Easy Japanese Meatballs (Gluten-Free)

A bowl of japanese meatballs on the table with a blue tea towel.

5 from 3 votes

Easy Japanese Meatballs (Gluten-Free)

Japanese gluten-free meatballs may be THE BEST meatballs ever!! Using lean chicken or turkey seasoned with miso, green onions, soy sauce, and ginger creates a flavorful Japanese miso meatball that you will love!

Course Appetizer, Bento, Dinner, Entree, Lunch, Snack

Cuisine Asian

Diet Gluten Free

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 15

Total Time 25

Servings servings (24 meatballs)

Calories 209kcal

Author Caitlin Self, MS, CNS, LDN

Ingredients

½ cup sliced green onion reserve some of the green parts for topping, if desired
2 tablespoons fresh or previously frozen grated ginger fresh ginger, frozen, then grated from frozen; alternatively, use ½ teaspoon dried powdered ginger
2 cloves garlic minced
1 pound ground chicken turkey, lean beef, or lean pork
2 teaspoon soy sauce or tamari
2 teaspoons sesame oil
2 Tablespoons miso paste red or white
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes more if you like a lot of heat

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 475ºF.
Finely chop the green onions. Mince or grate the ginger and garlic.
Add all ingredients (reserving some green onion tops for garnish), to a large bowl and mix with your hands or the paddle of a stand mixer until well combined.
Form into about 24 equal-sized meatballs using a small ice cream scooper or a spoon and your hands, and place on a parchment lined baking sheet.
To bake: Bake on 475ºF. For chicken or turkey: bake for 10-12 minutes. For beef or pork: bake for 15-18 minutes. In all cases, be sure to use a meat thermometer to ensure the meatballs are fully cooked.

Notes

Choosing the meat. Be sure to use leaner option here as the high fat content in many pork products will not work very well for these meatballs. Too much fat will seep out while cooking since there’s no bread product to absorb it. I prefer to make these with ground turkey or chicken and bake them. I also love the flavor of pork, but recommend at least 85% lean. You can also mix pork and chicken!

Yield. This recipe makes 24 meatballs, or 4 servings of 6 meatballs each.

Prefer frying? Add to a hot pan (no oil needed) on stove and fry bottom until a bit crispy, then turn over and add 2 Tablespoons of water to the pan. Cover and steam for another 4-6 minutes until water has evaporated. Alternatively, you can form these into patties, which will cook more quickly and don't require any water in the pan.

Make ahead. If you want to make the meatball mixture ahead of time, you will want to use ground ginger rather than fresh ginger. Fresh ginger contains enzymes that will denature the protein in the meat and can make it mushy. In my testing, this only happened with the combination of fresh ginger + pork. Which is once reason why I prefer using ground turkey!

Instead, you can make the meatballs ahead and bake them in the oven. Once cooled, store them in an airtight container in the fridge for 4-5 days or the freezer for 3 months.

Serve with: These Japanese chicken meatballs (or whatever meat you use) go great with this Cucumber-Soba Salad, Kale & Soba Mushrooms , or Miso Lettuce Wraps. You can also add them to a bento box with some salmon seaweed rolls, edamame, and cabbage crunch salad.

Nutrition