Korean Meatballs
These award-winning Korean Meatballs are sweet, spicy and so flavorful! Serve them over rice for dinner, or as an irresistible appetizer.
These gochujang meatballs are award winning!
This Korean meatballs recipe is an oldie but a goodie. Since it was first published in 2013, over 60,000 people have visited this site for the recipe, and many more have gotten it from Food 52, where it was chosen as the winner of their “Best Spicy Recipe” contest.
The editors offered a few notes from the Test Kitchen explaining why it was chosen, and I think they’ve said it better than I could:
”If you’re looking to impress a crowd (or just want a fun snack/appetizer to make), look no further than these gochujang meatballs. They are our new favorite cocktail party appetizer, with a kick of spice to keep things interesting.”
“The glaze really puts these meatballs over the top flavor-wise. It features apricot preserves, gochujang, of course, rice vinegar, and soy sauce. Just cook for about 5 minutes to thicken, and the glaze is ready to go.“
“We promise that whomever you serve these meatballs to are going to absolutely devour them!“
Why You’ll Love This Korean Meatballs Recipe
- These are great for entertaining! Keep them warm in a low crockpot for hours.
- While beef if used in the recipe card below, you can easily substitute ground pork, chicken or even turkey, depending on your preference.
What You’ll Need for Korean Meatballs
- ground beef – you will need 1 pound of ground meat. I used beef, but I talk about alternatives below! Feel free to save your beef for taco mac and cheese and make these meatballs with turkey instead.
- green onions – you will need thinly sliced green onions both for the meatball mixture and a garnish. If it’s game day, make a batch of healthy buffalo chicken dip and use the extra onions on top of that, too!
- garlic – I’m incapable of making a meatball without garlic. Garlic lovers – don’t miss my garlic dip recipe!
- ginger – minced fresh ginger (not the dried kind) is essential for any Asian meatball, and my orange chicken marinade.
- egg – you need 1 egg to act as a binder for the meatball mixture.
- breadcrumbs – I use panko breadcrumbs, which also serve as a binder.
- gochjuang – this Korean chili paste is the star of this recipe, appearing in both the meatball mixture and the glaze.
- salt and pepper – for seasoning the Korean BBQ meatballs. I used ground white pepper because I like it’s flavor for Asian dishes, but ground black pepper works fine, too.
- canola oil – you’ll need this for pan-frying the Korean meatballs. Vegetable oil also works.
- apricot preserves – for sweetening the glaze. I talk about alternatives below.
- rice vinegar – this adds a kick of acid to the glaze for this Korean meatball recipe. White vinegar works fine, too.
- soy sauce – this seasons the glaze, because we aren’t using salt in it. Soy sauce is also the secret ingredient in my best gravy recipe.
- toasted sesame seeds – optional, but I love them as a garnish.
What is gochujang, and why do I need it for Korean BBQ meatballs?
Gochujang is a fermented red chili paste that is used often in Korean cooking. It’s made from chili powder, rice, soybean powder and other ingredients. It is savory, sweet and spicy all at the same time.
It is can be quite thick and kind of have the consistency of tomato paste, although some brands are a little thinner.
In my opinion, it is actually pretty versatile, and has a nice spicy and smoky flavor. A little bit goes a long way toward giving an otherwise boring dish a little Korean flair.
How to Make This Recipe for Korean Meatballs
1. STIR. In a large bowl, stir together the onions, garlic, egg, breadcrumbs, gochujang, ginger, salt and pepper.
2. MIX. Add the beef to the bowl and stir or mix with your hands until just combined. Do not overmix.
3. FORM. Using your hands or a scoop, gently form into golf ball-sized meatballs.
4. BROWN. Heat some oil in a large skillet and brown the meatballs in the oil, on all sides, in batches.
5. BAKE. Transfer the meatballs to a rimmed baking pan and and bake until the internal temperature reaches 160 degrees F.
6. GLAZE. While the meatballs are baking, make the glaze by whisking together the preserves, gochujang, vinegar and soy sauce in a small saucepot. Cook over medium heat until the mixture is slightly thickened.
7. SERVE. Brush meatballs with glaze and sprinkle with green onion and sesame seeds to serve.
Gochujang Meatballs Variations
Can I use a different type of meat for this Korean meatball recipe?
Absolutely. You are not required to make these Korean BBQ meatballs with beef.
Feel free to use to make this Korean meatball recipe with ground pork, chicken, or turkey. You could actually just make my turkey meatball recipe air fryer (omit the oregano) and change up the sauce if you wanted.
Heck, you could even use my black bean meatball recipe with this glaze!
You could even use a combination of several different types of meat in this Korean BBQ meatball recipe. Whatever you prefer is what you should use for these meatballs.
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What if I don’t have apricot preserves for these Korean style meatballs?
You don’t need to buy a jar of apricot preserves just for these gochujang meatballs, especially if you don’t plan to use it again (after all, that’s just more food waste!).
You can use just about any kind of jam, jelly or preserves that you might have on hand in place of the apricot preserves in these Korean style meatballs.
People have told me they’ve made these Korean meatballs with peach, grape and even strawberry jam/jelly/preserves, and they turn out great every time.
If you have strawberry preserves, you can make strawberry mules to go with your Korean BBQ meatballs! Try some heart jam cookies for dessert, too!
In the end, you probably won’t be able to tell what flavor of preserves you use for this Korean meatball recipe (since the gochujang takes a front seat in the flavor department). The preserves just add sweetness and texture to the sauce.
Home Chef Tips
- You can prepare the meatball mixture ahead of time and store in the fridge up to 24 hours, either in a large covered bowl, or already formed as meatballs, on a plastic wrap-covered sheet pan.
- Add a pinch of red pepper flakes to the meatball mixture of the sauce if you’d like to spice it up a little.
How to Serve Korean Style Meatballs
This Korean meatball recipe is very versatile. You can serve them as an appetizer, simply skewered with toothpicks for easy snacking.
They also work great as a main dish, paired with steamed rice or vegetarian kimchi fried rice, and sauteed vegetables.
You can even try them on top of tomato ramen for a fun dinner!
How to Store Korean BBQ Meatballs
If you have leftovers, transfer them to a storage container and place them in the fridge uncovered for a few hours until they are fully chilled, then cover them with the lid and keep in the refrigerator up to 3 days.
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Korean Style Meatballs
Ingredients
For the Meatballs:
- 3 green onions very thinly sliced
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 1 egg lightly beaten
- ½ cup panko breadcrumbs
- 2 tablespoons gochujang Korean chili paste
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon ground white pepper
- 1 pound ground beef
- 2 tablespoons canola oil for pan-frying
For the Glaze:
- ⅓ cup apricot preserves
- 2 tablespoons gochujang Korean chili paste
- 1 ½ tablespoons rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
For the Garnish:
- Sliced green onion
- Toasted sesame seeds
Instructions
Make the Meatballs:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In large bowl, stir together onions, garlic, egg, breadcrumbs, gochujang, ginger, salt and pepper. Add beef and stir (or mix with hands) until just combined. Do not overmix. Using your hands or a scoop, gently form into golf ball-sized meatballs.
- Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. In batches, transfer meatballs to skillet and cook 3 to 4 minutes or until browned on all sides, turning occasionally. Transfer meatballs to rimmed baking pan and transfer to oven. Bake 10 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 160 degrees F.
Make the Glaze:
- In small saucepot, whisk together preserves, gochujang, vinegar and soy sauce. Cook over medium heat 5 minutes or until mixture is slightly thickened, stirring frequently.
- To serve, brush meatballs with glaze and sprinkle with green onion and sesame seeds.
We didn’t have any preserves for the glaze so we substituted honey and it was delicious! Will definitely put these in a regular rotation! Thank you!
Love that idea! Use what you got, that’s what I always do, too. So glad you liked this recipe.
Can these be made ahead and frozen ?
Hi Deb! Yes, freezing then will be just fine.
I was intrigued to see a ground beef entree recipe with Asian flavors. I’ve made this recipe twice for dinner since I discovered it and have recommended it to family and friends! It makes for an easy, tasty dinner (I served with rice and steamed broccoli). And gochujang was super easy to find at my grocery store!
I’m so glad to hear this recipe is a hit for you! I also serve these with rice and broccoli.