Kung Pao Chicken Meatballs
Published 9/20/2024
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Get sassy with dinner and make our Kung Pao Chicken Meatballs! This is a Fit Foodie classic and a personal favorite of mine. They’re super simple to whip up, too, because the chicken meatballs are baked and then tossed in a simple homemade kung pao sauce.
If you don’t know what to make for dinner. Make these Kung Pao Chicken Meatballs ASAP. Remember FFF’s Healthy Kung Pao Chicken that we posted 1,000 years ago? Well, we based this sauce off of that very recipe. Why? Because it’s gotten rave reviews from so many FFF readers, we thought we’d re-invent it with an amazing baked chicken meatballs recipe!
I do want to make a quick note that this kung pao sauce is NOT authentic. It’s very much a “Minnesota-nice, I’ve got about 5 minutes to make dinner” kind-of-sauce.
What You Need for Kung Pao Chicken Meatballs
We actually tested this recipe with both ground chicken and ground turkey, and both of them work. YAY! Here’s what else you need for the ground chicken meatballs:
- onion
- flour (any kind)
- rolled oats
- sriracha
- salt
- pepper
- garlic
Make them g/f: You can easily keep these flavorful kung pao meatballs gluten-free by using a gluten-free flour blend and certified gluten-free rolled oats. We love the texture rolled oats give these baked meatballs and I’m sure you will too!
You Must Try Our Kung Pao Sauce
Once you’ve got your meatballs in the oven, it’s time to make the kung pao sauce! Now, I’m sort of biased about Fit Foodie’s kung pao sauce, but it’s pretty damn good! I love it mostly because it’s made with honey and not another refined sugar. It’s also super basic with just 5 total ingredients.
- soy sauce (or tamari)
- sriracha
- red chili sauce
- honey
Is this kung pao sauce super spicy?
I would say it’s medium or…Minnesota spicy? You can totally control the spice by adding more soy sauce and/or honey!
How to Serve Your Meatballs
- Appetizer: these meatballs are perfect for a high-protein app. Just pop a toothpick in each one!
- Make it a meal: serve your meatballs over white rice and your favorite veggie such as air fryer broccoli.
More Meatball Recipes
- Green Curry Sweet Potato Chicken Meatballs
- Red Coconut Curry Meatballs
- Healthy Rosemary Thyme Balsamic Meatballs
- Sweet and Sour Meatballs Skewers
More Stir Fry Recipes
- Kung Pao Shrimp
- Our Best Healthy Stir Fry Recipes
- Honey Ginger Chicken Stir Fry
- Healthy Sweet and Sour Chicken
- Instant Pot Beef and Broccoli
Baked Kung Pao Chicken Meatballs
Ingredients
For the Meatballs
- 1 lb. ground chicken
- 1/3 cup finely diced yellow onion
- 1 large egg
- 1/4 cup white whole wheat flour, option to sub all-purpose or gluten-free all-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup rolled oatmeal
- 1 tablespoon sriracha
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
For the Kung Pao Sauce
- 4 tablespoons soy sauce, option to tamari or coconut aminos
- 2 tablespoon sriracha
- 2 tablespoon chili garlic sauce
- 2 tablespoon honey
Instructions
- First, preheat oven to 400ºF and spray a baking sheet with coconut oil cooking spray. Set aside.
- Next, prep chicken meatballs mixture by placing all ingredients into a large bowl mixing until combined.
- Using a tablespoon cookie scoop (note: these are bite-sized, not giant!), scoop out a heaping scoop of mixture and mold into a ball with your hands. It works best if your hands are slightly wet with water. Place on baking sheet and repeat.
- Bake meatballs at 400ºF for 25-28 minutes or until the top begins to turn golden brown.
- While the meatballs are cooking, prep the kung pao sauce, by mixing all ingredients together in a small bowl.
- Once the meatballs have slightly cooled, toss in sauce. Serve hot!
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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The sauce is great! The meatballs lack some flavor and are a bit dry, would definitely add some more seasoning and a moisture element to the meat mixture next time!
Love, love this recipe. I did use turkey and cut back just a bit on the chili paste and sriracha. I served with “Easy Low Carb Cauliflower Fried Rice”………..this was restaurant quality. Thank you!!
Made these for dinner with some quinoa & broccoli/cauliflower mixture and was so so great!! Boyfriend even loved too!
Only thing I would add is if you don’t like spicy things like me ( I think everything is spicy!) I would only use 1 TBS of sriracha and chili paste and up the honey like mentioned in other comments to help the heat! 🔥
These balls are great! I forgot the honey and so they were extra spicy. Very flavorful, I wound up using a pinch of corn starch to make the sauce a little more thick. I also used the rest of the onions and caramelized them… which was extra delish! Will make these again and share with my friends!