Bang Bang Turkey Meatballs
I love a good meatball recipe, and I love playing around with different flavors of meatballs. I’m obsessed with bang bang anything, so I thought: why not make bang bang meatballs? These turned out incredible, are so moist and are a great source of protein for a main entree!
Making this dish healthier
Instead of using fattier ground meat, I opted for a lean ground turkey. You could also use a lean ground beef or chicken, but my preference for this dish is to use ground turkey! Using a lean meat decreases the amount of saturated fat, and is overall more heart healthy.
Use low sodium soy sauce, or better yet, coconut aminos instead of regular soy sauce. Soy sauce is extremely high in sodium, so opting for a lower sodium alternative to achieve the same flavor is also a more heart healthy choice! Low sodium soy sauce is usually still a high sodium food (contains ~590 mg sodium per tbsp), but coconut aminos are generally lower in sodium, although this varies by brand. Some of the more popular brands may contain between 270-420 mg of sodium per tbsp, which is 29-54% less sodium than even low-sodium soy sauce, so if coconut aminos are available to you, I would recommend using that. The nutrition facts listed for this recipe was calculated using low sodium soy sauce, so it would be much lower in sodium if you used coconut aminos!
Using olive oil mayo instead of regular mayo is a great way to decrease the overall fat and calories of your sauce while achieving the same flavor and consistency! I started using olive oil mayo a couple of years ago and I actually prefer its flavor over regular mayo!
What to pair this with
Pairing the protein from the meatballs plus the fat from the sauce with a starch and a vegetable is a great way to make a balanced meal. My personal opinion is that the rice is the starch that goes best with this dish, and green vegetables would also go well with this dish.
Vegetable ideas: asparagus, green beans, broccoli, bok choy
BANG BANG TURKEY MEATBALLS
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Servings: 8
Ingredients
2 lbs lean ground turkey (93% lean)
1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
2 eggs
2 stalks of green onion
2 tbsp hoisin
2 tsp minced garlic
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/3 cup low-sodium soy sauce OR coconut aminos
1/2 cup sweet chili sauce
1 tsp sriracha
1/4 cup olive oil mayo
Instructions
Preheat your oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Thinly slice your green onion, separating the whites from the greens. Then mince the whites and set aside. In a small bowl, add the olive oil mayo, 1/4 cup sweet chili sauce, and 1/2 tsp sriracha. Mix and set aside.
In a large bowl, combine the ground turkey, panko breadcrumbs, eggs, green onion whites, hoisin, minced garlic, and ground ginger. Mix to combine, ensuring that the egg yolks are broken and fully combined in the mixture. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray with cooking spray. Create 1 1/2 inch balls from the mixture (may make ~16-20 balls), then add to the baking sheet. Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes, or until the insides are not pink.
In the meantime, heat a sauté pan over medium heat. Add the low sodium soy sauce, 1/4 cup sweet chili sauce, and 1/2 tsp of sriracha to the pan, stirring occasionally. Once the sauce is simmering, reduce to low and continue to stir occasionally. Add the cooked meatballs to the pan, and stir to fully coat each meatball in the sauce. When ready to eat the meatballs, drizzle some of the bang bang sauce onto the meatballs, and garnish with sesame seeds and the greens of the green onion. Enjoy!
