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Tender meatballs, slow-cooked in a teriyaki glaze with chunks of succulent pineapple for the perfect pairing of tangy, salty, and sweet. These meatballs make for the ideal savory party appetizer or easy dinner idea!
Teriyaki Pineapple Meatballs
Do you want to make a great appetizer for your next party or have an easy dinner that the whole family will love? If so, these slow cooker teriyaki meatballs are just what you need!
My mom and husband loved these. These are super simple to make and only require 3 ingredients, frozen meatballs – chicken, pork, or beef will work (or veggie/plant based), teriyaki sauce, and chunked can pineapple.
You can serve it as either an appetizer with toothpicks or as a main dish with rice and vegetables on the side. Either way, your guests (or family!) will be impressed by how tasty this dish is!
Try these Hawaiian Meatballs next for similar yet different flavors, or my slow cooker honey teriyaki chicken.
Ingredients For Your 3 Ingredient Slow Cooker Meatballs
You really only need THREE ingredients to make these easy meatballs. Below are some helpful tips and possible substitutions. Scroll all the way down for the full recipe card with measurements.
Meatballs – Use your favorite frozen, fully cooked meatball. We used beef in this recipe but chicken, turkey, or plant/veggie based will all work. Make sure they’re fully cooked. No need to thaw them. You can use homemade meatballs.
Teriyaki Sauce – Your favorite Teriyaki Sauce works well. We used Panda Express Mandarin Teriyaki Sauce but you can also make homemade teriyaki sauce.
Pineapple – I used an 8 oz can of pineapple chunks but you can, of course, use fresh. If using canned, make sure to drain the juice first.
Equipment You’ll Need To Make These Crockpot Teriyaki Meatballs
I was tempted to just write the word “slow cooker” and finish it off with a period because that is literally all you need for this recipe. But, I didn’t want to seem rude…
Because seriously, technically you don’t even need a spoon to make these crockpot meatballs. It is a true one-pot recipe!
Just dump your frozen meatballs, your can of pineapple, and your teriyaki sauce, in your slow cooker, and you are good to go! Now, that’s a real dump meal!
- Slow Cooker – This 6 quart slow cooker has been my go-to for years. I love that it switches itself to WARM after the designated cook time. Perfect for long days and great for serving out of at parties.
- Spatulas – I use silicone spatulas for everything. I have far too many…
- Ladle – A ladle makes scooping the meatballs out of the crockpot easy.
How To Make Slow Cooker Pineapple Teriyaki Meatballs
- STEP ONE: Pour the frozen meatballs, teriyaki sauce, and drained pineapple to the slow cooker basin. Cover and cook on HIGH for 2.5 hours or LOW for 6 hours.
- STEP TWO: That’s it. There really is no step 2 other than serving them!
What to Serve With Teriyaki Meatballs
If you are serving your meatballs as an appetizer, you can serve them on a skewer with chunks of pineapple or, as they are, in the slow cooker. Some other party apps that pair well with teriyaki meatballs are:
- Air Fryer Buffalo Chicken Wings coated with a homemade seasoning blend, served with celery and carrot sticks on the side.
- Potstickers or dumplings from your local Asian restaurant served with soy sauce for dipping.
- Buffalo chicken dip because what’s a party without this dip!
- Baked green bean fries rolled in crunchy panko and served with your dipping sauce of choice!
If you are serving these crockpot teriyaki meatballs as a main dish for dinner, I recommend trying them with:
- Stir fry vegetables like broccoli or bok choy. You can add in chunks of pineapple, too. Yum!
- Some white or fried rice on the side, if you aren’t trying to eat low carb. If you are going low carb, cauliflower rice works wonderfully as well!
- Try some garlic mashed potatoes for pure comfort food. The sauce makes an excellent gravy.
- You can also make a bowl of lo mein with soba noodles.
How To Store Your Pineapple Teriyaki Meatballs
On the off chance you have any leftovers of these easy meatballs, you can store them in your fridge for up to four days or freeze them for later use.
I recommend putting them into an airtight container with some parchment paper between each layer so that they don’t stick together if you put them back in the freezer.
To reheat your meatballs, I recommend putting them into a saucepan with some of the teriyaki glaze and heating on medium-low heat until they are heated through.
Slow Cooker Pineapple Teriyaki Meatballs FAQs
Can I use fresh pineapple in this teriyaki recipe instead of canned?
Yes, you sure can! If you have a fresh pineapple, you can cut it up and put the chunks into your crockpot with your teriyaki sauce and frozen meatballs.
What type of frozen meatballs are the best? Chicken, beef, or pork?
That really depends on your taste preferences. I personally like using beef or pork meatballs when I make this recipe because the teriyaki glaze really enhances the flavor of these meats! Plant/veggie based also work if you’re vegetarian.
Can you make these teriyaki meatballs low carb?
Yes! While it may make this recipe require a little more than 3 ingredients, you can still enjoy teriyaki meatballs.
You may have to mix your meatballs from scratch, depending on if your local grocery store carries low-carb frozen ones. The Sam’s Club beef meatballs I used here only have 6g of carbs in 4 meatballs.
There are more carbs in the teriyaki sauce I used (15g in every 2 Tablespoons), but there are some keto-friendly teriyaki sauces on the market, or you can make one from scratch at home.
You can also substitute the pineapple for a sugar-free jam.
What kind of teriyaki sauce should I use?
This recipe uses store-bought teriyaki sauce. We use Panda Express Mandarin and really like it. I find that like BBQ sauce, everyone has a slightly different opinion when it comes to teriyaki. You might have to try a few to find out which one you like best, or make your own.
Need more meatball recipes? Try these:
Sweet & Spicy Slow Cooker Meatballs
Spooky Spaghetti & “Eyeball” Meatballs
Crockpot Cheese Stuffed Turkey Meatballs
Slow Cooker Honey Garlic Meatballs
Slow Cooker Meatball Stroganoff
Click here for my entire collection of slow cooker recipes.
3 Ingredient Slow Cooker Pineapple Teriyaki Meatballs
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 pounds frozen fully cooked meatballs beef, turkey, chicken, plant based
- 1 cup teriyaki sauce
- 8 oz pineapple chunks drained
Instructions
- Pour the frozen meatballs into the basin of a 6 qt slow cooker.
- Pour in the teriyaki sauce and drained pineapple chunks.
- Stir so the meatballs are evenly coated.
- Cover and cook on HIGH for 2.5-3 hours or LOW for 6 hours.
- Serve!
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is an estimate and provided to you as a courtesy. You should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe using your preferred nutrition calculator.
Meatballs are a personal favorite and yours were quite delicious! The size, aroma and flavor were just right. I enjoyed them by themselves and also over rice. Would love to have them over noodles next serving
What type of teriyaki sauce do you use or recommend?
It’s linked above – Panda Express.
Can you make this with fresh meatballs?
Yes, you just need to give them time to cook through. 3 hours on HIGH or 6 on LOW should do.
Hi can u make your own meat balls ??
Yep. Cook time will vary depending on if you’re using fresh (raw) meatballs or frozen.
I make these with my fried rice for a yummy dinner
Thanks, Nikki!
This is a great recipe and easy too, it worked great for the potluck my husband had at work. Thanks for this.
Thanks, Tina 🙂
I accidentally bought frozen “Italian-style” meatballs. Those should work, right?
They’ll work, flavor will just be slightly different.
These were great! They’re perfect for feeding a crowd; I think I’d add a little spice in them next time to cut through the sweetness a little. I’m going to add them to my appetizer repertoire!
Thanks, Katja!
I noticed in the picture you added chopped scallions not shown in the ingredients, did you add them just before serving or during cooking.
Before serving, as garnish 🙂
They were very good but I would add the pineapple towards the end of cooking time.
Can you use a marinade instead of sauce?
Yes, but I haven’t test for change in flavor.
Wondering if you could use little sausages in this recipe instead of meatballs?
Yep, I think that would be good!
Can I make this in an instapot?
I’m sure you can but I haven’t tested times.
What happens if I forgot to drain the pineapple juice lol oops
ha, you tell me! How’d it turn out?
I’m fixing to make a batch of these meatballs, but my crockpot is only 3 quarts. Will that be big enough?
Oh man….these were incredible! I loved the flavor, they’re so addicting!
I made these to go with the pasta I had already made and it made for a great meal that everyone enjoyed.
Great idea!
I used homemade meatballs that I had in the freezer. The sauce was amazing, even though I realized at the last minute I was out of mirin. We loved the addition of the pineapple!
Thanks, Kara!
Made this tonight. The meatballs didn’t seem to soak up the teriyaki sauce as much as yours. They were also somewhat dry after 6 hours on low. I used frozen meatballs.
Which brand did you use? It seems to vary by brand.
Hi can you recommend a gluten-free version of this recipe please
I don’t follow a gf diet and don’t want to steer you wrong.
Can i make it on the stove and how
Long do I cook it on the stove
For? Im making this gor Thanksgiving so can you get back to me soon? Thank you