Anyone looking for a fun new appetizer (or even main course!) for the big game this week?
These saucy sesame meatballs are some of my favorites!!!
I first made them a few months ago when I was experimenting with multiple meatball recipes to serve for a fundraiser. And when my friends graciously “helped me out” with some taste testing, these little guys were the clear winner! My friend’s 1-yr-old son was even crazy about them as well. ;)
Definitely easy, quick, and bursting with yummy flavor. And everyone commented on how they’re a nice twist from traditional marinara meatballs. Give them a try!
Saucy Sesame Meatballs
You will love this delicious saucy sesame meatballs recipe! It’s so flavorful, saucy, and perfect for game day or as an appetizer for special occasions.
Ingredients
Meatball Ingredients:
- 2 lbs. ground pork or ground beef
- 2 tsp. sesame oil
- 1 cup Panko or breadcrumbs
- 1/2 tsp. ground ginger
- 2 eggs
- 3 tsp. minced garlic
- 1/2 cup thinly-sliced green onions
- optional garnish: toasted sesame seeds, sliced scallions
Sesame Sauce Ingredients:
- 2/3 cup hoisin sauce
- 1/4 cup rice vinegar
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 Tbsp. soy sauce
- 1 tsp. sesame oil
- 1 tsp. ground ginger
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400.
- In a large bowl, mix together meatball ingredients until well-combined. Shape into balls (I made mine about 1.5 inches, which yielded about 35 meatballs, but 1 inch is probably standard), and place on a greased baking sheet or in a 9×13-inch baking dish. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until meatballs are golden on the outside and no longer pink on the inside.
- While the meatballs are baking, whisk together all of the sauce ingredients until blended. Once meatballs have finished cooking, you can either dip each meatball individually (using a toothpick) in the sauce mixture. Or you can pour the sauce over the meatballs and gently stir them until covered.
- Serve warm, and sprinkle with additional garnish if desired. (I served mine on these cocktail forks.)
Notes
You can also keep these warm (after cooking) in the crockpot on a low setting!
Did you make this?Let me know how it turned out in the comments below!
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Tried your recipe tonight fantastic and easily prepared♡♥ looking forward to many more thank you :) all the best TT.
Hi Ali,
Family member is allergic to eggs so swapped it out for milk. Tasted fantastic! Added your fried rice to the dinner and it perfect as well.
Thank you, Sharon
A new favorite in our house! It has the seal of approval from 5 kids (2 – 10yrs) and my husband. Thanks for sharing this recipe. It will be made again!!
Very delicious. Now, my wife and my daughter, appreciate my cook’s talents. Thank you and excuse I for the faults. I’m a french canadian and I don’t master English. Good day!
I made these for a motorcycle club meeting and put them inside wonton wrappers so it would be easier for them to carry around. THEY LOVED THEM!! And have been requested for the next one!
Where can I find the little picks you show with the meatballs?
I bought mine at World Market, but they are also available on Amazon.
These are delicious! I made a variation for my husband and he keeps asking for more. I used ground turkey and gluten-free breadcrumbs because that is what I had in the fridge/pantry. Your sauce recipe isn’t that much different than for homemade hoisin sauce, so I just made that. I served it all up with steamed veggies. There were sweet potatoes and a soft head of lettuce in the farm box this week, so I think I will try these as lettuce wraps and serve with a side of mashed sweet/golden potatoes and garlic carrots.
I made these for New Years and everyone loved them! I used extra beef that I had on hand and adjusted some ingredients accordingly (as best as I could without trying the meatballs themselves since I am vegetarian.) However, the sauce was to die for! I reduced the hoisin sauce and ginger, but it worked out perfectly. I used the sauce on my vegetarian meatballs :) Thanks for the awesome recipe! https://www.thecookiewriter.com/2014/01/homemade-meatballs-with-sweet-asian.html
Good recipe…definitely need salt in the balls and I added a small amount of brown sugar and chili garlic sauce to bring the sauce around.
Hi, I am bringing meatballs to a baby shower on Sunday, do you think I can make them in a crockpot? I have frozen meatballs which I never ever use, but due to a huge lack of time I gave in and bought premade meat balls!! If I add fresh ginger and garlic to the pot and a little brown sugar and the orange juice and lime juice I think it will be alright? What do you think!! I am excited to try this recipe the real way, but for now I have to improvise!!
Hi Martha,
Sorry for the late reply — I must have missed this comment! The details you suggested sound like they will definitely help flavor the frozen meatballs, and a crock pot has worked well for me in the past. Hope you enjoyed them!
~Ali