The only thing better than juicy chicken meatballs is juicy chicken meatballs simmered in a gorgeously nutty peanut satay sauce, that only takes 30 minutes to make AND uses just one pan. A perfect speedy weeknight recipe that’s easy to prep ahead of time.
This one goes out to all my fellow peanut butter lovers! It’s one of those brilliant recipes that tastes SO good for so little effort involved. It’s VERY much inspired by the beauty that is juicy satay chicken skewers, but here the sauce gets even more of the hero treatment.
There isn’t anything hard to find in the ingredients list, and most of them are cupboard staples you’ll likely already have. It’s truly as easy as mixing and forming your meatballs, browning them for a few minutes, then simmering your sauce and adding the meatballs back in. You’ll have it on the table in 30 minutes, max.
I’m serving them over herby steamed rice, but they’re brilliant tossed through rice noodles, with quinoa or couscous, served with a pile of soft flatbreads to mop up the sauce, stuffed into fluffy steamed bao buns or served alongside a salad or two. Try them with this green goddess soba noodle salad, crunchy Asian-style slaw, smacked cucumber salad or even crispy skin on roast potatoes.
If you love peanut butter and satay flavors, you’ll also LOVE these juicy chicken satay skewers, one pot baked satay dumplings, charred chicken satay flatbreads, satay crispy rice salad and grilled peanut butter chicken bowls.
Ingredients
- Ground chicken. You could also use ground turkey, pork, beef or a plant-based alternative.
- Gochujang paste. This Korean fermented chili paste brings a lovely warm heat to the sauce, without making it too spicy. You should be able to find it in the ‘International’ aisle of your grocery store, or you can pick it up from Amazon. If you can’t find it, you could use red curry paste or sriracha.
- Peanut butter. It’s best to use natural peanut butter, without added sugar or palm oil for the best, balanced flavor. You want the ingredients to only list ‘peanuts’ and ‘salt’.
- Sweet chili jam. I LOVE to use this because it has such a brilliant depth of flavor (thanks to the ginger, garlic, chili, lime and fish sauce) so it’s a bit of a shortcut ingredient. Any sweet chili jam will work, or sweet chili sauce. If you don’t have any, you could use honey.
- Panko breadcrumbs. These help to keep the meatballs lovely and moist, and hold their shape. You could use regular breadcrumbs if you can’t find panko.
How to make them
Add all the ingredients for your chicken meatballs to a bowl and mix to combine.
PRO TIP: If you want to double-check the seasoning, pan-fry a little of the mixture and taste it before forming your meatballs.
Wet your hands (this will stop the meatballs from sticking to them) then scoop up a spoonful of the mixture and roll into golf ball sized meatballs. Ground chicken tends to be quite wet, so I like to pop the meatballs into the fridge for about 30 minutes before cooking them if I have time. They’ll hold their shape better this way.
Pan-fry the meatballs until golden brown on all sides, then remove from the pan.
Add the gochujang paste, chili jam, peanut butter, soy sauce, fish sauce, coconut milk and water to the pan and mix into a smooth sauce. Bring to a simmer and add the meatballs back in. Cover and let simmer until the meatballs are cooked through.
Serve with over rice, quinoa, with flatbreads on the side to mop up the sauce or big a big salad (this crunchy Asian style slaw, green goddess salad or smacked cucumber salad works well).
Got a question?
Yes, you can! Roll the meatballs and pop them into the fridge for up to 2 days before cooking them. You can also make the sauce, and pop it into the fridge for 3 -4 days before reheating and adding the meatballs. It will thicken up as it sits, so you’ll want to add more water to loosen it up.
Ground turkey is a great substitute, as is ground pork. Ground beef would work too, as would a plant-based meat alternative.
You can easily add extra vegetables to this recipe. Stir through edamame beans, peas, green beans, spinach, red bell peppers or broccoli when you simmer the sauce.
Watch how to make them
Like this recipe? Try these meatball recipes next
If you make this recipe, I’d love to hear from you! You can leave a recipe rating and a comment below. And remember to tag @DishedByKate on Instagram, Facebook and TikTok if you’ve made one of my recipes. Seeing your recreations really makes my day 😊.
Print
One Pot Saucy Satay Chicken Meatballs
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
Description
The only thing better than juicy chicken meatballs is juicy chicken meatballs simmered in a gorgeously nutty peanut satay sauce, that only takes 30 minutes to make AND uses just one pan. A perfect speedy weeknight recipe that’s easy to prep ahead of time.
Ingredients
For the meatballs –
- 1 lb (500g) ground chicken
- 2 scallions, finely chopped
- 1-inch piece of ginger, grated
- 4 garlic cloves, crushed
- Handful of cilantro leaves, chopped
- 2 teaspoons fish sauce
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 egg
- 1/3 cup panko breadcrumbs
For the satay peanut sauce –
- 1/3 cup peanut butter
- 1 tablespoon gochujang paste
- 2 teaspoons fish sauce
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon sweet chilli jam
- 14oz/400g can of coconut milk
- 1/2 cup water
To serve –
- 2 scallions, finely chopped
- A handful of cilantro leaves, chopped
- 1/4 cup crushed peanuts
- 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
- 1 red chili, finely chopped
- 1 lime, sliced into wedges
Instructions
- Mix the meatballs. Add the ground chicken, chopped scallions, ginger, crushed garlic, cilantro, 2 teaspoons of fish sauce, 1 teaspoon of red pepper flakes, 1 tablespoon of soy sauce, 1 egg and 1/3 cup of panko breadcrumbs to a large bowl. Use a spatula (or clean hands) to mix the ingredients together well.
- Form the meatballs. Set a clean tray, or plate on your work surface and wet your hands (this will stop the meatballs from sticking to them). Scoop up a spoonful of the chicken mixture and roll into a golf ball-sized ball in your hands. Place on the prepared plate or tray and repeat with the rest of the ingredients. PRO TIP: If you have time, I recommend popping the meatballs into the fridge for about 30 minutes to firm up before cooking them. They’ll hold their shape better this way.
- Brown the meatballs. Place a large, high-sided pan or skillet you (ideally) have a lid for over medium-high heat, then add 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Once hot, add the meatballs and cook until browned all over. This will take about five minutes and you may need to cook them in batches, depending on the size of your pan. The meatballs don’t need to be fully cooked through at this point as you’ll simmer them in the sauce later. Remove the meatballs from the pan and set aside for now.
- Make the peanut sauce. Wipe any excess oil from the pan, then reduce the heat to medium. Add 1/3 cup of peanut butter, 1 tablespoon of gochujang paste, 1 tablespoon of sweet chili jam, 1 tablespoon of soy sauce, 2 teaspoons of fish sauce, coconut milk and 1/2 cup of water. Use a wooden spoon or whisk to mix the ingredients into a smooth sauce. Bring to a simmer.
- Simmer the sauce. Once the sauce is simmering, add the meatballs into the sauce, then pop the lid on (or use aluminum foil, a plate or a wooden board) and leave to simmer for 10 minutes.
- Garnish and serve. After 10 minutes, remove the lid and sprinkle with the chopped scallions, cilantro, crushed peanuts sesame seeds and red chili. Finish with a squeeze of lime. Serve over steamed rice, quinoa, two-ingredient dough flatbreads to mop up the sauce or with a big crunchy Asian-style slaw.
Notes
INGREDIENT NOTES: Swap ground chicken for ground turkey, pork, beef or a plant-based alternative. If you can’t find gochujang paste, use red curry paste or sriracha. I recommend using good quality natural peanut butter (that only lists peanuts and salt in the ingredients) for the best flavor.
PREP AHEAD: You can form the meatballs and pop them into the fridge, covered, for up to 2 days before cooking them. You can also make the sauce, and pop it into the fridge for 3 – 4 days before reheating and adding the meatballs. It will thicken up as it sits, so you’ll want to add more water to loosen it up.
SERVING SUGGESTIONS: I love these meatballs served over steamed rice, quinoa, rice noodles or flatbreads to mop up the sauce. You can also serve them alongside a salad – try this crunchy Asian-style slaw, smacked cucumber salad or green goddess soba noodle salad.
OPTIONAL ADDITIONS: You can easily add veggies into the recipe – just throw in edamame beans, green beans, broccoli, spinach or peas once your sauce is simmering and continue with the recipe.
- Prep Time: 10
- Cook Time: 20
- Category: one pot
- Method: stove top
- Cuisine: asian
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 200g
- Calories: 579
- Sugar: 4.4g
- Sodium: 957.1mg
- Fat: 44.3g
- Saturated Fat: 24.5g
- Unsaturated Fat: 16.9g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 18.3g
- Fiber: 2.1g
- Protein: 32.9g
- Cholesterol: 154mg
Fabulous recipe, way and so full of flavour
Served it with Chinese veges and steamed rice
Winner winner chicken dinner
Thank so you Kate
Ahhhh I’m so so happy you enjoyed it!! Makes me want to make it again xx
Super easy for meal prep and my family loved it!
Just made this for dinner and it’s definitely a new favorite for my husband and me! Super flavorful. Thank you for the recipe!