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You are here: Home / Recipes / Main Dishes / Chicken / Thai Chicken Meatballs With Apple Peanut Sauce

Thai Chicken Meatballs With Apple Peanut Sauce

February 27, 2018 by Mahy, Updated March 10, 2019 3 Comments

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Thai chicken meatball lettuce wraps

If you’ve been shying away from chicken meatballs because of their lack of flavor, well now you don’t have to! These Thai Chicken Meatballs with Apple Peanut Sauce are a burst of flavors, textures and super quick to make.

overhead shot of Thai Chicken Meatballs with Apple Peanut Sauce on a wooden board

Today’s mouthwatering recipe is sponsored by my friends at Ontario Apple Growers —local growers of high-quality delicious apples, helping us all eat, snack and live healthily! Make sure to look for the Foodland logo so you know you’re buying Ontario grown apples! 

Why Ground Chicken Meatballs

I probably am one of those who shy away from ordering chicken meatballs, chicken burgers and anything involving ground chicken.

Yes, I admit. However, I can’t resist this chicken meatballs recipe.

Lots of ginger and garlic infuse the chicken meatballs which are seared till crisp, then a sweet, spicy apple peanut sauce coats the chicken meatballs.

30 mins start to finish, these ground chicken meatballs are certainly a no miss recipe!

side view of Thai Chicken Meatballs lettuce wraps with Apple Peanut Sauce

One of my good friends inspired me to make these and I’m super thankful she did! I certainly love Thai food like many people do, and almost every peanut sauce I tasted was pure lush.

Likewise, today’s apple peanut sauce is purely luscious. And while it has a touch of honey, it also has a magical secret ingredient. Apples.

Sweet and tart shredded apples that melt in the sauce with plenty of garlic and ginger. They add texture and even more sweetness and flavor to the peanut sauce.

a hand reaching for Thai Chicken Meatballs with Apple Peanut Sauce on a wooden board

How to make Baked Chicken Meatballs

ground chicken being mixed with Thai herbs and spices

First of all, you’ll mix the chicken with all the flavoring ingredients and shape into your desired size

I like to add in lots of garlic, ginger, some soy sauce, Sriracha hot sauce, a touch of turmeric and lots of minced cilantro and mint.

Thai Chicken Meatballs frying in a black skillet

You can shape the chicken meatballs as big or little as you prefer, I went with golf size balls since I wanted to wrap them in lettuce wraps. Smaller size meatballs would be too little for my wrap.

My favorite way of cooking meatballs is by searing them in a cast iron pan with oil until crispy and then placing the pan in the oven for 10-15mins until cooked through. At that point, I find it best to remove the chicken meatballs to plater while you make the sauce.

overhead shot of Thai Chicken Meatballs lettuce wraps with Apple Peanut Sauce

How to make Peanut Sauce: 

For the sauce, I find that apples are best used shredded. This makes them melt beautifully into a smooth, sweet peanut sauce along with the ginger and garlic.

Then a mixture of peanut butter (smooth or chunky), honey and soy sauce go right in. This finishes off the sauce as they cook for just a couple of minutes.

Chicken meatballs aside, this apple peanut sauce is finger-licking’ good!! Toss it with pasta, cool it for a salad dressing, use it as a dipping sauce..you name it!

You can certainly move the meatballs to the side of your pan while you make the sauce, but I prefer removing them. The Thai peanut sauce is magic.

Again, you’ll add some oil and sautee garlic, ginger and a large shredded apple until it softens and blends in.

ginger being sauteed in a black skillet

At that point, you pour the peanut butter mix and just give it a boil. So easy, so simple yet SO GOOD!

Apple peanut sauce being stirred in a black skillet

Add the Thai chicken meatballs to the skillet and toss with the homemade apple peanut sauce.

Thai Chicken Meatballs in ginger apple peanut sauce

To assemble the chicken meatballs into wraps, I break up a Boston lettuce head. Layer your favorite fresh ingredients. Think crunchy, sweet, fresh, spicy, anything works.

a Thai chicken meatball lettuce wrap being assembled

I picked more apples, some carrot sticks, spicy chilies, fresh mint, salted cashews, and cucumbers.

shredded apples being added to a chicken meatball lettuce wrap

The best thing is you don’t need a sauce to drizzle or dip the wraps into since there’s the delicious apple peanut sauce.

a hand holding a Thai Chicken Meatballs lettuce wrap with Apple Peanut Sauce

Tips for this Chicken Meatball Recipe

  • Ground turkey works great here too, so feel free to use that.
  • You can certainly move the meatballs to the side of your pan while you make the sauce, but I prefer removing them.
  • While I made those chicken meatballs today wrapped in lettuce wraps with so many fresh ingredients, they’re also great served with rice and noodles. It’s one of those recipes you can make in 30 minutes and have it as a back up when you feel like a rice/noodle meal or salad, or something fresh like those lettuce wraps.
Thai Chicken Meatballs with Apple Peanut Sauce. The secret ingredient in the peanut sauce makes this recipe the BEST Thai chicken meatball ever! 30 mins start to finish recipe!
4.6 from 5 votes
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Thai Chicken Meatballs with Apple Peanut Sauce

If you've been shying away from chicken meatballs because of their lack of flavor, well now you don't have to! These Thai Chicken Meatballs with Apple Peanut Sauce are a burst of flavors, textures and super quick to make. 

Course Appetizer, Main Course
Cuisine American, Thai
Keyword baked chicken meatballs, Chicken Meatballs recipe, Ground chicken meatballs
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes
Servings 12 wraps
Calories 128 kcal
Author Mahy

Ingredients

For the Chicken Meatballs:

  • 1 lb ground chicken or turkey lean or extra lean
  • 2 tablespoons fresh grated ginger
  • 3 garlic cloves grated or finely minced
  • 2 tablespoons soy sauce
  • 1 teaspoon Sriracha sauce more or less to your taste
  • 1/4 cup combined of minced fresh cilantro and mint leaves
  • 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
  • 1 teaspoon neutral tasting oil

For the Apple Peanut Sauce:

  • 1 tablespoon sesame oil
  • 1 large Apple grated
  • 2 tablespoons ginger grated
  • 1 tablespoon minced garlic
  • 1/3 cup peanut butter smooth or chunky--I used chunky
  • 1 tablespoon honey
  • 2 teaspoons soy sauce

Lettuce Wraps:

  • 1 Boston head lettuce broken down into lettuce cups
  • Apple sticks
  • Carrot sticks
  • Sliced Scallions
  • Fresh mint leaves
  • Cucumber sticks
  • Salted cashews
  • sliced chillies
  • Fresh lime for squirting

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. For the chicken meatballs--mix all ingredients together except the oil. Heat the oil in a 10 inch cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Take golf size pieces of the chicken mixture and roll into a golf size meatball, then cook it in the hot pan. Sear the meatballs on all sides turning after 1 minute each time until they're crispy.

  2. Remove the pan from the stove and place it in the oven for 10-15 minutes depending on the size of your chicken meatballs until they cook through.
  3. In the meantime prepare the lettuce wraps ingredients.
  4. Once the chicken meatballs are cooked, remove them from the hot pan into a plate. To the same pan, add the sesame oil. Start sauteeing the ginger, garlic, and apple to make the sauce. 
  5. Keep sauteeing that for about 3 minutes until the apples break down and start to blend into a paste. Then add in the remaining sauce ingredients and start mixing the sauce. Add water to adjust the thickness of the sauce to your taste.

  6. Then drop the chicken meatballs and give them a quick toss in the sauce.
  7. Assemble the lettuce wraps by placing one lettuce cup on your work surface and add a chicken meatballs with sauce over it. Top with your favorite toppings and a squirt of lime juice. Enjoy!

Recipe Notes

  • Ground turkey works great here too, so feel free to use that.
  • You can certainly move the meatballs to the side of your pan while you make the sauce, but I prefer removing them.
  • While I made those chicken meatballs today wrapped in lettuce wraps with so many fresh ingredients, they're also great served with rice and noodles. It's one of those recipes you can make in 30 minutes and have it as a back up when you feel like a rice/noodle meal or salad, or something fresh like those lettuce wraps.
Nutrition Facts
Thai Chicken Meatballs with Apple Peanut Sauce
Amount Per Serving (1 wrap)
Calories 128 Calories from Fat 72
% Daily Value*
Fat 8g12%
Saturated Fat 1g6%
Cholesterol 32mg11%
Sodium 289mg13%
Potassium 278mg8%
Carbohydrates 5g2%
Sugar 3g3%
Protein 8g16%
Vitamin A 155IU3%
Vitamin C 1.7mg2%
Calcium 9mg1%
Iron 0.6mg3%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

 

 

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Filed Under: Appetizer Recipes, Asian Recipes, Chicken, Cuisine Category, Finger Food, Gluten Free, Holidays, Parties, Potluck, Recipes Tagged With: apple sauce, chicken lettuce wraps, chicken meatballs, easy chicken meatballs, easy dinners, fresh apples, healthy dinners, lettuce wraps, Ontario apples, peanut butter honey sauce, peanut butter sauce, soy sauce, sriracha, Thai chicken, thai chicken meatballs, Thai food, thai meatballs, thais ppeanut sauce

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Mona

    March 2, 2018 at 1:41 pm

    5 stars
    I normally make peanut butter sauce with meat balls but I enjoyed adding Apple and other ingredients to it .it is different and fresh

    Reply
    • Mahy

      March 8, 2018 at 9:54 am

      Thank you!! so happy you enjoyed it!

      Reply
4.60 from 5 votes (4 ratings without comment)

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Mahy PicHi, I'm Mahy, a recipe developer, food stylist, culinary instructor, photographer, wife and busy mom! Welcome to my blog!...Read More

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