Sweet Chili Sauce Turkey Meatballs Recipe
These juicy turkey meatballs are made with Thai flavors inside and finished in a flavorful sweet chili sauce. The turkey meatballs themselves feature flavors like garlic, fresh ginger, cilantro, and chives. Then, finished cooking in a sweet and slightly spicy sweet chili sauce.
Servings: 10 (Makes about 30-36 meatballs)
Calories: 206kcal
Ingredients
Turkey Meatballs:
- 2 lbs ground turkey 93/7% lean
- 1 small onion minced
- 6 garlic cloves pressed
- 2 tsp fresh grated ginger
- 2 large eggs
- 2 oz sliced bread* (1 or 2 slices depending on the bread)
- 2 tbsp milk to soak the bread
- 1 tsp coarse salt more or less to taste
- 1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes more or less to taste
- 1 tbsp cilantro minced
- 1/2 cup chives diced
Sweet Chili Sauce
- 12 oz sweet chili sauce
- 1 lime - juice only
- 1 tbsp cilantro minced
- 2 tbsp chives diced
- 1/2-1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
Instructions
- Whisk the ingredients for the sauce together and set it aside to use later.
- Make sure to squeeze all the milk out of the bread slices before adding to meatball mixture. Discard excess milk and crumble the bread into the meatball mixture. Combine all ingredients for meatballs in a bowl and mix thoroughly. Use a cookie scoop to get an even amount of meat mixture every time to make the meatballs all the same. PRO TIP: I like to use #40 cookie scoop.
- Grease your hands with a little oil and shape the meatballs. Roll all the meatballs first, before cooking, and place them on a parchment paper covered tray.
- Preheat a large, oven-safe pan, over medium heat and add oil. Add meatballs and cook them over medium heat for about 2 minutes on each side to give them a nice sear on the outside.
- Pour the sauce all over the meatballs and give them a gentle shake to mix well with sauce.
To finish meatballs in the oven:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and make sure you used an oven-safe pan to cook the meatballs. Transfer the pan into the oven and let the meatballs finish cooking for about 15-18 minutes.
To finish meatballs on stove-top:
- Lower the heat to medium-low and cover the pan with a lid. Let the meatballs cook in sauce for about 15 minutes. Make sure that the sauce is only gently simmering while cooking or lower the heat if needed.
Video
Notes
- *Gluten free notes: To make these meatballs gluten free you simply swap a regular slice of bread for gluten free bread. Sauce should be already gluten free but do double check the bottle label to make sure.
- Meatball mixture too soft? If you feel like your meatball mixture is too soft and you are having a hard time rolling the meatballs, you can do a couple of things to thicken it. Add about 1/4 to 1/3 cup or panko bread crumbs and mix well.
You also need to make sure to keep your hands greased. I like to keep a shallow dish with a tablespoon or so of oil in it to dip my hands after rolling every 2-3 meatballs.
Nutrition
Calories: 206kcal | Carbohydrates: 22g | Protein: 23g | Fat: 3g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 67mg | Sodium: 426mg | Potassium: 324mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 17g | Vitamin A: 220IU | Vitamin C: 4.9mg | Calcium: 33mg | Iron: 1.1mg