These Easy Honey Bourbon Glazed Meatballs are the perfect appetizer and take the difficulty out of deciding what appetizer to make. They are delicious, flavorful, slightly sweet and spicy with great depth of flavor from the bourbon.
Make these Easy Honey Bourbon Glazed Meatballs ahead of time and you have it easy the day of your party or dinner. The flavors only get better with time.
Sometimes it is difficult to figure out the right dish to bring to a pot luck dinner, or if you are in charge of appetizers what to make. Should you make something light and fresh like Stuffed Belgian Endive Appetizer Recipe? What about bringing just a fancy salad like Black Bean Roasted Corn salad.
I like to have a variety of different kinds of appetizers and these Easy Honey Bourbon Glazed Meatballs fit the bill perfectly and take that challenge of what to make easier. They are filling but not overly so, and guests can take what they like as far as the amount they want. They can satisfy a hungry man, or delicate appetite!
Ingredients you will need
lean ground beef 90% lean
garlic
soy sauce
Sriracha
onion powder
small onion
bourbon
ketchup
red wine vinegar
salt
honey
Bourbon
Tips to making easy Honey Bourbon Glazed Meatballs
I like to use 90% lean ground beef. It has enough fat to add flavor but you may substitute for 80% or above.
Make sure to grease your baking sheet or use parchment paper to line it. That make clean u a breeze.
Place meatball on a cooling rack in the baking sheet to keep the meatball out of the drippings.
You can make the meatballs ahead of time and just glazed them before serving. I like to make them ahead of time and let them sit overnight in the glaze to get added flavor.
For precooked meatballs reheat them in a medium pot or crock pot on warm for a few hours. They don’t overcook and it is one less thing to have to do in prep for your special event or party.
These meatballs are gluten free and so they are a bit firmer than if they had bread crumbs added. If you would like to add bread crumbs, add one cup and one egg to ingredient will make a softer meatball.
When making the glaze it is good to know it will not become very thick when you thicken it. The slight change to a bit thicker sauce is enough to have it coat the meatballs.
For extra spice you can add more Sriracha according to taste. This small amount currently in the recipe gives just enough spice without the heat overpowering the flavor
Can you make these meatballs ahead of time?
Absolutely! These Easy Honey Bourbon Glazed Meatballs freeze well. Bake your meatballs and freeze after they have baked and cooled properly. Place them in a zip lock bag or airtight container and freeze. The glaze will keep in the fridge for 3-5 days or you can add them to the meatballs and freeze together. When they defrost they will get extra flavor from being together longer.
You have several options to reheat them. To reheat them, place them in a pot with the glaze until heated through. I put my meatballs and glaze in my crock pot and kept them on warm for two hours and they were ready to go. (Make sure they don’t overcook or you will have rubbery meatballs.)
For the Meatballs
2 pounds ground beef 90% ( lean)
2 garlic cloves minced or substitute 1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons onion powder
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp Sriracha
For the Honey Bourbon Glaze
1/2 cup Bourbon
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1 small onion finely minced
2 garlic cloves finely minced
3 tbsp soy sauce
3 tbsp ketchup
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
Directions
Pre heat oven to 375°F. Spray your baking sheet with cooking spray and place a wire rack on the baking sheet.
In a large bowl place your ground beef and add all your ingredients for the meatballs and mix together
Using a small cookie scoop or tablespoon for the right size meatballs. Form them into meatballs, about one tablespoon for each meatball about 1” size and roll into a ball
Place on baking sheet and place in preheated oven. Bake for 20 minutes
Remove from oven and set aside.
While meatballs are cooking prepare your glaze
Place all your glaze ingredients in a medium size saucepan
Turn heat to medium high and bring ingredients to a slight boil for about two minutes, watching carefully not to allow ingredients to boil over. Reduce heat to medium low and allow to simmer for about 10-15 minutes to let the mixture thicken slightly
Pour glaze over meatballs and serve immediately
Now isn’t that easy and delicious?
Easy Honey Bourbon Glazed Meatballs
Ingredients
For the meatballs
- 2 pounds ground beef 90% ( lean)
- 2 cloves garlic minced or substitute 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp Sriracha add accoding to taste
For the honey Bourbon glaze
- 1/2 cup Bourbon
- 1/2 cup honey
- 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
- 1 small onion finely minced
- 2 cloves garlic finely minced
- 3 tbsp soy sauce
- 3 tbsp ketchup
- 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
Instructions
For the meatballs
- Pre heat oven to 375°F. Spray your baking sheet with cooking spray and place a wire rack on the baking sheet.
- In a large bowl place your ground beef and add all your ingredients for the meatballs and mix together
- Using a small cookie scoop for meatballs form them into meatballs about one tablespoon for each meatball about 1” size
- place on baking sheet and place in preheated oven bake for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside.
For the honey Bourbon Glaze
- Place your glaze ingredients in a medium size saucepan
- Turn heat to medium high and bring ingredients to a slight boil for about two minutes, watching carefully not to allow ingredients to boil over. Reduce heat to medium low and allow to simmer for about 10-15 minutes to let the mixture thicken slightly
- Pour glaze over meatballs mix well and serve immediately
Notes
Nutrition
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WELCOME
My name is Mary. Here at The Recipe Patch you will find a garden full of recipes to make life easy and delicious. I hope you find a new recipe to share with your friends and family. There is something for every occasion…. Let’s get to work… or play!
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