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Sweet Chili Sauce Turkey Meatballs Recipe

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4.1 from 10 reviews

These Sweet Chili Sauce Turkey Meatballs are a delicious and flavorful dish perfect for weeknight dinners or entertaining. Made with lean ground turkey, fresh herbs, and a sweet and spicy chili sauce, these meatballs are seared on the stove then finished in the oven or on the stovetop for a tender and juicy result. Serve as an appetizer, with rice, or noodles for a satisfying meal.

Ingredients

Meatballs

  • 2 lbs ground turkey (93/7% lean)
  • 1 small onion, minced
  • 6 garlic cloves, pressed
  • 2 tsp fresh grated ginger
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 oz sliced bread (1 or 2 slices depending on bread type)
  • 2 tbsp milk (to soak the bread)
  • 1 tsp coarse salt (adjust to taste)
  • 1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes (adjust to taste)
  • 1 tbsp cilantro, minced
  • 1/2 cup chives, diced

Sweet Chili Sauce

  • 12 oz sweet chili sauce
  • 1 lime, juice only
  • 1 tbsp cilantro, minced
  • 2 tbsp chives, diced
  • 1/2-1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

Instructions

  1. Prepare the sauce: In a bowl, whisk together the sweet chili sauce, lime juice, minced cilantro, diced chives, and crushed red pepper flakes. Set this sauce aside to use later.
  2. Prepare the meatball mixture: Soak the sliced bread in milk, then squeeze out all excess milk and discard it. Crumble the soaked bread into a large mixing bowl. Add ground turkey, minced onion, pressed garlic, grated ginger, eggs, coarse salt, crushed red pepper flakes, minced cilantro, and diced chives. Mix thoroughly until all ingredients are well combined.
  3. Shape the meatballs: Use a #40 cookie scoop (or similar) to portion out even amounts of the meat mixture for consistent meatballs. Grease your hands lightly with oil and roll the meat mixture into balls. Place all meatballs on a parchment paper-lined tray.
  4. Sear the meatballs: Preheat a large oven-safe pan over medium heat and add a splash of oil. Add the meatballs to the pan and sear them for about 2 minutes per side until they develop a nice golden crust.
  5. Add the sauce: Pour the prepared sweet chili sauce evenly over the seared meatballs in the pan. Gently shake or stir the pan to coat the meatballs thoroughly with sauce.
  6. Finish cooking in the oven: Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Place the oven-safe pan with meatballs and sauce into the oven. Bake for 15-18 minutes until the meatballs are cooked through.
  7. Or finish cooking on stovetop: Lower the heat to medium-low and cover the pan with a lid. Let the meatballs simmer gently in the sauce for about 15 minutes. Ensure the sauce is just gently simmering and not boiling to avoid drying out the meatballs.

Notes

  • Use a #40 cookie scoop to get evenly sized meatballs for even cooking.
  • You can finish cooking the meatballs either by baking in the oven or by simmering gently on the stovetop.
  • Adjust crushed red pepper flakes to your preferred spice level.
  • Make sure to squeeze out excess milk from bread before adding to avoid soggy meatball mixture.
  • Ground turkey with 93/7 lean-to-fat ratio gives the best balance of moisture and leanness.

Find it online: https://cookedbygrace.com/sweet-chili-sauce-turkey-meatballs-recipe/