Honey Garlic Meatballs
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These honey garlic meatballs are sweet, sticky, and always a hit! Juicy baked meatballs are coated in a homemade honey garlic sauce. They’re easy to make and ready in just 30 minutes.
By now, it’s probably obvious that I have a soft spot for meatballs. I’ve made them just about every way imaginable, and somehow these Asian-inspired honey garlic meatballs still managed to surprise me. They’re sweet, sticky, incredibly juicy, and always a crowd favorite.
The meatballs are simple and flavorful, made with a mix of ground beef and pork, grated onion, soy sauce, fresh ginger and garlic, and a binder such as oats, breadcrumbs, or almond flour. I mix everything by hand, roll them out, and bake them while the honey-garlic sauce simmers on the stove. The sauce is rich and glossy with butter, plenty of garlic, honey, soy sauce, apple cider vinegar, and a little cornstarch to thicken it just enough to cling to the meatballs.
Once the meatballs are cooked, I toss them straight into the sauce until they’re fully coated, then finish them with sliced green onions and sesame seeds. They’re great served as an appetizer with toothpicks, but just as good spooned over rice for an easy, satisfying dinner the whole family loves.
Quick tip
If you’re in a hurry, use a bag of store-bought meatballs. While they’re never quite as good as homemade, they’ll do the trick when you need to save some time!
Make it a meal
When serving honey garlic meatballs as a casual family dinner, I’ll often make a pot of my favorite coconut rice and a simple vegetable like garlic sugar snap peas or roasted broccoli.
Honey Garlic Meatballs Recipe
Ingredients
Meatballs
- 1 lb lean ground beef
- 1 lb lean ground pork
- ½ cup rolled oats, breadcrumbs, or almond flour
- ¼ cup grated onion
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon grated ginger
- 2 large eggs
- 3 cloves garlic (minced)
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
Honey Garlic Sauce
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 4 cloves garlic (minced)
- ½ cup honey
- 2 tablespoons EACH: soy sauce and apple cider vinegar
- 1 ½ tablespoons cornstarch (mixed with 1 tablespoon cold water)
- Green onions and sesame seeds (to serve)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Mix all the meatball ingredients together in a large bowl.1 lb lean ground beef, 1 lb lean ground pork, ½ cup rolled oats, breadcrumbs, or almond flour, ¼ cup grated onion, 2 tablespoons soy sauce, 1 tablespoon grated ginger, 2 large eggs, 3 cloves garlic, 1 teaspoon sea salt
- Roll the meat into 38 balls (a medium-sized cookie scoop works great for this) and place them on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes, until they reach an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit.
- While the meatballs are baking, make the sauce. Melt the butter in a large pan over medium heat. Add the garlic and saute for 1 minute, until soft. Then, add the honey soy sauce, and apple cider vinegar.1 tablespoon butter, 4 cloves garlic , ½ cup honey, 2 tablespoons EACH: soy sauce and apple cider vinegar
- Mix the cornstarch with a tablespoon of cold water in a cup or small bowl. Pour this into the hot sauce and stir until it thickens, about 2 minutes.1 ½ tablespoons cornstarch
- When the meatballs have finished baking, add them to the pan with the sauce and mix so that they are coated in the sauce. Serve the meatballs with some green onions and sesame seeds sprinkled over the top.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
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More meatball recipes
For more inspiration, check out all of our meatball recipes!
Great tasting, but that was waaaay too much cornstarch!! It was a gluey mess. I had to throw it out and start again. When I made the second batch I used just 1/2tbsp and it was perfect, thick enough to stick to the meatballs but not glue.
Awesome, delicious recipe and a huge hit with my family!
I love your recipes and I love how you repeat the amount of ingredients needed in the steps. Makes life easier when using your phone vs a recipe card. Thank you!!
Just give the recipe. THEN give me all the photos,explanatory garbage or those who have no idea what they are doing in a kitchen. I know where the kitchen is. Just give me the recipe.
There’s a jump to recipe button at the very top of the page. Just click on that and it will take you straight to the recipe. 🙂