4.70 from 13 reviews

Sriracha Teriyaki Ground Turkey Meatballs

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meatballs in a white bowl with broccoli and rice

Healthy Meatballs: Made with oats instead of breadcrumbs, lean ground turkey meat and a delicious homemade sauce.

These Teriyaki Meatballs were by far one of the easiest and tastiest meatballs I have ever made before!

I had some extra time yesterday before I had to go to an event so I figured I could whip something up in the kitchen first! For some, cooking may seem stressful, too hard, or boring…but for me I love it!

It is my stress reliever and certainly never boring!

This recipe may seem like it has a lot of ingredients but most of them you probably already have in your fridge or pantry.

As you will see I made my own teriyaki sauce as well. (Recipe is below)

I chose ground turkey since it is a leaner meat but you can use ground beef as well.

This recipe, in my opinion, is a healthier option then getting frozen meatballs with a pre-made store bought sauce.

Plus it is fun to cook at home! Get your kids involved in rolling up the meatballs with you and teaching them different cooking techniques along the way. 

healthy meatballs in a white bowl topped with green onions and sesame seeds

Ingredients you will need for these spicy healthy meatballs

For the meatballs:

  • Ground turkey: You need a little bit of fat to give the meatballs moisture and flavor. Choose a 93% lean/7% fat for the best results.
  • Eggs: Eggs are added into meatballs to bind the oats and the spices together. For 1lb. of meat, 1-2 eggs is plenty.
  • Oats: You can make these meatballs gluten free by using oats instead of breadcrumbs. I use the quick 1 minute oats and these meatballs turn out tender, juicy and delicious every time!
  • Spices and seasonings: Garlic, ginger, cilantro, Sriracha, soy sauce, shallot, pepper, salt, Italian seasoning and garlic powder.

For the teriyaki sauce:

  • Soy sauce
  • Water
  • Orange juice
  • Sriracha
  • Brown sugar or honey
  • Sesame oil
  • Sweet Rice Wine (Mirin)
  • Ginger
  • Garlic
  • Sesame Seeds
meatballs in a white bowl with broccoli and rice and green onions

How to make Healthy meatballs (no breadcrumbs)

  1. Preheat oven to 400° F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside. If you don’t have any parchment paper, spray baking sheet with non-stick cooking spray.
  2. In a large bowl combine all of the ingredients for the meatballs together. The mixture should be moist and able to form together into meatballs using a cookie scoop.
  3. Place the meatballs onto the prepared baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes, or until fully cooked. (165°F for ground turkey)
  4. While the meatballs are baking you can make the teriyaki sauce.
  5. In a medium saucepan over low/medium heat. coming the soy sauce, water, orange juice, Sriracha, honey, sesame oil, mirin, ginger and garlic together.
  6. Bring sauce to a simmer. In a small bowl, whisk together the cornstarch and water until combined. Slowly whisk in the cornstarch mixture into the sauce until sauce begins to thicken.
  7. Once thick, remove from heat and stir in the sesame seeds.
  8. After you make the sauce, your meatballs should be done. Pour the sauce over meatballs, garnish with green onions/scallions and enjoy.
  9. We love these teriyaki meatballs as an appetizer or turned into a main dish with rice and broccoli!
step by step photos of how to make sriracha ground turkey meatballs
healthy meatballs in a white bowl with broccoli and rice

Tips for making the best healthy meatballs

  • When mixing the ground turkey with the dry and wet ingredients, you’ll want to combine them gently. Overworking the mixture will result in tough meatballs, so use your hands to mix in the meat and stop when it’s just combined.
  • Use oats instead of breadcrumbs for a gluten free option. Be sure to pulse the oats in your food processor a few times.
  • Meatballs are traditionally made with beef or pork which have more fat than ground turkey. The meatballs still need some fat for moisture and flavor so be sure to buy a 93% lean/7% fat for the best results.
  • Simmer the meatballs in the teriyaki sauce so they can soak up the delicious flavors before you serve.
  • Freeze these healthy meatballs for meal prep! Take the cooled off meatballs and place them in a freezer bag, flatten the bag to squeeze the air out and seal it.  Label and date the freezer bag.
  • You can defrost the meatballs in the fridge or take the meatballs out of the bag and defrost in the microwave. Or, my favorite way, is to defrost the meatballs in the slow cooker for 3 hours on HIGH.

Before You Begin! If you make this, please leave a review and rating letting us know how you liked this recipe! This helps our business thrive & continue providing free recipes.

meatballs in a white bowl with broccoli and rice
4.70 from 13 reviews

Sriracha Teriyaki Ground Turkey Meatballs

Prep: 20 minutes
Cook: 15 minutes
Total: 35 minutes
Servings: 20 small meatballs
Great for an appetizer or make it into a meal with rice and a veggie! Use oats instead of breadcrumbs in your meatballs for added fiber!

Ingredients

For the meatballs

  • 1 lb. ground turkey meat (16 oz.)
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 Tbsp. cilantro, fresh, chopped
  • 2 Tbsp. Sriracha
  • 1 1/2 tsp. gluten free soy sauce, low-sodium (or use liquid aminos)
  • 1 tsp. ginger, fresh, minced
  • 1/2 shallot, minced (about 2 Tbsp.)
  • 1/2 cup rolled oats, pulsed in food processor
  • 1 tsp. Italian seasoning
  • 1 tsp. garlic powder
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • 1/2 tsp. black pepper

For the sauce

  • 1/2 cup gluten free soy sauce, low-sodium
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1/4 cup orange juice, fresh
  • 3 Tbsp Sriracha
  • 2 Tbsp. honey or brown sugar
  • 2 Tbsp. sesame oil
  • 2 Tbsp. Sweet rice wine (mirin)
  • 2 tsp. ginger, fresh, minced
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 Tbsp. sesame seeds
  • green onions for garnish

Cornstarch slurry to thicken teriyaki sauce

  • 1/4 cup water
  • 1 Tbsp. corn starch

Last step! If you make this, please leave a review and rating letting us know how you liked this recipe! This helps our business thrive & continue providing free recipes.

Instructions 

For the meatballs

  • Preheat oven to 400° F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside. If you don't have any parchment paper, spray baking sheet with non-stick cooking spray.
  • In a large bowl combine all of the ingredients for the meatballs together. The mixture should be moist and able to form together into meatballs. I recommend using a cookie scoop since the mixture is quite sticky.
  • Place the meatballs onto the prepared baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes, or until fully cooked. (165°F for ground turkey)

For the sauce

  • While the meatballs are baking you can make the teriyaki sauce. In a medium saucepan over low/medium heat, combine the soy sauce, water, orange juice, Sriracha, honey, sesame oil, mirin, ginger and garlic all together. Bring the sauce to a simmer. In a small ramekin, whisk together the cornstarch and water until combined. Slowly whisk in the cornstarch mixture into the sauce until sauce begins to thicken. Once thickened, remove from heat and stir in the sesame seeds.
  • After you make the sauce, the meatballs should be done. Pour the sauce over meatballs, garnish with green onions/scallions and enjoy. We love these teriyaki meatballs as an appetizer or as a main dish with rice and broccoli!

Video

Notes

Makes 20-25 small appetizer meatballs or ~16 larger meatballs.
Sub panko breadcrumbs for oats. 
One reader said she loved the meatballs as is without the sauce and would love the meatballs as a wrap with arugula and chipotle mayo. YUM. Possibilities are endless! 

Nutrition Information

Serving: 2meabtalls, Calories: 132kcal (7%)

Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is automatically calculated. It should only be construed as an estimate rather than a guarantee. Ingredients can vary and Kroll’s Korner can’t make any guarantees to the accuracy of this information.

Krolls Korner

Krolls Korner

Welcome to my tiny “korner” on the Internet! I am a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist who loves cookies as much as kale. (OK, maybe I like cookies a little bit more but shh, don’t tell anyone). I am so glad you’re here! Follow along for hassle free, realistic and approachable recipes.

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21 Comments
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Elizabeth

Any tips on how to get sauce to thicken?? I’ve made this a ton but can never get the sauce to thicken.

Amanda

Loved it! So delicious…. little spicy kick but it was great!

Tiffany

Moist meatballs. Great recipe. Family loved it!

Beth

These look fabulous!! A long list of ingredients don’t scare me as I know the recipe is going to be flavorful – so bring it!! Delish!

Sara Welch

This looks too good to pass up! Adding to my dinner line up for the week, indeed!

Monica

I have never considered using oats in place of breadcrumbs for meatballs – what a genius idea! And the combination of sriracha with ground turkey is incredible. Thanks for the recipe!

Val

YUM!!! I have an obsession with meatballs so I am always trying out different flavors and variations. Looking forward to trying this one in the future.

Tammy

Sriracha and teriyaki is a brilliant combo! These look so incredibly delicious…craving right now!

Kelli

I’m such a sucker for Asian-inspired meatballs, so these are definitely up my alley! Pinning to remind myself to make them soon 🙂

Tara | Treble in the Kitchen

These look so delish! I know my husband would LOVEEEEE them 🙂