Easy and delicious Asian Turkey Meatballs coated with a sweet hoisin and soy sauce dressing... oven-baked and ready to eat in less than 30 minutes! A tasty appetiser recipe that makes 30 bite-sized meatballs.
Made with ground turkey mince, panko breadcrumbs, soy sauce, sesame oil, and ginger, these meatballs are a breeze to make and taste amazing.
Serve them on toothpicks as a yummy party appetiser or add them to a bowl of rice or noodles with vegetables for a quick and easy meal that the whole family will love.
If you are looking for some more delicious meals to serve your family, I think you will really love my Beef Rissoles and my Steak and Mushroom Pie.
Why You're Going To Love This Recipe
- Simply delicious - These turkey meatballs are made with lean ground turkey mince and have lots of flavour from the soy sauce and sesame oil.
- Easy to make - This recipe is super easy to whip up, ready in under 30 minutes (including prep and cooking time!).
- Meal Prep Friendly - Perfect for weekly meal prep or dinner on a busy night. The meatballs can be served over brown rice, noodles, or even in lettuce wraps for a low carb option.
What You Need
Note: Please scroll to the recipe card at the bottom for ingredient quantities and the full detailed method.
For The Meatballs
- Turkey mince - ground turkey mince
- Panko crumbs - or regular breadcrumbs
- Garlic - minced (fresh or jarred)
- Ginger - minced (fresh or jarred)
- Spring onions - green onions, finely chopped. Alternatively, scallions can be used
- Egg - room temperature
- Soy sauce - or tamari or coconut aminos
- Sesame oil
- Salt and pepper to season
For The Sauce
- Hoisin sauce - a thick, sticky, sweet and salty sauce that is popular as a Cantonese-style dipping sauce, glaze for meats or for use in stir-fries
- Soy sauce - or tamari or coconut aminos
- Rice wine vinegar - optional
- Brown sugar - or caster sugar
- Garlic - minced (fresh or jarred)
- Ginger - minced (fresh or jarred)
- Sesame oil
- Sesame seeds and extra spring onions to garnish
Equipment Required
There is no fancy equipment required to make these yummy meatballs!
You will need:
- Mini muffin tray (or baking tray)
- Thermomix (optional)
- Mixing bowls
Step By Step Instructions
Note: Please scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of the post for ingredient quantities and the full detailed method.
STEP 1 - MIX THE INGREDIENTS
Preheat your oven to 210 degrees celsius fan-forced (410°F).
Spray a mini-muffin tray or a baking tray with cooking spray.
In a large bowl, mix together the turkey mince, panko crumbs, garlic, ginger, soy sauce, sweet chili sauce, and lime juice.
If you have a Thermomix, you can put all the ingredients in the bowl and mix for 5 seconds on Speed 4. Then, scrape down the sides and mix for another 5 seconds until everything is combined.
STEP 2 - FORM THE MEATBALLS AND BAKE
Wet your hands and roll the mixture into tablespoon-sized balls. Place one ball in each hole of the mini-muffin tray.
Bake for 17 minutes.
STEP 3 - MAKE THE SAUCE
While the meatballs are cooking, mix together the sauce ingredients (except for the spring onions and sesame seeds) in a microwave-safe bowl.
Heat in the microwave in 30-second intervals, stirring after each interval, until the sauce is slightly thickened and the sugar has dissolved (this should take 2-3 minutes).
STEP 4 - COAT THE MEATBALLS
Add the cooked meatballs to the sauce and toss to coat. Serve with extra spring onions and sesame seeds on top.
Expert Tips
Turkey mince - also known as ground turkey. You can replace the turkey mince with chicken, pork, or beef mince if you prefer.
Panko crumbs - the panko bread crumbs help to hold the meatballs together. Panko crumbs are Japanese-style breadcrumbs that are larger and lighter than regular breadcrumbs.
You can buy them from the international/Asian section of any major supermarket. If panko crumbs are unavailable, you can use regular breadcrumbs.
Rolling the balls - The mixture will be very sticky, so wet your hands with water before rolling the mixture to stop it from sticking to your hands and will ensure your meatballs are perfectly round in shape. You can also add more panko crumbs if the mixture is too wet.
Mini muffin tray - When making meatballs, I like to use a lightly greased mini muffin tin. This allows you to put one meatball in each hole. Of course, you can simply use a flat baking tray if you don't have a mini muffin tin.
Storing - Store any leftover cooked meatballs in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 days. Reheat thoroughly before consuming (or serve cold).
Freezing uncooked meatballs - You can prepare the turkey meatball mixture, roll it into balls and freeze it uncooked in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Then, allow defrosting in the fridge before baking it in the oven as per the recipe instructions.
Freezing cooked meatballs - You can also freeze any leftover cooked Asian Turkey Meatballs in an airtight container for up to 3 months.
You can either allow the meatballs to defrost in the fridge before reheating, or you can reheat directly from frozen. Ensure the meatballs are hot all the way through before consuming, though.
FAQs
If you pack the meatballs too tightly, they will come out tough, rubbery, and chewy. To avoid this, be gentle when you're forming the meatballs. You can oil your hands or wet them to keep the mixture from sticking. Then, gently roll the meat into evenly sized balls.
The egg helps to hold the ingredients together. If you don't eat eggs, you can use some bread soaked in milk (just squeeze out the excess milk) instead.
RELATED RECIPES
Asian Turkey Meatballs can be served as an appetizer, snack, or even as part of your main meal!
Here are a few of my most popular appetizer recipes:
Asian Turkey Meatballs
Ingredients
For The Meatballs
- 500 g turkey mince ground turkey
- ¾ cup (70 g) panko crumbs or breadcrumbs
- 2 teaspoon minced garlic or 2 cloves minced
- 1 teaspoon minced ginger
- 2 spring onions finely chopped
- 1 egg
- 1 tbs (15 g) soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- salt and pepper to season
For The Sauce
- ¼ cup hoisin sauce
- 2 tbs soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon rice wine vinegar optional
- 1 tbs brown sugar or caster sugar
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic or 1 clove minced
- 1 teaspoon minced ginger
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- sesame seeds and extra spring onions to garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 210 degrees celsius (fan forced).
- Lightly spray a non-stick mini-muffin tray with cooking spray and set aside (if you don't have a mini-muffin tray, lightly spray a non-stick baking tray).
- Place the turkey mince, panko crumbs, garlic, ginger, soy, spring onions, egg, sesame oil and salt and pepper into a bowl. Mix to combine.If using a Thermomix: Place all ingredients into the Thermomix bowl and mix for 5 seconds, Speed 4. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and repeat for another 5 seconds or until combined.
- Roll mixture into heaped tablespoon sized balls using wet hands (see Notes)
- Place one ball into each hole of the mini-muffin tin.
- Bake in the oven for 17 minutes.
- When the meatballs are almost cooked, place the sauce ingredients (except for the spring onions and sesame seeds) into a microwave-safe bowl. Mix together and then heat in the microwave in 30 seconds bursts for 2-3 minutes (or until slightly thickened and the sugar has dissolved), stirring at each interval.
- Add the meatballs to the sauce bowl and toss to coat.
- Serve immediately with the extra spring onions and sesame seeds.
Notes
- turkey mince - also known as ground turkey. You can replace the turkey mince with chicken, pork or beef mince if you prefer.
- panko crumbs - the panko bread crumbs help to hold the meatballs together. Panko crumbs are a Japanese-style breadcrumb that are larger and lighter than regular breadcrumbs. You can buy them from the international/Asian section of any major supermarket. If panko crumbs are unavailable, you can use regular breadcrumbs.
Robyn Kemp says
Hi, How much sweet chilli sauce and lime juice do you use, as it's not listed in the ingredients? With thanks, Robyn
Lucy says
Hi Robyn, sorry that was a typo that's been amended!