Asian Turkey Meatballs – An easy, lightened up dinner made with lean ground turkey breast and plenty of Asian flavors. Serve these with a side of steamed veggies and brown rice for a healthy and yummy meal!
Since it’s a new year, many of us are ready to start it off right by making more healthful choices. I know I enjoyed a few more cookies and treats than I probably should have over the holidays, but that’s what New Year’s resolutions are for, right? 
Thankfully, cooking healthy foods doesn’t have to be difficult, and with recipes like these Asian Turkey Meatballs, eating right can be pretty delicious, too.
I love using ground turkey breast in recipes, especially when I’m looking to save a few calories. It is important to note that the type of ground turkey that you purchase really affects how much fat or calories you will save over ground beef. If your goal is to achieve a lighter meal, try to find ground turkey breast and not just ground turkey. Ground turkey is made up of both light and dark meat and therefore has a bit more fat and calories than its breast meat counterpart.
Ground turkey breast is a very lean meat, but these meatballs have a little milk, egg, soy sauce, and sesame oil to help keep them moist. They may actually feel a bit sticky as you’re forming them into balls, but just keep working with them and they will bake up just fine. There is also a yummy lime sauce to drizzle over them at the end that just adds to their moistness and flavor!
I like to serve these Asian Turkey Meatballs over brown rice with some steamed veggies; especially some sautéed bok choy. Bok Choy (or Chinese cabbage) pairs perfectly with these meatballs and is full of good for you vitamins like A, C, K, potassium, folate, and more.
Enjoy y’all!
Asian Turkey Meatballs
Ingredients
Meatballs:
- ¼ cup low fat milk
- ¼ cup plain bread crumbs
- 20 oz. ground turkey breast
- 1 egg,, lightly beaten
- 2 garlic cloves,, minced
- ⅓ cup thinly sliced green onions
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup chopped cilantro
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons sesame oil
Dipping Sauce:
- 3 Tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 teaspoon sesame oil
- 2 Tablespoon fresh lime juice
- 2 Tablespoon water
- 1 garlic clove,, minced
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 500 degrees Fahrenheit.
- In a large bowl, combine all meatball ingredients and mix well. Form into 20 meatballs (about a ¼ cup each) and place in the bottom of a greased 9x13 pan. Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes or until cooked through.
- Meanwhile, prepare sauce by combining all ingredients in a small bowl. When the meatballs have finished cooking, transfer to a serving dish and drizzle with some of the prepared sauce.
- Serve meatballs over rice with with remaining sauce, if desired. Enjoy!
Teri says
I made these and they were absolutely delicious! A warning though….the recipe instructions say cook at 500 degrees. This temperature is too hot. I used two glass pyrex casserole dishes to bake mine because they wouldn’t all fit into one pan. When I removed the dishes from the oven, one of them exploded! Glass everywhere. We were able to eat the meatballs from the other dish and they were very tasty, but I would recommend baking at a lower temperature unless you’re baking with metal pans. Not sure why the recipe tells you to bake at such a high temperature.
Dannii says
We love adding Asian flavours to meatballs. Makes such a nice change.
Sara Welch says
I know what I will be having for dinner tonight; this looks not only easy, but amazing too!
Laura | Wandercooks says
Ooh thanks for the headsup about ground turkey – I’d never thought to pay attention to that distinction. Thanks for the amazing recipe!
Natalie says
These turkey meatballs look so delicious and soft! I just have to try this recipe soon!
Jennifer says
I love meatballs. They hit the spot just about any time, but I love how these turkey meatballs lighten it up so I can enjoy them more often!
Mary Bostow says
Oh yum! My whole family would go crazy for these Asian Turkey Meatballs! This recipe looks super easy and full of ingredients my family loves. Looking forward to trying soon.
Bintu | Recipes From A Pantry says
These sound absolutely amazing! I also love the sound of that lime sauce!
Danielle says
These look SO good. I love the sound of sesame oil in the dipping sauce.
Danielle Wolter says
I am just loving the flavors you have in these meatballs. So delicious, and they’re healthy!
Shashi at SavorySpin says
These meatballs sound so flavorful! Love how healthy they are – especially around this time of the year!
Jaren (Diary of a Recipe Collector) says
Love this healthy idea! It looks so delicious!
Connie | URBAN BAKES says
This looks amazing!! I could gobble up a bunch of these at once. I love that you substituted beef for turkey; much leaner! 🙂
Andi @ The Weary Chef says
These look so delicious, Ashlyn. I swear your photography gets better every day. I wish you could give me a lesson! I’ll just have to fly over to Hawaii for that 🙂
Meg @ The Housewife in Training Files says
I have a meatball obsession right now so I need to add these into the mix!
amanda @ fake ginger says
Meatballs are always so fun! Love your Asian twist!
Deb @ Cooking on the Front Burner says
Asian flavors are always a hit in our house – these look wonderful!
Annie @Maebells says
Oh these look so yummy!! I like using ground turkey, but I only have a few ways I cook it. I love this version! It looks like it is loaded with flavor!