Glazed Chile-Garlic Meatballs
Updated March 24, 2026
David Malosh for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Cyd Raftus McDowell.
- Ready In
- 45 min
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
For the meatballs
1 pound ground beef (or ground chicken or ground turkey)
½ cup finely minced white onion
½ cup panko bread crumbs
⅓ cup milk
¼ cup finely chopped cilantro leaves
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon grated Parmesan
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
Any combination of cucumber salad, cooked vegetables and rice, for serving
For the sauce
¾ cup soy sauce
6 tablespoons maple syrup
2 tablespoons chile-garlic sauce (preferably Huy Fong)
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
4 garlic cloves, finely grated
½ teaspoon finely grated fresh ginger (optional)
Ground black pepper, to taste
Nutritional analysis per serving
6 grams carbs; 30 milligrams cholesterol; 98 calories; 3 grams monosaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 2 grams saturated fat; 6 grams fat; 465 milligrams sodium; 5 grams protein; 4 grams sugar
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a large sheet pan with parchment paper.
- Step 2
In a large bowl, combine all the meatball ingredients. With damp hands, shape into 24 balls (each about 1 ½ inches wide), then arrange them on the sheet pan, making sure to space them out evenly.
- Step 3
Bake the meatballs for 20 minutes, until browned on both sides, making sure to flip halfway through.
- Step 4
While the meatballs bake, add all the sauce ingredients to a medium skillet and cook down the sauce over medium until it has thickened slightly, about 5 minutes. Once it thickens, take the sauce off the heat and set aside. Add the meatballs and stir until coated.
- Step 5
Plate the meatballs and lightly drizzle with any remaining chile-garlic sauce. Serve right away or store the meatballs in an airtight container in the fridge for 2 to 3 days. If saving the meatballs to cook on a later date, store them in a freezer-safe bag for up to 3 months.
Private Notes
Comments
So easy and so delicious!! This is going to become a go-to recipe. Sauce took a little longer to reduce down, but got there eventually. No notes, highly recommend!
Delicious! I reduced the milk and increased the panko; as written the meatballs were too loose. Loved the sauce, but couldn’t get it to reduce; will work on that next time. Definitely going into the rotation.
Tasty! I used lean ground beef and modified the recipe slightly after reading others comments and to reduce fat - swapped Greek yogurt for the milk, removed the oil entirely, reduced the breadcrumbs to 1/4 cup and only added 1 egg. Meatballs were delicious even with these modifications. To thicken the sauce I added 2 teaspoons of cornstarch mixed with 4 teaspoons water. Will definitely make again.
Even with low sodium soy sauce it was a bit salty. I used garlic and chile infused maple syrup and omitted the garlic in the sauce. Added a little squeeze of ginger paste too. Based on other comments, omitted milk and used one egg in the meatballs and they were perfect. Also didn’t bother flipping. The sauce was really good on the steamed broccoli we had alongside. Will definitely make again, but will tweak the sauce slightly. Maybe reduce the soy and add a little broth or something.
This was delicious! I substituted sambal olek for the chili garlic sauce as that was what I had and I added about a half teaspoon of minced ginger to the meat. Otherwise, I made it exactly as written. There was plenty of sauce to go with the coconut rice I made with it. I will definitely make it again.
Great recipe using everyday ingredients. Ground turkey instead of beef, swapped shallot for onion and thinned Greek yogurt for milk. Still a bit salty using only 1/2 c soy sauce and omitting extra salt. Next time I would use only 1 egg and make double the sauce!