Sweet Chili Chicken Meatballs
These Sweet Chili Chicken Meatballs are easy and delicious! Make the Thai sweet chili sauce while the meatballs bake in the oven, or use premade sauce for an even easier meal!
Ingredients
For Meatballs:
- 1 lb ground chicken I use 95% lean. I don't recommend substituting ground turkey
- ½ cup panko breadcrumbs
- 4 green onions greens and whites sliced thin
- 1 large egg
- 1 tablespoon freshly minced garlic
- ½ tablespoon ginger paste or freshly minced ginger or sub ½ teaspoon powdered ginger
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
- 2 tablespoon soy sauce
For Thai Sweet Chili Sauce: (or sub premade)
- ¼ cup unseasoned rice vinegar
- ¼ cup white sugar
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1-2 teaspoon red pepper flakes 1 teaspoon for mild
- ~2-3 drops red food coloring optional
- ¼ cup warm water
For serving:
- 1 head green leaf or butter lettuce leaves washed and separated (optional)
- Toasted sesame seeds
- prepared white rice
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 F.
- Set aside some of the green onion greens for a garnish at the end, then combine all the meatball ingredients in a large bowl and mix until fully combined, but do not over mix (it will affect the texture).
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Measure out 1.5 tablespoon of the mixture, form it into a ball and place it on the baking sheet (I use a 1.5 tablespoon cookie scoop for this step). Repeat for all of the mix, you should get 18- 20 meatballs.
- Bake in the preheated oven until the meatballs cooked through and the outsides are just beginning to take on some color, about 20 minutes.
- While the meatballs bake, prepare the sweet chili sauce (or use store-bought sauce for an easier option). Combine the cornstarch with the warm water, mix until the cornstarch is fully dissolved. In a small saucepan, combine the cornstarch mixture and all the remaining sauce ingredients. Use 1 teaspoon chili flakes for mild (per batch), 2 teaspoon for medium (per batch), or more if you want it really spicy.
- Bring the sauce mixture to a boil over medium heat, then reduce to medium low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the sauce begins to thicken, about 10 minutes. Note, the mix will start out cloudy and become clear as it cooks.
- Allow the meatballs and sauce to cool for a few minutes after removing them from heat, then push all the meatballs together on the cookie sheet and drizzle the sauce over them. Toss to make sure they are covered all over in sauce. (Optionally, transfer the meatballs to a bowl for this step, but this is one more dish to clean!)
- Serve topped with green onion and toasted sesame seeds. Optionally, serve wrap style with green leaf or butter lettuce. Serve the lettuce on the side and wrap each meatball as you go to keep the lettuce from getting soggy. Great with a side of jasmine rice.
Notes
I have tested this recipe with ground turkey and I do not recommend it. It seems like that would be a great substitute, but I'm really not a fan of the texture of the turkey meatballs. I recommend 95% lean ground chicken or similar.
Nutrition
Serving: 5 meatballsCalories: 270kcal
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