These delicious Sesame Ginger Chicken Meatballs are packed with flavor tossed in a sweet and sticky sauce. They come together quickly and are perfect for a quick weeknight dinner!
Why You’ll Love These Sesame Ginger Chicken Meatballs
They’re pretty easy to make – don’t be intimidated by the number of ingredients in this dish. These meatballs are packed with flavor but also pretty easy to make. Just make the meatball mixture, fry, and then make the sauce.
Packed with flavor – each and every ingredient in this recipe helps to pack in some serious flavor into every meatball.
Fun way to use ground chicken – I’m always looking for new ways to use ground chicken and I figure you might be, too! This is great recipe, with bold flavors, to add your ground chicken recipe repertoire.
Ground Chicken: you’ll need two pounds of ground chicken for this recipe. Dark ground chicken or leaner ground chicken breast will both work well.
Ginger: to really drive home that delicious ginger flavor we’re using fresh ginger in both the meatballs and the sauce.
Garlic: this is another key ingredient that really helps to pack a lot of flavor in the meatballs. You want to go with fresh garlic for this recipe and not pre-minced or powdered for the best flavor.
Green Onion & Cilantro: fresh green onion and cilantro are both added to the meatball mixture.
Sesame Oil: a little sesame oil gets added to both the meatballs and the sweet and sticky sauce to drive home that delicious sesame flavor.
Coconut Aminos: if you have never used coconut aminos before then this is a great first recipe to try them out! Coconut aminos are often used as a replacement for soy sauce but they are far less salty and slightly more sweet. This recipe was specifically designed to use coconut aminos so don’t replace them with soy sauce or liquid aminos or the dish will be too salty.
Pineapple Juice: this adds some delicious sweetness and flavor to the sauce.
Honey: to sweeten the sauce up just a bit more we’re adding just a bit of honey.
Fish Sauce: a small amount of fish sauce goes a long way to add some extra umami flavor to the sauce. If you can’t tolerate fish sauce then you can leave it out and try adding a small pinch of salt to the sauce instead.
Arrowroot Starch: arrowroot starch is a grain-free thickener very similar to cornstarch. We’re using just a small amount in this sauce to thicken it up so that it coats each meatball.
Ingredient Substitutions
Ground Chicken – you can swap the ground chicken for ground turkey if you prefer.
Honey – don’t have honey? swap it for maple syrup instead.
Pineapple Juice – orange juice can be used instead of pineapple juice if necessary.
Step One: Add the meatball ingredients to a small mixing bowl and use your hands to mix until well combined. Next, use a cookie dough scoop or tablespoon to scoop out the chicken mixture and use your hands to form into meatballs.
Step Two: When the meatballs are formed, heat a large skillet over medium heat and then add a tablespoon of oil. Next add the meatballs to the hot skillet and cook for roughly 3-4 minutes per side until browned and the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees Fahrenheit. You may have to do this in batches depending on the size of your skillet.
Step Three: While the meatballs are cooking, add all of the sauce ingredients to a mixing bowl or large measuring cup and whisk until well combined.
Step Four: Once all of the meatballs have been cooked and removed from the skillet, rinse and wipe out your skillet then return to the stove over medium heat.
Step Five: Add the sauce to the skillet. Bring the sauce to a boil and then reduce the heat to a simmer. Let the sauce simmer for 2-4 minutes, or until it has thickened and coats the back of a spoon.
Step Six: Return the meatballs to the skillet and simmer for another 1-2 minutes while stirring to ensure they are well coated in the sauce.
Step Seven: Serve the meatballs and sauce over white rice and garnished with cilantro, green onion, and sesame seeds.
Tips for Making Perfect Meatballs
When making the chicken meatballs try using a cookie dough scoop to scoop the ground chicken and then roll it in between your hands. This makes things forming the perfect meatballs much easier.
Ground chicken can get sticky so try lightly wetting your hands prior to rolling your meatballs to prevent the ground meat from sticking.
To prevent dry meatballs, and ensure everything is perfectly cooked, use a meat thermometer! You want your meatballs to reach an internal temperature of 165 degrees Farenheit.
Can I Bake These Meatballs?
Yes! If you prefer, you can easily bake the meatballs and make the sauce separately in a small sauce pot on the stove.
Baking Instructions: Place the meatballs on a parchment lined sheet pan that has been sprayed with avocado or olive oil. Bake the meatballs at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until their internal temperature reaches 165 degrees.
Meal Prep Tips
Meatballs: To save yourself some time in the future, try doing some meal prep and making a double batch of the meatball mixture. Before you scoop and roll, transfer the half of the sesame ginger meatball mixture to a freezer safe storage bag. Store in the freezer for up to three months.
When you are ready to make a batch of meatballs, remove the mixture from the freezer and let thaw in the fridge. Then, scoop, roll, and cook the meatballs according to the recipe instructions.
Sauce: When it comes to the sauce you can also do some prep in advance! Just add all of the sauce ingredients to an air-tight container and place in the fridge. When it’s time to make the sauce, just give it a stir before pouring it into the skillet to finish cooking.
How to Freeze and Reheat Cooked Meatballs
Cook: Scoop and roll the meatballs and then cook according to the recipe instructions. Once cooked transfer the meatballs to a freezer safe storage container and let them come to a complete cool. Once cool, transfer to the freezer for up to three months.
Reheat: Remove the meatballs from the freezer and place in an oven proof pan or dish. Cover with aluminum foil and bake at 300 degrees for 20-25 minutes until the meatballs are warmed through. Once the meatballs are hot, make the sauce and then toss everything together before serving.
Ways to Serve
These meatballs are pretty versatile and can be served a variety of ways. Here are a few of my favorite ways to enjoy these meatballs:
I hope you give these Sesame Ginger Chicken Meatballs a try! They’re flavorful and absolutely delicious! If you do give this recipe a try, let me know!
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Add the meatball ingredients to a small mixing bowl and use your hands to mix until well combined. Next, use a cookie dough scoop or tablespoon to scoop out the chicken mixture and use your hands to form into meatballs.
When the meatballs are formed, heat a large skillet over medium heat and then add a tablespoon of oil. Next add the meatballs to the hot skillet and cook for roughly 3-4 minutes per side until browned and the internal temperature reaches 165 degrees Fahrenheit. You may have to do this in batches depending on the size of your skillet.
While the meatballs are cooking, add all of the sauce ingredients to a mixing bowl or large measuring cup and whisk until well combined.
Once all of the meatballs have been cooked and removed from the skillet, rinse and wipe out your skillet then return to the stove over medium heat.
Add the sauce to the skillet. Bring the sauce to a boil and then reduce the heat to a simmer. Let the sauce simmer for 2-4 minutes, or until it has thickened and coats the back of a spoon.
Return the meatballs to the skillet and simmer for another 1-2 minutes while stirring to ensure they are well coated in the sauce.
Serve the meatballs and sauce over white rice and garnished with cilantro, green onion, and sesame seeds.
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These were super easy to meal prep! Also very delicious. Definitely adding these to our meal prep rotation.
★★★★★
This was delicious!! The whole family loved it especially my 2 year old. Can’t wait to make it again since there were no leftovers!
★★★★★