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These Korean-Inspired BBQ Chicken Meatballs are sure to impress the next time you host! Perfectly flavored with a sauce that I cannot get enough of and I know you will love it too.
In this recipe, the meatballs are kept nice and simple. The flavor for this appetizer comes from the delicious Korean-Inspired BBQ sauce that you make while the meatballs are baking in the oven! These will be a hit whenever you are hosting, but if you are in need of more ideas for your next game-watching party, check out these Football Foods.
Korean-Inspired BBQ sauce ingredients:
- Toasted Sesame Oil
- Garlic
- Fresh Ginger
- Gochujang Paste
- Coconut Aminos
- Low-Sodium Chicken Broth
- Apple Cider Vinegar
- Coconut sugar
- Honey
- Tapioca Flour
Korean-Inspired BBQ Chicken Meatballs: Step-by-Step
Step One: Form and Bake the Meatballs
To start this recipe, combine the chicken meatball ingredients then form into 1-inch meatballs. Place into oven and bake until golden-brown and cooked through.
step two: Make the Korean-Inspired BBQ
While the meatballs bake, make the Korean-Inspired BBQ on the stove top. You’ll want to cook this until the sauce is thick and glossy!
Step Three: Finish the Meatballs and Serve
Once the meatballs are cooked through, brush with a half cup of the sauce. Return to the oven until the sauce begins to caramelize over the meatballs! Remove from the oven, add to your serving platter and top with the remaining sauce. Garnish with sesame seeds and green onions then serve with toothpicks.
Recipe FAQs:
When hosting, I simply serve these on a platter with toothpicks. But, these are also great for dinner in a bowl with steamed rice or cauliflower rice!
Because the meatballs are formed using panko, these are not Palo-friendly. But, I use gluten-free panko to keep this recipe gluten-free and dairy-free!
I hope you and your guests love these Korean-Inspired BBQ Chicken Meatballs as much as I do! Comment below on how these turn out for you!
more appetizer ideas
Whole30 Chicken Enchilada Meatballs
3-Ingredient Buffalo Chicken Dip
Korean-Inspired BBQ Chicken Meatballs
Ingredients
For the Chicken Meatballs:
- 2 pounds ground chicken preferably ground chicken thigh
- 2 eggs
- 2 tablespoons avocado oil
- 1 Ā½ teaspoons Kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 3/4 cup panko breadcrumbs I use Aleia GF panko
For the Korean-Inspired BBQ Sauce:
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 1- inch knob ginger peeled and grated
- Ā¼ cup gochujang paste
- Ā½ cup coconut aminos
- Ā½ cup low-sodium chicken broth
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- Ā¼ cup coconut sugar
- Ā¼ cup honey
- 3 to 4 teaspoons tapioca flour
For Serving:
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
- 1 tablespoon black sesame seeds
- 2 green onions thinly sliced on the diagonal
- toothpicks
Instructions
Make the Chicken Meatballs:
- Preheat the oven to 400ā (Convection Bake) and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and lightly spray with avocado oil spray.
- In a large bowl, combine all of the chicken meatball ingredients. Mix until just combined. Roll into 1-inch round meatballs and place on the prepared baking sheet.
- Bake until just cooked through and golden brown, about 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, Make the Korean-Inspired BBQ Sauce:
- Heat a small saucepan over medium heat. Add the sesame oil, garlic and ginger and cook, stirring, until fragrant, being careful not to burn, 1 to 2 minutes.
- Add the gochujang, coconut aminos, chicken broth, vinegar, coconut sugar, and honey and whisk until well combined. Bring to a simmer and let cook, stirring occasionally, until the flavors have melded and the sauce has reduced slightly, about 8 minutes. If the sauce begins to boil, reduce the heat to medium-low to ensure it has a steady simmer.
- In a small bowl, combine 3 teaspoons of tapioca flour with 2 tablespoons of warm water and whisk to combine to make a slurry.
- While stirring the sauce, slowly pour in the slurry. Continue to cook, simmering, until the sauce is thick and glossy, about 5 more minutes. If itās not looking thick enough, make 1 more slurry by combining the remaining 1 teaspoon of tapioca with 1 tbsp of water, add to the sauce and continue to simmer until thick and glossy. Remove from heat and set aside until the meatballs are done.
Finish the Meatballs:
- When the meatballs have just cooked through, remove from the oven. Drizzle the meatballs with Ā½ cup of the sauce and use a pastry brush to brush the tops of the meatballs so that they are evenly coated on the tops. Transfer back into the oven and bake so that sauce kind of caramelizes on top of the meatballs, 3 to 5 minutes.
- Remove from the heat. Transfer the meatballs to a serving platter and pour the remaining sauce over the meatballs so that they are all coated in the sauce. Sprinkle with the sesame seeds and garnish with the scallions. Serve with toothpicks and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
How far in advance could I prepare these? Any suggestions to save some time?
Delicious! Perfect amount of heat with a nice and subtle sweet aftertaste. Made this for lunch for the first half of the week and we are having them over Asian noodles. I can see how this is a nice appetizer though. I could eat so many of them on their own.
These have been on my list to make for a while, holy cow these did NOT disappoint. Spicy and sweet, so dang good!
glad you loved them!!!