Your Meatball Recipe Needs A Splash Of This Soda (Yes, We're Serious)

One of the best things about making meatballs is that the dish has countless unique recipe variations to choose from. While classic Italian meatballs might be the most common, straying from that standard to make them even better has proven to be liberating for many looking for new meaty dishes to enjoy. Perhaps the most interesting take on meatballs is the subgenre of sweet meatballs — a dish that is arguably at its very best when made using Dr. Pepper to give it a truly unforgettable flavor. 

The way this is typically done is by cooking the meatballs in a sauce that includes a mix of Dr. Pepper, Worcestershire sauce, ketchup, and tomato paste, along with seasonings like salt, pepper, onion powder, and potentially brown sugar if you want them to have an even sweeter taste. The thing about Dr. Pepper meatballs is that, while the soda gives a great sweetness to the meat itself, its spicy, peppery notes also work incredibly well to prop up the savory flavors you want it to have. This is why several barbecue sauces utilize the soda to great effect. Dr. Pepper is meat's best friend, regardless of whether you're drinking it or using it as a glaze or sauce.

With how great Dr. Pepper is for your meatball sauce, you might be wondering if any other sodas would merit similarly great results for the dish. Well, some people do use Coca-Cola in a similar way to Dr. Pepper when making meatballs, but this does result in them not having the additional spice or peppery taste that makes Dr. Pepper meatballs so special. However, this swap is great for those who want meatballs with a more straightforward sweetness and who are willing to sacrifice the more complex taste to achieve it.

Alternatively, many jellies, jams, or fruit sauces work incredibly well to make your meatballs even sweeter and more delicious without needing to use a soda and everything that comes with it. If you want a similarly varied taste for your meatballs to what Dr. Pepper provides, using pepper jelly for meatball glaze can do just that. However, if you are looking for a sweeter and sour taste, cranberry sauce is among the very best ingredients for making sweet meatballs at home.