Savory meatballs in a sweet and tangy sauce like those in this recipe are a potluck staple (sometimes incorrectly referred to as Swedish meatballs) that hit all the parts of your taste buds; sweet, salty, sour, and even the hard to describe “umami” flavor we associate with meat.

Prep Time: 20 minutes • Cook Time: 20 minutes

Makes 24 Meatballs

Ingredients:

MEATBALLS

1 pound extra-lean ground beef

1 large egg, beaten

3 tablespoons minced yellow onion

3 tablespoons bread crumbs

2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

2 teaspoons parsley flakes

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 tablespoon canola oil

SAUCE

1/2 cup ketchup

1/3 cup light brown sugar

1 tablespoon cider vinegar

2 teaspoons soy sauce

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

Directions:

1. In a large mixing bowl, use your hands to combine all meatball ingredients, except the canola oil.
2. Form the meatball mixture into 24 meatballs that are 1-inch tall (about the size of a ping-pong ball).
3. Heat the canola oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
4. Add the meatballs to the skillet and brown on all sides, about 5 minutes.
5. Add all the sauce ingredients to a large sauce pot over medium heat and stir to combine.
6. Transfer the browned meatballs into the sauce and toss to coat. Cover and let cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Serve stuck with toothpicks to easily pick up.

Helpful Tip: These can also be made with extra-lean (99% fat-free) ground turkey, if you prefer, though the final result will have nearly the same amount of calories.

Mona Dolgov

Nutritionist, cookbook author, publisher and health and wellness entrepreneur Mona Dolgov lives her lifelong mission of creating healthier food products, recipes and inventing simple culinary tricks to easily create practical and healthier lifestyles. She is President of You Live Right, LLC, where she has authored and published over 20 cookbooks for top-selling kitchen appliances, health and wellness products and grocery retailers, focused on simplicity and using nutritious ingredients. She also is a private nutritional coach, offers educational and fun dinner classes at Mona’s Kitchen,  and is a speaker on nutritional well-being. Plus, she is very excited about launching Cook U. Follow Mona on Facebook or Instagram @monadolgov

She recently co-authored The Perfect Portion Cookbook, a 5-star rated cookbook (with Hollywood star Anson Willams) that makes American classics healthier and guides consumers to healthier portion control. This book (and Mona) was featured on the Today Show, The Doctors, and The Huffington Post. Learn more at www.theperfectportion.com

She is completing her second cookbook, Satisfy,  that will be launched in 2020, focused on simple nutritionally balanced meals all 500 calories or less with real ingredients and real portions. All of the recipes are gluten-free.