Coca-Cola Meatballs
Coca-Cola Meatballs are comforting, rich, tangy and saucy – my family’s favorite dinner choice ! Serve over pasta, rice or mashed potatoes (can also be served in smaller sized meatballs as an appetizer)
You should know by now that I am a HUGE Coca-Cola fan.
Not just any Cola – the real thing Coca-Cola, not diet or light. These Coca-Cola Meatballs are amazing !
I have found that when used in recipes it gives an amazing taste – sweet dishes are a little sweeter, but fuller.
And savory dishes a bit of a tangy taste and it adds richness to the recipe as well.
These meatballs can be made in golf ball sizes (which is what I did today) and served over pasta with the sauce for a delicious dinner.
OR make them a little smaller, insert a toothpick after baking and serve with the sauce as a dip at a party.
My daughter was home for the weekend and she is a huge fan of meatballs.
But I wanted to try a new recipe and found one on the Mr. Food website.
***NOTE: You can also use a whole Green Bell Pepper : add half to the meatball mixture before forming into balls and half (as below) in the sauce.
More Meatball recipes you might like:
Coca-Cola Meatballs
Coca-Cola Meatballs
Ingredients
- 450 grams Lean Ground Beef ( 1 pound )
- ½ cup Seasoned Bread Crumbs
- 1 Egg
- 1 tablespoon Water
- 1 small Onion finely chopped, divided
- ½ teaspoon Salt divided
- ½ teaspoon Black Pepper divided
- 2 teaspoon Fresh Garlic crushed
- 1 cup Tomato Sauce (thick ketch-up)
- 1 cup Coca-Cola
- 2 tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
- ½ Green Bell Pepper (***See note above recipe in post)
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 180 deg C (350 deg F) – Spray a 20 x 30cm ( 8 x 12 inch ) oven dish with cooking spray.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the Beef, Bread Crumbs, Egg, Water, half of the chopped Onion, (half of the Green Bell Pepper, if using) half the Salt and half the Black Pepper – mix well and form into balls – place in a single layer on the prepared oven dish.
- In a small bowl, mix together the remaining Onion, Salt, and Pepper – add the Garlic, Tomato Sauce, Coca-Cola, Worcestershire Sauce and the Green Bell Pepper – pour over the meatballs.
- Bake 50 – 60 minutes (turning twice) until sauce is bubbly and the meatballs are fully cooked.
This recipe is amazing and I’m not a meatball/meatloaf lover, but I will make for my husband. I decided to try this recipe and OMG it is incredible! The sauce is over the top delicious. My husband loves this recipe, so I will definitely be making this over and over again!
I’ve have been making this recipe 😋 so many times now my family loves this recipe so much. I did add to mine a couple of tablespoons of bells seasoning which brought a lot more flavor also some Italian seasoning to. But oh my they are so good 👍
Was very nice will diffently make again didn’t have green pepper used parsley instead
Sounds delicious! Did you use 1 cup of canned tomato sauce or ketchup?
I use a thick, rich ketchup, Becky (known only as tomato sauce in South-Africa). The canned tomatoes here are either puree or paste, both which I think is too strong, especially the tomato paste
Sounds great! Can you use diet soda?
Yes, you can use diet coca-cola in the meatball recipe !
Sorry, I didn’t see that.
You say in the directions for the meatball mix to add the water, however, the recipe doesn’t call for water. Is this a typo?
Hi Jonie, the Water is the 4th ingredient ( 1 tablespoon )
This is a fast dish with incredible taste. I fixed noodles with ours and it was so delicious. Thanks for this recipe.
This would be awesome with rice mixed in the hamburger.
These meatballs are delicious. My family is very picky. They loved and asked for seconds. I saw a previous comment about making as an appetizer for a party. I think that’s a great idea. I will definitely be making this recipe in the future; it is a family favorite and will be in my recipe repertoire. Thank you!
I am glad your family loved the meatballs 🙂 My family is also a bit picky but my daughter makes this recipe regularly for her family now as well ! ( Delicious as an appetizer with the sauce as a dip )
Tasty meatballs and lovely sweet sauce
I’ve actually made these vegan! I’ve made them twice now and they are so good! I use either a flax or chia seed egg, and a packet of beyond meat ground beef. These are so good, super adaptable 🙂
I am looking for a savory meatball appetizer to take to a party and am wondering if the coke makes the sauce sweet at all?
Aimee, there is definitely a sweetness in the sauce although not over powering
Can you make this as a meatloaf
I have never made a meatloaf using this exact recipe, but can not see that it will be a problem, Marsha. The meatballs are very sturdy (for lack of a better word) and should hold up very well shaped as in a loaf form
Thank you. Will give it a try
I was wondering why Sodium was not listed on your Nutrional Info? My husband has had Bypass Surgery and we have to watch his Sodium and was just inquiring, these he would enjoy with a side of Rice and Asparagus. Yummy…
Betty I have run the recipe through a new nutritional calculator and the Sodium information is now available. Hope this helps !
Can you use frozen party meatballs in place of homemade?
I am sure you can, as long as the meatballs are defrosted first in order to soak up the taste of the sauce whilst baking as well as not affecting the baking time. ( I have never used frozen, please let us know how the dish turns out ? )
Can these meatballs be made in advance ??? Can minced chicken be used instead of beef?
You can make and freeze the meatballs, yes Mary. I am sure, although never made it with chicken, that you can use minced chicken as there are no ingredients which is unique to beef. I would suggest using the same texture of minced chicken than that of ground beef
The recipes says to add half the salt, half the black pepper but the ingredient list doesn’t say how much of each?
Hi Amy, thank you for letting me know ! I have just converted over to a new recipe card and it seems some ingredients were omitted. The Salt and Pepper is now in the recipe card 🙂
Make these at least once a week !
Tried this last night. It was good, with one minor problem. Not enough sauce. Next time I make this I will double or triple the sauce.
I used tomato soup and ground turkey. The sauce was thick enough. My husband said next time make mashed potatoes Yum!!
Tried this last night. It was good, with one minor problem. Not enough sauce. Next time I make this I will double or triple the sauce.
Hi James, I am glad you enjoyed the meatballs ! My daughter also doubles up on the sauce when she makes it. I suppose it is just a matter of personal choice 🙂
I used tomato soup and ground turkey. The sauce was thick enough. My husband said next time make mashed potatoes Yum!!
I use 7up instead of Coke in this recipe and have for years. I brown the meatballs in the oven, then transfer to the slow cooker. Takes a bit longer for the 7up and ketchup to thicken so don't overdo the meatballs in the oven. Kids will love these as well as adults. Make the best meatball sandwiches the next day as well
Hi looks yummy , can you use Pepsi instead of coke?
Hi Anne, I honestly have no idea as we never buy Pepsi, but I have looked up the differences between Coke and Pepsi and found the following : Pepsi has more of a citrus taste (due to citric acid in the ingredients) and Coke more Vanilla-Raisin. Hope this helps 🙂
If you do the meatballs party size and use the sauce as a dipping sauce would you boil it up in a saucepan?
Yes, I do ☺ (only a couple of minutes though until I am happy with the thickness of the sauce)
We all loved these meatballs. Hubby couldn't get enough. We live in New Zealand and I have never used coke in a recipe until now =)
Made these tonight for dinner and they were fantastic, so much flavor. I also used ketchup instead of tomato sauce and believe it really does make a difference in the thickness and sweetness of the sauce. The only change I will make next time is doubling up the sauce. Thanks for a great recipe!
Delicious! I used ketchup, not tomato sauce. Do not cover. Turned oven up to 375 after 1/2 hour because sauce was not carmelizing. Thanks for the recipe.
Hi Nicole,
would you be able to make these in a crock pot or slow cooker? and if so, would the recipe need to be adjusted in any way? I would really like to try these, but my oven is currently out of commission.
Hi Nancy !
I have actually made these meatballs in the slow-cooker before, the recipe remains the same, but it will have to cook longer, mine took 5 hours on slow (with one gentle stir after 3 hours), so I'd say anything from 4 – 6 hours on low as sow-cookers vary as well as the size of the meatballs (golf ball size, or a little less, is my favorite)
Thank you for the quick reply. I am definately making these this weekend. They sound super yummy
What would be good sides to go with these?
Nicole, I just about never serve the meatballs the same way – starches could be rice, mashed potatoes, baby potatoes, pasta etc and I usually add 2 side dishes, during warm weather it would be two salads and cold weather two vegetable sides (any salad or vegetable go well with the meatballs)
Thank you! I cant wait to make them tonight as I grew up on Coca-Cola ribs so im sure there just as good.
Funeral Potatoes!?
Not enough seasoning for me so will have to adjust, they were neither savory or sweet, I am sure kids would like them.
@Elizabeth Whitlock, I would try these using Heinz chili sauce and the coke,
Do you use tomato sauce or ketchup?
In South-Africa our tomato sauce is what we use over burgers, fries, hotdogs etc (same use as ketchup) but the tomato sauce I use is thick. Thin tomato sauce or thin ketchup will need a thickening ingredient perhaps add a bit of tomato paste ?
Thanks, can't wait to try these.
Crushed tomatoes might be a good sub for ketchup/thin tomato sauce.
Yummy
Yum! Looks delicious!
Thanks for sharing
Julie
Gourmet Getaways
Hi Linda,
Your Coca Cola Meatballs are awesome, we would just love this flavor. Thank you so much for sharing with Full Plate Thursday and have a great week!
Miz Helen
I totally agree about Coke being the real deal–and I'm sure it is awesome in these meatballs!
Have a coke and a smile! I know some folks that will love trying these. They are meatball die hards. I use Dr. Pepper a lot for flavor it is kind of the same concept. Thanks for sharing at What'd You Do This Weekend.
Linda these sound so good, I booked marked them so when I have the kids here I am cooking these and putting them on a sub roll.