When Tony and I first met he ate completely different than he does now. He was into red meat, burgers, fried food, Papa John’s pizza, tater tots and anything that was cheap and easy.
He’s learned a lot through cooking with me and being exposed to a variety of healthy foods that he never really included in his diet before, such as: avocados, grain free tortillas, more whole grains, almond milk, grain free granola, salmon, pears, tahini, almond butter, dark chocolate, cabbage, broccoli, squash, mangos, etc. I’m incredibly proud of how far he’s come when it come to his every day food choices.
The best part about inspiring someone to change their eating habits is that they generally FEEL better and are happier too.
That’s exactly what I try to do here at Ambitious Kitchen: inspire you to live a healthy life that feels right for YOU.
Since we met, Tony now eats veggies at every meal, lean meats (we rarely buy red meat), less dairy (he tries to pretend he’s not lactose intolerant ha!) and more healthy fats like nuts and avocados. It took him awhile to realize that eating healthy doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice flavor or taste.
Of course, that doesn’t mean we don’t eat burgers or enjoy chocolate chip cookies every so often.
When it comes to achieving a healthy lifestyle, we try and have a mindset that’s both approachable and attainable. We eat to feel good and nourish our bodies, but also eat for pleasure and experiences, knowing that food can bring people together and memories are often made around the table with people you love.
Because my husband is a big meat eater, I’m always experimenting with how to jazz up lean proteins like chicken, turkey or fish. That’s exactly where the inspiration for these ginger chicken meatballs came in.
Frankly, I’m not sure what I love more about this meal: The fact that there’s delicious meatballs are infused with herbs and spices OR that there’s a creamy thai-inspired peanut sauce to coat them in. Above all, they are simply INCREDIBLE and I know you’re going to adore this recipe.
A few tips before you get cooking:
- Use a good peanut butter with lots of flavor and salt, it reallys helps the flavor. I highly recommend Smucker’s creamy natural.
- Serve them with any of the following to soak up all the extra sauce: brown rice, forbidden rice (aka black rice), quinoa, sweet potato noodles or zucchini noodles! Cauliflower rice would be delicious too.
- You can use either ground chicken or ground turkey. Do not use extra lean or the meatballs will be dry. I recommend using right around 93% lean for best results.
- Feel free to switch up the veggies based on what you have in your fridge. Spinach would be a delicious add-in.
More healthy meatball recipes:
Sheet Pan Zucchini Chicken Meatballs with Coconut Curry Sauce
Paleo Turmeric Chicken Meatballs with Green Tahini Sauce
Turkey Meatballs in Spicy Tomato Basil Sauce with Burrata
See how to make the ginger chicken meatballs:
One Pan Ginger Chicken Meatballs with Peanut Sauce
Ingredients
- For the meatballs:
- 1 pound 93% lean ground chicken (or lean ground turkey)
- 1 egg
- ½ cup panko breadcrumbs (or if GF sub 2 tablespoons coconut flour)
- 1/4 cup finely chopped green onion
- ¼ cup finely diced cilantro
- 1 jalapeño, seeded and finely diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil (can also use avocado oil, coconut oil or olive oil)
- For the peanut sauce:
- 1 (15 ounce) can light coconut milk
- 1/2 cup creamy natural peanut butter (just peanuts + salt)
- 2 tablespoons gluten free soy sauce (or coconut aminos)
- 1 tablespoon chili paste or sriracha
- Add-ins:
- 2 large carrots, thinly sliced
- 1 red bell pepper, julienned
- 2/3 cup frozen peas (or edamame)
- To garnish:
- Chopped honey roasted peanuts
- Diced scallions
- Fresh cilantro
- Hot sauce, if desired
Instructions
-
In a large bowl, add the ground chicken, egg, breadcrumbs, green onion, cilantro, jalapeño, garlic, ginger, cayenne, salt and pepper. Use clean hands to mix and form into 16 golf ball sized meatballs.
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Place a large deep skillet over medium-high heat and add in sesame oil. Add the meatballs and brown on all sides, about 5-6 minutes total. You may need to do this in batches, depending on how many meatballs you can fit in your skillet without overcrowding them. When meatballs are done browning, transfer to a plate and set aside.
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Reduce the heat to medium-low and add in the coconut milk, peanut butter, soy sauce and chili paste to the same skillet. Whisk together until well combined. Add in carrots, then add the meatballs back in and bring to a simmer. Cover the pan, reduce heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes.
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After 15 minutes, remove lid and gently stir in the peas and red bell pepper. Simmer for 5 more minutes uncovered. Serve with brown rice, quinoa or with spiralized zucchini or sweet potato. There will be lots of sauce, which makes it delicious! Garnish with chopped honey-roasted peanuts, scallions, cilantro. Serves 4.
Recipe by: Monique Volz of Ambitious Kitchen | Photography by: Eat Love Eat
144 comments
I am always looking for an excuse to put peanut butter in something. I have never seen Asian inspired meatballs before and am definitely going to have to try them out!
SAME. Always. You’ll love these!
Hi!! What could I sub for the egg? Thanks!
I would recommend a flaxegg!
Hi!! What could I sub for the egg? Thanks!
I would recommend a flaxegg!
My mouth is watering watching the video. I am for sure going to put this on next weeks menu. Just was wondering what size Le Creuset pan you were using? I am ion the hunt for a good universal size and also think it would work perfect for all the one pot meals of yours that my bae and I enjoy. Thanks.
These meatballs sound so flavorful and I love that there is a gluten free option! I’m dying to make this peanut sauce too!
So much flavor in here. Hope you get a chance to try them!
These meatballs sound so flavorful and I love that there is a gluten free option! I’m dying to make this peanut sauce too!
So much flavor in here. Hope you get a chance to try them!
I made this for my husband’s birthday dinner tonight. It was a huge hit! It will be in the regular rotation. The meatballs are fantastic! Thanks so much!
Amazing!! So happy to hear that. Happy birthday to your husband!
Hello. This one is in my meal plans for today. I bet it is going to taste as good as it looks here on your images. At first, I had an impression that the recipe is a bit difficult, but we all have made meatballs in the past so here are some clever tips and tricks added and the taste is a hundred times better (hopefully). Thank you for the recipe.
It might look tricky but it’s actually easy! Check out the how-to video, too 🙂
Made this last night but didn’t have all the ingredients for the meatballs so I subbed chicken breast cut into meatball-size pieces and it was delicious, will definitely be making this again!
Perfect! A yummy stir fry 🙂
I used the peanut butter I had on hand – Adams all natural – crunchy. I think this is what caused my sauce to separate … I see the oil in bottom of pan and the sauce isn’t silky (as it usually would be if I made a peanut sauce). thoughts?
It’s most likely because your pan was too hot when you added all the ingredients. I haven’t had this happen to me, but sounds like it wasn’t emulsified enough.
I made this for our weekly lunche meal prep (I doubled the recipe for both my husband and I… it made 8 meals) and I was actually sad that we weren’t eating it for dinner tonight!!! I can’t WAIT to eat lunch tomorrow!!! This tastes AMAZING!! Thank you!!!
LOVE this for meal prep. Glad you guys did too!!
Absolutely incredible! Made these tonight for dinner. Me and my husband were blown away with how good it taste. My two year old and 1 year old loved them too. Thanks for sharing!!
Absolutely incredible! Made these tonight for dinner. Me and my husband were blown away with how good it taste. My two year old and 1 year old loved them too. Thanks for sharing!!
So happy to hear that Emmaleigh! Such a great weeknight dinner.
My boyfriend cannot consume coconut. Do you have any suggestions as a coconut milk replacement?
Cashew milk would be good but likely less creamy.
My boyfriend cannot consume coconut. Do you have any suggestions as a coconut milk replacement?
Cashew milk would be good but likely less creamy.
That looks delicious! Comfort food recipes will always find a way to me eventually, I love trying new things. I love easy dinner recipes, especially when they turn out to be something my whole family loves!. This one also looks tasty,This is literally one of the most delicious things I have made! thank you for the sharing a great recipe!!
https://www.puro.pk/
Comfort foods are the best! Glad you loved this one 🙂
Followed your recipe to the letter for dinner last night. Everyone complimented the chef. Thank you for a deliciousnew favorite to add the family recipe box.
So happy to hear that Molly!
I made these for my boyfriend, he loves brownies, and loves being healthy. I was super skeptical at first because brownies are sacred food and they should stay just as they are, and black bean avocado brownies just dont sound appetizing. But oh my gosh are these delicious, I made a second batch just for myself. Highly recommend this recipe, not even just as a healthy alternative, but just as a normal go to brownie recipe.
Oh my gosh. This dish was absolutely delicious! I cut back on the spice, but the flavor did not suffer. Our guests loved it and asked for the recipe. I will make this again and double amounts. Three meatballs/person was not enough! I served it with chicken potstickers, which really complimented the dish. No need for rice or any other side.
Happy to hear that everyone loved it! Sounds like you’ll need a double batch next time 🙂
Made your receipe so delicious😘 i am in Australia on Weight Watchers was blown away when I calculated the points. Have to save to when I have list my weight.
Glad you enjoyed!!
Made your receipe so delicious😘 i am in Australia on Weight Watchers was blown away when I calculated the points. Have to save to when I have list my weight.
Glad you enjoyed!!
Yum! So much yum. And it makes good leftovers for lunch. Will definitely make again.
Absolutely! Best leftovers 🙂
YUM!! Thanks for sharing – made this last night and the whole family loved. I doubled the recipe and have plenty of leftover sauce – can it be frozen?
YUM!! Thanks for sharing – made this last night and the whole family loved. I doubled the recipe and have plenty of leftover sauce – can it be frozen?
So happy to hear that! I haven’t tried to freeze the sauce, but I imagine it would work.
Delicious!! My stove runs hot (Verona, aka my temperamental Italian boyfriend) so it was a little thicker than it should have been. Added some homemade stock to compensate. I thought the texture of the meatballs was kind of weird. A little mushy? Maybe too much panko? I’m not sure but what I CAN tell you is my sweetie requested I keep this in rotation. I used almond butter due to allergies, and served it on rainbow quinoa, but next time maybe on sweet potato! Delicious, thanks for sharing it.
I’m not sure how meatballs would get mushy? They are very moist thanks to being simmered in sauce, so maybe that was it. Glad your sweetie loved it.
How do you think this would be with ground beef?
How do you think this would be with ground beef?
That will work well! I would just not use a super lean ground beef as the texture can get a little bit tough.
I made this dish tonight for dinner. My picky son just loved it as well as the rest of the family. I made the meatball mixture a day ahead using a 50/50 mix of ground beef and chicken. Instead of peas I added thinly sliced carrots and onions along with the bell pepper. We had it over white rice but next time I’m going to serve it over rice noodles. Thank you for this easy delicious dish.
I made this dish tonight for dinner. My picky son just loved it as well as the rest of the family. I made the meatball mixture a day ahead using a 50/50 mix of ground beef and chicken. Instead of peas I added thinly sliced carrots and onions along with the bell pepper. We had it over white rice but next time I’m going to serve it over rice noodles. Thank you for this easy delicious dish.
Amazing! So happy to hear that. Great additions, too 🙂
Beautiful, tasty recipe! Next time I think I’ll add a teaspoon of Chinese five spice powder to the meatballs, as they were a little bit bland. Overall wonderful!
Glad you enjoyed! Sorry to hear you found the meatballs bland – I always find them super flavorful with all of the spices. But adding your own is the perfect option!
Hi Dear your all recipes are awesome I try at home good simple tasty recipes.
Thanks for sharing these recipes. you are my favorite chef.
Hi! Thank you so much!
Hi Monique,
Just discovered your web site and made your chicken soup last night, really good! This chicken meatball recipe looks fabulous, will make it tomorrow night. Just thought I would mention that I will be using organic peanut butter since peanuts are extremely high in pesticides. I always use organic chicken as well.
Hi Gail! Glad you loved the chicken soup 🙂 Feel free to use organic peanut butter in this. Enjoy!
Anyone tried these in a slow cooker and had success? Would love to have these cooking during work!
These look awesome, but my husband is allergic to nuts! Any ideas for a substitute sauce that might be good? Maybe I could come up with some kind of ginger-soy something…
Yes I was wondering the same thing
I’m sorry, I have only made this as is! Let us know if you come up with something yummy and nut free.
Omg, this completely changed how I think about meatballs! I had just done more traditional turkey meatballs and pasta with marinara for meal prep last week so I was worried it might be a bit similar, but it’s not at all, such an interesting flavor. I mean, I love coconut and I love peanut butter so pretty hard to steer wrong there. Thanks for another great recipe!
So glad you found these ones! They’re a great alternative to traditional ones with marinara 🙂
New family favorite. I buy ground chicken, prep it for meatballs and store in the freezer. Pull out and defrost to form meatballs, prep the sauce while they are cooking, as well as the rice. Dinner on the table in no time. Sublime flavors and tummy warming. Love this recipe. Thank you
Perfect!! So happy to hear that.
ooh this sounds smart. I’m always a fan of dividing up cooking tasks so when you actually want to cook it’s ready in no time. How do you freeze the meatball mixture? Cling wrap? And then defrost in fridge overnight and make the sauce in separate pan?
Very, very good. My 1-year-old enthusiastically ate it up (we won’t talk about my picky older two…). I added extra peppers to get them out of the fridge and there was still plenty of sauce. I threw in a bit of brown sugar too. Reminded me of pad thai from one of my favorite restaurants. 5 stars!
Love it! Glad these were kiddo-approved (even for one of the kiddos 🙂 ).
The combination and well balanced ingredients is this dish look great, I will be making this soon with black rice.
I am wondering to ensure the meatball do not dry out to increase the fat content to 80- 85 via bacon fat or pork?
Also for the sauce, would be redundant to add some garlic and ginger in there as well or would this take the recipe of its main course, [could not resist the pun 😉 ] .
I’ve found that the meatballs stay nice and juicy even with 93% lean ground turkey, but feel free to use another ground meat that you like! And feel free to add in some garlic & ginger, too, if you like 🙂
I LOVE all of your recipes (especially your love for asian flavors!) but found this one to contain too much peanut butter. It seemed to be a bit thick and overpowering. Won’t stop me from cooking your recipes but this one wasn’t my favorite.
Interesting! I wonder if it might be the type of peanut butter you used? The all-natural kind that’s “drippy” is usually pretty mild in recipes like this one. Hope you find some new ones that you love!
This was so delicious!!
I usually dislike the taste of chicken meatballs but these were a game changer!! This will definitely become my go to recipe for minced chicken!
Love it!! The sauce and all of the spices really make it 🙂 You can also use ground turkey if you like.
While eating this meal over cauliflower rice, my 4yr old declared that this dinner was the best part of his day. 🙌🏻And watching him gobble it up was the highlight of mine!! So delicious and a real crowd pleaser at my house. Thank you, Monique!
Amazing!! So happy to hear that Emma 🙂
Made this the other night for my bestie, it was delish! Added a bit more chilli sauce as she likes food hot and spicy. Yummy
Amazing!! So happy to hear that.
omg omg omg!! You are a legit genius! I made this and its so so good!!! I’m obsessed with Thai food so this really hit the spot! Plus hubby loved it!
Love all your recipes, you are such an inspiration in my kitchen!
Amazing!! So happy to hear that Nicole 🙂
Any whole30 recommendations? TIA 🙂
Great question! I’d suggest clicking the “Paleo” tab under recipes and adjusting any as needed to fit whole30 🙂
What do you think about ground ginger powder in place of the grated ginger? Our local grocery store was out of fresh ginger.
We had this for dinner tonight. I couldn’t find fresh ginger, so substituted 1/2 tsp of ginger powder for the grated ginger. It was pretty good, even I (not a big fan of peanut butter) enjoyed it.
Great! Glad you enjoyed 🙂
Can I cook Meatballs in oven??
Sure! You can bake them (without the sauce) at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes.
my toddler and I loved this recipe! it tastes so good!!
thanks
So happy to hear that!
It’s okay, worth the effort but not worthy of the 4.9 rating at the time I’m cooked it.
Sorry to hear that, Paul! This is one of my most popular dinner recipes, but everyone’s taste preference is different.
Made this for the 2nd time tonight and loved loved loved it! So simple and adaptable. I was craving some extra veggies so added zucchini, broccoli, bok choy, and lacinato kale—really easy to toss them in and let steam for an extra few minutes at the end. Thanks for the inspiration! It’s officially in the rotation 🙂
Amazing! Love those veggie additions – this one is perfect for customizing. Glad you liked this one, Caroline!
Made this last night and it was so incredibly good and the husband basically licked the bowl clean, haha! It was flavorful without being spicy and all the steps were really easy to follow. Thank you so much for sharing!!
Amazing! Glad you both enjoyed 🙂 Thanks for your note, Larissa!
Dear Monique
These meatballs were amazing!!!! OMG 😮!!! My two teens and husband couldn’t get enough! Good thing I doubled the recipe! I used ground turkey, doubled the carrots, and cut the peanut butter in half. My mother tried it today and she is demanding the recipe! I just found you on Instagram and I am so glad I did!!
Hi Nadia! So happy you found AK and this recipe! One of my fav one pan dinners 🙂 Hope you find some more delicious recipes for the whole family here.
Absolutely loved these meatballs! I will be keeping this recipe to make over and over again. I next plan to serve them at a family (30 people) appie afternoon and I know they will be a hit with young and old. Thanks so much for sharing your wonderful recipes with all of us!
So happy to hear that! I hope everyone loves these 🙂
Made these last night with ground turkey and they were delicious. Because I don’t like spicy food I omitted the jalapeño. I also omitted the chili paste from the sauce and used about 1/2 tsp of chili power instead – but the sauce was still a little more peanut buttery than I’d like without heat to dilute it. Any suggestions for the sauce for those who don’t like spice? Next time I’ll try less peanut butter and I wondered about using some Thai red curry paste instead of the chili?
You could reduce to 1/3 cup peanut butter, but since these are meatballs in a peanut sauce, peanut butter is a huge part of what makes the recipe flavorful and peanut buttery 🙂 reducing the peanut butter is your best bet! I wouldn’t really worry about the heat component.
Made this for dinner tonight – delicious! I used almond milk instead of coconut milk, and used coconut flour instead of bread crumbs. Would definitely make again! Thank you !
Perfect! Glad you enjoyed!
This recipe is delicious! I used ground turkey and was a little worried that the turkey flavour would come through too much. I was wrong! The flavour of the meatball was wonderful, and the sauce was a perfect compliment. Will definitely be making this again!
Perfect! So happy you loved this one!
The whole family loved it! I used almond butter instead of peanut butter because a couple of my kids have peanut allergies. Deliciously different than the standard chicken breasts we usually have.
Amazing! So happy to hear that.
This was absolutely delicious! My husband and I loved it and will definitely add this to our “favorite” meal list.
Love it! One of my favs, too.
This was delicious! My husband and I absolutely loved it. I used half beef and half pork as I usually do with meatballs and it was perfect. Lived all the flavors. Make sure to take the seeds out of the jalepeno (my hubby was al…but babe I want it spicy. Well came out a bit too spicy lmao). So good you guys dont hesitate to make. Easily customizable with what you have on hand as well.
Love that! Yes, I recommend de-seeding the jalapeño if you’re a bit sensitive to spice 🙂 glad you two enjoyed!
This recipe was so amazing and delicious! We ended up using jiffy peanut butter because it was on hand and it gave the sauce a really strong peanut butter flavor. We added more sriracha and coconut aminos to cut the flavor which helped. We also added a tad more ginger because we love the ginger flavor. We just can’t get over how delicious the meatballs were!
Perfect! Such a great dinner. Glad you enjoyed!
I love this recipe. Could you make the meatballs ahead and put them in the fridge or freezer?
Absolutely! Glad you love this one!
This is fabulous!!!! I served mine over steamed cauliflower, and made Thai noodles for the kids. Delicious. I used ground chicken and followed the recipe.
Perfect! Sounds delicious 🙂
Just made them tonight and….. holy crap. Wowowow. I see why they were on your best of 2019 list. My husband and are obsessed. Next time I’ll definitely make in a bigger pan as my cast iron was bursting at the seems (not that I minded…. still so good). We made with turkey and the GF substitute and it was out of this world!
Love it!! So happy you both enjoyed!
Tasty meal but felt the sauce was a little bland. Think next time we will try putting the garlic and ginger in the sauce instead of the meatballs!
Sorry to hear that! I find the sauce to be quite flavorful, especially with the bites of meatball. Feel free to add some garlic and ginger in there, too, if you’d like!
Excellent recipe. I made it with ground turkey and subbed 1/2 tsp crushed red chilies for jalapeno. We will enjoy this again!
Perfect! Glad you enjoyed!
This is one of my favorite recipes. The sauce is amazing! I’m thinking about other things can cook with it. Ive made it for my husband, and I’ve brought it to parties and everyone loves it! I even had a friend ask me to make it for her as a gift during the holidays instead of a traditional gift haha!
So happy to hear that! One of my favorite dinners, too 🙂
I ADORE this recipe! I’ve made it a few times and have subbed different meat based on what I have. I also like to add spinach and usually add fresh ginger and garlic to the peanut sauce. So easy to customize based on what veggies are in the fridge! Great to eat throughout the week too!
Amazing! So happy to hear that.
This was great. I used light coconut milk instead of regular but otherwise made the recipe as written. The meatballs were excellent and the peanut sauce was really tasty. I had the following in small bowls for people to add in themselves: chopped carrots, bell pepper, peanuts, cilantro and peas. Served with brown rice. Overall, it was a hit!
Perfect! Love the idea of doing DIY add-ins, too 🙂 yum!
Amazing!! One of my favorite dinners now! Made it once with chicken and once with turkey (both times using coconut flour instead of breadcrumbs) and both were so good!! The meatballs are super tender and flavorful, and the coconut peanut sauce is sooooo good
Perfect! So happy you love these!
I’ve been wanting to try this recipe for months, but my boyfriend has been so hesitant and he was never interested. After reading your blurb about how your husband’s food habits have changed, slowly but surely, I was inspired and decided to go for it! Easily the best meatballs I’ve ever had (and I’m italian…) and the sauce is SO dreamy and yummy! My boyfriend took one bite, looked at me, and said it was the best meal he’s ever had. THANK YOU!!! Adding this to the regular rotation, and excited to try more of your meatball recipes!!!
Amazing!! So happy you two gave this one a try 🙂 it’s one of our favorites, too!
This was an extremely flavorful dish! We followed the recipe exactly but also added spinach and mushrooms. We will definitely be making this dish again! Very good as leftovers as well!
Perfect! Great idea to add spinach and mushrooms. Glad you guys enjoyed!
These were delicious! The recipe was easy to follow, there was so much flavor and we love that ambitiouskitchens recipes are healthier than the average recipes we see! We will be making these again soon!
So good. So good. So f%#king good!
This looks good. Could I put regular milk or almond milk instead of coconut milk for the sauce? It’s the only thing I don’t have.