These air fry chicken meatballs are a versatile dish with an Asian-inspired flavor, thanks to green onions, garlic, ginger, and sesame oil. The soy-based sauce is a perfect balance of sweet, sour, salty, and mildly spicy. Serve them as an appetizer with the sauce for dipping, or completely coat the meatballs and serve over rice for a satisfying meal paired with my Shanghai Bok Choy .
Why You Will Love this Airfryer Chicken Meatballs Recipe
- Quick and easy to make appetizer that can even be prepped ahead, giving you more time with your guests and less time in the kitchen.
- If served as an appetizer no fork or knife needed, just a toothpick will suffice
- Can be served as a delicious meal over rice or noodles
- Making it in the air fryer is faster than the oven and the meatballs have a crispier outer layer
Equipment Needed
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This recipe is pretty straightforward. You only need a couple of mixing bowls for mixing the ground chicken with spices and herbs, and for mixing the sauce together. A small saucepan for cooking the sauce. And finally an air fryer for cooking the chicken meatballs. I have a Casori 5Qt air fryer and a Bella Pro Series 8Qt, both of which I am very happy with.
Ingredients
Full ingredients with measurements can be found in the recipe card at the bottom.
Chicken Meatball Ingredients
- Ground chicken or turkey is the base for these meatballs.
- Panko breadcrumbs, or regular breadcrumbs.
- Green onions -use both the green and white parts. I reserved about a tablespoon of the chopped green parts for garnishing
- Finely chopped ginger and garlic – I also tried with ginger and garlic powder but the flavor just really wasn’t the same
- Toasted sesame oil really brings out that Asian flavor.
- Salt and pepper for seasoning
Sauce Ingredients
- Cornstarch – is used to thicken the sauce
- Soy sauce – I like to use light soy sauce but normal soy sauce will work just as fine too.
- Hot honey – adds sweetness and a touch of heat. If you prefer you can also use regular honey.
- Toasted sesame oil – again for that Asian flavor
- Rice vinegar – adds a sour note to pair with the honey
How to Make Air Fry Chicken Meatballs
In a medium to large sized mixing bowl add the ground chicken, green onions, garlic, ginger, toasted sesame oil, salt and pepper. Use your hands to mix all these ingredients together. Gently press into 12-15 balls with your hands. Do not press too hard or they will be too dense and less enjoyable. Using a cookie scoop helps to get more uniform sized balls if you prefer. Wet your hands with water to help prevent sticking.
Preheat your air fryer. Lay the meatballs down in the air fryer basket in one layer with room for airflow to go around each of the chicken meatballs. Air fry at 385F for 15 – 17 minutes. I don’t find the need to flip them, but you can check on them half way through and flip them if you like. While the chicken meatballs are air frying, make the sauce.
In a small bowl add the cornstarch and water. Mix together to form a slurry. Add in the rest of the sauce ingredients (soy sauce, hot honey, sesame oil, rice vinegar) and stir together.
Pour sauce into a small saucepan and heat over medium heat while constantly stirring with a spoon until it begins to thicken and turns translucent, about 2 minutes. Set aside.
If Serving as a Meal
Once the meatballs finish cooking, transfer them to the saucepan and coat them completely in sauce.
Serve over rice and garnish with thinly sliced green onions. Enjoy!
If Serving as an Appetizer
Once the meatballs finish cooking, transfer them to a serving plate and garnish with green onions. Serve the sauce in a small bowl alongside the meatballs for dipping. Enjoy!
Notes
- I didn’t use an egg in this recipe. I find that ground chicken is already very moist, and adding an egg isn’t necessary.
- I use ground chicken in this recipe, but you could easily substitute turkey if that is what you have on hand.
- When making the sauce, I mix the cornstarch with the water first because it is a small amount of liquid. This helps to prevent the cornstarch from going lumpy.
- You can make these meatballs gluten-free by just making sure the soy sauce you use is gluten-free and by not adding the breadcrumbs. The breadcrumbs help to give a little extra structure making them easier to handle when raw, but the overall flavor and texture are pretty much the same with or without them.
FAQs
- How to make crunchy chicken meatballs? I have also made this recipe by not putting breadcrumbs into the meat but instead, rolling the raw meatballs in the panko bread crumbs, spraying with oil and then placing them in the air fryer. The final result tastes just as good, and has a crunchy coating.
- How to serve Air Fryer Chicken Meatballs? As a meal these chicken meatballs are great on rice, but would also be good served over noodles, or even cauliflower rice. A side of my Shanghai Bok Choy would also be delicious.
- Can I make these in the oven? Yes, if you would like these can also be made in the oven. Cover a sheet pan with parchment paper, add the meatballs and bake at 385F for 20 minutes. Place under the broiler for a couple of minutes if you want to brown them up a bit – but watch them carefully as they can burn quickly.
- How to store leftover Air Fry Chicken Meatballs? The meatballs can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for about 3 days. They can be reheated in the air fryer at 370 for about 5 minutes. They are best reheated without the sauce, but if the sauce is already on, they reheat better in the microwave for about 1.5 minutes.
- Can I freeze Air Fryer Chicken Meatballs? Yes, these chicken meatballs can be placed in a zipper top bag and frozen for up to 3 months. Allow them to thaw overnight in the fridge and reheat as per above.
Air Fry Chicken Meatballs
Ingredients
For the Meatballs
- 1 lb ground chicken or turkey
- 3 green onions (save 1 tbsp green tops for garnish)
- 1 tablespoon fresh ginger finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon cracked black pepper
For the Sauce
- 3 tablespoons Light soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon water
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- 2 tablespoons hot honey or regular honey
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
Instructions
- In a mixing bowl add the ground chicken, green onions, garlic, ginger, toasted sesame oil, salt and pepper. Use your hands to mix all these ingredients together.
- Gently press into 12-15 balls with your hands. You can use a cookie scoop to get more uniform sized balls if you want. Wet your hands with water to help prevent sticking.
- Preheat your air fryer. Lay the meatballs down in the air fryer basket in one layer with room for airflow to go around each of the chicken meatballs. Air fry at 385F for 15 – 17 minutes. While the chicken meatballs are air frying, make the sauce.
- In a small bowl add the cornstarch and water. Mix together to form a slurry. Add in the rest of the sauce ingredients (soy sauce, hot honey, sesame oil, rice vinegar) and stir together.
- Pour sauce into a small saucepan and heat over medium heat while constantly stirring with a spoon until it begins to thicken and turns translucent, about 2 minutes. Set aside.
- If Serving as a Meal – When the meatballs are done, place them into the saucepan with the sauce and stir them around to cover them completely with the sauce. Serve over rice and garnish with thinly sliced green onions. Enjoy!
- If Serving as an Appetizer – When the meatballs are done, place them on a serving plate and garnish with green onions. Serve the sauce in a small bowl alongside the meatballs for dipping. Enjoy!
Notes
- I didn’t use an egg in this recipe. I find that ground chicken is already very moist, and adding an egg isn’t necessary.
- Ground chicken is used in this recipe, but turkey could easily be substituted if that is what you have on hand.
- When making the sauce, mix the cornstarch with the water first because it is a small amount of liquid. This helps to prevent the cornstarch from going lumpy.
- These meatballs can be made gluten-free by just making sure the soy sauce you use is gluten-free and by not adding the breadcrumbs. The breadcrumbs help to give a little extra structure making them easier to handle when raw, but the overall flavor and texture are pretty much the same with or without them.
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These were so flavorful, and the dipping sauce is fantastic!
So glad you liked them!
Thanks for such an amazing recipe, I made these meatballs last night and they turned out pretty amazing!
I’m so happy to hear that Abi! They are very flavorful – we like them too!