These Thai Meatballs are under 500 calories and full of protein! Made with lemongrass, ginger, cilantro, and green onion, they are full of flavor, you won’t even realize you are eating so healthy!
Thai Meatball Ingredients
Ground meat – I prefer to use ground chicken because its low in calories and high in protein, but you can substitute ground pork as well.
Lemongrass – You will be throwing the lemongrass in the food processor, so you won’t need to worry about chopping it up. However, you will still need to trim the lemongrass. To do this, you cut off both ends and then the outer layer should peel off easily. For further instructions, check out the steps I laid out in my Basil Lemongrass Coconut Curry recipe.
Ginger and Garlic – I used fresh ginger, but if substituting ground ginger, use ¼ teaspoon. If substituting ground garlic for fresh, use ¼ teaspoon.
Green onions – After trimming off the roots, I use about ¾s of the green onion
Cilantro – I happen to love cilantro, but if you’re not a fan you can leave this ingredient out
Seasonings – You will likely need more salt than you expect, so don’t be shy about adding a full teaspoon. Add the red pepper flakes according to your tastes
Slice of Bread – While this may be an odd ingredient, I believe it makes the meatballs moister than plain bread crumbs. Stick the read under water for a few seconds until it is fully saturated then wring out the excess water.
egg – this helps all the ingredients stick together.
Tips for rolling out meatballs
Working with ground meat can be sticky, but coating your hands in a light layer of oil should help!
Zesty Thai Dipping Sauce
These Thai meatballs are excellent on their own, but the zesty Thai dipping sauce takes it to the next level. The best part: it uses almost all the same ingredients already found in the meatballs so you will already have everything on hand! In addition to the cilantro, green onion, ginger, garlic, you’ll need a few pantry staples like honey and rice vinegar.
What to serve Thai Meatballs with
These meatballs are best eaten with rice, but if you’re looking to make your dinner more of a feast, I’d recommend eating
Brown Butter Nori Roasted Vegetables
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit
- Trim the ends of the lemongrass and remove the outer layer. Peel ginger. Transfer both to a food processor and blend until chopped finely. These are the toughest to chop so blend these before the other ingredients. Add the cilantro, green onions to the food processor and blend until chopped and well combined.
- Rinse the bread under water and wring it out. Add the bread to the food processor. Add the egg and ground chicken. Blend until well combined.
- Spray a large skillet or baking sheet with olive oil then spray your hands. Roll 2-3 tbsp of chicken into a ball then transfer to skillet/baking sheet. Repeat until you have use all of the chicken. Transfer to oven and cook for 20-25 minutes. If you prefer a crisper outside, broil for the last 2 minutes of baking.
- When the meatballs are done baking, arrange on a platter and spoon the zesty Thai dipping sauce over.
- Add all the ingredients to a bowl and mix until well combined.
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