Tender ground beef meatballs braised in a tangy-sweet apple cider and mustard glaze with warm spices.
Brown meatballs in batches if needed to avoid crowding the pan and ensure even browning. The glaze will reduce and thicken as it simmers; stir occasionally to coat meatballs evenly.
Do not overwork the meatball mixture; gently fold ingredients together to keep meatballs tender. For deeper flavor, use unfiltered apple cider; filtered cider works but is milder.
Ingredients
Scale
Measurement units
- 1 ½ lb ground beef
- ½ cup panko breadcrumbs
- 1 egg
- ¼ cup onion
- 2 garlic cloves
- ¾ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- 1 ½ cup apple cider (unfiltered or filtered)
- 3 tbsp whole grain mustard
- 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
- ½ tsp ground ginger
- ¼ tsp ground cinnamon
- 2 sprigs fresh thyme
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil (for browning)
Ingredients
Scale
Measurement units
- 1 ½ lb ground beef
- ½ cup panko breadcrumbs
- 1 egg
- ¼ cup onion
- 2 garlic cloves
- ¾ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- 1 ½ cup apple cider (unfiltered or filtered)
- 3 tbsp whole grain mustard
- 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
- ½ tsp ground ginger
- ¼ tsp ground cinnamon
- 2 sprigs fresh thyme
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil (for browning)
Instructions
Prepare the meatball mixture
In a large mixing bowl, combine ground beef (1 ½ pound), panko breadcrumbs (½ cup), 1 large egg, 0.25 cup minced onion (¼ cup), 2 minced garlic cloves, salt (¾ teaspoon), and black pepper (¼ teaspoon).
Gently fold the mixture together with your hands until just combined; do not overwork.
Roll into 24 meatballs, each about 1.5 inches in diameter.
Equipment: large mixing bowl, small bowl, instant-read thermometer
Brown the meatballs
Heat vegetable oil (2 tablespoon) in a large skillet or Dutch oven over medium-high heat until shimmering.
Working in batches to avoid crowding, add meatballs and brown on all sides, about 8–10 minutes total per batch.
Transfer browned meatballs to a plate.
Equipment: large skillet or Dutch oven
Make the apple cider glaze
In a small bowl, whisk together apple cider (1 ½ cup), whole grain mustard (3 tablespoon), apple cider vinegar (2 tablespoon), brown sugar (2 tablespoon), Dijon mustard (1 tablespoon), ground ginger (½ teaspoon), and ground cinnamon (¼ teaspoon) until smooth.
Equipment: small bowl, whisk, large mixing bowl
Braise the meatballs in glaze
Pour the glaze into the skillet and add 2 sprigs fresh thyme (2 sprigs).
Return all meatballs to the skillet, nestling them into the glaze.
Bring to a simmer, then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer uncovered for 15–18 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the glaze thickens and coats the meatballs.
Remove thyme sprigs and serve warm.
Equipment: large skillet or Dutch oven
Before you cook
Cook notes
- • Do not overwork the meatball mixture; gently fold ingredients together to keep meatballs tender.
- • Brown meatballs in batches if needed to avoid crowding the pan and ensure even browning.
- • The glaze will reduce and thicken as it simmers; stir occasionally to coat meatballs evenly.
- • Make ahead: form and refrigerate meatballs up to 4 hours before browning, or freeze unbaked up to 1 month.
- • Serve warm in a slow cooker on low heat to keep meatballs tender during entertaining.
- • For deeper flavor, use unfiltered apple cider; filtered cider works but is milder.
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