If you are a fan of traditional cocktail meatballs, you are going to love this Asian-flavored twist in a spicy apple glaze. It has a wonderful spicy-sweet combination and they are super quick and easy to make.
The recipe produces a whole mound of them and they’re so delicious they will disappear in the blink of an eye. They would make great football food or cocktail party food. You can serve them over rice to make a more filling appetizer or to serve them as a main dish.
If you want to serve them as a meal, add some steamed broccoli to the mix and you can easily serve 4 people.
The apple-glazed meatballs develop a nice crust on the outside and I love that they are bite-sized. The glaze has great depth of flavor from apple juice, ginger, soy sauce, brown sugar, and cayenne pepper. It’s too good to waste any. That’s why I put some rice on the bottom to soak up all the goodness.
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Spicy Apple-Glazed Meatballs
Ingredients
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup milk
- 2 slices white or wheat bread, crusts removed and torn into pieces
- 1 lb 85% lean ground beef
- 1 tablespoon minced shallot
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 tablespoon Vegetable oil
Apple Glaze
- 1 cup apple juice
- 1/4 cup reduced sodium soy sauce
- 3 tablespoons packed brown sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 6 green onions, sliced
- 2 cups cooked rice
Instructions
- In a large bowl, whisk together egg and milk. Add bread, coat it in the egg mixture, and let sit for 10 minutes.
- Add ground beef, shallot, garlic, black pepper, salt, and cayenne pepper. Mix well with a wooden spoon or your hands. Shape into small meatballs about 1 to 1 1/4-inch across.
- Add Vegetable oil to a large nonstick skillet and heat over medium heat. Working in 2 batches, add meatballs and cook until brown on all sides and no longer pink inside, about 6 minutes per batch. Transfer meatballs to a plate and keep warm. Drain fat from skillet and wipe clean.
- In a medium bowl combine apple juice, soy sauce, brown sugar, cornstarch, ginger, and cayenne. Place mixture in the wiped clean skillet over medium heat and stir until thickened and bubbly. Cook 2 more minutes while stirring.
- Place meatballs back in skillet and coat with glaze. To serve, sprinkle with green onions and serve over rice if desired.
Notes
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Recipe Source: slightly adapted from Better Homes and Gardens
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LOVE the sound of these! I think I might try this recipe with some ground pork, can’t wait!
Ohhhh.. I bet ground pork would be delicious! Let me know how you like it if you try it!
I love the photo and I am drooling! I wish you could make this for me! I want this dish so bad!!! Yummy!! 🙂
If you lived near by I would definitely make it for you! 🙂
I’ve just had dinner and I’m hungry again now. These meatballs. That apple glaze. Your photographies. Gosh, they get more amazing every day… they make these look so so appetising!
Thank you so much Consuelo!
Hi Christin,
I just wanted to say that I’ve made these before and they’re just as good as the photos.
I just came back to make them to bring to a friend’s house next week.
These would be so good for a party!! Bookmarking them so I remember to make them!
Thanks Ashley! Hope you enjoy them!
Christin, I can’t even speak. The recipe, the PHOTOS–everything is just incredible! Your recipes and pictures just keep getting better, and better–so impressive!!
I love this spin on meatballs! That apple glaze sounds awesome – I could eat quite a number of these in one sitting! lol
These look delicious and the spicy apple glaze sounds great. I always love finding new recipes for dinner and this one sounds like a winner, thanks for sharing Christin 🙂
I love that these are apple glazed, especially because I’m a apple juice lover. I can only imagine how amazing these taste, making my mouth water!
I’m amazed by not only the amount of posts you get out per week, but the quality of them as well. These meatballs look so delicious, and your photos are stunning as always! I could eat the whole pile of these. 🙂