Oh hi, it’s the meatball queen signing in! We’re back with yet another outrageously delicious meatball recipe, and I’m not one bit mad about it! This recipe draws inspiration from classic Korean flavors. Say hello to Gochujang chicken meatballs! They’re broiled instead of cooked on a stove top, get tossed in a sweet and spicy glaze, and are an all around fun twist on familiar Korean flavors we know and love.
Don’t have ground chicken? Use ground turkey, beef, or pork instead!
Serve with white rice, Kimchi, pickled vegetables, and thinly sliced scallions. These spicy Korean chicken meatballs are the burst of flavor your weeknight dinner routine was missing!
Ingredient Notes
But first, what is gochujang? It’s a spicy fermented red chili paste that is popular in Korean cooking. It’s got a bit of funk to it (it’s pretty pungent), and will add a kick to anything you pair it with. Check labels because it often comes in regular (which still has heat) or extra spicy!
For the Korean-inspired meatballs
- Ground chicken (dark meat if you can find it! leads to juicier meatballs that are less likely to dry out!)
- Mother In Law’s Gochujang
- Plain breadcrumbs
- 1 large egg
- Scallions (green onion), thinly sliced
- Reduced-sodium soy sauce
- Kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
For the glaze: (think spicy Korean bbq sauce!)
- Reduced-sodium soy sauce
- Brown sugar or honey
- Gochujang sauce
- Rice vinegar
- Sesame oil
For serving: Mother In Law’s Kimchi, pickled vegetables, such as carrots and daikon, white rice, sesame seeds (for garnish)
Yes, gochujang sauce is spicy. If you’re not a fan, pull back the quantities. But the beauty of the glaze is that it’s got sweetness, so tossing the meatballs in it at the end will actually help cut back on the overall spice!
Note: you can substitute ground chicken with ground turkey, beef, or pork. Just don’t use lean chicken or turkey meat or the meatballs will dry out!
How To Make Korean Meatballs With Gochujang
If you’ve been here a while, you know we always bake or broil our meatballs. Why bother standing over a stove top, flipping meatballs over and over, making a huge mess in the process if you don’t have to?
So we’re sticking with what works for these Korean meatballs.
- Mix ingredients. Combine all the wet meatball ingredients in the bottom of a large mixing bowl, which helps ensure you never over mix or over work the ground meat. Next, add in the ground chicken and dry ingredients and blend until just combined. (You can also add the wet ingredients on top of the dry; just make sure to mix wet ingredients separately!)
- Form the Korean meatballs. Use a cookie scoop to portion the meat mixture into meatballs of the same size, roughly 2″ round. Gently roll into balls, then place on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
- Make the sauce. Combine glaze ingredients in a small sauce bowl, then whisk to combine.
- Broil the meatballs. Cook Gochujang chicken meatballs on high for 6 minutes, flip once, then cook 6 minutes more. Perfect meatballs every time!
- Toss in gochujang sauce. Immediately toss the Korean meatballs in the sauce, coating evenly on all sides.
- Serve immediately. We love serving Gochujang chicken meatballs over fluffy white rice, with kimchi, and pickled carrots and daikon. Garnish with sesame seeds and thinly sliced green onion, then serve immediately!
Chicken is safe to eat when an internal temperature of 165 F (74 C) is reached.
Expert Tips
- Always be sure to mix the wet ingredients in a meatball recipe separate from the dry ingredients. This helps to ensure you don’t overwork the meat!
- Use a cookie scoop to help portion the meatballs evenly.
- When broiling, make sure to flip the meatballs halfway through so one side doesn’t burn.
- This isn’t a super saucy dish — if you want more sauce, spoon some of the glaze over white rice before serving!
This glaze would be delicious brushed on some grilled gochujang chicken thighs. But because you guys love our meatballs so much — classic meatballs, sheet pan chicken meatballs, lamb meatballs, and of course our well loved Thai turkey meatballs — we had a feeling you might be into Korean meatballs!
They’re spicy, but a little sweet, and bursting with flavor. So step out of your comfort zone and give these Gochujang chicken meatballs a chance, they are seriously delish and sure to impress!
If you make these Korean Meatballs, please let us know by leaving a review and rating below!
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For more Asian-inspired recipes, check out the following:
- Lemongrass Thai chicken
- Spicy kani salad
- Scallop coconut curry
- Chili bourbon glazed salmon
- Spicy ramen noodles
Gochujang Chicken Meatballs Recipe
Ingredients
For the meatballs
- 1 ⅓ lb ground chicken dark meat, if possible
- 1 large egg room temperature
- 2 Tbsp gochujang
- 1 Tbsp reduced-sodium soy sauce
- ¾ cup breadcrumbs (NOT panko breadcrumbs, see note)
- 3 scallions thinly sliced
- 1 tsp Kosher salt
For the glaze
- ¼ cup reduced-sodium soy sauce
- 2 Tbsp gochujang
- 2 Tbsp brown sugar or honey
- 1 tsp rice vinegar
- 1 tsp sesame oil
For serving, optional
- White rice
- Kimchi
- Pickled vegetables
- Scallions thinly sliced
- Sesame seeds
Instructions
- Mix ingredients. Combine all the wet meatball ingredients in the bottom of a large mixing bowl, which helps ensure you never over mix or over work the ground meat. Next, add in the ground chicken and dry ingredients and blend until just combined. (You can also add the wet ingredients on top of the dry; just make sure to mix wet ingredients separately!)
- Form the Korean meatballs. Use a cookie scoop to portion the meat mixture into meatballs of the same size, roughly 2" round. Gently roll into balls, then place on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
- Make the sauce. Combine glaze ingredients in a small sauce bowl, then whisk to combine.
- Broil the meatballs. Cook Gochujang chicken meatballs on high for 6 minutes, flip once, then cook 6 minutes more.
- Toss in gochujang sauce. Immediately toss the Korean meatballs in the sauce, coating evenly on all sides.
- Serve immediately. We love serving Gochujang chicken meatballs over fluffy white rice, with kimchi, and pickled carrots and daikon. Garnish with sesame seeds and thinly sliced green onion, then serve immediately!
Notes
- Nutrition facts only include meatballs and glaze.
- Do not use panko breadcrumbs when making meatballs (any meatball recipe!). Use plain or seasoned breadcrumbs, which will help keep the texture of the meatballs smooth. Panko will create a coarse texture throughout.
- If using light meat chicken or turkey, check for doneness after 10 minutes, as they are not as moist as dark meat.
- Recipe can be made with ground beef or ground pork as well.
- If you want more of a sauce, make sure to spoon the glaze on top of meatballs and/or white rice before serving.
Yum! I reduced the Gochujang by half because the one we have is really spicy and I was nervous (ha). Not my absolute favorite of your recipes, but they are very flavorful — and interesting! My husband really enjoyed (too spicy for the kids, but I knew that going in and prepped something else for them). Thank you! 🙌🏻
Thanks for the honest feedback, Tamara! Smart move to cut back on the spice level. xo, Ari
Loved these with some spicy kimchi!!
Yessss, so good together! Thanks, Chloe! xo, Ari
These are a great weeknight dinner, they’re not the most elaborate flavor profile but they’re also not meant to be! These meatballs are a really savory, spicy, and simple dish that comes together quickly. I always have the ingredients on hand to make these, so they’re often in my weeknight rotation. I do suggest serving these with some quick pickled onions or cucumbers to really get some tangy crunch in there. In spring I also like to serve these with thinly sliced snap please and radish, which add some color and crunch. Thanks Ari!
Yes, a totally simple dish, agree. And so very different from the other meatballs on the site! The thought process here was to use up leftover gochujang (which we seemingly always have lying around) in a quick, easy, weeknight approachable way. The pickled veggies are an absolute necessity to balance out the flavors. Thanks, Abby! xo, Ari
Just made these for the first time after finally getting my hands on a tub of gochujang, and will definitely be making them again! We both love spicy food so the heat level was perfect. I served them with jasmine rice cooked with citrus and a bunch of pickled veg, and the acidity balanced perfectly with the salty/umami flavor of the meatballs.
That’s great feedback, Nicole — thank you and so happy you enjoyed these! xo, Ari