These juicy cocktail meatballs are ready in 30 minutes. Coated in a wonderfully flavorful sweet-and-savory glaze, they are irresistible.
I love all kinds of meatballs, including turkey meatballs, pork meatballs, and chicken meatballs. These cocktail meatballs are especially fun because of their size. They are also extra flavorful thanks to the three-ingredient sauce. I like them so much that I often serve them for family dinners. It's easy to keep them gluten-free and low-carb by avoiding fillers such as breadcrumbs and opting for sugar-free ketchup and maple syrup for the glaze.
Ingredients and Variations
See the recipe card for exact measurements. Here are my comments on some of the ingredients.
- Ground beef: I use lean ground beef (85/15). You can also make these meatballs with ground pork.
- To season: Kosher salt, black pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder. I often add a teaspoon of chili powder, too.
- For the sauce: Ketchup (regular or unsweetened), Dijon mustard, and maple syrup (real or sugar-free). Sometimes, I make the sauce with ½ cup of ketchup, two tablespoons of sriracha sauce, and two tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce. Combined with chili powder in the meatball mixture, this mildly spicy version is delicious.
Instructions
The detailed instructions and step-by-step photos are included in the recipe card. Here's a quick overview.
Place the ground beef and spices in a bowl and mix them together. Form the mixture into 24 small meatballs. Bake them for 10 minutes at 400°F.
While the meatballs are in the oven, whisk the sauce ingredients in a medium saucepan and bring them to a gentle boil over medium-low heat, then lower the heat to low and keep the sauce simmering until the meatballs are ready.
Add the cooked meatballs to the sauce and turn to coat. Transfer them to a serving platter, brush them with more sauce, and serve.
Recipe Tips
- Since the meatballs are fully cooked when they emerge from the oven, simmering them in the sauce can result in them being overcooked. So, instead of adding the cooked meatballs to the sauce and simmering them, I simmer the sauce while the meatballs are in the oven, and then simply add them to the sauce and turn to coat.
- I don't recommend going any leaner than 85/15 ground beef. Leaner meatballs could be too dry and fall apart. The fat adds flavor and helps keep them together.
- Storage tips: You can keep the leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Reheat them in the microwave, covered, at 50% power. You can also freeze them for up to three months. Spread them on a wax paper-lined tray and freeze them for a few hours. Once frozen, you can place them in freezer bags and thaw a few at a time.
Serving Suggestions
You can obviously serve these cocktail meatballs as a party appetizer. If you have extra sauce left, place it in a small bowl next to the meatballs so that people can dip (hopefully not double-dip!) their meatballs in the extra sauce.
You can also serve them for dinner. I like to serve them on top of mashed cauliflower, and again, I don’t let any of the sauce go to waste – I pour any extra sauce on top of the meatballs.
I also sometimes serve these meatballs with a side of creamed spinach, as shown in the photo below.
Recipe Card
Baked Cocktail Meatballs
Video
Ingredients
- 1 pound lean ground beef - 85/15
- 1 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt - or ½ teaspoon of any other salt, including Morton kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoom chili powder - optional
- Olive oil spray - extra-virgin, optional
Sauce (see variation under notes):
- ½ cup ketchup - regular or unsweetened
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- ¼ cup maple syrup - real or sugar-free
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a large, rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, mix the beef with the salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and (if using) chili powder.
- Form the mixture into 24 small meatballs, each weighing around 20 grams. I weigh them on a kitchen scale, but you can eyeball it.
- Place the meatballs on the prepared baking sheet, not touching each other. Spray them with an olive oil spray (optional), then bake them until cooked through, for 10 minutes.
- While the meatballs are baking, whisk together the sauce ingredients (ketchup, mustard, and maple syrup) in a medium saucepan. Heat the sauce over medium-low heat. Bring it to a gentle boil, then lower the heat to low and simmer while the meatballs are in the oven.
- Remove the meatballs from the pan with a slotted spatula. Toss them in the sauce until well-coated.
- Transfer the meatballs to a serving plate and use a pastry brush to brush them with more sauce. Serve them with any remaining sauce for dipping.
Notes
- A variation on the sauce: Use ½ cup of ketchup, two tablespoons of sriracha sauce, and two tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce. When combined with adding chili powder to the meatballs, this results in a mildly spicy flavor profile.
- I often use extra-lean ground beef in my recipes. But in this recipe, the meatballs are too dry if using extra-lean ground beef and could also fall apart, so it’s best to use lean ground beef. The fat adds flavor and helps them stay together.
- The nutrition info assumes that unsweetened ketchup and sugar-free maple were used.
- You can make this recipe with ground pork.
- You can keep the leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Reheat them in the microwave, covered, at 50% power. You can also freeze them for up to three months. Spread them on a wax paper-lined tray and freeze them for a few hours. Once frozen, you can place them in freezer bags and thaw a few at a time.
Nutrition per Serving
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Disclaimers
Most recipes are low-carb and gluten-free, but some are not. Recommended and linked products are not guaranteed to be gluten-free. Nutrition info is approximate. Please verify it independently. The carb count excludes non-nutritive sweeteners. Please read these Terms of Use before using any of my recipes.
