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These Chicken and Scallion “Dumpling” Meatballs with Chili-Sesame Drizzle bring all the flavors of your favorite dumplings (think: ginger, garlic, and scallions) without the fuss of folding. They’re perfect for game day nibbling or meal prep.
I think we can all agree that there’s nothing worse than a dry meatball. Fortunately, these meatballs stay tender and juicy thanks to dark meat chicken, which doesn’t dry out nearly as easily as regular ground chicken. A little tapioca or cornstarch gives them that beloved dumpling bounce, which helps set them apart from other chicken meatballs. Bonus: the dipping sauce is sweet-spicy-savory magic and comes together in under a minute.
Set them out with toothpicks and the sesame-chili drizzle, and watch them disappear fast. They’re bite-sized, bold, and wildly crowd-pleasing, making them an ideal Super Bowl Sunday appetizer.
Want to turn them into a meal? Serve the meatballs over steamed rice with roasted broccoli and an extra drizzle of the sesame-chili sauce for a quick, flavor-packed dinner.
Ingredients:
- Avocado Oil
- Ground Dark Meat Chicken
- Scallions
- Fresh Cilantro
- Garlic Cloves
- Fresh Ginger
- Toasted Sesame Oil
- Sichuan Chili Crisp
- Tamari or Soy Sauce
- Kosher Salt
- Ground White Pepper
- Large Egg
- Tapioca Flour
- Toasted Sesame Seeds
- Honey
Step-by-Step:
step one: preheat the oven and prepare the baking sheet
Arrange the rack in the top position and preheat the oven to 425°F. Drizzle the avocado oil on a large baking sheet and brush it to evenly coat the bottom of the baking sheet. Set aside.
step two: make the meatball mixture
In a large bowl, add the ground chicken, scallions, cilantro, garlic, ginger, sesame oil, chili crisp, tamari (or soy sauce), salt, white pepper, egg, and tapioca flour. Using your hands, mix until well combined. The chicken should be a paste-like consistency.
step three: form and shape the meatballs
Using a small cookie scoop (about 1 tablespoon), scoop the meat mixture into small balls and place onto the prepared baking sheet. Using damp hands, roll the balls into clean, uniform meatballs. Leaving them a little jagged is okay too!
step four: bake the meatballs
Transfer to the oven and bake until golden and cooked through, about 15 minutes.
step five: make the sesame-chili dipping sauce
In a small bowl, add the chili crisp, tamari, sesame oil, and honey. Whisk until well combined. Set aside.
step six: garnish and serve
To serve, arrange the meatballs on a platter and garnish with chopped fresh cilantro and sesame seeds, if using. Serve alongside the dipping sauce with some toothpicks. Enjoy!
Recipe FAQs:
These would still be delicious with ground turkey or pork, which are just as fatty and flavorful.
Yes! You can make the meatball mixture and store it in the refrigerator, covered, for up to 24 hours before shaping and baking.
Yes! These ginger scallion chicken meatballs freeze beautifully, which makes them perfect for meal prep. Let the meatballs cool completely after cooking, then transfer them to an airtight container or freezer-safe bag in a single layer. Once frozen solid, you can stack them to save space. They’ll keep well in the freezer for up to 3 months. To reheat, thaw overnight in the refrigerator or gently warm straight from frozen in a skillet with a splash of broth or water to keep them moist. They’re just as tender and flavorful the second time around!
The next time you’re looking for a savory, crowd-friendly appetizer, I hope you’ll try these Chicken and Scallion “Dumpling” Meatballs with Chili-Sesame Drizzle. Comment below and let me know what you think!
craving more recipes like this one? try these!
Sesame and Scallion Asian-Inspired Meatballs
Honey-Garlic Chicken Lettuce Wraps
Korean-Inspired BBQ Chicken Meatballs
Chicken and Scallion “Dumpling” Meatballs with Chili-Sesame Drizzle
Ingredients
For the “Dumpling” Meatballs:
- 2 tablespoons avocado oil
- 2 pounds ground dark meat chicken
- 1 cup finely minced scallions (from about 1 bundle)
- 1/4 cup finely minced fresh cilantro, plus more for garnish
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger
- 2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
- 2 teaspoons Sichuan chili crisp, such as Fly By Jing
- 2 tablespoons tamari or soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten
- 2 tablespoons tapioca flour (or cornstarch)
- toasted sesame seeds, optional, for garnish
For the Sesame-Chili Dipping Sauce:
- 1 to 2 tablespoons Sichuan chili crisp
- 2 tablespoons tamari or soy sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon honey
Instructions
Make the Meatballs:
- Arrange the rack in the top position and preheat the oven to 425°F. Drizzle the avocado oil on a large baking sheet and brush it to evenly coat the bottom of the baking sheet. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, add the ground chicken, scallions, cilantro, garlic, ginger, sesame oil, chili crisp, tamari (or soy sauce), salt, white pepper, egg, and tapioca flour. Using your hands, mix until well combined. The chicken should be a paste-like consistency.
- Using a small cookie scoop (about 1 tablespoon), scoop the meat mixture into small balls and place onto the prepared baking sheet. Using damp hands, roll the balls into clean, uniform meatballs. Leaving them a little jagged is okay too!
- Transfer to the oven and bake until golden and cooked through, about 15 minutes.
Make the Sesame-Chili Dipping Sauce:
- In a small bowl, add the chili crisp, tamari, sesame oil, and honey. Whisk until well combined. Set aside.
- To serve, arrange the meatballs on a platter and garnish with chopped fresh cilantro and sesame seeds, if using. Serve alongside the dipping sauce with some toothpicks. Enjoy!
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Food Photography and Styling by Eat Love Eats.
These are delicious! Made them ahead of time for Super Bowl and they turned out great. Had to use green onions since I could not find scallions locally.
Glad you liked them! And that’s the perfect swap — they’re basically the same thing 🙂
I made this for a Super Bowl party and it was a big hit – I received so many raving reviews. They were delicious. I only did one teaspoon of the chili crisp in the meatball mixture so they’d appeal to the less spice-tolerant. I added half a cup of Bachan’s Japanese Barbeque Sauce to the recipe’s dipping sauce and felt like that was perfect for our crowd. Friends already asked us to bring these again next year.
Awesome to hear!
I made these for dinner last night with white rice and roasted greens beans. It was so good!
So glad you enjoyed!
Hi Alex! I’m excited to make these for the Super Bowl! What is the spice level of these? I’ve never cooked with Sichuan chili crisp before so I’m wondering if these will be kid friendly or not? Thank you!
Alex, I was wondering: where do you get your ground dark meat chicken/turkey?
Force of Nature has the best ground chicken! i get it from Sprouts!
Would ground turkey work instead of ground chicken? I have some on hand. Thanks!
Yes, definitely!
I made these for meal prep and we loved them for dinner with some rice and roasted green beans! The chili crisp sauce drizzled on top was perfection. I reheated them in a sauce pan and they tasted great!
Can these be made egg free?
Don’t like Cilantro – would you leave out or substitute with something?
You could omit it or swap for fresh parsley!
Yum!
Coming home from a wedding Super Bowl Sunday.
Could you prep day before?