Grilled Sriracha Turkey Meatballs
Grilled Sriracha Turkey Meatballs are fun to make on the grill, or cook them on a stovetop grill pan if you prefer! The meatballs are low in carbs even with a small amount of breadcrumbs; see a lower-carb and gluten-free option in the recipe if you prefer.
PIN Sriracha Turkey Meatballs to try them later!
I’m known as the queen of cooking gadgets among my friends, and a few years ago I got a new Grilling Pan (affiliate link) that really got me excited. It’s flatter than the grill pans I use to cook vegetables, with holes that are small enough to make it perfect for cooking lots of interesting things on top of the grill.
And it was definitely this fun new pan that got me thinking about cooking Sriracha Turkey Meatballs on the grill! I’m always looking for interesting ways to cook ground turkey, and these meatballs with turkey and spicy Sriracha sauce were a big hit with several people I tried the recipe on.
My meatballs were inspired by Sriracha Turkey Meatballs at Life’s Ambrosia and she fried the meatballs and then baked them, so if you’re not up for grilling your meatballs, follow that link and use her instructions.
I increased the ingredients because I wanted more meatballs! My version makes 20 meatballs, and I’m calling that five servings, and you could certainly double the recipe and keep some in the fridge for a few days to reheat later!
Whether you grill the meatballs on a Grilling Pan (affiliate link) like idea, cook the meatballs on a Stovetop Grill Pan (affiliate link), or use the fry-then-bake method like Deseree did, if you like Sriracha Sauce (affiliate link), I’m guessing you’ll love these spicy meatballs.
What ingredients do you need for this recipe?
(This is only a list of ingredients; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)
- Minced Garlic (affiliate link)
- Minced Ginger (affiliate link)
- green onions
- ground turkey
- egg
- whole wheat breadcrumbs
- Sesame Seeds (affiliate link)
- Sriracha Sauce (affiliate link) (see notes)
- sea salt
How to make Sriracha Turkey Meatballs gluten-free and lower in carbs:
This recipe has 1/2 cup whole wheat breadcrumbs, and if you make it five servings like I did, it comes out to 10.6 net carbs for four meatballs. If you want the meatballs to be gluten-free and lower in carbs, I’d switch out the breadcrumbs for Hemp Seeds (affiliate link) which will take it down to 4.3 net carbs per serving.
What other meat can you use for this recipe?
I’m a fan of this Foster Farms ground turkey that you can get in 1.5 pound packages at Costco. (And Foster Farms has no idea I am mentioning it here.) But if you aren’t a ground turkey fan I think the meatballs would be delicious with ground beef, or a combination of beef and turkey. I might slightly increase the amount of Sriracha Sauce (affiliate link) if you’re using beef.
What kind of pan can you use to cook meatballs on the grill?
The photo above is the Stovetop Grill Pan (affiliate link) I used for this recipe. You can also cook meatballs right on the grill grates if they aren’t too small, but it’s easier on a grilling pan like this one.
Want more ideas for low-carb meatballs?
If you’re a fan of meatballs, there are more good ideas in my collection of Low-Carb and Keto Meatball Recipes!
How to make Grilled Sriracha Turkey Meatballs:
(This is only a summary of the steps for the recipe; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)
- I used this lean ground turkey from Foster Farms; whatever meat you use remove it from fridge and let it come to room temperature.
- I used the chopping bowl of my Immersion Blender (affiliate link) to finely chop the garlic, ginger, and green onions, but you could chop them by hand if you don’t have a mini-chopper. Or buy minced garlic and minced ginger in a jar!
- Mix together the ground turkey, egg, bread crumbs (or hemp seeds), minced garlic, minced ginger, chopped green onions, sesame seeds, Sriracha Sauce, and salt.
- I used a 2 T sized scoop to scoop out the meat, then rolled them with my hands to make 20 meatballs (about the size of a large lime.)
- Here are my meatballs starting to cook on the Grill Top Cooking Pan (affiliate link).
- I turned the meatballs about every 4-5 minutes until they were nicely browned on all sides.
- Total cooking time for me was about 25 minutes, but if you’re cooking them right on top of the grill grates I think they’d cook a bit faster.
- To cook on a Stovetop Grill Pan (affiliate link), I would brush the grill pan with peanut oil or another high smoke-point oil, heat the pan over medium-high heat, and then just grill meatballs, turning often, until they are nicely browned and cooked through.
Make it a Low-Carb Meal:
I’d cook something like Easy Grilled Vegetables or Spicy Grilled Eggplant to share the grill with the meatballs! Or if you’re cooking the meatballs inside serve with something like Garlicky Green Beans Stir Fry.
More Amazing Recipes for Ground Turkey:
- Asian Lettuce Cups with Spicy Ground Turkey
- Stuffed Poblanos with Ground Turkey
- Thai-Inspired Ground Turkey Stir Fry
Weekend Food Prep:
This recipe has been added to a category called Weekend Food Prep where you’ll find recipes you can prep or cook on the weekend and eat during the week!
Sriracha Turkey Meatballs
These Grilled Sriracha Turkey Meatballs are cooked on a grilling pan, right on the grill grates, or cook them in a grill pan on the stove if you prefer.
Ingredients
- 1 T minced garlic
- 1 T minced fresh gingerÂ
- 3 green onions, sliced and then finely chopped
- 1 1/2 lb. ground turkey
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1/2 cup whole wheat breadcrumbs (see notes)
- 1 1/2 T sesame seeds (see notes)
- 3 T Sriracha Sauce (see notes)
- 1 tsp. sea salt
- additional sliced green onions and sesame seeds for garnishing finished meatballs (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the grill to medium-high. If you’re going to cook meatballs right on the grill, spray with non-stick grill spray or oil the grates with a towel dipped into oil before you heat the grill.
- Finely chop the garlic, ginger, and green onions. You can also use minced garlic or minced ginger from a jar to make it easier.
- Put the ground turkey, egg, bread crumbs (or hemp seeds), minced garlic, minced ginger, chopped green onions, sesame seeds, Sriracha Sauce, and salt into a bowl and combine gently with your hands until all ingredients are well distributed into the meat.
- Then form meatballs with your hands. (I used a 2 T scoop to scoop out 2 heaping tablespoons of meat and then rolled them in my hands to make balls. The mixture is fairly soft.)
- If you’re using a grill grid pan like I did, spray it with non-stick spray or oil and put it on top of the grill to pre-heat for 5 minutes before you put the meatballs on. (I put them on with my fingers but switched to tongs when the meatballs got hot.)
- Grill meatballs until they are cooked through, turning every 5-7 minutes until all sides are nicely browned.
- Total cooking time will be about 20-25 minutes, or slightly less if you’re cooking the meatballs directly on the grill.
- Serve hot, garnished with some sliced green onions and sesame seeds if desired.
- To cook on a stovetop grill pan, I would brush the grill pan with peanut oil or another high smoke-point oil, heat the pan over medium-high heat, and then just grill meatballs, turning often, until they are nicely browned and cooked through.
- These kept well in the refrigerator overnight and were delicious just reheated a minute or so in the microwave.
Notes
You can make your own whole wheat breadcrumbs from 100% whole wheat bread, or use Hemp Seeds for lower-carb and gluten-free version.
I used toasted sesame seeds from the Asian market. Use more or less Sriracha Sauce (affiliate link) to taste; I used 3 T, which I thought was pretty spicy but just right.
This recipe adapted from Sriracha Turkey Meatballs at Life’s Ambrosia.
Nutrition Information
Yield
5Serving Size
4 meatballsAmount Per Serving Calories 439Total Fat 27gSaturated Fat 6.8gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 16.3gCholesterol 181mgSodium 925mgCarbohydrates 12gFiber 1.4gSugar 2.7gProtein 38g
Nutrition information is automatically calculated by the Recipe Plug-In I am using. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee 100% accuracy, since many variables affect those calculations.
Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
If you use lean ground turkey and 100% whole wheat breadcrumbs, these Sriracha Turkey Meatballs are a good choice for phase 2 or 3 of the original South Beach Diet. If made with Hemp Seeds (affiliate link) you can eat them for South Beach Phase One or other low-carb diets.
Find More Recipes Like This One:
Use Grilling Recipes to find more recipes like this one. Use the Diet Type Index to find recipes suitable for a specific eating plan. You might also like to follow Kalyn’s Kitchen on Pinterest, on Facebook, on Instagram, on TikTok, or on YouTube to see all the good recipes I’m sharing there.
Historical Notes for this Recipe:
This recipe was first posted in 2011. It was updated with better photos in 2014, and last updated with more information in 2023.
59 Comments on “Grilled Sriracha Turkey Meatballs”
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I would love to make these and freeze some for quick meals – would you suggest freezing them fully cooked – or when raw?
Thanks!!
I'd freeze after they're cooked. Maybe cook a little shorter time since they will cook more when you reheat. Hope you enjoy!
Barb, thanks for sharing that. I love the idea of baking them!
I love these and have made them seceral times as hubby likes too, I bake in the oven and they still turn out awesome!
Jenn if you can, I would just use breadcrumbs if you can't use the almond meal. I'm not sure how garbanzo flour would work, but I'm skeptical; it's pretty fine and kind of stick compared to almond meal.
We have a nut allergy in the house, so anything almond is out. But I did recently buy a bag of garbanzo bean flour. Do you think I would be able to substitute that at the same amount?
Thanks Bill, hope you enjoy! And I love the name of your blog.
Wow these meatballs look great. I need a hoagie roll with these. Idon't have access to a grill right now but I'm going to try thee in the oven!
Ina good luck on the weight loss, I hope you can figure out a plan that works for you!
I work for SurLaTab. Your recipes are great. I know that grill pan. I do not grill so I use a Scan Pan grilling pan. It works very well. You are awesome. I am eating healthier
meals and your blog certainly promotes that. I need to loose weight and have type 2 diabetes which is under control. Losing weight is very hard for me. I love to cook and eat. My portion control is the problem. I am so happy I found you. Keep the good work.
Ina Hill
Faithful follower
I absolutely love the idea of using this mixture to make burgers; thanks for sharing!
Hi Kalyn! Ive made these meatballs a lot, everybody loves them.
I go t the idea to use this recipe to make turkey burgers. cooked them on the grill and served them on whole wheat buns with sliced tomato, onion, and some spinach. best turkey burgers ever!
Wade, I think your version sounds great!
I just made these for dinner tonight but I used ground chicken thighs and added 1/2T of cherry smoked poblano powder I made. I also made a sauce to top them with using a cup of sour cream, the juice of one lime, and 1T of sriracha. My wife and son were impressed!
Very interesting idea to make it with chickpeas, and I'm betting I would like it!
A friend reminded me recently that I'd sent them this recipe. They made theirs with beef. I am vegetarian and decided to try them with chickpeas. I processed two cans of chickpeas in the food processor and kept the rest of the recipe as is, except I forgot to put in the breadcrumbs. I baked them in a 350° oven on a slipat-lined baking sheet for about 35 minutes. They were excellent! My heat-loving boyfriend enjoyed them. My friends who made them enjoyed that they come together so easily, and I couldn't agree more.
Hillary, so glad you've been enjoying them so much!
This recipe is amazing! I cook these guys in the oven (350 degrees; about 20 minutes) and freeze large batches of them. They freeze beautifully and I know that I always have something yummy/healthy in the freezer for a quick meal 🙂
Francesca, here's a recipe for Baked Swedish Meatballs that might give you some ideas. The Swedish Meatballs are made with pork and beef and they are a bit smaller, so I might reduce the temperature a little and cook them for a slightly shorter time for these turkey meatballs. (Can't say for sure as I haven't tried it in the oven.)
Could i use this recipe in the oven? what would the settings be and where would i place the meatballs?
Cara, hope you enjoy them!
Kalyn, these sound fantastic – right up our alley! Now that it's fall I'll have to try them out for a football party sometime soon.
So glad the recipe was a winner!
I actually made these,and they were fabulous. Two things I did different,I had no fresh ginger,so I used my powder ginger,and 2ndly I used my grill fry pan to cook on the stove. I loved them,and my new fav hot sauce (sriracha)which I had never tried before. DH does not like turkey meatballs,but guess who went in for seconds..;o)Thanks Kalyn,this was a winner for us.
Emily, meatballs with almond flour just went on my "must try" list! Thanks for the info.
I've found that almond flour makes really soft, delicious meatballs and they hold together pretty well! I forgot to mention that I made mine kind of big and the outsides blackened during cooking on the grill pan – and the black parts were the BEST.
The original recipe fried the meatballs until they were brown and then baked for 20 minutes; I'd do that if you're not grilling them. There is a link to those instructions in the post.
Could you do this in the oven? For summer, this is great, but I could see these being a great appetizer for a fall dinner party, etc…
Thanks Diana. Me too!
Ooh, love this idea for a summer cook-out. Meatballs and Sriracha together is like music to my ears.
Sally, I intend to keep feeding my own Sriracha addiction too. Hope you enjoy the meatballs!
I am making these very soon – I am a Sriracha addict, with no intentions of ever quitting the habit! Love, love, love it!
I usually bake my meatballs in the oven, but grilling is even better – no mess!
THanks, Kalyn!
Emily I like the sound of your version, especially the Thai basil. I'm especially glad to know it worked well with almond flour.
These are absolutely heavenly, especially for my heat-loving husband. Thank you for a great new addition to our repertoire! Here are my modifications:
Doubled the recipe
Used 2 lbs ground beef (grass-fed) and 1 lb ground turkey
Replaced the bread crumbs with almond flour (we're avoiding gluten, sometimes)
Used a little Thai basil in the mix because we had it
Cooked them on a grill pan on the stovetop.
As I said, they were just wonderful. We ate them with cilantro-peanut slaw and quinoa. Thanks again!
Miriam, thanks. Hope you will try them. I know they're going to be a regular feature on the menu here.
These look amazing! I love the idea of a grilled meatball, and it's awesome that you use turkey- way healthier. Can't wait to try these!
-Miriam
The grill pan is great, but you can definitely make these without it.
Oooo yummy. I SO need a grill pan and I have a bottle of Siracha languishing in the fridge.
M
Sorry I have been a little slow to respond; I'm cleaning out my dad's house with my siblings for the next couple of days so I'm pretty distracted from the blog.
I haven't seen the disposable mesh pans for the grill. Sounds interesting.
I think this would be great for turkey burgers.
Dave, I am loving my grill pans.
Great use of the grill pan… I find whatever I would use on a skewer can just as easily be cooked up in these pans.
Cant wait to try this! Do you think this recipe would work as turkey burgers?
They also sell disposable mesh pans for the grill, for those people who aren't into the clean up.
These meatballs are one of the best things I've seen in a while, I'd like to try them with ground chicken.
Jeanette, I sprayed the pan and it wasn't bad; just put it in the dishwasher! I do think the pan has a lot of possibilities. The spicy flavors of these really appealed to me.
You had me at sriracha! 🙂
With holes that small, the possibilities are endless! I love all of the flavor you've infused into these!
They look great. That pan is pretty awesome!
What a neat pan, although I'm not sure I'd want to scrub it (I'm a lazy dishwashwer!). My kids would love these spicy meatballs – definitely going to give these a try. I think they would make a nice make-ahead meal for when school starts.
Becca, we were writing comments at the same time. Bring those cute boys for a visit and I'll make them for you!
Lydia, any pan that sits on the grill will work fine, but I do love my new one!
Tiffany, the meatballs are pretty soft so for the George Foreman Grill I would probably cook them with the lid open. Just turn a few times like I did on the grill.
those look yummy!
These look so amazing. In fact, I'll be making them tonight, even though we have tons of leftovers to eat up lol. I'm assuming I'd be able to freeze them? Also, I dont have a grill..only a George Forman grill, would that be ok. Thanks for sharing this awesome recipe 😀
Grilled meatballs? Ingenious! I have a pan (not as nice as yours) that might work and I'm absolutely going to try this. Love the idea of smoky/crispy exteriors.
Mike, I do think they'd make a great meatball sub (and more Sriracha is always good!)
Those look great. I think I'll make them this weekend, but serve them up on a sub roll as a meatball sammie. Maybe top with more sriracha or something. Thanks for the inspiration!
Mary, love the pan, and love making the meatballs on the grill; no mess!
What a neat pan! I may have to go check that out. I love a good meatball, but would have never thought to make them on the grill.
Deborah, I'm imagining all kinds of things I can cook on that pan; love it! They have 3 sizes and I got the middle sized one.
I would have never thought to grill meatballs! And I think I see one of those pans in my future!