Orange Chicken Meatballs Recipe Is a High-Protein Asian Dinner (30 Minutes, One Pan) by Donna John

Orange chicken is a favorite takeout meal for my husband and me. We love those crispy fried chicken pieces coated in that sticky, sweet orange sauce. But most orange chicken recipes do contain a lot of sugar. This flavorful, easy, one-pan orange chicken meatballs recipe has all the flavors of orange chicken in meatball form with no refined sugar. How cool is that? Plus you get the health benefits of protein in this high-protein recipe.

These Asian-inspired meatballs cook in one pan in about 20 minutes. Here are the ingredients you need to gather to make these quick and easy chicken meatballs: ground chicken, panko breadcrumbs, an egg, green onions, oranges for juicing and zesting, fresh ginger, cornstarch, dark sweet soy sauce, sesame oil and honey.

Cooking Tip: I used an electric citrus juicer to get all the juice from my oranges.

Serve these sweet orange chicken meatballs over rice or Asian noodles. I served mine for dinner over fresh chow mein noodles with a crispy eggroll on the side. The leftovers are delicious heated up for lunch the next day. These high-protein meatballs could even be served as appetizers with toothpicks.

Cuisine: Asian / American
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Servings: 6

Ingredients

Meatballs 

• 1 pound ground chicken (or ground turkey)
• 1/2 cup panko
• 1 egg
• 2 green onions, chopped (plus more for serving)
• 3 cloves garlic, minced (divided)
• 2 tablespoons orange juice
• 2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger 
• 1 tablespoon fresh orange zest
• 1 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
• black pepper, to taste
• 1 tablespoon cooking oil, for frying

Orange Sauce

• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 3 tablespoons water
• 1/2 cup orange juice
• 3 tablespoons dark sweet soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon honey

Here's how to make it: 

1. Combine the ground chicken, panko, egg, green onions, 2 cloves of minced garlic, orange juice, ginger, orange zest, salt and pepper, to taste, in a mixing bowl. (I used two frozen cubes of Dorot Gardens frozen ginger instead of fresh ginger.)
   
2. Mix until thoroughly combined.
   
3. Shape into meatballs.
   
4. To make the sauce, whisk together the cornstarch, water and orange juice until cornstarch is dissolved.
   
5. Add the remaining ingredients and season with a little salt and black pepper. Whisk to combine and set aside.
   
6. Heat the oil in a large skillet. Cook the meatballs on one side until golden. (I used grapeseed oil to fry the meatballs, but you can use any neutral oil. I would not use olive oil in this recipe.)
   
7. Flip the meatballs over and continue to cook until cooked through.
   
8. Optional step: Add 1 clove of minced garlic and some chopped green onions to the pan. Stir for about 1 minute.
   
9. Pour the sauce over the meatballs.
   
   
10. Stir to coat the meatballs and cook until sauce thickens, about 5 to 10 minutes.
    
11. Serve over rice or noodles garnished with chopped green onions. Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge.
    

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