These juicy baked Honey Garlic Meatballs are covered in a delicious sweet and savory sauce. They are also perfect for meal prep, so you'll love them for busy weeknights and entertaining.
These tender, juicy meatballs tossed in a sweet savory glaze has been a favorite in our family for many years. We have cooked them for many weeknight dinners, holiday meals, special occasions and even a few weddings.
They are some of the most tender meatballs I have ever eaten. Ketchup, soy sauce, honey and garlic come together in a great union to make a perfect complement for these moist and tender little morsels of beef. I certainly appreciate that I have most of these in my pantry/fridge most anytime, so I can whip them up anytime. My mom found this recipe many years ago in a Taste of Home magazine, and we've been making them ever since. Expect to be wowed and to get rave reviews and recipe requests from all your guests.
Ingredients:
Scroll to the bottom of the page for the printable recipe with measurements.
Meatballs:
- ground beef
- instead of ground beef, you can also use other ground meat, such as ground pork, ground turkey, ground lamb or ground chicken
- breadcrumbs
- you can use either store bought breadcrumbs, in which case I recommend panko breadcrumbs, but you can use other breadcrumbs of your choice.
- you can also make your own breadcrumbs, by pulsing bread in a food processor or a blender
- milk
- the milk is used to soak the breadcrumbs. I use whole milk, but you can use any type of milk that you prefer, even dairy free milk, such as almond/oat milk, etc.
- onion
- eggs
- salt, ground black pepper
- optional, dry herbs and spices
- in addition to salt and pepper, you can also use any of your favorite herbs and spices. I like using spice mixes that include dry chives, parsley, etc, as well as granulated onion/garlic, such as Trader Joe's Onion Salt and/or Simply Organic All Purpose Seasoning.
Honey Garlic Sauce:
- butter (or oil) used to saute the garlic
- garlic
- honey
- ketchup
- soy sauce
Honey Garlic Glazed Meatballs Video
How To Make Honey Garlic Glazed Meatballs
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line two rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper or aluminum foil.
- First, make the meatballs.
- Soak the breadcrumbs in the milk until all the milk is absorbed by the bread.
- Combine all the ingredients for the meatballs together.
- Shape the meatballs.
- Form small meatballs, about 1 Tablespoon each and place on the prepared baking sheets.
- Bake for 12-14 minutes in the preheated oven.
- Don't overcook the meatballs, or they will become tough.
- Meanwhile, make the sauce.
- In a medium pot or deep skillet, melt butter over medium heat.
- Add the garlic and cook about 30 seconds. (Don't burn the garlic.)
- Add the rest of the ingredients (honey, ketchup and soy sauce). Simmer for about 5 min.
- Add the meatballs to the sauce and cook for about 7-10 min, until cooked through, at a simmer. Once again, don't cook them in the sauce too long either, or the meatballs will become tough.
Meal Prep
This is a great recipe to make ahead.
- Bake the meatballs ahead of time. Store in the refrigerator.
- You can even freeze the meatballs. Simply place in the freezer in a single layer until frozen solid and place in a ziptop bag or plastic container. Thaw the meatballs and continue with the recipe.
- The sauce takes no time at all to make, so I usually make it on the spot, but you can make it ahead of time also.
What to serve with the meatballs
Honey Garlic Glazed Meatballs
These juicy baked Honey Garlic Meatballs are covered in a delicious sweet and savory sauce. They are also perfect for meal prep.
- Prep Time: 20 mins
- Cook Time: 24 mins
- Total Time: 44 minutes
- Yield: 60-63 meatballs 1x
- Category: Entree
Ingredients
Meatballs:
- 2 lbs ground beef
- 1 cup fresh breadcrumbs or ¾ cup panko breadcrumbs
- ¾ cup milk
- 1 onion, finely minced
- 2 eggs, mixed
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1-2 teaspoons dry herbs and spices, optional
Sauce:
- ½ Tablespoon butter or oil
- 2-4 garlic cloves, minced
- ½ cup honey
- ¾ cup ketchup
- ¼ cup soy sauce
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line two rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper or aluminum foil.
- Soak the breadcrumbs in the milk until all the milk is absorbed by the breadcrumbs.
- Combine all the ingredients for the meatballs together.
- Form small meatballs, about 1 Tablespoon each and place on the prepared baking sheets.
- Bake for 12-14 minutes in the preheated oven. Don't overcook the meatballs, or they will become tough.
- Meanwhile, make the sauce. In a medium pot or deep skillet, melt butter over medium heat.
- Add the garlic and cook about 30 seconds. (Be careful not to burn the garlic.)
- Add the rest of the ingredients (honey, ketchup and soy sauce), mixing until all the ingredients are evenly combined. Simmer for about 5 min.
- Add the meatballs to the sauce and cook for about 7 - 10 minutes, at a simmer, until cooked through.
Make Ahead:
- Bake the meatballs ahead of time. Store in the refrigerator. When ready to serve, make the sauce, then add the meatballs and cook just until heated through.
- You can even freeze the meatballs. Simply place in the freezer in a single layer until frozen solid and place in a Ziploc bag or plastic container.
- Thaw the meatballs and continue with the recipe. The sauce takes no time at all to make, so I usually make it on the spot, but you can make it ahead of time also.
Hello Olga! I will definitely will be making these they look soo good. My question is what kind of ground beef do you use i mean percentage fat?
I prefer ground chuck, which is usually about 80% meat, 20% fat, although I've used market ground beef before too and both work.
These sound potentially delicious! 60+ meatballs sounds like an awful lot though. Are they so small that people eat a dozen each or is this intended to feed lots and lots of people?
These are amazing! Just made them today!
I'm so glad you enjoyed them, April.
I made those meatballs today for my hubby's b-day, with moose meat. Every one liked them.
Wow. I've never tried moose before. That's awesome, Anna.
These were absolutely delicious. Thank you so much for the amazing recipe. I will make these again for sure 🙂
Yay! I'm glad that they were a hit with you:).
Made these today for my boyfriend and I. We both agree that these are the best meatballs we've ever had!
That's awesome, Devon! I'm so happy to hear that. Thanks for taking the time to write.
I made these tonight using ground pork instead of beef. You're right, they were so tender! I also added a tablespoon of Sriracha to the sauce for some kick. Served them with a spinach salad. They will be delicious reheated. Thanks, Olga!
Thank you so much for taking the time to let me know, Quinn. I appreciate it. The Sriracha sounds like a great addition.
This sounds so good for my kids (meaning my baby inside me to) so craving for these. Thank you for having this website for use. Very inspiring for myself. Love trying me recipes. With your website its so much easier. So simple love that. Thank you again.
You're welcome, Anna.
I hope you (and the baby) enjoy the meatballs:).
This is the BEST meatballs I ever made! Olga thank you very very much for the your hard work. It is so nice for us young wives to learn precise recipes of russian food. I am glad I found your blog somewhere on facebook. Oksana
Thanks, Oksana!
I'm thrilled that you're finding it helpful:). It's my pleasure to share our favorite recipes.
Welcome. I hope you'll be able to find many other recipes that your family will enjoy.
My sister is coming with 6 kids. Planning make some food ahead and freeze. Is better to bake it first or I can mix, shape and freeze it to cook later?
That's great! It's always so much fun to spend time with family.
Bake the meatballs and then freeze them. All you will have to do later is thaw the meatballs and make the sauce.
My hubby loves these(so do I).I stopped making katleti and just make a bunch of these meatballs for a quick, good, and healthy part of a meal!
That's awesome! I'm so glad you enjoy these meatballs.
Wow!!!!! I just tried them. Soooooo yummy! Thanks for sharing!
Just made these today, they have a unique taste. What would you serve them with? Thanks for the recipe.
I like to serve them with mashed potatoes and Crunchy Cabbage Cucumber Salad.
Olga what if I made these with pork instead of beef?? Would that be ok??
Sure, use whatever meat you like:) You can even use a combination of meats.
can I use a roaster oven to serve these meaatballs from at a buffet
I'm not sure what a roaster oven is, Joyce. These meatballs are very non fussy, so I would assume so.
Looks yummy:) Thanks for the idea!