Turkey Meatballs in Orange Sauce
These Turkey Meatballs in Orange Sauce offer a fresh, tangy twist on regular meatballs by smothering them in a sweet yet zesty orange sauce. Bursting with flavor, the bright citrus kicks these meatballs up a notch while the tender ground turkey keeps them moist and delicious. Turkey Meatballs in Orange Sauce make for a dynamic main dish or fun NFL appetizer that provides a lighter yet totally scrumptious meatball experience.
Equipment
- 1 air fryer or oven or skillet
- 1 skillet
- 1 mixing bowl
Ingredients
For the Turkey Meatballs
- 2 lbs ground turkey 85% lean
- 1 cup almond meal or or bread crumbs
- 1/2 onion finely chopped
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- 1 egg
- 2 tsp chopped fresh rosemary or 1 tsp dried rosemary
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 1 tsp ground black pepper
- 2 tsp sea salt
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 pinch chili flakes
For the Orange Sauce
- ¾ cup sugar
- ¾ cup white vinegar
- ⅓ cup soy sauce
- ¼ cup water
- 1-2 oranges Use zest and juice of 1-2 oranges. I used 2 oranges as I wanted a lighter color.
- 1 tbsp cornstarch plus 1 tbsp water
- 4 cloves cloves garlic chopped or grated
- 1 knob ginger or about 2 tsp grated ginger or finely chopped
- 1-2 Red Thai or fresno chilies finely minced
Instructions
Make the Turkey Meatballs
- In a mixing bowl, combine ground turkey and the ingredients for the meatballs mentioned above. Use egg, cornstarch, and almond flour as biding agents or use the bread crumbs instead of the almond flour. Knead the turkey to combine with the spices very well.
- Optionally, line the air fryer basket with parchment paper. Spray with the vegetable oil.
- Spray the ice-cream or meatball scooper as well as your hands. Scoop or shape the turkey meatballs with your hands and drop the turkey meatballs on to the air fryer basket. Spray more oil on the top of the meatballs.
- Air fry the meatballs at 400 degrees for 10 minutes or bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes or shallow fry in the skillet 3-4 minutes on each side.
Meanwhile, make the orange sauce.
- Use medium heat. In a skillet, combine water, vinegar, soy sauce, orange juice, orange zest, sugar, minced garlic, chili, and ginger together. Bring it to boil.
- In a small bowl, mix cornstarch and water together. Stir very well the pour this slurry into the sauce in the skillet. Whisk vigorously right away to make sure that no cornstarch sticks to the bottom of the skillet.
- Keep whisking and simmering until the sauce is thicken. (Meaning some of the sauce sticks to the back of the spoon.) If the sauce is ready before the turkey meatballs, lower the heat and keep stirring.
- Add the turkey meatballs to the sauce to glaze.
- Optionally, sprinkle sesame seeds and green onion for garnish. Enjoy!
