Teriyaki Meatballs

These saucy teriyaki meatballs smothered in a sweet teriyaki sauce are a crowd-pleaser whether served as an appetizer or dinner on a busy weeknight.

Prep Time5

Cook Time4

Total Time4 5

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Teriyaki Meatballs Recipe

Servings:

Calories: 329kcal

Add the frozen homestyle meatballs to the insert of a 6-quart slow cooker (crockpot).
In a medium bowl, add the low-sodium soy sauce, pineapple juice, hoisin sauce, light brown sugar, minced garlic, grated ginger, and sesame oil. Whisk to combine to create the teriyaki sauce.
Pour the teriyaki sauce evenly over all the frozen meatballs in the slow cooker.
Cover with the lid and cook on LOW for 4 to 4½ hours.
Whisk together the cornstarch and cold water in a small bowl to create a slurry. Remove the lid, pour the slurry into the slow cooker, and stir it into the sauce and meatballs.
Turn the slow cooker to HIGH and keep the lid off of the slow cooker for 20 to 30 minutes. This will allow the sauce to thicken. Be sure to stir your meatballs and sauce every few minutes until your sauce has thickened to the desired consistency.
Stir the meatballs to evenly coat all the meatballs with the sauce and garnish with the thinly sliced scallions and sesame seeds if desired before serving.

You can make your meatballs from scratch if you prefer. You need to note that they will NOT need to cook for the entire time, as stated in this recipe. Check them at the 1½-2-hour mark. You are looking for your sauce to thicken and for your meatballs to really absorb the flavor of the teriyaki sauce.
We love using a crockpot liner to make clean-up easy. You can also spray the slow cooker dish with non-stick cooking spray before pouring in your ingredients.
If serving these juicy meatballs as an appetizer, you can set your slow cooker to WARM, and the meatballs can be kept covered for an additional 1 to 2 hours.