Healthy Korean Meatballs
Craving a flavorful twist on traditional meatballs? These Korean Turkey Meatballs pack a punch of flavor, with the perfect balance of spice from gochujang and a touch of sweetness from honey. Whether you're looking for a quick weeknight dinner or a family-friendly meal that’s sure to impress, this recipe comes together in under 45 minutes and delivers big on taste.
Serve these meatballs with fluffy jasmine rice, or opt for cauliflower rice for a low-carb option – either way, you’ve got a meal that’s both healthy and delicious! Top the meatballs with sesame seeds for an extra touch and a crunchy taste.
• Family friendly recipe: My family loved this recipe – we all cleared our plates, including my teen!
• Serving size: 4-5 (makes about 13 meatballs)
• Serving suggestions: Serve with Jasmine rice or cauliflower rice for a low-carb option and top with sesame seeds
• Difficulty level: Intermediate
• Total cook time: 45 minutes
Why You Will Love This Easy Turkey Meatball Recipe
This recipe is a hit with my family – we all cleared our plates (including my teen!) and it’s quick enough to be a weeknight dinner but special enough to feel like a treat. These meatballs are filling, delicious, filled my craving, and are family-friendly - especially if you love Asian-style meals. Top it off with sesame seeds and green onions for an extra, flavorful crunch.
I always look for ways to make comfort food healthier which is why I swapped out ground beef for ground turkey (lower in saturated fat, good source of protein, and typically lower in calories) and used a lower sodium soy sauce. With Kevin and I focusing on our health, we try to remove or eliminate additional sodium when possible and focus on high protein and high fiber.
We also enjoy Asian-style meals. I love creating meals like this one where it tastes just as good (if not better than) as takeout, but at half the cost. I am also going through a diet lifestyle change so I'm trying to replace and substitute for healthier alternatives when and where I can. Although I'm not usually a big fan of ground turkey, this meal hit the spot and with all of the seasonings, sauces, and breadcrumbs, it didn't lack flavor.
Enjoy this recipe as a weeknight meal, a weekend splurge, football Sundays, game day, or for holidays like Mother's Day, Father's Day, or Christmas.
If You Love Asian-Style Meals, You May Want to Try
Easy Chicken Hibachi Bowl
Easy Chicken Lo Mein
Crispy Sweet Chili.
How to Customize Meatballs
Spice lover: The meatballs had a little kick to them because of the gochujang sauce so if you want it less spicy, you can use less sauce. I'm not much of a spice person and the amount we added was the perfect amount of spice for me. You can also add crushed red pepper flakes for an additional kick.
Also, having it with rice also offset the spice as well.
Customizations we made: This recipe was inspired by What's Gaby Cooking. We used garlic powder instead of garlic, ground ginger instead of chopped ginger, removed the cilantro, and used seasoned vinegar instead of rice wine vinegar. I also didn't make the salad or Vinaigrette.
Ingredients for Healthy Korean Meatballs:
*This post contains affiliate links. I may receive a small commission if you purchase using any of my links. For more information, please read our Privacy Policy and Terms of Service.
• 1 pound ground turkey (93/7, or if you choose ground beef, I recommend 85/15 or 90/10)
• 1 egg
• *2 tbsp soy sauce (this one is Less Sodium for a healthier alternative)
• 1 tbsp garlic powder
• 1 tbsp ground ginger
• *4 tbsp gochujang (for a moderate spicy kick)
• *1/4 cup Italian breadcrumbs
• 2 tbsp honey
• 1 tbsp seasoned vinegar
• 1 tbsp sesame seeds
• Green onions, can add if you would like (we added in some for me and none for Jace)
Directions for Healthy Korean Meatballs:
Step #1 Heat oven to 350 degrees and spray a baking sheet with PAM or cooking spray.
Step #2 In a bowl, combine the ground turkey, egg, 1 tbsp soy sauce, garlic powder, ground ginger, 2 tbsp gochujang, breadcrumbs, and if you would like to add the green onions, you can do that as well.
Step #3 Use your hands and mix everything together and form meatballs, adding them one-by-one to the baking sheet. I was able to make about 13.
Step #4 In a small bowl, add the two tbsp remaining gochujang, remaining 1 tbsp soy sauce, honey and seasoned vinegar and whisk until combined.
Step #5 Take each meatball and add it to the bowl until it's covered in the sauce. Add it back to the baking sheet.
Step #6 Bake meatballs for 25 minutes. Use a fork and turn them all upside down and cook them for another 5 minutes.
Storage & Reheating Tip:
If you have any leftover, you can refrigerate it in a sealed plastic container for up to three days. Reheat in the microwave for 2 minutes or until warm.
Share On Pinterest
Did you make this recipe? If you loved it as much as we did, please share on Pinterest or Instagram and use the hashtag #savvywithabbie for a chance to be featured!
You can also comment below and let me know what variations you added, how you customized it, or what cooking methods you used.
Comments
Post a Comment