Lemongrass Vietnamese Meatballs
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Celebrate the vibrant flavors of Vietnam with these delectably tender Vietnamese meatballs. Combine fragrant aromatics with fresh herbs and umami-rich sauces to make these juicy balls of deliciousness that are bursting with flavor. They're also a breeze to make: you'll be in flavor town in just 30 minutes!
Craving more Vietnamese-inspired recipes? Try this Vietnamese lemongrass chicken next.
Vietnamese food is renowned and celebrated for its fresh and vibrant flavors, fragrant herbs, and delicious balance of flavors. These Vietnamese meatballs are no exception, loaded with flavor with fresh herbs, savory sauces, and zesty aromatics, then pan-cooked until golden.
What are Vietnamese meatballs?
Vietnamese meatballs are called BĆŗn Nem NĘ°į»ng and are seasoned balls of pork often served with rice noodles and pickled vegetables. They are made with ground meat and other ingredients popular in Vietnamese cooking, like lemongrass, garlic, ginger, and cilantro.
Is this an authentic Vietnamese meatball recipe
Our Vietnamese meatball recipe is made with flavors that we associate with Vietnamese cooking: lemongrass, fish sauce, ginger, soy sauce, and pork. We've taken these flavors and transformed them into meatballs that we know you will love to eat. If you are looking for an authentic Vietnamese meatball recipe, we suggest that you try this BĆŗn Nem NĘ°į»ng.
Ingredients needed
This Vietnamese meatball recipe celebrates the essence of Vietnamese cuisine with these delicious, simple, and fresh ingredients:
- Onion: Adds moisture and a sweet undertone.
- Lemongrass: A hallmark ingredient of Vietnamese cooking! Use the white part of three lemongrass stalks for a citrusy note.
- Cilantro: Brings a fresh, herbal punch ā save some for garnish.
- Sriracha: For a subtle kick of heat.
- Brown sugar: To sweeten out the savory and spicy elements.
- Fish sauce: The deep umami flavor with a salty undertone.
- Soy sauce:Ā Get gluten-free if needed.
- Aromatics: Garlic and ginger.
- Ground pork: Forms the base of our meatballs. Beef or chicken also taste great!
- Oil: Use your preferred oil to cook the meatballs.
How to make Vietnamese meatballs
These Vietnamese pork meatballs contain so much flavor for such a simple recipe! These are the instructions:
- Make a flavorful paste: Place the onion, garlic, ginger, cilantro, brown sugar, fish sauce, soy sauce, siracha, and lemongrass stalks in a food processor and whizz until it makes a paste-like consistency.
- Mix and shape: Add the ground pork to a large bowl and mix the lemongrass paste into it. Form the mixture into balls. The mixture will be soft, which means the meatballs will be succulent!
- Cook and serve: Heat up a large frying pan and add the meatballs, cooking them until they're browned. Serve with fresh cilantro over top!
Ideas for using Vietnamese meatballs
These Vietnamese meatballs are so packed with flavor that you can seamlessly use them to build other recipes. Here are our top picks:
- Make it an appetizer by serving them alongside your favorite dipping sauce.
- Cook the meatballs, then place 3-4 on a skewer to make a Vietnamese meatball skewer, perfect for dipping!
- Serve them over rice or vermicelli noodles as we do in our banh mi noodle bowls, or add them to a stir fry.
- Make a banh mi sandwich by placing the meatballs in a crusty baguette with pickled vegetables and cilantro.
- Fill lettuce cups with your meatballs alongside rice vermicelli noodles, fresh herbs, and a sauce.
- Add them to a soup, such as a flavorful pho to make a Vietnamese meatballs pho.
- Or make a batch for these awesome winter rolls.
What to serve with Vietnamese meatballs
Keep it simple and serve alongside a simple dipping sauce. We like combining mayo, a squeeze of lime juice, and sriracha. Or you can make our peanut satay sauce or bang bang sauce ā neither are traditionally Vietnamese, but they are delicious and go well with the meatballs!
Make it a spread by serving alongside Thai cucumber salad, Asian eggplant, Asian noodle salad, or soy ginger noodles.
Carry on with the Vietnamese and lemongrass theme and serve with our Vietnamese lemongrass chicken, then cut through the lemongrass with a creamy dessert. Try this orange blossom panna cotta or lemon coconut ice cream.
Recipe FAQs
Can I make these gluten-free or dairy-free?
These Vietnamese meatballs are already gluten-free and dairy-free! Just be sure to double-check the labels on everything in case there are additives and use a gluten-free soy sauce.
Can I make these with another type of meat?
Sure, while juicy pork is our first choice, these flavors will taste good with other meats, too! We've enjoyed them with ground beef and chicken, and you can also use ground turkey. If you're swapping the pork for chicken, you may want to add a bit of breadcrumbs of almond flour so they are not too soft.
Is the meatball mixture meant to be soft?
Yes! Once you combine the pork and paste, you'll have a soft mixture that will stay together when you form the balls. A soft mixture is the reason why the end result is so tender and delicious! Be careful not to over-blend when making your paste. If you're after a firmer texture, add almond flour, breadcrumbs, or oats to the meatball mix, however, this will change how juicy the end result is.
Can I store leftovers?
These are too good to leave any on your plate! But if you do find yourself with leftovers, you can store them in the refrigerator in an airtight container for 3-4 days.
More meatball recipes
Lemongrass Vietnamese Meatballs Recipe
Ingredients
- Ā¼ cup EACH: minced onion and cilantro
- 2 tablespoons EACH: brown sugar, fish sauce, soy sauce (gluten-free if needed)
- 1 teaspoon sriracha
- 3 stalks lemongrass (white part only)
- 3 cloves garlic
- 2 inch piece of ginger
- 1 lb ground pork (beef or chicken)
- 1 tablespoon oil
- Cilantro (for serving)
Instructions
- Place the onion, cilantro, brown sugar, fish sauce, soy sauce, sriracha, lemongrass stalks, garlic, and ginger into your food processor and process on high until smooth and almost paste-like.Ā¼ cup EACH: minced onion and cilantro, 2 tablespoons EACH: brown sugar, fish sauce, soy sauce, 1 teaspoon sriracha, 3 stalks lemongrass, 3 cloves garlic, 2 inch piece of ginger
- Add the ground pork to a large bowl, pour in the lemongrass paste, and mix everything together.1 lb ground pork
- Use a medium-sized cookie scoop to scoop the meat and then form it into balls. Place the balls onto a baking sheet.
- Heat the oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the meatballs and cook them, turning a few times, until they are well-browned and cooked through, about 8-10 minutes.1 tablespoon oil
- Serve the meatballs with some cilantro over top.Cilantro
Video
Nutrition
We have thoroughly tested this recipe for accuracy. However, individual results may vary. See our full recipe disclosure here.
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Just made these for dinner. Ā They were so delicious and moist. Will definitely be making them again. Thanks for sharing this wonderful recipe. ?
I’m so happy you liked the recipe!
Wow! I just finished making these and they really are amazeballs!! Ive never used lemongrass but have always loved the flavour so Im super excited about these. Thanks for another awesome recipe!
Yaaa! You are so welcome!!!
Would these be good in soup?
I think they would be great in an Asian style soup!
What is the white sauce he meatballs are being dipped in as seen in the photo?
That’s just a little mayo with some sriracha. š
I have lemongrass in a tube that is already processed how much of that would I mix with the other ingredients to equal the amount of fresh lemongrass?
I would guess about 1 1/2 tablespoons. š
OMG iāve just did it tonight and it was just amazing. Meat balls are so tenders and full of flavors, I could eat it every single day. Did it with some sticky rice and stir fried veggies and it was heaven on hearth.
Thanks for this amazing recipe, I already know I gonna do it again and again
That makes me so happy to hear! Hooray!!
Just made these but the mixture was so liquid-y after adding all ingredients. I added another pound of meat. I also had about a cup of fresh soft bread crumbs so I added that too. Put mixture into fridge for an hour to firm up. They were still difficult to roll into balls but manageable. They taste delicious but I’m sure not as good as they would be if the spices were full strength. Not sure what went wrong?
I’m not sure either. They are definitely really soft (and not that easy to roll) but that’s why they are so tender when cooked.
OH MY GOSH!! THESE ARE DELICIOUS! I just made them for my boyfriend and myself for dinner and we give them 5 stars. I upped the cilantro because it’s one of our favorite flavors, and subbed franks buffalo sauce for sriracha because I forgot it at the store. Served over white rice with steamed asparagus. I used venison that I harvested and processed myself last year. AMAZING!!
We are having a Vietnamese dessert I found online as well: breaded, fried bananas with coconut ice cream. Pardon me… I must get back to the kitchen!
Yaaa! I’m so happy you liked them! Also, breaded and fried bananas with coconut ice cream sounds AMAZING!!!!
The dessert was delicious too! Here’s the recipe: http://www.cooktube.in/recipe/chuoi-chien-vietnamese-fried-bananas/
Thank you so much for sending me that! Those bananas look AMAZING! They’re on my must make list now. š
Sounds delicious, I was wondering if I may substitute the lemongrass for something else as I live in Costa Rica and have not seen lemongrass in here since I moved a year ago. Thanks!
Lemongrass has such a unique flavor that it’s hard to find an alternative. What you could do is use some lemon zest and add some extra ginger. It wouldn’t be exactly the same, but you’d be on the right track.
BTW where in Costa Rica are you living? I have a family friend who lives in Puerto Viejo and has a restaurant called Chili Rojo. If you’re nearby, you should go. It’s an awesome restaurant. If you do, tell Andy I say hi!
I made these Meatballs…and they were delicious. It was quickly devoured by my family. Thank you for sharing such an easy recipe full of authentic Vietnamese flavors.
Hooray! I’m so happy you enjoyed the recipe!!
These meatballs are absolutely delicious!!
Aren’t they? So happy to hear you like them, too!!
Hi! These look so yummy! Was just wondering if these would be make ahead friendly? Would it be good to roll out a bunch and cook and freeze? Or freeze raw, thaw and cook?
You definitely can! I have a bunch in my freezer right now. I’ve frozen them raw to be thawed then cooked. You could also partially cook them first, which would help them keep their shape better as they unthaw. Hope that helps!
These look delicious, I found them off a link from your banh mi noodle bowl recipe, which is a can do!
Thank you so much. Great site and beautiful pictures.
Elizabeth
Thank you so much, Elizabeth!
I love meatballs and I love these amazing combination of lemongrass and ground pork. Definitely a must have for my banh mi! Beautiful photography!! So glad to stumble upon your page!
Thank you so much!!! š
Amaze-balls is right!! Loving all the flavors going on in these heavenly balls! I seriously just want to face plant into a bowl full of these golden brown beauties! Pinned! Cheers to a beautiful weekend!
Hope you have a great weekend, too!! š
Wow-wee do these look amazing! They take me back to our wonderful Vietnam holiday a few years ago. I adore Vietnamese cuisine so will most definitely be making these, and eagerly awaiting your Banh Mi as well! Yummo š