An easy recipe for delicious, well-seasoned healthy beef Asian meatballs with a marvelous sauce – sticky, with just a hint of sweetness, and very flavorful.
Asian meatballs are the best. They combine the fun of eating meatballs with the extra fun of a sweet, sticky sauce. My kids adore them, but the grownups love them too!
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 beef Asian meatballs. 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.
Are these Asian meatballs healthy?
I believe they are. Beef is nutritious, and the many spices used here are very healthy. It’s true that soy sauce is not paleo, but after reading about it, I’ve come to the conclusion that I actually don’t mind it in moderation. And the sauce has just a hint of sweetness because I wanted to keep these meatballs low carb. And also because I simply don’t like very sweet sauces on savory food.
What side dishes go with Asian meatballs?
Serve these Asian meatballs over rice, cauliflower rice, or spaghetti squash. 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, in a little bit of avocado oil, adding 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?
Keep leftovers of these Asian meatballs 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!
More meatball recipes you might enjoy
I have many excellent recipes for meatballs. Cheese-stuffed meatballs, spicy meatballs, and pork meatballs are just a few of the meatballs I prepare regularly.
Asian Meatballs
INGREDIENTS
Meatballs:
- 1 lb. lean ground beef
- 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon minced ginger root
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
Sauce:
- 1/4 cup light soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch (use organic to avoid GMOs)
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 teaspoon hot sauce
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon minced ginger root
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Place the meatballs ingredients in a medium bowl and use your hands to combine. Shape into 24 meatballs, each weighing about 20 grams. Bake 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, 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, about 5 minutes. Reduce heat to low and stir in the sesame oil.
- Transfer the baked meatballs into the saucepan. Gently turn them in the sauce until well-coated. Serve immediately.
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Vered DeLeeuw, LL.M., has been following a healthy real-food diet and blogging about it since 2011. She has taken 