These Sweet and Spicy Korean Meatballs will change your life. They’re made with lean beef, flavored with garlic and Sriracha, baked, no frying and glazed with a spicy apricot glaze.
In the party snack department, tiny glazed meatballs always win so these meatballs are perfect as an appetizer for your party, or to snack on, even to serve them as a meal over some cooked rice. I bet you’ve missed my meatballs! Well don’t worry, because I’m back with another fabulous recipe. This time the recipe is for sweet and spicy Korean meatballs.
Korean Meatballs?
Korean meatballs are usually made with Gochujang chili paste, but honestly I didn’t want to look for it at the grocery store or go to the Asian market, so I just used Sriracha sauce instead and they were still plenty spicy and utterly delicious. There’s also plenty of garlic, which makes me very happy, and chopped green onions among other staple meatball ingredients.
Of course, what makes these meatballs stand out, is the apricot glaze which is where the sweet and spicy part comes in. It’s such a simple glaze, only 3 ingredients, apricot jam, soy sauce and Sriracha sauce, but totally makes these meatballs go from good to sensational.
Ingredients
Meatballs
- Ground beef – Use lean or regular, any kind you’d like, though the more fat in the meat the juicier your meatballs will be.
- Onion – Be sure to use green onion today! Chopped up thin.
- Aromatics – Fresh chopped garlic and ground ginger.
- Sauces – Sriracha or some element of heat is crucial for this recipe.
- Egg – You’ll need one large as the binding agent in the meatballs.
- Seasoning – Salt and pepper to taste.
Spicy apricot glaze
- Jam – I used apricot jam but you can always use orange marmalade instead.
- Soy sauce – Use low sodium if you find your meatballs get too salty.
- Sriracha – We want to carry that heat through, from our meatballs all the way to our glaze!
Want To Use Gochujang?
If you happen to have some on hand or really feel like going authentic with this recipe then feel free to use this spicy little paste. Be warned though, gochujang is spicy so you may want to tweak how much you use as a substitute.
How To Make Korean Meatballs
- Preheat oven: To 400 F degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside.
- Make the meatballs: In a large bowl, add all the meatball ingredients and mix with your hands to combine. Form the meatballs into small 1 inch balls. Place the meatballs on the prepared baking sheet and bake for about 20 to 25 minutes or until done to your liking. I got about 36 meatballs because I wanted these to be small bite size meatballs.
- Create the glaze: Meanwhile, in a medium bowl whisk together all the glaze ingredients. Add the meatballs and toss well until all the meatballs are glazed.
- Finish the dish: Garnish with chopped chives if preferred and serve immediately over cooked rice or as an appetizer.
Do I Have To Use Beef?
You can use whichever protein you’d like! Feel free to try any of or a combination of these:
- ground chicken
- turkey
- pork
- veal
How to Serve
I prefer to serve these saucy morsels over white rice but hey, that’s just me. Feel free to try out any of these and you may find your new favorite meal.
- Mashed Potatoes
- Creamy Polenta
- Coconut Rice
- Rice noodles – cooked according to package instructions.
Make ahead
This dish can be made ahead of time if that’s what you’re into! Both the sauce and the meatballs themselves are perfect for the fridge or freezer.
These meatballs can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 3 – 4 days. This recipe also freezes quite well so just be sure to separate the balls from the sauce in airtight containers and store. Each should last around 3 months frozen.
More Incredible Meatballs To Try:
- Salisbury Steak Meatballs
- Stout Meatballs with BBQ Sauce
- Meatballs with Mushroom Sauce
- Porcupine Meatballs
- Thai Meatball Lettuce Wraps
- Cheesy Chicken Meatball Rolls
- Firecracker Chicken Meatballs
- Thai Meatball Lettuce Wraps
- Pomegranate Cocktail Meatballs
- Indonesian Meatballs
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Sweet and Spicy Korean Meatballs
Equipment
Ingredients
For Meatballs
- 1 1/2 lb lean ground beef
- 4 green onions chopped
- 1/2 cup breadcrumbs such as Panko
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 egg
- 2 tbsp Sriracha sauce
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 1 tsp salt or to taste
- 1/2 tsp pepper or to taste
For Spicy Apricot Glaze
- 1/2 cup apricot jam
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tbsp Sriracha sauce
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 F degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside.
- In a large bowl, add all the meatball ingredients and mix with your hands to combine. Form the meatballs into small 1 inch balls. Place the meatballs on the prepared baking sheet and bake for about 20 to 25 minutes or until done to your liking.
- Meanwhile, in a medium bowl whisk together all the glaze ingredients. Add the meatballs and toss well until all the meatballs are glazed.
- Garnish with chopped chives if preferred and serve immediately over cooked rice or as an appetizer.
Recipe Notes
- This recipe will yield about 36 meatballs, but depends on size of meatballs.
- You can use ground chicken, turkey, or pork instead of beef.
- You can use orange marmalade instead of apricot jam if that’s more convenient for you.
- You can use gochujang instead of sriracha.
- Nutritional information is per meatball.
- Please keep in mind that nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary greatly based on products used.
WOW! Just made these and they are oh so good. Permanently in our dinner rotation.
Glad you enjoyed them!
Decent recipe but should be named Thai meatballs. Sriracha isn’t Korean…
Turned out good when I made it.
these turned out amazing. They are delicious!!
Great! The flavor of the Sriracha really comes through. As a spice lover I would love to make these again and try gochujang instead.
I made this using the seasonings/spices for the meatball but ratio/combination of egg-meat-breadcrumbs-quinoa from another recipe and they turned out fantastic! The sauce is so simple and yet so awesome that we started thinking of what other proteins we could coat with the sauce and eat! I used a combination of apricot, leftover from a family visit, and peach jam to make the full 1/2 cup and no regrets. Teenager even liked it. Added to our dinner rotation.
I’ve made this recipe a couple times now and I LOVE it! Although, the last time I made them, they turned out incredibly spicy. I wasn’t sure how it happened until I was listing off the ingredients for a family member and said red pepper flakes. Then I realized the recipe doesn’t call for red pepper flakes! Now don’t get me wrong. I love spicy. But my poor hubby couldn’t handle it!
I’ve made these several times and they are so delicious. I was wondering if, after baking them, I could put them (with the sauce) in a slow cooker to stay warm.
Glad you like them. Definitely yes to the slow cooker.
Made this when friends came for drinks, they were a big hit. Nice bit of heat.
We love this! We make it often. It is always a hit, no matter who is over for dinner!
This is so great to hear!!
Easy breezy ..I doubled the yummy glaze..thank you ..I added cilantro too with meatballs
Looks delicious! How many meatballs does the recipe yield? Also, If I was to make them ahead of time and freeze them, should I cook them first? Thanks!
We got 34 meatballs, but of course you could end up with a few more or less depending on how you roll them 🙂 Yes, I would cook them first!
Hi there, planning on making these for the super bowl. Question, can I use ginger paste instead of ground ginger? And can I substitute soy sauce for braggs aminos? Don’t want to compromise flavor, but already own both so if I can use them instead – why not.
Yes for sure! Those will both work.
These turned out so great and scrumptious ! Love this recipe. I want to make a double batch for the Super Bowl….what do you suggest as the best way to keep the meatballs warm after cooking is complete? A crockpot on low setting maybe? Thanks!!!!
Yes that will be a perfect method! Enjoy 🙂
great! Thank you!
This is a great sauce for meatballs, the apricots would indeed give a nice sweet and tangy note. Yummy!