Easy Orange Chicken Meatballs – Whole30, Paleo
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If you take one piece of advice from me ever, it should be to make these Asian-inspired Orange Chicken Meatballs! There’s so much flavor in the sauce that this easy recipe will quickly become your new favorite weeknight dinner! I like to serve them with steamed broccoli for a complete gluten free meal.
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Orange Chicken Meatballs
You might already know that my Orange Sesame Chicken and Broccoli recipe is one of my most popular recipes. Fun Fact: The first time I shared that recipe was back in 2015 on my Instagram page! Since then, I’ve heard from a ton of people who’ve made it, and it always gets great reviews!
I think people really love all the rich flavors from the ginger, garlic, coconut aminos, almond butter, and orange juice. Honestly, it’s just a lovely finished dish.
So tonight, I wanted to recreate those flavors, but this time (with my daughter in mind), I made it into an easy and healthy meatballs recipe!
Actually, I have a LOT of meatballs recipes. A few of my favorites? Instant Pot Swedish Meatballs, Greek chicken meatballs, turkey meatball soup, and a kid-friendly favorite – spaghetti squash marinara with meatballs.
Ingredients
Whether you do your Whole30 shopping at Aldi, Walmart, or any other grocery store, these ingredients are easy to find. Here’s what you need to make this fabulous dish at home!
- Protein: Ground chicken, egg
- Pantry: Almond flour, sesame oil, almond butter, dates, coconut aminos, Chinese 5 spice seasoning, apple cider vinegar
- Produce: Oranges, Garlic, Ginger, Broccoli
Use it on my Orange Sesame Chicken & Broccoli Stir Fry!
Instructions
What I really love about this recipe is that it’s super, super easy to make! There’s really not even much chopping or prep work required!
🔪 Do the prep work
- First, you have to mince the ginger and garlic, slice the green onion, and juice the orange.
- Then add all the meatballs ingredients to a bowl, and mix them well.
🍊 Orange Sauce
Trust me, the sauce is totally the star in this dish. And isn’t it just extra awesome when something you love is made even a little easier?
Tips: For this recipe, I recreated my Whole30 Orange Hoisin sauce from the Orange Sesame Chicken recipe, but I made it just a little faster this time. And I decided to save myself a tiny bit of work and simmer the sauce at the same time as the meatballs. Here are a few other tips:
- The sauce should reduce by about half as it cooks with the meatballs, until it gets to be sticky and thickened slightly.
- If you find it’s reducing a little too quickly:
Squeeze some more orange juice into the pan and stir gently. You can also cover the skillet to keep it from reducing too quickly.
- Form the meatballs in your hands into 2 tbsp balls
- Brown them in a skillet (It’s quicker than you’d think!)
- Blend the sauce ingredients, then pour the mixture onto the meatballs
- Finish cooking the meatballs and reduce the sauce at the same time.
- Steam the broccoli in a separate skillet
- Serve the meatballs with the broccoli, and sprinkle with sesame seeds, a little orange zest, and sliced green onions.
FAQ
Some of my favorite sides are simple steamed broccoli, roasted broccoli, air fryer mushrooms, or oven roasted spaghetti squash.
Absolutely! Make the meatballs in advance, and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a day. You can also make the sauce in advance and keep it in the refrigerator for 2-3 days, or store in the freezer for 2 months (it freezes beautifully!)
To store leftovers, transfer the cooled meatballs to an airtight container or zip top bag. Store in the refrigerator for 3-4 days, per FDA.
If you like these Meatballs, check out some of my other Whole30 and Paleo friendly recipes: Butter Chicken, Asian Steak & Asparagus Kebabs, Chicken Pad Thai, Beef & Broccoli Stir Fry.
Now all that’s left to do is start cooking!
Liked this dish? Drop a star rating below or tag me on Instagram @cookathomemom!
Asian-inspired Orange Chicken Meatballs
Ingredients
Orange Chicken Meatballs and Broccoli
- 1 lb ground chicken
- 4 Tablespoon almond flour
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 teaspoons ginger minced
- 1 egg
- 1/2 teaspoons orange zest
- 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1/4 teaspoons pepper
- 2 Tablespoon sesame oil
- 4 cups broccoli florets about 2 heads
Easy Orange Hoisin Sauce
- 2 Tablespoon almond butter
- 3 dates
- 2 medium oranges, juice only
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 teaspoons minced ginger
- 1/4 cup coconut aminos
- 1/2 teaspoons Chinese five spice seasoning
- 2 teaspoons sesame oil
- 1 teaspoons salt
- 1/2 teaspoons pepper
- 1 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
Garnishes
- 1 teaspoons sesame seeds
- 1 green onion sliced
- 1 teaspoons sesame seeds
- 1 teaspoons orange zest
Instructions
Prep the Orange Sauce
- Zest and juice the oranges. Set the zest aside for later, and add all the sauce ingredients to a blender. Blend on medium-high until well combined. Set the sauce aside until you're ready to cook! *You can do this in advance, if you'd like!
Make the Chicken Meatballs
- Lightly beat the egg. Mince the garlic and ginger and zest the orange.
- Mix all ingredients except the sesame oil together in a bowl. Cover and set the mixture aside for at least 10 minutes to allow the almond flour to absorb the liquid a bit.
- Using your hands, form the mixture into balls, about 2 tbsp each. It should make around 12 meatballs.
- Add the sesame oil to a large pan and heat it over medium heat. Add the meatballs in and brown them, about 1-2 minutes per side.
- Pour in the Orange Sauce and bring to a simmer. Lower the heat and allow the meatballs to finish cooking in the simmering sauce for about 5 minutes. Stir and turn the meatballs occasionally (see note below).
Steam the Broccoli
- Add the broccoli to a large skillet with 1/4 cup of water. Cover and set the heat to medium-low. Steam for about 5 minutes or until bright green, then drain and season lightly with salt.
Assemble the Dish
- Serve the broccoli in a large dish with the meatballs on top. Spoon any extra sauce from the pan onto the meatballs, then sprinkle with sesame seeds, sliced green onion, and orange zest.
