Todays recipe is a combination of sweet and spice! These teriyaki turkey meatballs are juicy and bursting with flavor. To top it all off they are coated in a sweet/spicy sticky teriyaki glaze!
These meatballs come together super quickly, which makes it perfect for a busy weeknight dinner for the fam. I served these teriyaki turkey meatballs over some brown rice and broccoli. These can also be served on their own for a delicious appetizer or thrown with some noodles to make a teriyaki noodle dish. The options are endless when it comes to pairing this recipe.
How do I cook these turkey meatballs?
These are many ways to cook these meatballs!
- Oven: I choose to bake them in the oven because it is super to toss the meatballs onto a baking sheet and into the oven. Bake them at 425F for 20 minutes!
- Skillet: You can also cook them in a skillet with a thin layer of olive oil. Cook each side of the meatball until they are crisp and golden.
- Slow cooker: If you don’t have time to pay attention to these meatball, you can throw them into a slow cooker with the sauce and cook on low for 6 hours or high for 4 hours. This way you can just leave them to cook, go about your day, then come back to a batch meatballs that are ready to eat!
Key ingredients for these spicy teriyaki turkey meatballs:
- Ground turkey
- I used 93% lean and 7% fat ground turkey, and found that these meatballs stayed together very well and stayed juicy after baking! You can also sub with ground beef or chicken!
- Egg white
- I only used the white of the egg because I find that using the yolk makes the turkey mixture too sticky and it is super hard form them into meatballs.
- Scallions
- I added the scallion whites to the ground turkey mixture and saved the green part to top the dish.
- Spices and herbs
- I seasoned my meatballs with salt, white pepper, grated ginger, soy sauce, and siracha.
- Panko bread crumbs
- I find that some sort of bread crumbs is necessary to keep the meatballs juicy. The bread crumbs soak up the juice while the meat balls are baking, and once you bite into them they release all the juice! I used panko bread crumbs but you can also sub with crushed up Simple Mills almond flour crackers if you are gluten free.
- Soy sauce
- I added soy sauce to the meatballs and sauce. It is such a staple in Asian cooking, and it adds such a yummy umami flavor to any dish!
- Szechuan peppercorns
- This makes this recipe super special! Szechuan peppercorns are a super intense flavor that has a slight numbing effect. If you don’t have this just use black pepper. I found a good one from Amazon!
- Chili flakes
- I used a lot of red chili flakes because I like my dishes spicy. However, you can add as much as you like.
- Black vinegar
- $I love using black vinegar in Asian cooking because it tends to have a stronger umami flavor compared to other vinegars. I also like the deep color it adds. You can find this in most grocery stores now, but I love this one from Amazon!
- Corn starch
- Mix 1 tbsp of corn starch with 1 tbsp of water then add it to the sauce while it is still cooking. The cornstarch slurry needs to be hot for it to thicken.
- Honey
- I added a dash of honey to give these meatballs a subtle sweetness. You can also use brown sugar or agave nectar!
Spicy Teriyaki Turkey Meatballs
This recipe is a combination of sweet and spicy! I am amazed by the burst of flavor each meat ball has, and I know you guys will be too!
Ingredients
Meatballs
- 1 lb ground turkey
- 1 egg white
- 1 stalk scallion minced
- ½ inch grated ginger
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- ½ tbsp siracha
- ¼ tsp white pepper
- ½ tsp salt
- ⅓ cup panko bread crumbs if gluten free use almond flour crackers
Sauce
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 stalk scallion minced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 3 ½ in sliced of ginger
- 1 tsp Szechuan peppercorns or black pepper
- 1 tsp chili flakes
- 1 tsp black vinegar or rice vinegar
- ½ cup water
- 1 tbsp corn starch + 1 tbsp water
- 1 tbsp honey
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425F.
- In a large mixing bowl combine all the meatball ingredients. Do not over mix or else the meat ball will become tough.
- Roll the ground turkey mixture into golf ball size meatballs and place onto a lined baking sheet. Then spray the meat balls with some olive oil.
- Bake the meat balls for 15 minutes.
- While the meatballs are baking, make the sweet and spicy sauce. In a large skillet heat up some olive oil. Once the oil has heated up add in the Szechuan peppercorns and red chili flakes. Let the spices toast for 1 minute.
- Now add the garlic, scallions, and ginger. Sauté until fragrant, then add the soy sauce, black vinegar, water and honey. Lastly, add the mixture of cornstarch and water to thicken the sauce.
- Once the meat balls are done baking, add them to the sauce and make sure they are well coated.
- Serve with some rice and your favorite vegetables!
