Kung Pao Chicken Meatballs
Published 9/20/2024
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
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.
Don’t forget to tag your posts on social media with the hashtag #fitfoodiefinds, we’d love to see what you’re up to!
My husband and I love these! I am going to make a few extra batches and freeze them! Do you cook them the same amount of time when you use the frozen meantballs?
I made these tonight with white meat ground turkey and they were very good! I thought they were super spicy- a bit much for me so how can I tone that down a bit? Is it the chili paste that gives it the most heat? Just reduce that? Thanks for the recipe. I will definitely use again.
Hey Lindsey! You can always reduce the chili paste or sriracha or up the honey!
WOOOOOOWWWWW! these are AMAZING! MY FAMILY LOVED THEM, I recommend this recipe to anyone its ABSOLUTELY AMAZING. Served them with a side salad and was delicious. Will keep this recipe forever!
<3 So glad everyone loved these meatballs!!!
Loved it!!!
I’ve made these a few times – me and the boyfriend love them! I’m not usually a big fan of spicy foods, so I tone down the sriracha in the sauce just a bit, but otherwise follow the recipe exactly.
Yes! Just add more honey. Cheers to bf-approved MEATBALLS.
Turned out great. Put them over soba noodles with sugar snap peas and peppers (some scallions and sesame seeds on top too).
One question: Do you actually make oatmeal and put it in or just rolled oats themselves?
If I were to make these a larger size instead of bite size, how long should I bake them for? It’s just me, so making a lot of bite sized meatballs would basically be an entire meal. Plus.
Hey Melanie! I would say start with 25 minutes. You’ll be able to feel if they are cooked to the touch!
Made these yesterday-ran out of flour so just doubled the oatmeal (I use a lot of it when making chicken loaf or meatballs anyway). These were a BIG hit, We will be having these often..to be sure! Thanks for sharing
YAY! So glad you guys loved them. Meatballs for the win!
Hi!!! I made these for dinner tonight and they were fantastic!! I used ground turkey instead of chicken and chili sauce in place of chili paste because trader joes had neither of the original ingredients. And, served over rice. Mine looked nowhere near as pretty as yours, but it was delicious!! Thank you for the recipe. Have a great night!
So glad all of your modifications worked! xoxo
Hi! Cant wait to try these! Having a cocktail
Party! What would be the best to make these ahead? Make the balls(lol) then that day reheat and sauce?
Hey Liz! That’s exactly what I would do! Make the meatballs and then reheat the next day and add the sauce 🙂