Pumpkin Pie Glazed Meatballs
Cocktail meatballs with a Pumpkin spice twist. Throw them in a crockpot and put out toothpicks to entertain your guests with this classic dinner party staple.
Do you love and miss those barbecue sauce, grape jelly glazed cocktail meatballs that used to be sitting all cute in a little crockpot at your families birthday parties? Well I’m bringing these meatballs back, back from the dead with an exciting new concept. I made a pineapple and apricot glaze seasoned with pumpkin spice and thickened with pumpkin puree. These spiced meatballs pair absolutely amazing in this thick pineapple pumpkin barbecue sauce it’s glazed in. Each meatballs is seasoned with ground cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and ginger to test whether or not pumpkin spice can hold up inside one of my favorite childhood appetizers. Scroll down to see the result!
Check out the other savory recipes in this series here:
Pumpkin Salsa
Pumpkin Spiced Chicken Wings
Pumpkin Queso
Make your meatballs first on a sheet tray, using an ice cream scoop to get all even sized meatballs. Roll them between your palms to form the smooth signature shape and broil them in the oven for 10 – 12 minutes just to develop a gorgeous brown top.
When broiling your meatballs besure to evenly space them apart and place them on the top most rack of the oven. These will cook perfectly before they will burn, but keep an eye on this part.
My favorite part of these meatballs has to be the glaze. This pineapple pumpkin barbecue sauce should be sold on store shelves it’s so delicious and flavorful. No flour or cornstarch needed to thicken this sauce up when you have pureed pumpkin. Not only does it coat the meatballs better, but it also locks in the moisture with every bite. I could make and eat a whole tray of these all to myself.
The result of these pumpkin pie glazed meatballs is a work of genius. The flavor is meaty, then fruit, and then spice-y. These keep very well in a cute little crockpot for all to enjoy. If you like spice, try adding a jalapeno to the glaze for a delightful kick. This would even work great with ground lamb meatballs.
Pumpkin Pie Glazed Meatballs
Ingredients
- 1 lb. ground beef
- 3/4 cup panko breadcrumb
- 1/2 medium yellow onion
- 1/4 cup almonds
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Ingredients
- 1 cup pineapple juice
- 2/3 cup apricot preserves
- 1/3 cup water
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons pumpkin puree
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Preparation
- Preheat the oven to 425 °F and prepare a parchment-lined sheet tray.
- In a food processor, combine the onion and almonds until finely minced. Remove from mixer and set aside.
- In a bowl, combine ground beef, panko, onion mixture, eggs, salt, pepper, and pumpkin spice with your hands or a pair of chop sticks until thoroughly combined.
- Use a small ice cream scoop to scoop each meatball and place onto prepared tray. Bake for 15 - 18 minutes on the top rack of the oven. (temp internally at 155 °F)
- Prepare the glaze in a large saucepan combining pineapple, preserves, water, brown sugar, honey, soy sauce, pumpkin puree, spice, and cayenne.
Recipe adapted from Mantitlement