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Sheet Pan Sticky Gochujang Chicken Meatballs…easy homemade chicken meatballs with ginger and sesame, tossed in an addicting sweet and spicy Korean-inspired sauce. Serve up bowl style over steamed rice with roasted with broccoli, creamy spicy aioli sauce, and vegetables. Then top with plenty of sesame seeds for a fun and healthy dinner any night of the week. And the best part…these meatballs are made quicker than any take-out meal, and they’re so much healthier too.
And here we are again with meatballs. You’ll know my oldest brother is in town when meatballs make yet another appearance here. Along with those Cheesy Gordita Crunch Tacos, meatballs are one of his favorite foods. Put them in a spicy, sticky Korean sauce…oh, ya, even better!
I made these meatballs the other day with him in mind. I have to say, I think I’m just as excited as he is over these Korean-inspired meatballs. Not only are they part of a complete sheet pan dinner. They also take no time to make and are so delicious. Think, saucy, sweet, and spicy, with a touch of tang, and toasty sesame seeds throughout.
I even added a bit of broccoli to round out the meal…and not one, but two sauces.
So you see, the perfect, easy, but fun weeknight dinner.
Let’s go through the details.
For the meat, I used ground chicken, but ground pork or turkey will work just as well. I seasoned them up with plenty of green onions, ginger, and garlic. Then oven-baked them on a sheet pan alongside some broccoli for added color. Plus, I just love the idea of a one-pan dinner. And if you can cook your meat and vegetables at the very same time, then why not? I am all about it.
While the meatballs bake, make the sauce. Now here’s the truth, the sauce is really why you should make this recipe. It’s honestly so addicting. Sweet, tangy, a touch spicy, and once boiled down, super sticky. This is a pretty simple mix of Gochujang (Korean chili paste), soy sauce, and sesame oil. The Gochujang adds all the flavor, so you really don’t need much else. I boiled it down on the stove to make it a little stickier, which is perfect for tossing with the meatballs.
The sauce takes only a few minutes to thicken up on the stove. It’s usually ready by the time the meatballs have finished cooking. Once the sauce has boiled down, I like to make a creamy “special sauce” sauce for drizzling over the meatballs. Just stir a couple of tablespoons of the Gochujang sauce into yogurt or mayo. This sauce is beyond good.
Toss the rest of the sauce with the meatballs and you’re done. Add rice to your bowls, then snuggle in the broccoli and meatballs. Add extra sauce and finish with any and all toppings you’d like. I always do plenty of sesame seeds, chilies, and kimchi.
Nothing fancy here, just simple cooking, but very delicious (pretty healthy food).
A couple of notes.
What is Gochujang? If you’re not familiar with Gochujang it’s Korean chili paste. For those of you who read often, you know it’s my favorite type of chile paste. It’s spicy with a little sweetness, and it’s extremely flavorful. It’s traditional in a lot of Korean-based sauces and is often used in Korean fried chicken or simply as a dipping sauce. Over here, we LOVE Gochujang. I use it for so much more than just Korean food. It’s so good when paired with…well pretty much anything that you’d enjoy with a touch of hot sauce.
You can buy Gochujang in most grocery stores. I know Whole Foods and Trader Joes carry it. I highly recommend this brand Gochujang. It certainly makes for the best, truly Korean food.
I really can’t tell you enough how much I love these Korean-inspired meatballs. I’ll be turning to this one time and time again. Sheet pan dinners are always my go-to, but this is a new favorite.
It’s all about the sticky Korean sauce and that creamy, yet spicy “special sauce”. Together, they truly make everything that much better.
My final words, double the recipe and save the leftovers for quick and easy lunches. Trust me you will be so happy you did!
Looking for other easy weeknight dinners? Here are some favorites.
Better Than Takeout Dan Dan Noodles
Sheet Pan Roasted Lemon Garlic Butter Salmon with Feta and Olives
Lastly, if you make these Sheet Pan Sticky Gochujang Chicken Meatballs be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Sheet Pan Sticky Gochujang Chicken Meatballs
Servings: 4
Calories Per Serving: 439 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground turkey or chicken
- 2 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce or tamari
- 1-2 tablespoons Gochujang (Korean chili paste)
- 3 green onions, finely chopped
- 1 inch fresh ginger, grated
- 1 clove garlic, minced or grated
- 1 large head broccoli, cut into florets
- 2 tablespoons sesame oil or extra virgin olive oil
Sauce
- 1/3 cup low sodium soy sauce or tamari
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 1-2 tablespoons Gochujang (Korean chili paste)
- 1 inch fresh ginger, grated
- 2 cloves garlic, grated
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
- 1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt or avocado oil mayo
- rice, sesame seeds, chiles, and Kimchi, for serving
Instructions
- 1. Preheat the oven to 450° F. Line a baking sheet with parchment.2. To make the meatballs. Add the chicken, soy sauce, Gochujang, green onions, ginger, and garlic, to a bowl. Mix until just combined. Coat your hands with a bit of oil, and roll the meat into rounded tablespoon-size balls (will make 15-16 meatballs). Place on the prepared baking sheet. The mix will be wet, but it will firm up in the oven. Add the broccoli to the other side of the baking sheet and toss with 1 tablespoon oil, salt, and pepper. Transfer to the oven and bake for 15 minutes or until the meatballs are crisp and cooked through.3. Meanwhile, make the sticky Gochujang sauce. In a small pot, combine the soy sauce, honey, rice vinegar, Gochujang, ginger, garlic, sesame oil, and 1/4 cup water. Bring the sauce to a boil for 5 minutes, until the sauce thickens and reduces by about 1/4. Remove from the heat.4. Remove the broccoli from the baking sheet. Pour about half the sauce over the meatballs, tossing to combine. Return to the oven for 2-3 minutes, until the sauce coats the meatballs.5. Combine 2-3 tablespoons of the remaining sticky Gochujang sauce from step 3 with the yogurt. 6. Serve the meatballs and sauce over bowls of rice topped with additional green onions, and sesame seeds. Serve the broccoli on the side.
I was a little anxious to try but I love a good sheet pan meal. It turned out fantastic. No problems at all and every component was delicious. Unfortunately I used all my culinary talent on my husband. Its definitely something you can and should serve to guests.
Hi Tara,
Wonderful!! Love to hear that this recipe was a hit, thanks a lot for giving it a go:) xTieghan
Flavor was nice and was a pretty easy recipe. My sauce didn’t thicken even after 10 minutes so I tried to add a little cornstarch to thicken but it never achieved the “sticky” level needed. I’ll try again! I think next time instead of just doing gochujang I may sub in a little sambal oeleck because I personally prefer the flavor of that more.
Great recipe as usual, thanks!
Hi Kelly,
Fantastic!! I am so glad to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a lot for making it! xTieghan
So yummy! Followed the recipe exactly and it turned out delicious.
Hey Sarah,
Awesome!! Thanks for giving the recipe a try, I love to hear that it was a hit!! xxT
We’ve just switched this recipe from minced (ground) turkey to no-meat mince. It changes the texture of the no-meatballs (more akin to a falafel than a meatball), but it is still super tasty. Lots of fresh vegetables on the side. Wonderful!
Hi Adam,
Awesome!! Thanks a lot for trying this recipe out, I love to hear that it was enjoyed! xTieghan
The meatballs lost a ton of liquid while they were cooking (I used ground Turkey). Had to drain off a lot of grease.
I also struggled with the sauce. I boiled it for at least 4x longer than the recipe suggests, but it was still super runny. I finally poured it on the meatballs thinking it must just thicken a lot in the oven for those last couple of minutes, but it didn’t.
The flavors were good but I think the recipe is a bit misleading in how’s long things take to cook to yield the end result in the photos.
Hi Erin,
Thanks for giving the recipe a try, sorry to hear you did not enjoy it. You can always add some cornstarch to help thicken the sauce. xTieghan
I forgot to add the water and still reduced it a bit and it turned out great, I boiled it about 5 mins and it was nice and sticky. Maybe give that a shot if you try this recipe again?
We made these meatballs exactly per the recipe (including the extra glaze/sauce) except because of the snowstorms in the Upper Atlantic, all of our stores were out of ground chicken and turkey so I grabbed 90% lean ground bison and it worked perfectly. I had to drain off some fat after pulling the meatballs out of the oven before glazing them in the sauce, but otherwise it was great!
We served it with black rice, fresh cucumber, and some Korean spinach. What a wonderful, veggie filled dinner!
Hey Amie,
Fantastic!! I am so glad that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a lot for giving it a try. Have the best week! xTieghan
I made this tonight and it turned out so good!!! I did turkey for the meatballs and wow, so savoury and flavourful, my family loved this! …. The special sauce is the cherry on top!
Hey Taylor,
Happy Friday! Thanks so much for giving this recipe a try, I love to hear that it was enjoyed! xTieghan
Made this last night and it was so good and flavorful! Gochujang is also one of my favorite sauces, so it was bound to be a winner. The meatballs seemed a little wet going into the oven, but they turned out perfect! They were delicious with and without the sauces. I had some black bean paste on hand and was running out of Gochujang, so I added a half tbsp of that and used 1.5 tbsp of Gochujang in my meatball mixture. Not sure it made a big diff but was great!
Hey Rachel,
Awesome! It’s so great to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks for giving it a try! xTieghan
I really enjoyed this. I added some gochugaru chili flakes to the meatballs to kick it up another notch. The yogurt sauce provided a welcome cooling source.
Hey there,
Wonderful! Thanks so much for making this recipe, I am so glad to hear that it was enjoyed! xTieghan
This was different. Liked it but not sure I’d make it again
Hi Chelsea! Thanks so much for letting me know, I hope that I can help make this recipe better! xTieghan
So yum and so easy!!! Added shredded carrots and cucumbers WOWWWW pretty spicy but sweet and so delicious. Everything on half baked harvest makes it the best
Made recipe as written using ground turkey. It is a very wet mix so messy to form multiple meatballs with my oiled hands and keep my hands oiled? There must be a trick 🙂 Next time I would spray oil on my metal scoop and try that. The sauce is good especially the mix with yogurt used for drizzling over the finished dish. Don’t skip that part. I had some good kimchi on hand so I chopped it fine and added a bit of that to the bowl. I used brown rice ramen vs rice. I tossed a bit of the leftover sauce with the ramen so it had some flavor, then topped with meatballs, broccoli, chopped kimchi, yogurt sauce, green onions, sesame seeds. Yummy weeknight dinner.
Hey Danita,
Thanks so much for giving the recipe a try, sorry to hear your meatballs were pretty wet. Was there anything you may have adjusted in the recipe? Please let me know how I can help for next time! xTieghan
Made this for a weeknight dinner:) It was absolutely delicious, added some cornstarch to the sauce to help it thicken and pan fried the meatballs! Will definitely be adding this to the rotation.
Hey Jenna,
Happy Friday!! I am thrilled to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a lot for giving it a try! xTieghan
Wow! Crazy good. Almost didn’t make the second sauce but so glad I did. Drizzled it over the broccoli, rice, matchstick carrots…everything. So good. Only recipe change was to add twice as much garlic. It took me 45 mins to prep a double recipe with all the mincing, grating, cutting veggies, forming meatballs and getting all the ingredients together but it was worth it. Will definitely make agian
Hey Linda,
Wonderful! Thanks a lot for giving this recipe a try, I am so glad it was enjoyed! Sorry this took you longer than expected. xTieghan
So tasty! These were full of flavor and easy to make. Definitely making these again as a weeknight meal.
Hey Kat,
Fantastic! Thanks so much for making this recipe, I am so glad it was enjoyed! Have a great weekend☀️ xTieghan