue cooking until the honey garlic sauce has thickened.
Make-Ahead Instructions
These sticky honey garlic meatballs can be assembled in advance and then baked off the next day. Here are the exact instructions:
- Form the meat mixture into balls.
- Transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate overnight.
- The next day, remove them from the fridge and place on your counter for about 20 minutes before baking. (This brings them closer to room temp and ensures they bake evenly throughout.)
Recipe Tips
Be sure to mix the meatball ingredients together until just combined. You don’t want to over work the ground beef, otherwise you’ll wind up with tough meatballs.
To make cleanup easier, I always line my baking trays with aluminum foil. This ensures the honey garlic meatballs don’t stick to the pan.
These cocktail meatballs are best fresh but will keep airtight in the fridge for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
What to Serve with Honey Garlic Meatballs
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Honey Garlic Meatballs
Ingredients
Meatballs
- 1 pound ground beef or ground sirloin, I used 90% lean ground sirloin
- 1 large egg
- ½ cup milk, I used unsweetened cashewmilk
- ½ cup breadcrumbs
- â…“ cup sweet Vidalia onions, diced small (yellow or white onions may be substituted)
- 1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
- ½ teaspoon pepper, or to taste
Honey Garlic Sauce
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 3 garlic cloves, minced or finely pressed
- ¾ cup ketchup
- â…“ cup honey
- 3 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400F, line a baking sheet with aluminum foil, and spray with cooking spray; set aside.
- To a large bowl add the beef, egg, milk, bread crumbs, onions, salt, pepper, and stir to combine.
- Using a 2-tablespoon cookie scoop (or your hands) form approximately 18 to 20 meatballs. After scooping out the meatballs with a cookie scoop, use your hands to roll into smooth balls and place on prepared baking sheet, spaced about 1-inch apart.
- Bake for about 17 to 20 minutes, or until centers of meatballs are no longer pink and are cooked through; set aside.
- To a large skillet add the butter and heat over medium heat to melt.
- Add the garlic and sauté for about 1 minute, stirring frequently, or until garlic is tender and fragrant.
- Add the ketchup, honey, soy sauce, and stir to combine.
- Add the meatballs, toss and stir gently to coat evenly, and simmer over low heat for about 3 to 5 minutes or until sauce has thickened some and meatballs well coated; stir intermittently.
- Transfer meatballs to a serving platter or bowl, insert a toothpick into each meatball if desired, and serve.
Notes
- Meatballs are best fresh but will keep airtight in the fridge for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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