This recipe for Asian meatballs involves light and tender turkey meatballs that are seasoned with Asian flavors, tossed in a honey garlic sauce and served over a colorful carrot rice. It’s a quick and easy weeknight meal that the whole family will love!
Looking for something a little different than your typical spaghetti and meatballs? These Asian meatballs are tender and full of flavor, my whole family adores this recipe!
Who likes meatballs? We sure do! My girls will happily eat any and all meatballs. But the whole spaghetti and meatballs thing gets tiring after a while so I’m always on the look out for other variations. This recipe for Asian meatballs with carrot rice is definitely a unique take on meatballs.
How do you make Asian meatballs?
This recipe uses ground turkey instead of beef to lighten things up a bit – these meatballs are not greasy at all. The meat is mixed with panko and flavored with cilantro, soy sauce, garlic, and a touch of sriracha – not enough to make it super spicy, just enough to add flavor.
I always broil my meatballs rather than pan fry them – it’s so much easier and the broiler browns the tops just as well as if you had seared them in an oiled pan. The great thing about meatballs is that they freeze beautifully – so you can even make a double batch of these and pop half in the freezer for another night. I typically freeze my meatballs after they’ve already been cooked, I think that yields the best result.
The Asian meatballs are great on their own, but what really takes this dish over the top is the carrot rice. It’s so simple and fun – make your rice (white or brown) as usual, then add some shredded carrots at the end and let it all sit in the covered pan for a few minutes. The heat of the rice lightly cooks the carrots and the carrots turn the rice a fun orange color. It’s a great flavor combination and an easy way to convince your kids to eat their veggies.
The whole thing can be on your table in 30 minutes – start by putting the rice up to simmer and then get the meatballs going while the rice is cooking. It’s a great choice for a simple and healthy weeknight meal.
Still hungry? Follow Dinner at the Zoo on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest for more great recipe ideas!
More dinner recipes you’ll love
- Slow Cooker Sloppy Joes
- Stuffed Pepper Soup
- Slow Cooker Chicken Cacciatore
- Teriyaki Pork Stir Fry
- Jalapeno Popper Mac and Cheese
Asian Meatballs and Carrot Rice
Ingredients
- For the rice:
- 1 cup long-grain white rice
- 2 carrots peeled and shredded
- salt and pepper to taste
- For the meatballs:
- 3/4 cup panko breadcrumbs (regular or gluten free breadcrumbs can be substituted)
- 1 1/2 pounds ground dark-meat turkey
- 1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves
- 4 teaspoons soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons sriracha (optional)
- 4 teaspoons sugar
- 1 large garlic clove minced
- 1 egg
- cooking spray
- For the honey garlic sauce:
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1 clove of garlic minced
- salt and pepper to taste
- Lime wedges for serving
- sesame seeds and chopped cilantro for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat broiler. In a medium saucepan, bring 1 1/2 cups salted water to a boil. Add rice and return to a boil. Cover, reduce to a simmer, and cook until rice is tender, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat and add the carrot on top. Let stand, covered, 8 minutes, then stir in carrot and fluff rice with a fork.
- In the meantime, in a medium bowl, combine panko breadcrumbs, turkey, cilantro, soy sauce, sriracha, egg, sugar, garlic, 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and 2 tablespoons of water. Gently mix to combine and form into tablespoon sized meatballs.
- Place the meatballs in a single layer on a foil lined baking sheet that has been coated in cooking spray. Coat the tops of the meatballs with cooking spray. Broil the meatballs about 4-6 inches from the heat element for 10-15 minutes or until meatballs are cooked through.
- For the sauce: in a small bowl mix together the honey, soy sauce and garlic. Drizzle the sauce over the meatballs and toss to combine.
- Top the meatballs with chopped cilantro and sesame seeds if desired and serve with rice and lime wedges.
Notes
Little Helpers: My kids love to help grate the carrots, I supervise them closely to make sure that their little hands stay away from the rough parts of the grater.
Tammy says
I made this tonight with a little veggie stir fry (whatever was in the fridge) and shurataki noodles. I just put them on top and served the dipping sauce on the side. I will definitely do this again but I will double the cilantro and garlic, add some fresh ginger and maybe a little fish sauce. My husband loved it! He’s an amazing chef so he doesn’t throw out compliments easily. Thank you
Kristin says
These broiled up nicely but did not taste asian at all. I even added more of the spices and cilantro. The panko was a good idea – made them lighter. Sorry I will skip this recipe in the future.