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Home » Recipes » Spicy Korean Chicken Meatballs

Spicy Korean Chicken Meatballs

by Mike Hultquist · Dec 27, 2019 · 13 Comments

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Spicy Korean Chicken Meatballs Recipe

This chicken meatballs recipe makes the perfect meatballs that are glazed with a mix of Korean gochujang and pepper jelly, great as an appetizer or the star of the meal. I love them.

Spicy Korean Chicken Meatballs Recipe

Do you enjoy chicken meatballs? I sure do. Patty and I love meatballs of any kind, whether they're made from beef, turkey, pork, chicken, or any combination thereof. As long as they're spicy. Or big on flavor.

Meatballs usually are. They're the perfect bite, really, a big ball of seasoned ground meat, typically drenched in some sort of wonderful meatballs sauce or glaze.

Drool.

Just like this particular recipe. We're talking Spicy Korean Chicken Meatballs.

Spicy Korean Chicken Meatballs in a pan, ready to serve

YES!

Mike's Spicy Korean Chicken Meatballs

These Korean meatballs are made with ground chicken that is seasoned with ginger and Korean gochujang, which is a spicy Korean chili paste. We use a bit of beaten egg and panko (or breadcrumbs) to bind them together.

They're browned up in a hot pan, then transferred to the oven to cook through and finish up. Once they're ready, we baste them with a spicy glaze made from sweet pepper jelly, more spicy gochujang, rice vinegar and soy sauce. Such a wonderful combination.If you haven't cooked with gochujang, you need to add it to your shopping list. It's such a huge flavor builder. Learn more about gochujang here, and why you need it in your kitchen.

You're going to love these sweet and spicy meatballs, my friends. Serve them as an appetizer, on game day or the super bowl, as a party or meal starter, or as the star of your dinner! Chicken meatballs are delicious and can make for a quick and easy weeknight dinner. And, they're freezer friendly!

Let's talk about how to make chicken meatballs with Korean chili glaze, shall we?

Delicious Korean Chicken Meatballs in a pan, ready to eat

Chicken Meatballs Ingredients Needed

FOR THE CHICKEN MEATBALLS

  • Flavor Building Veggies. We're cooking down some chopped celery, onion, jalapeno and garlic in a bit of olive oil to add to our meat mixture first. Some people like to either skip this step or add the raw chopped or minced veggies into their meatballs mixture, but you get more flavor out of my method. Cook them down first, then incorporate them into your meatball mix.
  • Ground Chicken. I'm using 1 pound ground chicken to make 16 appetizer-sized meatballs. You can use ground beef, ground turkey or ground pork as well.
    The Binders. 1 cup panko and 1 egg will help bind the meatballs. You may need a bit more if you're meatballs feel too wet or sticky or aren't holding together well enough. Bread crumbs work as well. here.
  • Gochujang. There are different types of gochujang based on heat levels, but most have similar flavors. I chose a hotter variety found in my local grocery store. I use 2 tablespoons of gochujang, but you can add more to spice things up. It's so delicious.
  • The Seasonings. I'm using 1 teaspoon ginger, 1 tablespoon spicy red pepper flakes, and a bit of salt and pepper to taste. Feel free to add in other seasonings, like fresh or ground garlic, green onion, maybe a bit of brown sugar to sweeten things up. The choice is yours.
  • Garnish. I use fresh chopped herbs, sesame seeds and spicy chili flakes for garnish. If you have a favorite, go for it.

FOR THE SPICY KOREAN CHILI SAUCE

  • Pepper Jelly. Pepper jelly makes for an excellent glaze or sauce starter. It is inherently sweet and sugary, making it perfect for a glaze. I use 1/4 to 1/2 cup pepper jelly to start, though you may want more if you'd like your chicken meatballs to be saucier. Use your favorite pepper jelly recipe, a store bought brand, or try my jalapeno jelly recipe. So good! Want it CRAZY spicy? Try my ghost pepper jelly! Whoa!
  • The Saucy Ingredients. I'm using 3 tablespoons gochujang, 2 tablespoons rice vinegar, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, and a bit of salt and pepper to taste. If you'd like more sauce or a "saucier" sauce, add in extra gochujang. Taste and adjust.

How to Make This Spicy Korean Chicken Meatballs Recipe - the Steps

FOR THE CHICKEN MEATBALLS

Heat a large pan to medium heat. Add 1 tablespoon olive oil and heat. Add celery, onion and peppers. Cook about 5 minutes to soften. Add garlic and cook 1 minute, stirring.

Remove from heat and add contents to a mixing bowl. Cool slightly.

Add the ground chicken, panko, egg, gochujang, ginger powder and chili flakes. Add salt and pepper to your tastes.

Seasoned chicken mixture ready to make chicken meatballs

Hand mix the meat mixture until everything is combined, but do not over mix. If you over mix with your hands, the meatballs can become mealy.

Seasoned chicken mixture ready to make chicken meatballs

Form the meat mixture into 1-inch sized meatballs. You should get about 16 meatballs, about an ounce each or so.

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F.

Heat the pan again to medium heat and add remaining olive oil. Brown the meatballs 3-4 minutes, rolling them a bit to brown all of the sides.

Searing off my chicken meatballs in a pan

Transfer the pan to the oven and bake the meatballs for 10 minutes, or until the chicken meatballs are cooked through. The internal temperature of your baked chicken meatballs should be 165 degrees F when measured with a meat thermometer.

FOR THE KOREAN GOCHUJANG GLAZE / SAUCE

Spicy Korean gochujang glaze in a pan, ready for the meatballs

While the chicken meatballs are cooking, in a large bowl combine the pepper jelly, gochujang, rice vinegar, soy sauce, and salt and pepper. Add to a small pot and heat gently, stirring, until it is well combined.

Pour the gochujang sauce / glaze over the chicken meatballs, or you can brush it on.

Sprinkle with chili flakes, sesame seeds and fresh parsley and serve.

Spicy Korean Chicken Meatballs in a pan, glistening with sticky gochujang glaze

Boom! That's it, my friends! Such a great recipe! I love these chicken meatballs. Total party food. You know you'll be ready for the super bowl or game day eating table with these babies. I hope your family loves them as much as I do. Chicken meatballs all the way.

Recipe Tips & Notes

  • Heat Factor. Mild-Medium. You'll get a good level of heat from the gochujang, depending on the brand you're using. You can spice things up even further by incorporating hotter peppers, like serrano peppers, habanero peppers or even ghost peppers into your chicken meatball mixture, and/or using extra spicy chili flakes and seasonings. Spice it up, my friends!
  • For Baked Chicken Meatballs. Alternatively, you can add your chicken meatballs to a prepared rimmed baking sheet, lightly oiled or lined with parchment paper, and bake them at 400 degrees F for 20 to 30 minutes, or until they are cooked through. The internal temperature of your baked chicken meatballs should be 165 degrees F. You can also finish them in a slow cooker.
  • Keto Chicken Meatballs. These can be keto chicken meatballs, my friends, if you use a low or no-sugar pepper jelly.

Try Some of My Other Popular Recipes

  • Buffalo Chicken Meatballs
  • Honey-Sriracha Turkey Meatballs
  • Spicy Meatballs in Chipotle-Lime Sauce
  • Albondigas (Mexican Meatballs)
  • Grape Jelly Meatballs
  • Spicy Meatballs Sub Sandwiches
  • Spicy Italian Meatballs
  • Grilled Pork Chops with Pineapple-Gochujang Glaze
  • Spicy Peel-and-Eat Shrimp with Honey-Gochujang Glaze
  • Buldak (Korean Fire Chicken)

Spicy Korean Chicken Meatballs in a pan

Got any questions? Ask away! I’m happy to help. If you enjoy this recipe, I hope you’ll leave a comment with some STARS. Also, please share it on social media. Don’t forget to tag us at #ChiliPepperMadness. I’ll be sure to share! Thanks! — Mike H.

Spicy Korean Chicken Meatballs Recipe
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Spicy Korean Chicken Meatballs Recipe

This chicken meatballs recipe makes the perfect meatballs, glazed with Korean gochujang and pepper jelly, great as an appetizer or the star of the meal.
Save Recipe Saved!
Course: Appetizer, Main Course
Cuisine: American
Keyword: gochujang, ground chicken, meatballs, spicy
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Calories: 94kcal
Author: Mike Hultquist
Servings: 16 meatballs
Tap or hover to scale
5 from 6 votes
Leave a Review

Ingredients

FOR THE CHICKEN MEATBALLS

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 celery stalk chopped
  • 1 small onion chopped
  • 1 jalapeno pepper chopped
  • 3 cloves garlic chopped
  • 1 pound ground chicken you can use ground beef, ground turkey or ground pork as well
  • 1 cup panko or more as needed - you can sub in bread crumbs instead
  • 1 egg beaten
  • 2 tablespoons gochujang or more as desired
  • 1 teaspoon ginger powder
  • 1 tablespoon spicy red pepper flakes or more as desired
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • Fresh chopped herbs sesame seeds and spicy chili flakes for garnish

FOR THE SPICY KOREAN CHILI SAUCE

  • 1/4 cup pepper jelly
  • 3 tablespoons gochujang
  • 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon soy sauce
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

FOR THE CHICKEN MEATBALLS

  • Heat a large pan to medium heat. Add 1 tablespoon olive oil and heat.
  • Add celery, onion and peppers. Cook about 5 minutes to soften.
  • Add garlic and cook 1 minute, stirring.
  • Remove from heat and add contents to a mixing bowl. Cool slightly.
  • Add the ground chicken, panko, egg, gochujang, ginger powder and chili flakes. Add salt and pepper to your tastes.
  • Hand mix the meat mixture until everything is combined, but do not over mix. If you over mix with your hands, the meatballs can become mealy.
  • Form the meat mixture into 1-inch sized meatballs. You should get about 16 meatballs, about an ounce each or so.
  • Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F.
  • Heat the pan again to medium heat and add remaining olive oil. Brown the meatballs 3-4 minutes, rolling them a bit to brown all of the sides.
  • Transfer the pan to the oven and bake the meatballs for 10 minutes, or until the chicken meatballs are cooked through.

FOR THE KOREAN GOCHUJANG GLAZE / SAUCE

  • While the chicken meatballs are cooking, add the pepper jelly, gochujang, rice vinegar, soy sauce, and salt and pepper to a small pot. Heat gently, stirring, until it is well combined.
  • Pour the gochujang sauce / glaze over the chicken meatballs, or you can brush it on.
  • Sprinkle with chili flakes, sesame seeds and fresh parsley and serve.

Video

Notes

Heat Factor: Mild-Medium. You'll get a good level of heat from the gochujang, depending on the brand you're using. You can spice things up even further by incorporating hotter peppers into your chicken meatball mixture, and/or using extra spicy chili flakes and seasonings.
BAKED CHICKEN MEATBALLS: Alternatively, you can add your chicken meatballs to a prepared rimmed baking sheet, lightly oiled or lined with parchment paper, and bake them at 400 degrees F for 20-25 minutes, or until they are cooked through.
The internal temperature of your baked chicken meatballs should be 165 degrees F.
These can be keto chicken meatballs, my friends, if you use a low or no-sugar pepper jelly.

Nutrition Information

Calories: 94kcal   Carbohydrates: 9g   Protein: 6g   Fat: 4g   Saturated Fat: 1g   Cholesterol: 35mg   Sodium: 125mg   Potassium: 215mg   Fiber: 1g   Sugar: 4g   Vitamin A: 193IU   Vitamin C: 3mg   Calcium: 16mg   Iron: 1mg
Spicy Korean Chicken Meatballs Recipe
Did You Enjoy This Recipe?I love hearing how you like it and how you made it your own. Leave a comment below and tag @ChiliPepperMadness on social media.
 

Categories: Appetizers Tags: Chili Pepper Madness, chili pepper recipe, game day and superbowl parties, gochujang, low budget/inexpensive meals, patty's favorites

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    Recipe Rating




  1. Becky says

    March 19, 2022 at 7:10 pm

    5 stars
    Mike!
    Made this for dinner tonight. It was sooo good! Made it pretty spicy and being the sauce freak I am, I doubled the sauce. One can never have too much sauce. Thank you for this delicious recipe!

    Reply
    • Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says

      March 20, 2022 at 7:41 am

      Yes! Thanks, Becky! I agree, you can't have too much sauce! That's for sure. =)

      Reply
  2. Timothy Woods says

    January 16, 2022 at 10:39 pm

    5 stars
    Thanks for the recipe! The timing was perfect as I read your blog while planning out the weekend’s meals. I made it this Saturday night and it did not disappoint. It was my first time making meatballs and the recipe was easy to follow.

    Reply
    • Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says

      January 18, 2022 at 7:06 am

      Excellent! Glad you enjoyed it, Timothy!

      Reply
  3. EDDIE says

    April 30, 2020 at 6:09 pm

    5 stars
    Used jalapeno pepper jelly to the glaze. Was a little hot so i tamed it with a few peaches. The meatballs were outrageously good

    Reply
    • Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says

      April 30, 2020 at 6:56 pm

      Outstanding! I love that you used jalapeno jelly. So good! Kudos, Eddie. Glad you enjoyed them.

      Reply
  4. chiranjib Pradhan says

    February 13, 2020 at 2:10 pm

    5 stars
    A very nice recipe and easy. also looking good

    Reply
  5. Sherryn Frigon says

    January 06, 2020 at 12:36 pm

    5 stars
    Hi Mike,
    I want to make this but my family will not eat it with pieces of celery in it. How much celery seed or celery powder would I use in place of the celery stalk? I love your recipes.
    Thanks, Sherry

    Reply
    • Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says

      January 06, 2020 at 3:10 pm

      Sherryn, you can easily skip the celery and focus on the onion. If you'd still like celery powder, use 1/2 to 1 teaspoon. Let me know how it turns out for you!

      Reply
  6. Ron says

    January 03, 2020 at 12:42 pm

    5 stars
    Aloha Mike, I made your Korean Meatballs for a NYE party for the neighborhood. They went very fast. I used my Habanero/Pineapple Jelly, it was perfect. Thanks for all your great recipes. Ron

    Reply
    • Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says

      January 03, 2020 at 1:05 pm

      That's GREAT, Ron! Glad everyone enjoyed them. Pineapple/Habanero Jelly. YUM! A very nice choice.

      Reply
  7. Jeremie says

    December 29, 2019 at 12:55 pm

    5 stars
    I make the sauce with your Ghost Pepper Jelly: Lots of flavors! I just sprinkled fresh cilantro and not parsley: delicious! Thanks Mike!

    Reply
    • Michael Hultquist - Chili Pepper Madness says

      December 29, 2019 at 12:58 pm

      Ghost pepper jelly would be PERFECT here, Jeremie! I love it! Nicely done. Glad you enjoyed them.

      Reply

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