Sesame Turkey Meatballs with Spicy Peanut Sauce
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Make Sesame Turkey Meatballs with Spicy Peanut Sauce for a healthy meal or appetizer. Serve this meatball appetizer dish before a meal or with cocktails for guests!
Make the perfect meatball appetizer
I rarely do this, but from time to time I will buy an ingredient without having any plans for it. A couple of weeks ago I bought a bunch of ground turkey on a whim and then worked backwards to see how I wanted to eat it and I came up with these sesame turkey meatballs with spicy peanut sauce.
I recently remembered how meatballs are literally the perfect food and I am now on a quest to make them in as many forms as I can think of. I decided on this flavor combo because who sesame turkey meatballs sounded so yummy and who doesn’t love a peanut sauce!?
While I am on the topic of professing my love for meatballs I have to say that I come from a big Italian family where meatballs pretty much exclusively come with red sauce. I think I am going to have to tell my grandma that she is missing out and needs to expand her meatball horizons.
Serve these sesame turkey meatballs with a spicy peanut sauce
I am really lucky that a lot of the time my girlfriend Amy will do the dishes for me, but when I recipe test I am all on my own. That is honestly why I started baking my meatballs. When I baked these sesame turkey meatballs on a sheet pan the clean up was as simple as throwing a piece of parchment in the trash!
I like serving these sesame turkey meatballs with spicy peanut sauce as an appetizer with toothpicks so that they are ready for dipping. They would also be delicious on zoodles, with roasted veggies or on a salad. Additionally, you could make the peanut sauce as a dip for pretty much anything!!
There are moments when you need a “go-to” quick dish for a gathering or party. These sesame turkey meatballs with spicy peanut sauce moved right to the top of my list because they are so easy to make. Although, I definitely suggest doubling or tripling the batch when you are cooking for a crowd.
Ingredients
It could not be easier to whip up these healthy appetizer meatballs in less than 40 minutes. The only kitchen tools you need is a large mixing bowl and a baking sheet. And also some toothpicks for serving as an appetizer.
The ingredients you will need for these sesame turkey meatballs are also very basic. You start with the ground turkey obviously, but if you prefer to use ground chicken, that will work too! You will also need eggs, spices, sesame oil, coconut aminos or soy sauce, and almond flour or any flour of your choosing.
To make the peanut sauce you will need peanut butter, coconut aminos or soy sauce, sesame oil, lime juice, rice vinegar and sriracha. If you don’t want your sauce to be spicy, you can of course leave out sriracha sauce. If you are following whole30, just swap the peanut butter with some almond butter and it is totally whole30 compliant!
How to make a turkey meatballs appetizer
To make these sesame turkey meatballs with spicy peanut sauce start by preheating the oven to 400F and lining a baking sheet with parchment paper. Then grab a large mixing bowl and add all of the meatball ingredients and mix them together thoroughly.
Scoop out 12 portions of the mix and roll into tight balls. Place the meat balls on the baking sheet. Bake at 400F for 30 minutes. While the meatballs are cooking, combine all of the peanut sauce ingredients together until smooth.
Remove the meatballs from the oven and allow them to cool slightly. Plate the meatballs with the peanut sauce and garnish with green onion.
Check out these other meatball recipes
- Cast Iron Meatballs
- Mozzarella Stuffed Chicken Meatballs
- Easy Instant Pot Meatballs
- Pesto Baked Turkey Meatballs
Keep reading to grab the full recipe! And, as always, if you make this recipe, let me know in the comments or on Instagram!
Sesame Turkey Meatballs with Spicy Peanut Sauce
Make this delicious meatball appetizer recipe with a spicy peanut sauce!
Ingredients
Meatball ingredients
- 1 lb ground turkey
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup almond flour
- 2 tbsp sesame oil
- 1 tbsp coconut aminos or soy sauce
- 1/2 tsp ginger powder
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
- 1/2 tsp salt
- Sliced green onion for garnish
Spicy Peanut Sauce ingredients
- 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 1 tbsp coconut aminos or soy sauce
- 1 tbsp lime juice
- 1 tbsp rice vinegar
- 1 tsp sriracha or hot sauce
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper
- Combine all meatball ingredients in a large mixing bowl until thoroughly combined. Using wet hands, roll the batter into 16 small meatballs and place on a lined baking sheet in an even layer.
- Place in the oven and bake at 400F for 30 minutes. While the meatballs bake, mix together the sauce by combining all the sauce ingredients in a small bowl until smooth.
- Remove the meatballs from the oven and allow them to cool slightly. Serve the meatballs with toothpicks, peanut sauce, and green onions as a garnish.
lily says
Can you replace almond flour with regular flour?
Madeline Tague says
Yes! But it may make them drier so try using less like a 1/4 cup of flour 🙂
Marissa says
I had a lot of ground venison, so split that up to make two different kinds of meatballs. This was one of them! Super good! I’m really pleased with the sesame flavor.
Madeline says
oh wonderful! SO glad to know the flavors work well with other ground meats.