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These sweet and spicy Korean Meatballs are super easy to make and will quickly become a favorite in your house!
If there is one thing that I love to do most in life it is travel. It can be around the US, the state I live in, or around the world. But I am always happiest when I am getting to experience something new.
Last spring we had the opportunity to go to South Korea and one thing that stood out the most about the food is the balance of sweet, salty, tangy, crunchy, sour, chewy etc. all at one time. They have mastered mixing things together you don’t think sound good, and making them work amazingly well together.
Gochujang sauce is a staple in Korea. It gives heat to anything you add it to, but it also has such a complex flavor. So you will find it in both the meatballs and then sauce for this recipe. You can find it at a lot of grocery stores these days, both Kroger and Albertsons chain grocery stores carry it, you can find it on Amazon, or your Asian market will have it as well.
Now, will you see these meatballs on a menu in Korea? No, they are definitely a fusion recipe. It combines my love of meatballs with some of the flavors of Korea. Similar to my Kung Pao Chicken Meatballs. Definitely not Chinese, but a fun twist combining two worlds.
What You’ll Need
Be sure to scroll to the bottom of the post for the FULL PRINTABLE recipe card.
- Ground Beef – I prefer lean ground beef
- Ritz Crackers – you can use saltine crackers or plain breadcrumbs as well
- Egg
- Garlic
- Soy Sauce
- Fresh Ginger
- Gochujang Sauce – a Korean sauce you can find it most major grocery stores down the Asian aisle.
- Sesame Seeds
- Green Onions
- Rice Vinegar
- Honey
- Cornstarch
How To Make Korean Meatballs
- Make Meatballs. In a large bowl mix together all of the ingredients for the meatballs until they are well blended. You can use your hands or a spatula for this, but I find my hands get things more evenly mixed.
- Cook. Scoop meatballs onto a lined baking sheet. I like to use a cookie scoop so I can make sure they are all the same size and cook evenly. Bake for just about 10 minutes.
- Make Sauce. In a small saucepan heat soy sauce, rice vinegar, honey, and gochujang sauce to a simmer. Whisk in the cornstarch slurry and simmer for 2-3 minutes until the sauce starts to thicken.
- Glaze. Remove the meatballs from the oven and brush with the sauce. Return to the oven and cook for 2-3 more minutes, until the meatballs are cooked through and the sauce has thickened and browned on the meatballs.
- Serve. Remove the meatballs from the oven and serve over rice with plenty of the extra sauce and topped with sesame seeds and green onions.
Recipe Tips & Tricks
- Not a fan of ground beef? No worries! You can use ground pork, turkey, or chicken instead.
- When I was growing up my mom always used Ritz crackers or Saltines when making meatballs. The Ritz crackers add some more flavor, so I used them here. But you can use any cracker or just plain breadcrumbs as well.
- There is plenty of extra sauce in this recipe, so it is great to pour over to serve. Or if you want to make as an appetizer, you can put the cooked meatballs in a crockpot and pour the sauce over the top. It will stay warm and the sauce will keep everything moist and delicious.
- The sauce is a sweet and spicy sauce with the honey and gochujang, you could use maple syrup or brown sugar in place of the honey in the sauce.
How To Serve
This recipe makes plenty of extra sauce. So I like serving over Instant Pot Jasmine Rice to soak up all those flavors. But here are a few other ideas to round out your meal!
Storage
If you have leftover meatballs store them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. You can store individual portions or rice and meatballs for a quick lunch the next day.
Freezing – Store in a freezer safe airtight container in the freezer for up to 3 months. Let it thaw in the fridge overnight and then you can reheat in the oven at 350º F or in the microwave.
More Easy Dinner Recipes
Korean Meatballs
Ingredients
Meatballs
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 1/2 cup Ritz crackers, crumbled
- 1 egg, beaten
- 2 teaspoons garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon ginger, minced
- 1 tablespoon gochujang sauce
- Sesame seeds to garnish, optional
- Scallions to garnish, optional
Sauce
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 1/4 rice vinegar
- 1/2 cup honey
- 2 teaspoons gochujang sauce
- 1/2 cup water
- 4 teaspoons cornstarch
- 2 cups cooked white rice
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400º F. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil or a baking mat, set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, add the ground beef, crushed ritz crackers, egg, garlic, soy sauce, ginger, and gochujang sauce. Mix until well combined
- Scoop mixture to form balls with about 1 tablespoon in size, I like to use a cookie scoop for this. Place on the prepared baking sheet. Mixture should make about 24 meatballs.
- Place baking sheet in the oven and bake for 10 minutes.
- While the meatballs are in the oven, prepare the sauce: In a small saucepan whisk together soy sauce, rice vinegar, honey, and gochujang sauce over medium heat, and bring to a simmer. Mix the water and cornstarch in a small bowl until there are no lumps, pour the slurry into the sauce mixture. Allow to simmer, whisking frequently, until the sauce is no longer opaque and it thickens (about 2-3 minutes). Remove from heat.
- After the meatballs have cooked for 10 minutes, remove them from oven. Brush a little bit of sauce onto each of the meatballs. Return the meatballs to the oven and bake for 2-3 more minutes, until they are completely cooked through.
- Remove meatballs from oven and serve over a bed of rice. Drizzle extra sauce on top and garnish with sesame seeds and sliced scallions.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
