Ben’s telling me the Super Bowl is going to be a blowout this year. Yay? Nay? Seeing as how I didn’t even know North Carolina had an NFL team prior to last weekend, I’m guessing I won’t be glued to the television to find out, but despite my lack of football knowledge I can totally appreciate the fact that it’s the Super Bowl’s 50th this year, so we’ve decided to plan a super spread including dips, chili, drinks, bites, and Kung Pao Chicken Meatballs to celebrate!
Oh yes, take-out meets football food in these perfectly poppable party bites with just the right amount of tang and spice. If you like Kung Pao Chicken, you’re going to flip for the adorable, 1-bite meatball version!
We’ve been in a meatball making mood over the past couple of weeks. Lincoln’s been requesting them plus they’re easy to make, bake, then freeze and pull out any night of the week for a nearly instant dinner. I use a standard mixture for my everyday meatballs which includes whatever ground meat we have in the fridge, salt, pepper, worcestershire sauce, and ketchup, but we wanted to up the ante for the Super Bowl and had us a trial meatball-making run this past weekend.
Test batches included Jalapeno-Cheddar BBQ Meatballs (crazy good but the BBQ sauce kind of overpowered the jalapeno flavor,) Dairy-Free Swedish Meatball Stroganoff (NOPE,) and Kung Pao Meatballs. Spoiler alert – the Chinese take-out inspired bite was our favorite!
Tender chicken meatballs are baked then tossed with a tongue-tingling Kung Pao Sauce, finished with a sprinkling of chopped peanuts, green onions, and sesame seeds, and then delivered to your face via toothpick skewer. How much fun is that?!
I feel like I made 100 batches (ok 5) of these meatballs to get the sauce just right. For some reason the sauce from my Kung Pao Chicken Lettuce Wraps wasn’t translating when multiplied to get the right amount for a batch of meatballs, so I decided to start from scratch and finally got that perfect balance of salty, tangy, and just a touch sweet, aka…drool!
Start the Kung Pao Meatballs with 1lb ground chicken. I used 99% lean but you could use a blend of chicken breast and thighs – whatevah you like!
Add the ground chicken to a large bowl with 1 chopped green onion, 1 whisked egg, 2 minced garlic cloves, 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger, lots of salt and pepper, and 1/2 cup gluten-free bread crumbs.
My gluten-free bread crumb of choice is Rice Chex blitzed in a food processor – works every time! If you don’t need to eat gluten-free I’d recommend panko bread crumbs instead.
Mix the ingredients together with your hands until just combined (the mixture will be really sticky, but that’s ok!) then form into 16 balls and place onto a foil-lined, nonstick-sprayed baking sheet. Bake for 16-18 minutes or until cooked through.
Meanwhile, get the super easy Kung Pao Sauce simmering on the stove. That’s just a mixture of gluten-free tamari or soy sauce (dish won’t be GF if using soy sauce,) chili garlic sauce, rice vinegar, ginger, sugar, and a pinch of red chili pepper flakes that’s thickened with gluten-free flour (I used brown rice flour) whisked into water. Simmer until the sauce has thickened slightly then take it off the heat (it will continue to thicken as it cools.)
Add the cooked meatballs into the sauce then stir to coat. Heavenly!!
Once the sauce has thickened a bit more, transfer the meatballs onto a platter, drizzle with the remaining sauce, and then sprinkle with chopped peanuts (unpictured here because I’m losing my mind,) chopped green onions, and sesame seeds. Set out a bowl of toothpicks then let your guests go to town!
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Kung Pao Chicken Meatballs
Description
Kung Pao Chicken Meatballs are the perfect bite-sized, gluten-free game day or party appetizer!
Ingredients
- For the Meatballs:
- 1lb ground chicken
- 2 green onions, chopped and divided
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- salt and pepper
- 1 egg, whisked
- 1/2 cup gluten-free bread crumbs
- Toppings: 1/4 cup chopped peanuts, sesame seeds
- For the Kung Pao Sauce:
- 6 Tablespoons reduced-sodium gluten-free tamari or soy sauce (dish will not be GF if using soy sauce)
- 2 Tablespoons chicken broth
- 2 Tablespoons rice vinegar
- 2 Tablespoons sugar
- 1 Tablespoon chili garlic sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
- pinch red chili pepper flakes
- 1-1/2 teaspoons gluten-free flour + 2 Tablespoons water, whisked together
Directions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees then line a baking sheet with foil and spray with nonstick spray. Add all meatball ingredients except half the green onions (save those for garnish) and toppings into a large bowl then mix with hands until just combined (mixture will be very sticky.) Roll into 16 balls then place onto prepared baking sheet and bake for 16-18 minutes, or until meatballs are cooked through.
- Meanwhile, combine all Kung Pao Sauce ingredients except gluten-free flour + water in a medium-sized saucepan over medium-high heat then bring to a boil. Turn heat down to medium then drizzle in flour/water mixture and whisk to combine. Continue simmering, whisking occasionally, until sauce has slightly thickened, 3-4 minutes. Add cooked meatballs then stir to coat and turn off the heat - sauce will  continue to thicken as it cools.
- Transfer meatballs to a platter then top with reserved chopped green onions, chopped peanuts, and sesame seeds.
This recipe is courtesy of Iowa Girl Eats, http://iowagirleats.com.
You don’t need to wait for the Super Bowl to enjoy these tasty meatballs. Make a fun fusion dinner with the family, or bake for your next girls night or friends get together. Whenever you get around to making them, I hope you enjoy!
Mary 02.01.2016
I made the meatballs Friday night with a shrimp chicken fried rice. Totally delicious. They were even good as leftovers. I will definitely make again. Thank you for the recipe. I did not make it gluten free but will make them gluten free for my friend.
Angie Jozefowicz 01.31.2016
Made these today – so delicious! I forgot to use reduced sodium soy sauce so they were a bit salty, but still tasty!
Fun Five Friday 01.29.2016
[…] Kung Pao Chicken Meatballs–> Ah Yes! […]
Friday Favorites: January 29, 2016 – Nymph In The Woods 01.29.2016
[…] Kung Pao Chicken Meatballs from Iowa Girl Eats – Outside of the fact that I love highlighting bloggers from Iowa, these meatballs look freakin’ amazing! I can’t wait to give these a try! […]
sarah 01.28.2016
Looks so good! And I just love that picture of the sauce bubbling away.
Jill 01.28.2016
I wonder if these would work with ground pork?
Trisha 01.28.2016
Lately I can’t get enough Asian-inspired dishes. Maybe because of the new Asian fusion restaurant in town that I’ve yet to try because babies? Idk. But I think a batch of these with cauliflower fried rice is likely to occur here real soon. They look super tasty & the timing is perfect for my sudden Asian infatuation! :)
Whitney 01.27.2016
What is chili garlic sauce and where do I find it?
Kristin 01.28.2016
Hi Whitney! You can find the sauce in the Asian foods aisle. It’s similar to Siracha in that it’s a chili sauce, but it also has garlic.
Emily 01.27.2016
Considering your unbelievable Buffalo Chicken meatballs were a mega-hit at my Super Bowl party a couple of years ago, I think I need to make these, too!
Come on, Kristin! The Carolina Panthers!!!! Those of us in Charlotte are super stoked. Cam Newton is the real deal and the team is stacked on offense AND defense. Google Luke Kuechly and be prepared to swoon a little bit at the best defensive player in the NFL! And he is super, super, super nice!
Kristi 01.27.2016
These look great! Also, being an NC resident myself, I thought I’d let ya know that the Panthers represent both Carolinas :) (Just don’t want you to get chewed out by any South Carolinians for not including them ;) )
emily 01.28.2016
Yes! THANK YOU, Kristi! Go Panthers! – A Girl from SC :)
Kristin 01.28.2016
Gahh, so sorry (hangs head in shame,) I know nothing about the NFL! It is helps, Ben said it was the Panthers who are going to destroy the Broncos!
Sammi 01.27.2016
Printed and on my menu for the superbowl. Thanks for the recipe!
Kelsey 01.27.2016
Dairy free too?! Have got to try this.
http://www.kelseymarie.co
Megan @ Skinny Fitalicious 01.27.2016
That rice chex trick is awesome! I’ve been looking for a GF bread crumb substitution other than GF bread crumbs or pulsed almonds. By the way, I’m not a Super Bowl fan either. I’m just in it for the food!
Kristin 01.28.2016
Yeah! I use it anytime panko is called for – really good for meatloaf, meatballs, etc. :)
Chelsea @ delipsch 01.27.2016
They look and sound like tastebud heaven. I can also imagine these in a burger form with some avocado and bibb lettuce, yum!
Kristin 01.27.2016
Got you covered, girl! https://iowagirleats.com/2013/01/29/kung-pao-chicken-burgers/
Connie 01.27.2016
I love Kung Pao chicken! I am going to try this recipe this weekend with ground turkey, broccoli, peapods and brown rice.
Thanks !
Lindsay @ BluegrassBites 01.27.2016
Yum! I’m thinking these will be making an appearance on our Super Bowl appetizer table!
Ellen @ My Uncommon Everyday 01.27.2016
These look delicious! I love how versatile meatballs are!
Kelli @ Hungry Hobby 01.27.2016
We always want to get the Trader Joe’s frozen bag of Kung Pao chicken but I always end up putting it back because of the gluten and wheat in it (plus really you don’t get that much with it!) I’m totally making this for the weekend, you’re the best!
Tom ~ Raise Your Garden 01.27.2016
I remember when I got married, my one requirement was to have meatballs like these as an appetizer. As a meat-a-vore, really craving these cave man style. But making them at home with chicken sounds like a bang on plan. Now, I’m thinking you could used ground up turkey too. Cluck cluck.
Kim 01.27.2016
These look great! What do you think would be a good serving side suggestion if I wanted to serve these for dinner?
Ellen @ My Uncommon Everyday 01.27.2016
I was thinking maybe rice and stir-fry veggies?
Kristin 01.27.2016
I would do fried rice (https://iowagirleats.com/2015/04/10/cauliflower-fried-rice/ OR https://iowagirleats.com/2012/08/23/take-out-fake-out-easy-chicken-fried-rice/ – omit the chicken,) and maybe some steamed broccoli!