This post may contain paid links. If you make a purchase through links on our site, we may earn a commission.
Whip up an irresistible party appetizer or a crave-worthy weeknight dinner with my Honey Sriracha Meatballs recipe! Perfectly tender, fluffy meatballs glazed in sticky-sweet and spicy glaze, these easy meatballs come together in just about 30 minutes with simple, easy ingredients.
Jump to:
- Honey Sriracha Meatball Recipe
- Why You'll Love My Sweet and Spicy Meatballs
- Honey Sriracha Meatballs Ingredients
- How to Make Honey Sriracha Sauce
- How to Make Honey Sriracha Meatballs
- Honey Sriracha Recipes
- Honey Sriracha Meatball Recipe FAQs
- Spicy Sweet Meatballs Expert Tips
- Spicy Meatball Recipe Storage and Reheating
- Simple Appetizers
- Recipe
- Reviews
Honey Sriracha Meatball Recipe
If you know me, you know my family can't get enough of meatballs. We're constantly changing things up to try them new ways! From my family's all-time favorite classic Italian meatballs with meat sauce to decadent mozzarella cheese stuffed meatballs to a quick and filling soup with meatballs, we're never running out of new ways to serve meatballs for dinner.
So naturally when I got on a honey sriracha kick (and let's be honest, who isn't always on a honey sriracha kick?), it was time to try honey sriracha glazed meatballs! Tender, fluffy meatballs in sweet, spicy glaze... They're perfect for everything, from serving over rice to setting out as a game day party appetizer. I promise, you'll love them just as much as we do!
Why You'll Love My Sweet and Spicy Meatballs
Say goodbye to boring meatballs!
You'll never have to worry about bland meatballs again! This simple meatball recipe packs in so much flavor, you'll want to serve them up again and again. Sticky-sweet honey sriracha glaze and tender, rich meatballs... What more could you ever ask for?
Make them any way!
Want meatballs, but don't want to use the oven? You can use this recipe's ingredients with my guide on how to make meatballs in the Instant Pot, or swap the oven for the air fryer following the cooking steps for my air fried meatballs! Then just glaze them, and enjoy!
Perfect for weekly meal prep and make-ahead!
Meatballs are one of my favorite easy weeknight dinner recipes, and they're even easier made ahead! Make-ahead meatballs are as easy as forming them, freezing them, and transferring them to a bag. You can even prep the sauce ahead and freeze it! Then just thaw the sauce, bake the meatballs from frozen (just add 5 minutes to the bake time), and enjoy!
Honey Sriracha Meatballs Ingredients
Meatball Ingredients
- Ground beef: I use 80/20 ground beef, but you can also use ground turkey, ground chicken, and ground pork. Turkey meatballs taste amazing with honey sriracha!
- Onion: The sweet bite of onion adds a great layer of dimension to meatballs. Dice them finely, but not paper thin; the juicy crunch of onion chunks makes these meatballs even more delicious.
- Garlic: Garlic is a must in honey sriracha! Grate in fresh garlic or use minced; don't bother with dried.
- Eggs: I tend to use 1 egg per lb of ground beef. For an egg-free variation, use 4 Tablespoons of plain yogurt per egg.
- Breadcrumbs: You can use plain breadcrumbs or panko breadcrumbs. Alternatively, you can soak two slices of white bread in milk, then mash them up into a paste and use that! To make them gluten-free, swap for gluten-free panko, breadcrumbs, or bread.
- Salt: Kosher salt or a quality sea salt will have the best flavor.
- Pepper: I use freshly cracked black pepper, but white pepper is fantastic in these spicy meatballs.
- Green onions (garnish)
- Sesame seeds (garnish)
Change up the meat!
Because these delicious meatballs are glazed in sweet sriracha sauce, you can swap out the beef for any other kind of ground meat and they'll taste just as good. I like to use lean ground turkey or a blend of beef and pork!
Honey Sriracha Sauce Ingredients
I'm using my easy sriracha sauce recipe for these meatballs.
- Sriracha sauce: Sriracha sauce is the star of the show here! If you're really in a pinch, you can use other chili-based hot sauces.
- Honey: You can use any type of honey you prefer, or even a keto honey replacement.
- Rice vinegar: Rice vinegar adds a great acidity that cuts how sweet honey sriracha dipping sauce is.
- Soy sauce: A little soy sauce brings in an intense umami and saltiness that rounds out the sauce. If you have it, use dark soy sauce. To make gluten free honey sriracha sauce, swap for Tamari. For soy free, use soy free soy sauce or coconut aminos.
- Garlic: Make sure to use fresh garlic! Jarred minced garlic won't have the same fresh bite and intensity of flavor.
- Optional: Fresh ginger (grated), sesame oil
How to Make Honey Sriracha Sauce
- In a medium saucepan, whisk together the sriracha, rice vinegar, soy sauce, honey, and minced or pressed garlic.
- Set the heat to medium and bring the sauce to a boil, stirring occasionally. Once boiling, turn the heat down to medium-low, just enough to keep the sauce simmering. Let simmer for 10 minutes or until starting to thicken.
- Remove from the heat and set aside; it will thicken more as it cools.
How to Make Honey Sriracha Meatballs
- Preheat oven to 375°F. While it's heating, spray 2 baking sheets with cooking spray or line with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl combine the ground beef, breadcrumbs, eggs, onions, minced garlic, and salt and pepper.
- Roll the meatball mixture into 1½ inch balls and place on a prepared baking sheet, evenly spaced so they're not touching.
- Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until the meatballs read 165°F using a meat thermometer.
- Once cooked, roll the meatballs in the honey sriracha glaze and sprinkle with sesame seeds and green onions.
- Serve! These meatballs are delicious as toothpick appetizers, or served over rice!
Honey Sriracha Recipes
Honey Sriracha Meatball Recipe FAQs
Meatballs are kept perfectly warm in a crock pot! Just place them in the crockpot set to the "Warm" setting, and add extra honey sriracha glaze. Guests can scoop or skewer right out of the pot, and it makes the glaze even more intense and flavorful over time!
I like adding fresh, crunchy veggies to dip in the sauce or serve sliced with rice! My favorites are carrots and cucumber, which add a great crunch and taste amazing with honey sriracha. You can also serve these meatballs on bread for a twist on the classic meatball sub!
These meatballs are quite spicy, as sriracha is a spicy chili sauce. It's not very possible to reduce the spice but you can reduce the amount of sriracha. Alternatively, you can up the spice factor by adding in dried chilis or chili flakes!
Spicy Sweet Meatballs Expert Tips
- Try and make the meatballs all one uniform size. If you want, you can make miniature meatballs too; just reduce the cook time!
- Over-mixing the meat leads to tough, dense meatballs! Try to mix them for only 35-40 seconds. This will result in the fluffiest meatballs.
- Keep the meat cold as you handle it! You can even chill the meat after mixing it to ensure it's easy to roll out without the fat starting to melt and get tacky.
Isabel's Top Tip
For truly indulgent meatballs, glaze them and then place them back in the oven. Turn on the broiler for no more than 3 minutes to perfectly caramelize the glaze!
Spicy Meatball Recipe Storage and Reheating
- Refrigerator: Fully cooked meatballs can be stored in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 4 days. I recommend storing leftover sauce separate.
- Freezer: Meatballs are perfect for freezing! You can freeze them cooked or raw.
- Freezing Raw Meatballs: Lay the meatballs out on baking sheets and place in the freezer. Once fully frozen, move the meatballs to freezer-safe bags and store for up to 2 months. They can be cooked from frozen by baking for an extra 5 minutes.
- Freezing Cooked Meatballs: Bake the meatballs and roll them in glaze, then let cool back on the baking sheets. Place baking sheets in the freezer until the meatballs are fully frozen, then transfer to freezer-safe bags and store for up to 2 months. They can be reheated from frozen by baking for 20 minutes.
- Thawing: I recommend cooking frozen meatballs from frozen instead of letting them thaw; thawing them can make raw meatballs gummy and is not necessary for cooked ones.
- Reheating: You can reheat meatballs in the microwave, or re-crisp them by placing them in the oven or air fryer, 10 minutes in the oven or 7 in the air fryer.
Simple Appetizers
Recipe
Honey Sriracha Meatballs
Ingredients
For the meatballs
- 2 lbs. ground beef
- ⅓ cup onion finely chopped
- 4 cloves garlic minced or pressed
- 2 eggs
- ¾ cup breadcrumbs
- 1 tsp. salt
- ½ tsp. pepper
- green onions for garnish
- sesame seeds for garnish
For the honey sriracha sauce
- 4 Tbsp. sriracha sauce more or less to taste
- ½ cup honey
- 2 Tbsp. rice vinegar
- 2 Tbsp. soy sauce
- 2 cloves garlic minced
Instructions
Make the sauce
- In a medium saucepan, whisk together the sriracha, rice vinegar, soy sauce, honey, and minced or pressed garlic.
- Set the heat to medium and bring the sauce to a boil, stirring occasionally. Once boiling, turn the heat down to medium-low, just enough to keep the sauce simmering. Let simmer for 10 minutes or until starting to thicken.
- Remove from the heat and set aside; it will thicken more as it cools.
Make the meatballs
- Preheat oven to 375°F. While it's heating, spray 2 baking sheets with cooking spray or line with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl combine the ground beef, breadcrumbs, eggs, onions, minced garlic, and salt and pepper.
- Roll the meatball mixture into 1½ inch balls and place on a prepared baking sheet, evenly spaced so they're not touching.
- Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until the meatballs read 165°F using a meat thermometer.
- Once cooked, roll the meatballs in the honey sriracha glaze and sprinkle with sesame seeds and green onions.
- Serve! These meatballs are delicious as toothpick appetizers, or served over rice!
Notes
-
- Try and make the meatballs all one uniform size. If you want, you can make miniature meatballs too; just reduce the cook time!
-
- Over-mixing the meat leads to tough, dense meatballs! Try to mix them for only 35-40 seconds. This will result in the fluffiest meatballs.
-
- Keep the meat cold as you handle it! You can even chill the meat after mixing it to ensure it's easy to roll out without the fat starting to melt and get tacky.
- For truly indulgent meatballs, glaze them and then place them back in the oven. Turn on the broiler for no more than 3 minutes to perfectly caramelize the glaze!
Comments
No Comments