Asian Turkey Meatballs

The best asian turkey meatballs recipe ever!! I’m telling you, this is the only meatball recipe you’ll ever need!
So BIG news. Ok wait wait don’t get your hopes up. It’s not that big of news, but I will say it was a super fun Sunday project and I’m keeping my fingers crossed and trying/hoping for the best, but only time will tell. Ready for it? Ready?
I made myself an herb garden. I know what you’re saying, “Lindsay. Ugh, Lindsay. Why. Why do you do this to yourself. You kill plants just by looking at them, how could you possibly think an herb garden is a good idea?!”
Here’s why: one day I bought a basil plant and I kept it alive for a whole week. It thrived. I mean, until I decided to pick a bunch of it for a recipe. It had a few rough days but I swear it’s recovering wonderfully. Anyway, my confidence went sky high from that basil and I concluded I needed an entire herb garden.
It makes me happy. Undoubtedly I will keep you updated and if you have ANY herb garden tips, please feel free to sound off below!
I’m on a quest to make allll types of meatballs. So far I have the best vegetarian meatballs around. I have some others in the lineup coming atchu soon, but for now I’d like to introduce you to your new favorite meatball. The meatball to end all meatballs.
I wish I could express my love for these meatballs. But, I cannot. You need to try them. I drool just thinking about them. They’re so delicious on top of some spaghetti, or veggie noodles like zoodles or spaghetti squash.
So let’s make some Asian Turkey Meatballs! I know you guys will love them as much as I do.
First, fork your ground turkey so it’s broken up. Does that make sense? Like smash it with your fork!
Then, add the onion, garlic, tamari (or soy sauce), hot sauce, sesame oil, sesame seeds, and egg. Use your fork to mix everything together. Fold in the cilantro.
Place a few tablespoons of coconut oil in a pan over medium-high heat. Make golf-sized balls from the meatball mixture and place them into the coconut oil. Fill the entire pan with balls, and turn down the heat to medium.
Use tongs to flip the balls after about 5 minutes. Cook another 5 minutes and flip again. Continue to turn the meatballs until they are cooked through, another 5-10 minutes. Turn down the heat a bit if they are too brown when you turn them.
In a small bowl, whisk together the avocado oil, tamari (or soy sauce), agave nectar (honey or maple syrup works), hot sauce, and sesame oil.
When you only have a few minutes left for cooking, pour the sauce over the meatballs and cook for 2-3 minutes, until the sauce reduces a bit.
Serve over noodles, zoodles, in a lettuce wrap, the list goes on!
Print
Asian Turkey Meatballs
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Prep Time: 10 mins
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Cook Time: 20 mins
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Total Time: 30 mins
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Yield: 16 1x
Description
The best asian turkey meatballs recipe ever!! I’m telling you, this is the only meatball recipe you’ll ever need!
Ingredients
- Meatballs:
- 1 lb. ground turkey
- 1/2 cup onion, finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tablespoon tamari (or soy sauce)
- 1 teaspoon hot sauce
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
- 1 egg
- handful cilantro, coarsely chopped
- 2 tablespoons refined coconut oil, for cooking
- additional sesame and chopped cilantro for topping
- Sauce:
- 1/4 cup avocado oil
- 2 tablespoons tamari (or soy sauce)
- 1 tablespoon agave nectar
- 1 teaspoon hot sauce
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
Instructions
- First, in a medium bowl, smash your ground turkey with a fork so it’s broken up.
- Then, add the onion, garlic, tamari (or soy sauce), hot sauce, sesame oil, sesame seeds, and egg.
- Use your fork to mix everything together.
- Fold in the cilantro.
- Place a few tablespoons of coconut oil in a pan over medium-high heat.
- Make golf-sized balls from the meatball mixture and place them into the coconut oil.
- Fill the entire pan with balls, and turn down the heat to medium.
- Use tongs to flip the balls after about 5 minutes.
- Cook another 3 – 5 minutes and flip again.
- Continue to turn the meatballs until they are cooked through, another 5-10 minutes. Turn down the heat a bit if they are too brown when you turn them.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the avocado oil, tamari (or soy sauce), agave nectar (honey or maple syrup works), hot sauce, and sesame oil.
- When you only have a few minutes left for cooking, pour the sauce over the meatballs and cook the remaining 2-3 minutes, until the sauce reduces a bit.
- Serve over noodles, zoodles, in a lettuce wrap, the list goes on!
- Sprinkle with additional sesame seeds and cilantro as wanted.
Notes
Serving (4 meatballs): Calories 369; Fat 22.7g (Sat 6.6g); Protein 37.3g; Carb 8.8g (net carb 7.6g); Fiber 1.2g; Sodium 2464mg
Enjoy!! xo
Yum! x
Izzy |https://pinchofdelight.wordpress.com
I wanted to love these but they were so salty! Maybe because I used liquid aminos? I’ll definitely make again because they were so moist and easy to make but maybe I’ll leave out the soy sauce/aminos in the actual meatballs and only do in the sauce. Your blog is great, keep the recipes coming. 🙂
Hi Katie!
Thank you so much!! I’m bummed they were too salty for you! I think definitely leave it out of the meatballs next time and maybe scale back the sauce a bit. I also like salty food, so it could be a personal preference too. I’ve never worked with liquid aminos (I’ve been meaning to try it). I checked online and liquid aminos has a bit more sodium content then soy sauce, so that could be another factor. Anyway, thanks so much for the feedback, I’ll definitely include a note in the recipe for others!
xo
Ohhh makes sense! I’ll definitely try less then. Thanks so much for the response, can’t wait to try more. 🙂
Could you bake these in the oven? If so, what would you recommend?
Hi Lizzy!
You can probably bake them, maybe try 400F for 20ish minutes, turning halfway through? Let me know how you make out, I’d love to hear how they turn out when they’re baked! xo
I’m trying these now – I’m adding water chestnuts too. There was a recipe for Asian Turkey meatballs that I used to make that included them and the crunch was fab. (so why aren’t you doing that recipe? the world asks. Cuz I can’t find it. lol) Thank you for this recipe! Yay for turkey meatballs!
Love the idea of adding water chestnuts!! Hope you loved them!! xo
Yes! I’ll be trying these! I’ve been wanting to try meatballs. What kind of pan do you use?
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