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.
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What would you recommend for a turkey substitute for us vegetarians?
There are many vegetarian options for meatballs – I have seen recipes using tempeh, chickpeas and even mushrooms!
I made this the other night and they tasted fantastic. I made the mistake of not mincing the onions so they were more like little individual meatloaf piles (couldn’t hold a shape). I sadly didn’t have sesame oil so I just used some olive oil and I used powdered ginger instead in the sauce.
OK, I may be drooling a little bit right now. These look SOOOO good! By the way, you have so inspired me on my journey of learning to love cooking that I nominated you for the One Lovely Blog award (nomination post here: http://healthylittlechanges.com/2015/04/21/a-blog-award-plus-my-10-favorites/). Thanks for sharing such amazing, drool-worthy recipes! You help me feel like a pro in the kitchen.
wow those look so good pass’em over
I made these tonight and they taste greate, however my meatballs didn’t stay together!! Any suggestions on this? I was wondering if it was because my quinoa was hot when I mixed with turkey.
Oh no – I’m not entirely sure what caused this. How was the texture of your quinoa? Dry? Moist?
I can’t wait to try these! Thanks for sharing!
Another winner! Next time I make these, I’ll double the sauce. We had these meatballs with a side of quinoa and steamed vegetables. So yummy!
Can we replace ground turkey with pork or chicken? Not easy to find turkey where I live.
Yes, either should work just fine.
What type of turkey did you use? 93%? I’m making these tonight!!
I like to use Trader Joe’s ground turkey breast (99% fat free).
Thanks!! so jealous you have a trader joe’s!!
Does the nutritional information include the sauce or only the meatballs?
The nutritional information is for both the sauce and meatballs.
These are baking in my oven right now and the sauce is on the stovetop!! So excited to try these. I am down 150 pounds done all on my own so I’m always looking for new ways to use ground turkey. Thanks for the recipe!!
I have tried many turkey meatball recipes, but not an Asian inspired one! This looks amazing, and I just so happen to have a pound of turkey in the fridge that needs to be used. Making this TONIGHT. I will more than likely feature this delicious recipe on my blog because it can’t go without being shared. Thanks for the YUMMINESS. I love all of your recipes too by the way. Your blog is very inspiring 🙂
Is the 3/4 cup quinoa measured before of after cooking?
The recipe calls for 3/4 cup cooked quinoa so it would be measured after cooking.
Can I throw all of this in a crockpot?
Unfortunately, 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: http://www.thekitchn.com/5-tips-for-converting-recipes-to-the-slow-cooker-189343.
I added about 2t fresh ginger, 2 T chopped fresh cilantro and some panko breadcrumbs to tighten up the mixture. Loved them!!!! I also tried them with sweet thai chili sauce which hit the spot.
I make a similar meatballs that the family loves but have never thought to substitute some meat for quinoa. Not only healthier but makes the meal less expensive. That’s a brilliant idea! Just a suggestion, put the sauce over the meatballs at about 15 minutes and let it bake for about 10 more. It makes the most delicious thick coat of the sauce on each meatball.
I am eating these as we speak. One of the best recipes ever! And so simple! Thank you for sharing this divine secret with us!!!!
Hi! I have cooked these once and they were so delicious! I am trying to plan some freezer meals for the next month. Have you ever frozen these? Or the sauce? If so, did they defrost and cook well? Thanks!
Unfortunately, I cannot answer this with certainty as I have never tried freezing this myself – there were no leftovers left to freeze! Please use your best judgment for freezing and reheating.
Ok! I will let you know how they turn out after freezing and cooking.
How did the freezing go??
Im interested in making and freezing these as well
Hi. I made these appetizers for a party we had last night and it was the only appetizer that got completely eaten. And the people who didn’t regularly eat healthy couldn’t belive that it was (healthy). I ended up adding finely chopped carrot to the mixture and drizzled on a little sweet chili sauce at the end (maybe 2T). I made the meatballs ahead of time and then put on the sauce and let them hang out in the fridge. Then warmed them back up in the oven. They still held together and the sauce cartelized a bit too. All in all pretty awesome. Thanks!
Was really excited when I saw this because I thought it was meatless? Has anyone found a veggie alternative for the meat?