Savor Pork Meatballs with Sweet Potato Mash & Bourbon-Maple Sauce
This cozy, crowd-pleasing weeknight dinner features juicy pork meatballs served over creamy sweet potato mash with a sticky bourbon-maple sauce.
Ingredients
Protein
- 1 lb ground pork
- 1/4 cup breadcrumbs
- 1 egg, beaten
Aromatics & Veg
- 1 small onion, finely grated
- 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
Spices & Seasoning
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon dried sage
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Sweet Potato Mash
- 2 pound sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
- 2 tablespoon butter
- 1/4 cup heavy cream
- to taste salt and pepper
Bourbon-Maple Sauce
- 1/4 cup bourbon
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 2 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
Instructions
Preparation
- Boil the sweet potatoes in salted water until fork-tender, 15–20 minutes; drain and mash with butter, heavy cream, salt, and pepper. Keep warm.
- In a large bowl, gently mix ground pork, breadcrumbs, grated onion, garlic, smoked paprika, sage, salt, pepper, and beaten egg until just combined; shape into 16–20 meatballs (~1.5" each).
Cooking
- Heat a skillet over medium-high with a splash of oil; brown the meatballs on all sides, about 6–8 minutes, then remove and set aside.
- Carefully add bourbon to the hot skillet and simmer for 30 seconds to burn off alcohol. Whisk in maple syrup, soy sauce, Dijon, chicken broth, and tomato paste; bring to a boil.
- Reduce heat to low, return meatballs to the skillet, and simmer for 10–12 minutes, turning occasionally, until cooked through and sauce thickens.
- Plate the sweet potato mash, top with pork meatballs, and spoon the bourbon-maple sauce over everything. Garnish with fresh sage or parsley if desired.
Notes
Don’t overmix the meat; browning builds flavor. For even cooking, make meatballs uniform in size. Swap bourbon for apple cider for a kid-friendly glaze.