Easy, Healthy Meatballs with a Fiery Honey Sriracha Glaze

Hey guys, welcome to “Don’t Get Burned”! This is a segment in which we turn the daunting “easy, healthy” recipes you see plastered all over Pinterest to life. We aren’t experienced cooks, but we are experienced tasters. By rating the recipes on two separate scales, easiness and taste, we can help you determine if you should even bother testing it in your own kitchen. Today we are trying easy healthy meatballs. These turkey meatballs have a bit of a kick!

*Before you continue– we referenced two different sauce recipes because we had difficulties with the first one.

The first recipe we decided to test out for ourselves was from the “Eat Yourself Skinny” website. It was the “Honey Sriracha Glazed Meatballs,” which you have probably seen parading all over Pinterest. We decided it was time to find out how great this popular recipe was.

The recipe was not difficult to make, so if you are an inexperienced cook, you could make this with limited problems. The only thing we didn’t enjoy was mixing the ground turkey in with the other ingredients, but other than that, it was pretty smooth sailing.

These turkey meatballs were good; however, we overcooked them because, as inexperienced cooks, we didn’t want to undercook them. If properly made by simply following the recipe, they would have been an 8/10 on the taste scale.

Now the saucy part…

We should mention that neither of us has tasted sriracha before, so we weren’t expecting the specific, overwhelming taste of sriracha to slap us in the face. The sauce consists of mainly made up of sriracha, so if you aren’t a fan of the taste of sriracha, then this probably isn’t the recipe for you (duh). The sriracha in combination with the other sauce ingredients wasn’t a combination we were used to. For the taste of this sauce, we would rate it at a 1/10, only because it wasn’t our preference. After the meatballs cooked, we weren’t ready to toss them in the sriracha sauce without first trying out a different sauce.

The second sauce we tried was the “Honey-Garlic Glazed Meatballs” from the “Taste of Home” website. This sauce was mainly ketchup based, which we are more familiar with. While the other sauce was spicy, this one was sweet. After making this sauce, we tossed the meatballs in this one instead, but it wasn’t our favorite sauce. After meeting in the middle on the rating, we decided on a 7/10.

However, both sauces were fairly simple to make because they were simple pour-and-mix recipes that someone at any skill level could accomplish.

Ultimately, this easy, healthy meatballs recipe depends on your preference for sauce, but it doesn’t depend on your skill level. If you enjoy the kick of sriracha more, you will mesh better with the first sauce; however, if you enjoy the sweeter food, you will be better suited to the second sauce.

The recipes

“Eat Yourself Skinny” recipe:

INGREDIENTS:
For the meatballs:
2 lb. lean ground turkey
1 cup whole wheat panko breadcrumbs
2 eggs
¼ cup green onions, chopped
½ tsp. garlic powder
½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. black pepper
For the sauce:
¼ cup Sriracha
3 Tbsp reduced-sodium soy sauce
3 Tbsp rice vinegar
3 Tbsp honey
1 Tbsp grated fresh ginger
3 cloves garlic, minced
½ tsp. toasted sesame oil

INSTRUCTIONS:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Mix turkey, breadcrumbs, eggs, green onions, garlic powder, and salt/pepper in a large bowl until well combined. Shape mixture into 1½-inch balls (you’ll make roughly 40 balls) and place spaced apart on prepared baking sheets lightly sprayed with cooking spray.
Bake meatballs for 20 to 25 minutes until browned and cooked through.
While the meatballs are baking, combine all the ingredients for the sauce in a small saucepan and boil over medium heat, whisking continuously. Reduce heat and simmer for 8 to 10 minutes (the sauce will start to thicken), then toss with the meatballs.
Serve immediately over brown rice and top with green onions and a few sesame seeds. Enjoy!

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION:
Serving Size: 5 meatballs • Calories: 295 • Fat: 10.8 g • Saturated Fat: 3.2 g • Carbs: 18.6 g • Fiber: 1.4 g • Protein: 26.9 g • Sugar: 8.2 g • WW Freestyle Points: 7

“Taste of Home” recipe:

INGREDIENTS:
3/4 cup ketchup
1/2 cup honey
3 tablespoons soy sauce

INSTRUCTIONS:
Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, saute garlic in butter until tender. Stir in the ketchup, honey, and soy sauce. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 5 minutes.

If you try either of these recipes, let us and others know in the comments below what you think! If you want to watch us attempt this easy, healthy, turkey meatballs recipe check out our video below!

If you try these recipes, remember to be careful and don’t get burned! You can find more fun and delicious recipes here!

-Emily and Ashley