Korean Style Meatballs

These award-winning Korean Meatballs are sweet, spicy and so flavorful! Serve them over rice for dinner, or as an irresistible appetizer.

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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!“

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 buffalo chicken dip with Greek yogurt 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.

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.

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.

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.