Asian Quinoa Meatballs
Healthy, nutritious and packed with so much flavor. Perfect as an appetizer or a light dinner!
Meatballs don’t get as much credit as they should. They’re incredibly versatile, they’re fun to eat, and they can either work as an appetizer or a main dish. Plus, it’s literally a ball of meat!
But for those cutting back on some heavy calories from all that meatball goodness, I have the perfectly lightened up version with quinoa.
The quinoa here is a great substitute for some of the meat, and provides an excellent source of protein too – all the while keeping it light on your pants.
Best of all, not only are these meatballs lightened up but they’re also baked to absolute tender perfection.
The sauce is also packed with tons of flavor – you can even set some aside and toss it on some rice or even a side of quinoa. You’ll be glad you did.
And if you’re anything like us, you’ll double the batch and serve these on game day, and save the rest for a light dinner the very next night!
Asian Quinoa Meatballs
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground turkey
- ¾ cup cooked quinoa
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 green onions, thinly sliced
- 1 large egg
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon Sriracha, or more, to taste
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- ½ teaspoon sesame seeds
For the sauce
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar, packed
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon Sriracha, or more, to taste
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly oil a 9x13 baking dish or coat with nonstick spray.
- In a large bowl, combine ground turkey, quinoa, garlic, onions, egg, soy sauce, sesame oil, Sriracha, salt and pepper, to taste. Using a wooden spoon or clean hands, stir until well combined. Roll the mixture into 1 1/4-to-1 1/2-inch meatballs, forming about 18-20 meatballs.
- Place meatballs onto the prepared baking dish and bake for 18-20 minutes, or until all sides are browned and meatballs are cooked through.
- To make the sauce, whisk together soy sauce, rice vinegar, ginger, sugar, sesame oil, Sriracha and 1/2 cup water in a small saucepan over medium high heat.
- In a small bowl, whisk together cornstarch and 1 tablespoon water. Stir into soy sauce mixture until thickened, about 2 minutes.
- Serve meatballs immediately with sauce, garnished with green onion and sesame seeds.
Did you make this recipe?
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I made this tonight, and this was SO GOOD! I had to use significantly less corn starch but in the end, the sauce was still very tasty and the meatballs quite tasty. It was a huge hit with everyone. Thanks for the recipe!
No rice vinegar in the house – any substitutes? What if I omit? My wife is not a spicy fan – I will try without the Sriracha; is that a bad thing?
Larry, here is a great forum discussing possible rice vinegar substitutes:
http://simmerandboil.cookinglight.com/2015/05/18/rice-wine-vinegar-substitute/
Sriracha can be omitted.
Do the nutrition facts include the sauce or just the meatballs?
Thanks!
Yes, it includes the sauce.
Super excited to try this! What veggies do you recommend to pair with this dish?
My absolute favorite side dish is the garlic parmesan roasted potatoes. But please feel free to check out all of my side dish recipes here.
These are so good! They are being placed on our regular dinner rotation. I made a few meatballs without the sriracha for my kids to enjoy, and my husband and I loved the bit of heat that came from having sriracha in the rest of them. The sauce is incredible as well, and the leftovers keep quite well for lunch!
I have yet to try this recipe, but it sounds delicious! Could I leave out the sauce portion of this, or would the meatballs be too dry without a sauce? Thanks!
This is best served with the sauce, but as always, please use your best judgment.
I just made these and I love them! I used 1 1/4 pounds of ground turkey because that’s what I had in the fridge and I used a mini muffin pan instead of rolling them into meatballs. Easy peasy and delicious! Thank you again for yet another damn good recipe!
I made these tonight for dinner. Delicious! I serve them with the rice and broccoli.
Can I put these in the crockpot?
It is very difficult to give exact conversion information to translate a traditional stovetop recipe to be used in a slow cooker without further recipe testing. However, here is an article worth checking out on a possible conversion guide. Hope that helps!
Do you buy any chance have a list of the recipes that are gluten free? I was recently told that my son can no longer eat gluten, sugar, or dyes…
Thanks!
Unfortunately, I do not have recipes specifically made for gluten-free diets.
Easily made gluten free!
Ingredients to ensure GF include :
– Soy Sauce
– Corn Starch
The rest should be good!
As long as you are practicing GF at home with utensils and meal prep.
My husband has Celiac Disease and I am an Dietitian!
I made this and I LOVED it! It took me longer because I have the smallest kitchen known to man.. but I ate these for dinner, lunch and dinner again! I also made the One Pan Mexican Quinoa and that is a staple dish I’ve made more times than I can count! You’re the best! 🙂
I’ve made this a couple of times and it is excellent and easy. I serve the meatballs over some steamed bok choy- super simple and healthy. BTW, these keep well in the fridge for a few days.
Damn its mouth watering. I always wanted to try this by myself at home.
I made this last night, it was soo easy to prepare and delicious!
Can I prepare the meatballs the night before and then bake them and prepare the sauce the next evening?
Yes, absolutely.
These were a HUGE hit at our house! I doubled the recipe so that we would have leftovers, and I’m so glad I did! Going to try the Whole Food’s inspired salad next. Thanks for the great recipe! Lizzie
Hiya! I just wanted to give you a shout out and express how much I am enjoying your site!!! I found your site after looking on google for a prawn bacon avocado salad, which I am excited to try tonight! Yum! The gorgeous pictures of creative tasty dishes and the bright, happy vibe of your site has sent me down a rabbit hole obsessed with new recipes I MUST try. So thank you!!!!!!! I am even going to finally try quinoa because of you! Wow!
All the very best, Gabbie
I can’t get my meatballs to stay together. Any suggestions?
I am not entirely sure why they are falling apart. Did you follow the recipe exactly as written without any substitutions?
I find that if I drain the chicken or turkey the meatballs hold together better.
So far this is the only way I’ve enjoyed eating ground turkey! Amazing flavor, so delicious!
Made them yesterday and I had a lot of compliments. I will definitely make them again! I had to add a lot more sugar as the sauce was way too salty at the beginning. Maybe because of the soy sauce I used?
Yes, I have found that reduced sodium soy sauce has the least amount of saltiness and of course, less sodium 🙂