Hoisin Honey Mustard Pork Meatballs

If sticky pork meatballs are your jam, you will love this Anglo-Asian fusion of Chinese hoisin sauce meets the classic honey-mustard combo. I love to accentuate the Asian and sprinkle with sesame seeds and sliced spring onions. 

You can serve these pork meatballs with steamed vegetables, stir-fried vegetables or our favourite, a simple Asian-style salad. The kids (and us!) love anything meatballs and anything with a sticky sauce, so these pork meatballs are always a triumph in this house! And I love that I can have these little beauties on the table in just 30 minutes.

If you have a toddler, weaning baby or fussy eater and are wondering how to adapt this recipe for your family, see here >

The Stars of my Hoisin Honey Mustard Pork Meatballs

The Meatballs

To make theses simple meatballs, all you need is a 500g pack (17.64oz) of pork mince (ground pork), a large egg, some panko breadcrumbs as well as salt and pepper.

The Sauce

To make the sticky glaze you’ll need some shop-bought Hoisin sauce, runny honey and Dijon mustard. We’ll also add a little white vinegar, either rice wine or white wine will do. 

Serving Options

Top these Hoisin Honey Mustard Pork Meatballs off with a sprinkling of sesame seeds and spring onions for a great contrast in flavour. These bad boys are super versatile, and can be served with steamed veggies like broccoli, baby corn, sugar snap peas and carrots or your favourite stir-fry veggie side.

I myself, mostly serve these sticky pork meatballs with a super simple Asian-style cucumber salad which we all love. With the help of a mandolin, this salad is so quick and easy to make. Just slice a cucumber using the thinnest slicer blade in your mandolin set. Then toss through:

• 1 ½ tbps any white vinegar
• ½ tbps veg or sunflower oil 
• ¼ teaspoon caster sugar
• A sprinkle of salt
• A little chopped Thai basil, optional.

You can also serve them with an Asian-style carrot and cucumber salad variation which you can find in my Hoisin Beef Bowl recipe.

FAQ’s For My Hoisin Honey Mustard Pork Meatballs

Can I prepare these Hoisin Honey Mustard Pork Meatballs in advance?

Yes! You can make the meatballs in advance, cover the plate with clingfilm and refrigerate until ready to use within 24 hours of making. The same goes for the sauce, although you can keep that for a few days in the fridge in an air-tight container. 

Can I feed more people with this recipe?

You can certainly double the amount of meatballs and sauce, so long as you have an extra large shallow pan. In the video you can see there is plenty of space in my pan for more meatballs, and I actually have another pan which is extra large I could use to double up. You would need to regularly rotate the outer meatballs with the meatballs in the centre of the pan to ensure even cooking.

How can younger children help make it?

My son Nate loves to help make meatballs with me. Just make sure the kids wash their hands very well before and after, or if they are older they can wear disposable food safe gloves.

Can I Store Hoisin Honey Mustard Pork Meatballs I have leftover?

You can store any Hoisin Honey Mustard Pork Meatballs you have leftover in an air-tight container or resealable food bag in the fridge for up to 3 days (cook day + 2). Leftovers can also be frozen, just bear in mind they might go a little dry as any remaining sauce will cook up even further. You’ll need to defrost the meatballs for 24 hours in the fridge and reheat in the microwave, stirring halfway, until steaming hot all the way through (slice one in half to check).

More on safe food storage and reheating.

What diets is this recipe suitable for?

My Hoisin Honey Mustard Pork Meatballs are diary-free. Because of the shop-bought hoisin sauce, they are not suitable for nut-allergy suffers. And the binding agent for the pork mince is egg so they are not suitable for those with an egg allergy.

Adapting My Hoisin Honey Mustard Pork Meatballs For Your Family

Eating together is beneficial for families of all ages and stages, for a multitude of reasons; nutritional, behavioural, psychological and for healthy family functioning. This section will show you how to tweak this Hoisin Honey Mustard Pork Meatballs recipe for sharing with a weaning baby, toddler or a fussy eater, which will help make it easier to eat together as a family.

Keeping Picky Eaters Happy

If you have a fussy eater who has a sweet tooth and likes meatballs (both those apply to my fussy eater!), then these should be accepted no problem. Let them decide to add sesame seeds and spring onions if they want to themselves. And as these meatballs are so versatile, you can serve a veggie side you know they will actually eat.

Making My Hoisin Honey Mustard Pork Meatballs Suitable for Baby Weaning  

Because of the hoisin sauce and the honey, these meatballs are only suitable for 12 months+ as is. If you’d like to serve them to a younger baby, substitute the honey for agave and blot most of the sauce off their meatballs with a clean sheet of paper towel (so they aren’t getting much of the sugary salty sauce).

How to Serve to Babies & Toddlers 

6 - 12 months 

Slice their meatballs into thin slices and cut their vegetables appropriately to their age & stage. Serve on white rice.

12 months +

The meatballs and veggies can be chopped into small bite-size pieces and served with rice.

I’ve also added these notes to the bottom of the recipe so you have them to hand when you come to cook.

You Might Like…

Together to Eat is reader-supported. I may earn a small commission from anything bought through links found here.