An easy recipe for delicious, well-seasoned beef Asian meatballs with a marvelous sauce – sticky, with just a hint of sweetness, and very flavorful.
These meatballs are the best! They combine the fun of eating meatballs with the extra fun of a sweet, sticky sauce. My kids adore them and love helping me make them.
But just as importantly, the grownups love Asian meatballs too! Their flavor is quite complex and sophisticated, and they are not overly sweet.
Meatballs are fun!
Eating meatballs is so much fun, don’t you think? Delightful little morsels of meat, so flavorful, easy to make and even easier to enjoy. And I especially love the flavor of these.
The meatballs themselves are very well seasoned and just delicious. And the Asian-style glaze is marvelous – sticky, just a little sweet, and very, very flavorful.
The ingredients you’ll need
Here’s a list of the ingredients you’ll need to make Asian meatballs. The exact measurements are listed in the recipe card below:
Ground beef: I like to use lean ground beef in this recipe (85/15). I find that leaner than that tends to be a bit on the dry side.
Cilantro: If you dislike cilantro, you can use parsley instead. Though it really does add a unique flavor to the beef. However, if you’re out of fresh herbs, you can simply use dried spices.
In the video below, I used what I had on hand, which was garlic powder, onion powder, black pepper, and red pepper flakes. So as you can see, even when I make my own recipes I tweak them according to what I have.
Garlic and ginger: You can mince them yourself, or be as lazy as I usually am and use the stuff that comes in a jar. I was happy to read that both ginger and garlic are good for you.
Red pepper flakes: They don’t make the meatballs super spicy – they merely add a hint of spice.
Soy sauce: I use reduced-sodium soy sauce in most of my recipes. If you need this recipe to be gluten-free, feel free to use a gluten-free alternative.
Sesame oil: Toasted sesame oil is very flavorful. If you’d rather avoid heating sesame oil, you can simply omit it.
Cornstarch: Just a little to thicken the sauce.
Honey: Only 1 tablespoon. The sauce is not very sweet, and the dish remains fairly low in carbs (7g per serving).
Hot sauce: Just 1 teaspoon, to add just a hint of spice without overwhelming the dish.
How to make Asian meatballs
It’s so easy! Scroll down to the recipe card for the detailed instructions. Here are the basic steps:
1. Start by mixing the meatballs ingredients and shaping the mixture into 24 small meatballs.
2. Bake them for 10 minutes at 400°F.
3. While they bake, heat the sauce ingredients in a saucepan until they thicken. Turn the heat off as soon as the sauce thickens but leave it on the burner to keep it warm.
4. Using tongs or a slotted spoon, add the meatballs to the sauce and turn to coat.
What side dishes go with them?
You can serve them over rice, cauliflower rice, or spaghetti squash. They are also very good with shirataki noodles and with cauliflower fried rice.
When I serve these Asian meatballs over spaghetti squash, I give the entire dish an Asian flavor by cooking a small spaghetti squash in the microwave, then sauteing the spaghetti squash strands in a large skillet.
I add a little bit of avocado oil, 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, a little black pepper, 1 teaspoon garlic, 1 teaspoon ginger, and – off heat – 1 teaspoon sesame oil.
What about leftovers?
You can keep the leftovers in the fridge, in an airtight container, for 3-4 days. Reheat them gently, in the microwave on 50% power. They are also good cold! I love to snack on them.
More meatball recipes that you might enjoy
I have many excellent recipes for meatballs. Cheese-stuffed meatballs, spicy meatballs, and pork meatballs are just a few of the recipes I prepare regularly for my family.
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Asian Meatballs
INGREDIENTS
Meatballs:
- 1 lb. lean ground beef
- 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
- 1 teaspoon minced fresh garlic
- 1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger root
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 tablespoon light soy sauce (or use a gluten-free alternative and add salt as needed)
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
Sauce:
- 1/4 cup light soy sauce (or use a gluten-free alternative and add salt as needed)
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 teaspoon hot sauce
- 1 teaspoon minced fresh garlic
- 1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger root
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Place the meatballs ingredients in a medium bowl and use your hands to combine them. Shape into 24 meatballs, each weighing about 20 grams.
- Arrange the meatballs on the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, prepare the sauce. In a medium saucepan, whisk together the soy sauce and cornstarch. Gradually whisk in the remaining ingredients, except for the sesame oil, until well-combined.
- Heat over medium heat, whisking constantly until the sauce thickens into a rich glaze. This should take 3-5 minutes. Turn the heat off as soon as the sauce thickens but leave it on the cooling burner. Stir in the sesame oil.
- Using a slotted spoon or tongs, transfer the baked meatballs into the saucepan. Gently turn them in the sauce until well-coated. Serve immediately.
WATCH THE VIDEO:
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Vered DeLeeuw, LL.M., CNC, has been following a low-carb real-food diet and blogging about it since 2011. She's a Certified Nutrition Coach (NASM-CNC), has taken courses at the Harvard School of Public Health, and has earned a Nutrition and Healthy Living Certificate from Cornell University. Her work has appeared in several major media outlets, including Healthline, HuffPost, Today, Women's Health, Shape, Reader's Digest, and Better Homes and Gardens.