I love making meatballs in the air fryer. It’s so much quicker, they always come out perfectly tender, and there’s a lot less cleanup required than when I have to make them on the stove top. I make some variation of air fried chicken meatballs pretty much every week, but I’m always looking to mix up the flavor profile. You can check out some of my other chicken meatball recipes here.
These meatballs in particular are Thai inspired, with peanut, ginger, and coconut flavors that all play so well together. The end result is creamy, decadent, and so so satisfying. Serve it up with some broccoli, some rice, and you have an awesome balanced meal!
Making air fryer peanut ginger meatballs
These peanut ginger meatballs are perfect to make on a busy weeknight because they come together quickly and easily, and they can be made ahead of time and reheated.
To make the meatballs, you’ll need:
- 1 pound lean ground chicken (or ground turkey if you prefer)
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup breadcrumbs
- 1/4 cup finely chopped green onion
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger (I use a microplane)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Oil spray
Mix up all of the ingredients until you have a uniform mixture. Form into 12 even meatballs (I use an ice cream scoop to keep them even), spray well with cooking spray, and air fry at 375 for about 13 minutes, until the outsides are lightly browned.
While those cook, you’ll make your sauce:
- 1 1/4 cup light coconut milk
- 1/2 cup creamy natural peanut butter (make sure the ingredients are peanuts + salt)
- 3 tablespoons coconut aminos (or soy sauce)
- 1 tablespoon chili paste or sriracha
- 3 tbsp rice wine vinegar
- 1 Tsp toasted sesame oil
- 2 cloves garlic, pressed
Combine all of the sauce ingredients in a medium sauce pan, mix together until fully incorporated, and let simmer for 2 to 3 minutes to thicken. Toss meatballs into the sauce and let it all simmer together for another 2 to 3 minutes, until the sauce is thick and the meatballs are fully coated. Serve over rice and vegetables, garnish with chopped peanuts and lots of fresh scallion.
Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge, and reheat by microwaving for about a minute. Enjoy!
Air Fryer Peanut Ginger Meatballs
Equipment
- Air Fryer
- Medium saucepan
- Ice Cream Scoop optional
- Microplane to grate ginger
- Garlic Press
Ingredients
- 1 pound lean ground chicken or ground turkey if you prefer
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup breadcrumbs
- 1/4 cup finely chopped green onion
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Oil spray
- 1 1/4 cup light coconut milk
- 1/2 cup creamy natural peanut butter make sure the ingredients are peanuts + salt
- 3 tablespoons coconut aminos or soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon chili paste or sriracha
- 3 tbsp rice wine vinegar
- 1 Tsp toasted sesame oil
- 2 cloves garlic pressed
- crushed peanuts
- scallions chopped
Instructions
- Mix up all of the meatball ingredients until you have a uniform mixture. Form into 12 even meatballs (I use an ice cream scoop to keep them even) and spray well with cooking spray.
- Air fry at 375 for about 13 minutes, until the outsides are lightly browned.
- Combine all of the sauce ingredients in a medium sauce pan, mix together until fully incorporated, and let simmer for 2 to 3 minutes to thicken.
- Toss meatballs into the sauce and let it all simmer together for another 2 to 3 minutes, until the sauce is thick and the meatballs are fully coated.
- Serve over rice and vegetables, garnish with chopped peanuts and lots of fresh scallion.
1 thought on “Air Fryer Peanut Ginger Meatballs”
These were amazing! The meatballs had a great ginger flavor and cooked perfectly in the air fryer. And the peanut sauce is to die for. Seriously could have eaten it by the spoonful. This is going into the rotation for sure!