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Have you ever eaten ONLY the inside of an egg roll? You know, the ones you get at fast food places? Or at cheap Chinese restaurants with the marvelously deep fried, flaky, crunchy wrapper? If you haven’t – perhaps because you’re gluten-free (and who-wouldn’t-want-to-eat-the-deep-fried-goodness-if-you-could) – then I present to you these Asian Sesame Ginger Turkey Meatballs. This is basically it, albeit a much healthier version.
Why sugar free?
Recently, I’ve drastically reduced the amount of refined sugar and refined carbs in my diet. WOW, has it made an extreme difference in how I feel day-to-day! The magnitude of the difference I’ve felt is most certainly related to the Hashimoto’s diagnosis I received earlier this year. This is why I’ve adjusted my diet to limit foods that could trigger a flare up. Regardless of whether you’re trying to consume less sugar or simply looking for an Asian-inspired meatball recipe to try this week, there’s no doubt that maximizing the amount of whole, unprocessed, nutrient-dense foods your digestive system can handle will do you some good!
I’ve used both ground turkey breast and ground turkey thigh. As expected, the thigh meat yields a softer, juicier meatball. If you want to make this recipe leaner and you don’t mind a little bit more dryness, you do you and go for the white meat! The quinoa and sauce do help.
The sesame and garlic oil, ginger and green onion combine into a familiar savory combination, while the orange juice and coconut aminos in the sauce brightens the flavors and highlights the sweetness of the carrots in the meatballs. This recipe takes a short time to prepare and an even shorter time of 20 minutes to cook in the oven – perfect for a fuss free dinner. Don’t forget to save and simmer down half of the sauce to pour over!
Looking for other Asian-inspired dishes? Try my Oven-Roasted Miso Drumsticks. Or Ground Pork & Pepper Stir Fry!
If you make these Asian Sesame Ginger Turkey Meatballs, be sure to leave a comment, give the recipe a rating or tag me on Instagram! I love it when you guys try my recipes. And I’d love to know if you enjoy them as much as I do!
Asian Sesame Ginger Turkey Meatballs – Gluten, Refined Sugar & Soy Free
Ingredients
Meatball Mixture
- 1 lb ground turkey thigh
- 1 egg large
- 1/2 cup cooked quinoa
- 1/2 cup carrots finely chopped
- 3 green onions, green tips only finely chopped, about 1/3 to 1/2 cup
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- 1 tsp garlic infused olive oil
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 1/2 tsp salt
- pepper to taste
Sauce
- 1/3 cup coconut aminos
- 1/3 cup water
- 1/4 cup orange juice
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
Instructions
First, Prepare the Sauce
- In a small sauce pan over medium high heat, pour all ingredients and stir to combine.
- Bring sauce to a light boil before turning off heat.
Second, Prepare the Meatballs
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F and line a 9″ brownie pan with foil.
- Pour all meatball ingredients into large bowl. The mixture can get sticky – use fork and spoon to combine ingredients well.
- Using the help of the spoon, scoop the mixture to form 1.5″ balls. Use fingertips to shape before sliding them onto the brownie pan. This should make about 16 meatballs.
- Pour half of the sauce over the meatballs and place into oven for 18-20 minutes.
- With the remaining 1/2 of the sauce, while the meatballs are cooking, place on low to medium-low heat to allow sauce to reduce. This sauce will be ready when the meatballs are done in the oven, and can be used to pour over the meatballs before serving.
- Enjoy in lettuce wraps or with your choice of carb!
Notes
- Make sure the orange juice you are using is 100% fruit juice and not-from-concentrate to keep this low FODMAP. I’ve utilized Simply Orange® and fresh squeezed orange juice. Both are delicious. Fresh juice brightens the flavor of the sauce!
- If using store-bought garlic-infused oil that is not certified FODMAP-friendly, make sure to use a brand that doesn’t list “garlic oil,” “garlic essential oil,” “garlic essence,” “garlic flavoring,” “natural roasted garlic flavor,” or anything similar in the ingredients list. There’s no way to know whether these ingredients are low FODMAP. More on that in this article on FODMAP Everyday.
- Using a food processor to chop the carrots speeds things up!
- I’ve tried this recipe with turkey breast and without quinoa which, although makes the recipe leaner, also makes the meatballs a bit more dry and crumbly. Swap out at your own preference!
- Using only your hands to shape the meatballs gets messy as the mixture can get extremely sticky! A spoon is your friend here.
- Don’t be alarmed by the coagulated protein that forms on the side of each meatball after baking – this is normal. This also makes the remaining sauce in the pan difficult to use, which is why we’ve simmered down some additional sauce on the side.