Asian Chicken Meatballs
You’ll love these delicious Asian Chicken Meatballs! Seasoned ground chicken meatballs, nestled in a quick and easy Hoisin/Honey glaze. They’re ready in about 25-minutes and can be served as an appetizer, or as an entree with noodles or rice.
This recipe makes a quick and easy dinner and they can be made in advance and frozen for future quick meals.
Ingredients for Asian Chicken Meatballs
- Ground chicken – lean ground chicken is a nice alternative to traditional beef or pork meatballs
- Breadcrumbs – I recommend using Panko breadcrumbs, but you can use traditional ground breadcrumbs for your chicken meatballs if you like
- Egg – one large egg binds all the ingredients together
- Garlic – I used minced garlic from the jar; you can substitute with fresh garlic if you prefer – you’ll need about 1-2 teaspoons of fresh
- Ginger – fresh grated ginger works best for this Asian dish
- Sesame oil – just a few tablespoons for both the chicken mixture and the asian inspired sesame glaze
- Onion powder
- Red pepper flakes – this recipe just uses a little to give a pinch of heat to the dish; you can omit if you don’t like any heaat
- Green onions – chopped scallions – a little in the chicken mixture and a little for garnish
- Sesame seeds – you can use regular, or toasted sesame seeds
Ingredients for the glaze or sauce
If you have sauce paranoia, do not fret over making this quick 5-minute Asian-inspired sauce! It’s super easy and takes no time at all.
- Soy sauce – regular or low-sodium soy sauce
- Honey
- Rice vinegar
- Sesame oil
- Hoisin sauce
- Brown sugar – light brown sugar or dark brown sugar (not pictured)
- Cornstarch – cornstarch thickens the honey-sesame glaze and gives it a nice translucsent sheen for a lovely presentation
How to make Asian Chicken Meatballs
For exact step-by-step instructions, please refer to the recipe card below. This is an overview of how to make the meatballs and sauce. The easiest way to form meatballs is to use a 1″ inch ice cream scoop. If you don’t have one, use a big tablespoon.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the ground chicken, egg, breadcrumbs, Hoisin sauce, garlic, sesame oil, onion powder, minced green onions, red pepper flakes, salt and ground black pepper. Combine well and form into 1″ inch balls.
- Place chicken meatballs on a parchment lined baking pan or, you can lightly oil the baking pan
- Cook in a 400°F oven on the middle rack for 25-30 minutes, until the internal temperature reaches 165°F.
Meanwhile, make the sauce.
In a medium saucepan on medium-heat, combine soy sauce and cornstarch; whisk constantly until it reaches a smooth consistency. Remove from heat, add honey, rice vinegar, sesame oil, hoisin and brown sugar; return to stovetop on low heat and cook for about 3 minutes.
Recipe tips
- Do the prep work first – chop onions, grate ginger, beat egg – makes this go a lot faster and saves time
- If you want meatballs that are slightly crunchy on the outside, allow them to bake for 5-8 minutes longer
- When making the honey/sesame glaze, the soy sauce and cornstarch thicken FAST! Remove the saucepan from the heat as soon as it starts to thicken, turn the stovetop down to low, add remaining ingredients off-heat, then return to low-heat
Serving suggestions
Serve the Asian chicken meatballs over prepared rice noodles or a flavorful Basmati rice, then drizzle the sauce over the dish, garnish with sesame seeds and chopped green onions and enjoy!
If you’re serving these meatballs as an appetizer, I recommend pouring the sauce into a chafing dish or slower cooker, add the meatballs, and provide your guests with skewers or bamboo sticks for self-serve.
This dish pairs well with homemade wonton soup, a crunchy Asian salad, steamed edamame, spring rolls, egg rolls or potstickers!
Make ahead and storage
Asian chicken meatballs can be frozen in an airtight container for up to 3 months. When ready to serve, allow them to thaw in the refrigerator first, then place them in a single layer on a baking sheet and bake according to recipe. The sauce and meatballs can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 3-5 days.
These easy and delicious Asian Chicken Meatballs are a great way to get dinner on the table fast with minimal meal prep!
More Asian-Inspired Recipes
Asian Chicken Meatballs
Equipment
- Meat thermometer
- Parchment paper
- whisk
Ingredients
Meatball Ingredients
- 1 pound ground chicken
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten
- ¾ cup Panko breadcrumbs
- ¼ cup Hoisin suace
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 tablespoon finely diced green onion (about two green onions)
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 large lime (squeeze a few drops over finished dish before serving)
- 1 tablespoon sesame seeds for garnish (optional)
- extra chopped green onion for garnish (optional)
Sauce Ingredients
- ½ cup soy sauce
- 4 teaspoons cornstarch
- ½ cup honey
- ½ cup rice vinegar
- 2 teaspoons sesame oil
- 2 tablespoons Hoisin sauce
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
Instructions
- Prep:Preheat oven to 400°F; place parchment paper on large baking dish; lightly beat egg and set aside; chop green onions, grate ginger, measure spices and liquids- set all aside1 large egg, lightly beaten, 1 tablespoon finely diced green onion (about two green onions)
Make the Meatballs
- In a large mixing bowl, combine ground chicken and meatball ingredients (except for the sesame seeds); scoop out a tablespoon or two of the chicken mixture and form into a 1" inch ball. Place on parchment sheet; repeat until all of the mixture has been formed into meatballs1 pound ground chicken, ¾ cup Panko breadcrumbs, ¼ cup Hoisin suace, 1 teaspoon minced garlic, 2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger, 1 teaspoon sesame oil, 1 teaspoon onion powder, ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional), ¼ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper, 1 large egg, lightly beaten
- Bake @400°F on the middle rack for 20-30 minutes until the internal temperature reaches 165°F (see recipe notes)
Make the Sauce (yield: 1½ cups)
- In a medium sized saucepan, on medium-heat, combine soy sauce and cornstarch, whisking continuously until smooth. (Be careful! This thickens FAST!)½ cup soy sauce, 4 teaspoons cornstarch
- Remove the pan from the stovetop and add remaining sauce ingredients, whisking continuously; return to stove on low heat for about 3 minutes½ cup honey, ½ cup rice vinegar, 2 teaspoons sesame oil, 2 tablespoons Hoisin sauce, 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- Once the sauce is done, you can either plate the chicken meatballs over noodles or rice and drizzle the sauce over them or, put a few meatballs in the saucepan with the sauce, coat them well with a spoon, then plate. Garnish with sesame seeds and green onions (optional). Finish with a light squeeze of lime juice and enjoy! (See recipe notes for serving suggestions)1 large lime (squeeze a few drops over finished dish before serving), 1 tablespoon sesame seeds for garnish (optional), extra chopped green onion for garnish (optional)
Notes
- Bake the meatballs 20-25 minutes for juicy tender meatballs; if you want them a little crispy on the outside, bake them about 5-10 more minutes. The internal temperature should be 165°F.
- Soy sauce and hoisin sauce are inherently salty; add salt LAST if you need a little more:)
- The sauce recipe makes about 1½ cups, which is more than enough to coat the meatballs and drizzle over rice or noodles
