These keto Asian turkey meatballs start with juicy, flavorful turkey meatballs and a savory sesame chili sauce situation. Low carb, ready in under 30 minutes, and the whole family will be fighting over the last meatballs!
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It’s been a minute since I’ve shared a new meatball recipe, but I’M BACK. With the meatballs! An actual favorite food group of mine.
These Asian Turkey Meatballs follow a similar method as most of my other meatball recipes – mix, roll, bake at a really high heat to crisp up the edges and keep the interior nice and juicy. No sad, dry meatballs for you!
The bit that really takes these over the top is the Asian dipping sauce. It’s simple to whip up with just a handful of ingredients (soy sauce, a little vinegar, sesame oil, + my current obsession: chili crisp).
Big flavors, low effort, packed with protein, keto, family friendly…what more could you want out of dinner?! 😅
3 Reasons You’ll Love These Meatballs:
Easy prep, minimal cleanup. Mix everything together, scoop onto a baking sheet, and bake. The sauce comes together in minutes, so dinner is truly on the table in under 25 minutes.
The flavor is next level. Savory, garlicky, a little spicy from the chili crisp – these taste like something you’d order at a restaurant, not a weeknight keto dinner. Consider making a double batch, actually.
Turkey meatballs that actually deliver. Baked at 500 degrees, these get a gorgeous golden crust on the outside while staying juicy inside. Almond flour keeps them tender without any breadcrumb filler. And yes – 500 degrees sounds insane, but trust the process. We do this all the time and it works perfectly.
Ingredient Notes:
You’ll need ground turkey, almond flour as the binder, an egg, and a mix of ground ginger, garlic powder, soy sauce, and cilantro.
For the sauce, you’ll need soy sauce, sesame oil, rice vinegar, chili crisp, and green onion.
- Soy sauce: Reduced sodium works in both the meatballs and the sauce, it just dials the saltiness back a bit. If you like things a bit saltier, go with regular. Either works, just depends on your preference. You can also use coconut aminos, if you avoid soy.
- Swap for chicken: You can easily swap the ground turkey for ground chicken.
- Not a cilantro fan? Skip it or swap in flat-leaf parsley. The meatballs will still be delicious, just a slightly different flavor profile.
- Meatball size: You can make smaller meatballs if you’d like more pieces (great for an appetizer spread!). Just reduce the bake time and always check for that internal temp of 165 degrees.
- Chili crisp heat level: Personally, I am obsessed with this stuff and I’ve tried quite a few brands. I like this one best. I put it on eggs, roasted veggies, in our Asian cucumber salad, etc. Start with 1 teaspoon if you’re sensitive to heat or making this for kids, then taste and add more. I haven’t found a single person who doesn’t like the sauce once they try it though.
- Rice vinegar — is it keto? Yes! Unsweetened/unseasoned rice vinegar has less than 1 gram of carbs per teaspoon, so the small amount used in this sauce is totally fine for a keto diet. It adds just enough brightness and tang to balance out the soy sauce and sesame oil. If you don’t have it on hand, plain white vinegar works as a substitute. It’s a little sharper, so start with slightly less and taste as you go.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Step by Step Instructions:
Add all of the ingredients for the meatballs to a mixing bowl and stir well to combine.
I use a medium cookie scoop to portion out the meatballs and then roll them in my hands to smooth them out.
While the meatballs are baking, whisk together the ingredients for the sauce. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed.
Once the meatballs are fully baked, use the sauce as a dip or toss the meatballs in it to coat.
Helpful Tip!
Storage & Freezing:
- Fridge: Store leftover meatballs in an airtight container for up to 4 days. Reheat in the microwave or pop them back in the oven at 350 for a few minutes to warm through.
- Sauce: Keep the sauce in a separate container in the fridge for up to 5 days. Bring to room temp and give it a quick stir before serving since the sesame oil may separate.
- Freezer: These freeze really well! Freeze baked meatballs in a single layer on a baking sheet, then transfer to a zip-top bag once frozen. Reheat straight from frozen at 350 until warmed through. Make fresh sauce when you’re ready to serve.
Serving Suggestions:
Our favorite way to serve these is over cauliflower rice with the sauce drizzled right over the top. It soaks in and makes the whole thing feel like a real takeout-style meal at home.
We’re also sharing a new keto Asian cucumber salad on the blog next week, and it is the perfect pairing for these meatballs, so keep an eye out for that! (We’ll link it up as soon as it’s live.)
If you want to round out the meal, our Szechuan green beans are amazing alongside this, and our cauliflower rice stir fry works great too. Both are already on the blog if you want to make it a full spread.
More Meatball Favorites:
- Jalapeno Popper Meatballs
- BBQ Keto Meatballs
- Spaghetti Squash and Meatballs
- Cheddar Bacon Ranch Chicken Meatballs
Keto Asian Turkey Meatballs
Ingredients
For the meatballs:
- 1 pound lean ground turkey
- 2 green onions chopped
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 cup almond flour
- ¼ cup chopped cilantro
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon salt
For the sauce:
- ¼ cup soy sauce see note
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 2 teaspoons rice vinegar
- 2 teaspoons chili crisp
- 1 green onion chopped
Instructions
To make the meatballs:
- Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Spray a large baking sheet with non-stick spray or line with parchment paper.
- Add all of the ingredients to a large mixing bowl and combine well with your hands or a wooden spoon.
- Use a large cookie scoop to scoop out 12 evenly sized meatballs and place on the prepared baking sheet.
- Bake for 12 minutes or until turkey is cooked through to an internal temperature of 165 degrees.
- Serve with dipping sauce.
To make the sauce:
- While the meatballs are baking, add all of the ingredients to a small bowl and whisk to combine. Taste and adjust seasoning as desired.
- For serving, either toss the meatballs in the sauce or serve the sauce in small bowls for dipping.
Derek Cridland says
Hi again Karley,
We must stop writing to each other before people start talking about us ;o).
I have, quite honestly, no reason whatsoever against meat balls in any shape, form or taste – but I somehow have an aversion to them! I am now over 80 years old and being a diabetic of over 25 years, I have amassed a collection of 8,883 recipes, the vast majority of which are low-carb and again,. the vast majority as yet untried AND with not a single mention of meat balls . I am no gourmet chef by any stretch of the imagination prefering simple, easy recipies of 12 ingredients or less. BUT, your turkey meat ball recipe looks farely easy with not to many ‘items’ and no mention of multiple cans of tomatoes, pounds of cheese and tablespoons of chili (I like to taste that which I am cooking and eating) Again BUT, I am highly tempted to try this recipe – I will let you know the outcome if I do decide to ‘take a walk on the wild side’
Very best regards to you.
Karly Campbell says
Oh, I do hope you give them a try! We have quite a few meatball recipes and I love them all! 🙂