I don’t think my family has ever met a meatball we don’t like! Whether Italian, Swedish, or Asian (like these Teriyaki Glazed Meatballs), they’re always devoured at our house, and I especially love how easily they can be prepared in advance and popped in the oven later in the day when you’re ready to eat dinner.
Ingredients for Teriyaki Glazed Meatball Lettuce Wraps
- Ground pork – We recommend local, humanely raised meat.
- Whole-wheat breadcrumbs – Try making your own with this recipe.
- Chopped green onions – White and green parts.
- Egg – If you can’t get them from a farmers’ market check out what to look for here.
- Soy sauce – Use gluten-free soy sauce if you’re avoiding gluten.
- Toasted sesame oil – For the meatballs and the glaze.
- Fresh ginger – Peeled and grated.
- Red pepper flakes – Just a pinch.
- Olive oil – Extra virgin.
- Whole-wheat flour – Look for the 100% stamp on the package.
- Water – To help the glaze not become too thick.
- Rice wine vinegar – Also for the glaze.
- Honey – Natural sweetener.
- Lettuce cups – Iceberg is recommended since it’s sturdy enough to hold the meatballs.
- Brown rice – Or whole-grain ramen noodles.
How to make the meatballs
- Prep: Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Make: In a large bowl, use your hands to combine the pork, breadcrumbs, green onions, egg, ginger, soy sauce, sesame oil, and red pepper. Roll the mixture into meatballs 1 ½” in diameter (a little smaller than a golf ball) and place in rows on the prepared baking sheet.
- Bake: Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until they are brown all the way through. Drizzle with Teriyaki Glaze. To eat, wrap up in lettuce cups with a little spoonful of brown rice or whole-grain ramen noodles.
How to make the teriyaki glaze
- Heat the olive oil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in the flour and cook, while stirring, until it darkens in color, 1 to 2 minutes.
- Whisk in the soy sauce, water, ginger, sesame oil, rice wine vinegar, and honey and bring to a light boil. Turn down to a simmer and cook another couple minutes, while stirring occasionally, until the sauce thickens enough to coat a spoon.
Other Lettuce Wrap Recipes You Might Enjoy
Shrimp and Lentil Lettuce Wraps
Teriyaki Glazed Meatball Lettuce Wraps
Enjoy an Asian inspired meal with delicious Teriyaki Glazed Meatballs served with lettuce cups and rice.
Ingredients
For the meatballs
- 1 1/2 pounds ground pork
- 1/2 cup whole-wheat breadcrumbs
- 1/2 cup green onions, chopped, white and green parts
- 1 egg
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, peeled and grated
- 2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
- pinch of red pepper flakes
For the teriyaki glaze
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 2 teaspoons whole-wheat flour
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 1/4 cup water
- 2 tablespoons fresh ginger, peeled and grated
- 2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
- 2 teaspoons rice wine vinegar
- 2 teaspoons honey
For serving
- iceberg lettuce cups
- brown rice or whole-grain ramen noodles
Instructions
For the Meatballs
-
Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
-
In a large bowl, use your hands to combine the pork, breadcrumbs, green onions, egg, soy sauce, ginger, sesame oil, and red pepper. Roll the mixture into meatballs 1 ½” in diameter (about the size of a golf ball) and place in rows on the prepared baking sheet.
-
Bake the meatballs for 10 to 12 minutes, or until they are brown and cooked all the way through (no longer pink in the middle). Coat with the Teriyaki Glaze (recipe below). To eat, wrap up in lettuce cups with a little spoonful of brown rice or whole-grain ramen noodles.
For the Teriyaki Glaze
-
Heat the olive oil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in the flour and cook, while stirring, until it darkens in color, 1 to 2 minutes.
-
Whisk in the soy sauce, water, ginger, sesame oil, rice wine vinegar, and honey and bring to a light boil. Turn down to a simmer and cook for another couple of minutes, while stirring occasionally, until the sauce thickens enough to coat a spoon.
Recipe Notes
We recommend organic ingredients when feasible.
Nutrition Facts
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Creamy Coconut Lime Chicken & Vegetables
I’ve made these before and they are delicious! Has anyone tried them with ground chicken?
Glad you enjoyed them. I usually sub ground chicken for a lot of recipes. I haven’t tried with this one yet, but think it would still be good. – Nicole
My family and I loved the meatballs! We thought the lettuce cups were a little messy and hard to eat though. I think we’ll just skip the lettuce next time, but there will definitely be a next time!
Thanks so much for the feedback. I found that I need to buy more sturdy lettuce when I’m doing lettuce cups like these. Glad to hear the whole family enjoyed them, though. – Nicole
I made this tonight for the first time and it was delicious and a big hit with the family. It was fairly easy to get together as far as effort and time. My sauce turned out a good consistency. I didn’t have fresh ginger and used grated so the flavor probably wasn’t as good. Definitely will make again and incorporate the fresh ginger next time. Another winner from Lisa!
I just tried this recipe and everyone in my home loved it. My husband is on keto diet so I didn’t put honey.
Are the nutrition facts based on reduced sodium soy sauce, which is linked in the ingredients, or regular sodium soy sauce?
We base it on a reduced sodium soy sauce. – Nicole
I made this for dinner tonight and everyone loved it (kids and adults!) I switched it up to use what I had on hand…so ground beef instead of ground pork and coconut aminos instead of soy sauce, gluten free breadcrumbs. I doubled the sauce and served it over rice, and put a salad on the side! The sauce was amazing and cooked up perfectly for me (with a lot of whisking!) I will make this again soon!
We’re so glad to hear everyone loved it! – Nicole
This is a great tasting recipe. I didn’t give it five stars because the sauce didn’t turn out very well for me. It was still runny so I added more flour at the end to thicken it but it ended up lumpy. I also felt that the ginger was a little bit overpowering. If I make this again, I would decrease the amount of ginger. I used ground beef instead of pork and it turned out great!
Awesome! Thank you for the feedback. – Nicole