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, so you’ll love them for busy weeknights and entertaining.

Honey Garlic Glazed Meatballs

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.
Ingredients for Honey Garlic beef meatballs

Honey Garlic Sauce:

  • butter (or oil) used to saute the garlic
  • garlic
  • honey
  • ketchup
  • soy sauce
Ingredients for honey garlic glazed meatballs (sauce)

Honey Garlic Glazed Meatballs Video

How To Make Honey Garlic Glazed Meatballs

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line two rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper or aluminum foil.
  2. 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.
  3. Shape the meatballs.
    • Form small meatballs, about 1 Tablespoon each and place on the prepared baking sheets.
  4. Bake for 12-14 minutes in the preheated oven.
    • Don’t overcook the meatballs, or they will become tough. 
  5. 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. 
  6. 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. 
How to make honey garlic meatballs tutorial

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. 
Honey Garlic Glazed Meatballs in a deep skillet

What to serve with the meatballs

A bite of Honey Garlic Glazed Meatballs
Print

Honey Garlic Glazed Meatballs

Print Recipe

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These juicy baked Honey Garlic Meatballs are covered in a delicious sweet and savory sauce. They are also perfect for meal prep.

  • Author: adapted by Olga’s Flavor Factory from Taste of Home
  • Prep Time: 20 mins
  • Cook Time: 24 mins
  • Total Time: 44 minutes
  • Yield: 60–63 meatballs 1x
  • Category: Entree

Ingredients

Scale

Meatballs:

  • 2 lbs ground beef
  • 1 cup fresh breadcrumbs or 3/4 cup panko breadcrumbs
  • 3/4 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:

  • 1/2 Tablespoon butter or oil
  • 2–4 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1/2 cup honey
  • 3/4 cup ketchup
  • 1/4 cup soy sauce

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line two rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper or aluminum foil.
  2. Soak the breadcrumbs in the milk until all the milk is absorbed by the breadcrumbs.
  3. Combine all the ingredients for the meatballs together.
  4. Form small meatballs, about 1 Tablespoon each and place on the prepared baking sheets.
  5. Bake for 12-14 minutes in the preheated oven. Don’t overcook the meatballs, or they will become tough.
  6. Meanwhile, make the sauce. In a medium pot or deep skillet, melt butter over medium heat.
  7. Add the garlic and cook about 30 seconds. (Be careful not to burn the garlic.)
  8. Add the rest of the ingredients (honey, ketchup and soy sauce), mixing until all the ingredients are evenly combined. Simmer for about 5 min.
  9. Add the meatballs to the sauce and cook for about 7 – 10 minutes, at a simmer, until cooked through.

Make Ahead:

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.

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Honey Garlic Glazed Meatballs

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