Vietnamese-Style Meatballs with Chili Sauce
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My husband calls these Vietnamese-style meatballs “flavor bombs.” Serve them over rice for a quick weeknight dinner.
My husband calls these Vietnamese-style meatballs with a deliciously bright and pungent sauce “flavor bombs” (which, by the way, is a good thing). They are flavored with fish sauce and soy sauce—two umami-rich condiments commonly used in Vietnamese cooking—along with ginger, lime, spicy Sambal Oelek (not a traditional Vietnamese ingredient, but the spicy, garlicky flavor works so well here), and fresh herbs. They practically explode with flavor. I love them over rice, but they are also delicious wrapped in lettuce cups or served over rice noodles. Be judicious with the chili sauce—a little goes a long way.
Table of Contents
What You’ll Need To Make Vietnamese-Style Meatballs
Step-by-Step Instructions
In a large bowl, combine the eggs, fish sauce, garlic, ginger, red pepper flakes, scallions, lime zest, cilantro, and mint.
Whisk to combine.
Add the beef, pork, and panko.
Using your hands, mix until evenly combined.
Roll the mixture into golf ball-sized balls and arrange on an unlined baking sheet. The mixture will be a bit sticky; dampen your hands every so often while rolling the meatballs if necessary.
Bake for 25 minutes, flipping once with a metal spatula halfway through the cooking time, until the meatballs are browned and cooked through.
Meanwhile, make the sauce by whisking all of the ingredients together in a medium bowl. Be sure the sugar is completely dissolved and not stuck to the bottom of the bowl.
Serve the meatballs drizzled with the sauce and sprinkled with scallions, cilantro, mint, and peanuts.
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Vietnamese-Style Meatballs with Chili Sauce
My husband calls these Vietnamese-style meatballs “flavor bombs.” Serve them over rice for a quick weeknight dinner.
Ingredients
For the Meatballs
- 2 large eggs
- 3 tablespoons fish sauce
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon finely grated fresh ginger (see note)
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 3 scallions, finely chopped (about ¼ cup), plus a few more for serving
- 2 teaspoons lime zest, from 2 limes
- 3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves, plus more for serving
- 3 tablespoons chopped fresh mint, plus more for serving
- ¾ lb 85% lean ground beef
- ¾ lb ground pork
- 1 cup panko
- ½ cup chopped unsalted peanuts, for serving
For the Sauce
- 2 tablespoons Asian chili sauce, such as Sambal Oelek, or Asian chili garlic sauce (available in Asian aisle of most supermarkets)
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons fish sauce
- ¼ cup lime juice, from 2 to 3 limes
- ¼ cup sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F and set an oven rack in the middle position.
- In a large bowl, combine the eggs, fish sauce, garlic, ginger, red pepper flakes, scallions, lime zest, cilantro, and mint. Whisk to combine. Add the beef, pork, and panko. Using your hands, mix until evenly combined. Roll the mixture into golf ball-sized balls and arrange on an unlined baking sheet. The mixture will be a bit sticky; dampen your hands every so often while rolling the meatballs if necessary. Bake for 25 minutes, flipping once with a metal spatula halfway through the cooking time, until the meatballs are browned and cooked through. (If the meatballs stick a bit to the pan, simply slide the metal spatula underneath them and they should release.)
- Meanwhile make the sauce by whisking all of the ingredients together in a medium bowl. Be sure the sugar is completely dissolved and not stuck to the bottom of the bowl. Taste and add more chili sauce if desired.
- Serve the meatballs drizzled with the sauce and sprinkled with scallions, cilantro, mint, and peanuts. (Be judicious with the sauce; it's very strong in flavor.)
- Note: Check out easy guidance on how to peel, grate, and chop fresh ginger here.
- Make Ahead: The meatballs can be made completely ahead of time and refrigerated in a tightly sealed container for 2 to 3 days. Reheat in the microwave.
- Freezer-Friendly Instructions: The meatballs can be frozen for up to 3 months. When you’re ready to serve them, reheat them in the microwave.
Pair with
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (6 servings)
- Calories: 488
- Fat: 29 g
- Saturated fat: 9 g
- Carbohydrates: 27 g
- Sugar: 11 g
- Fiber: 2 g
- Protein: 30 g
- Sodium: 2046 mg
- Cholesterol: 141 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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Fantastic meatballs! I use a tiny bit of the sauce as a dressing on a salad*. With the meatballs, I do a satay sauce: pan fry onions, add garlic, several tablespoons of crunchy peanut butter sauce. Remove from the stove-top and use hand held blender. Then add coconut milk to get consistency you are after.
(*big handful of mint leaves and coriander leaves; salad leaves; blanched greens of any type; long thin strips of cucumber – all elements patted dry and don’t add the dressing until immediately prior to serving)
Made these tonight exactly as written, and concur with everyone: they are delicious. My husband was concerned that the pork wouldn’t be cooked enough after the time was up, so I added 10 extra minutes to the cookingtime and then let them sit in the turned-off oven for another 10 minutes. They were as moist and perfect as they had been at the original time, so I’m guessing the pork makes them almost indestructable. Served them with the cauliflower fried rice, which was also great. But next time would try to start earlier or snag a helper, as there was quite a bit of prep involved. Thanks for another excellent recipe.
I made these meatballs exactly as the recipe is written and they are definitely a flavor bomb! And good advice to be judicious with the sauce, as it is very strong but so good! My family has requested that I make them again, soon, but double the recipe. I served the meatballs with jasmine rice and egg rolls. For dessert we had the No-Churn Key Lime Pie – another hit with my family!
I just had to try this recipe which the author described as “flavor bombs”. The meatballs were great. I served them over rice. This has been added into the family cookbook. Thanks.
Delicious meatballs and flavour bomb dipping sauce. My boyfriend and I sometimes substitute the dipping sauce with Nuoc Cham (Vietnamese dipping sauce) when we have the meatballs in vermicelli.
These Vietnamese meatballs are a huge hit in our house! We made them as the recipe said and served them with some jasmine rice and minted cucumbers. Delicious!
Another fantastic recipe Jenn! I made it exactly as written and everyone in our family loved it, including our 2 teenagers. I wouldn’t change a thing in this recipe. I appreciate that you mentioned going easy on the sauce, as it is so packed with flavor! Thank you for sharing such a delicious recipe!
Delishous! 😋 I substituted ground chicken for the beef, otherwise I followed the recipe exactly. My family loved it! Thank you Jenn.
I made this with ground turkey mince, it was really tasty with rice noodles. Thanks for a great recipe!
I made this last weekend with ground duck. I followed recipe but used Korean sGochujang sauce for the sauce . I served with quick microwave sticky thai jasmin rice. It turned out absolutely delicious. My husband was raving about it. I will definitely make again. As usual, thank you for another wonderful recipe
These were a huge hit with my family! Even my young boys (ages 3 & 18 months) gobbled them up!!!! I doubled the batch so I have a ton for freezing which is great for a quick weeknight dinner! My husband is already asking when we can have these again! I made them exactly as written, served them over rice and made a side of stir fried Asian green beans. Deeeeeeeelish!!!!!!
I made the Vietnamese meatballs with chili sauce about a month ago because I had almost all of the ingredients and wanted to make something new. They were delicious! My husband really enjoyed them and there was enough for leftovers. I also put a few in the freezer and the sauce is in the refrigerator ready to use the next time.
These meatballs were easy to make, quite tasty and freeze well. Toddler-approved. I like to serve them over Japanese rice as shown.
These meatballs are fabulous and have become a favorite in our house. We like them served over fragrant jasmine rice with a simple asian style slaw or salad to complement. The combinations of scallions, peanuts and added mint/cilantro with the sauce hit all the right flavor notes, so don’t skimp on these! They also make great hors d’oeuvres when made slightly smaller and leftovers freeze beautifully.
Hi Jenn, LOVE your recipes (and that you answer questions!) Could I make these with all beef and, if so, do I need to make any adjustments? Thanks!
Hi Deb, so glad you like the recipes! You can use all beef here with no adjustments. Hope you enjoy! 🙂
Just removed the meatballs from the oven and they look and smell wonderful! Tested a couple and they are delish! Had to omit the mint because my mint plant disappeared from the flower bed. I think the mint would definitely make them taste that much more flavorful…next time. Contrary to others, I thought they were perfectly seasoned without adding salt. After cooling they will go into the fridge until tomorrow for lunch at my office. Will heat & serve with the sauce over Ginger Fried Rice from Food52’s Genius Recipes. So looking forward to tomorrow! Very easy and quick to make; highly recommended. Thanks!
Hi Jenn – should I adjust the cook time if I made the meatballs smaller to serve as appetizers? Thank you 😊
Yes, they’re likely to need a bit less time in the oven, but hard to say exactly how long as it depends on how small the meatballs are. I’d check them for doneness at 18 – 20 minutes. Hope everyone enjoys!
I made these this evening, exactly as directed. And I used Vietnamese vermicelli as the base. AMAZING!!!! I would not change a thing. The herbs were spot on and my mouth is dancing with flavor. I did add a pinch of salt to my bowl at the end but I love salt.
Thank you for sharing this amazing recipe.
Hi .. wanted to know what if I make these with lamb meat .. would that work out as well? Any additions/subtractions to the recipe if I use ground lamb?
Hi Kaveri, I haven’t made these with lamb, but I think it should work with no modifications. I’d love to hear how they turn out!
Thanks so much for a wonderful recipe – easy, satisfying, and very flavorful. A big hit at my house. I used ground turkey to make a lighter meatball – I had no problems and still plenty of flavor and texture. Also, since cloves of garlic vary dramatically in size, I used one large clove; that provided enough flavor without overwhelming everything else.
This was easy to make and delicious. Loved the sauce
This looks delish. May I sub the panko with pork rinds or ground chia?
Hi Nia, I think ground chia would work here, but I’m really not sure about pork rinds! Please let me know how they turn out if you try these with either of those alternatives.
I made this, but the meatballs didn’t have much flavor (because there is no salt in it). If you make it for an audience that likes very flavorful meals, then perhaps you should add some salt. I added salt and also a little bouillion. That made all the difference. Otherwise, very lovely overall.
@martha You added four tbspn fish sauce and a quarter cup soy sauce and thought it didn’t have adequate salt content?
This dish is amazing and has become a staple in our house.
This is a bit of a review, and a question. First, I made this recipe last weekend and thought it was great. Question – I tried fish sauce in another recipe and found it totally overpowering, so I did not include it this time. That sauce was fine without it, but the meatballs were clearly missing a bit of oomph. Do you think a specific brand would be a bit “milder” or is there a suggestion of another ingredient I could try instead?
Hi Rossalyn, The fish sauce adds a nice authentic Thai taste to these meatballs, so perhaps that’s what was missing. I’ve had good luck with both Tiparos and Taste of Thai brands. If you want to avoid using fish sauce, you could substitute with soy sauce, but the meatballs won’t have that signature Thai taste – still good, just different. Hope that helps!
I love these meatballs. My kids loved these meatballs. My husband didn’t get to try them because they were gone before he got home. They were so delicious. I made exactly as written. I will need to triple the recipe next time and freeze some. I can see these being a quick and easy dinner!
I made these last night and my family and I absolutely loved it! I only had 1 lb. trays of ground turkey, so I ended up using 2 lbs. of turkey to make the meatballs. The meatballs were soft and moist 😋 Other than the turkey, I followed the recipe for the meatballs and the sauce. It made a lot of meatballs! The first night we had it on top of somen noodles with sliced cucumbers, the second night we had it in a bahn mi sandwich topped with jalepeno and pickeled vegetables. This recipe is a keeper!
These are so easy to make you can make them after a long days work!
Absolutely delicious and different from the usual meatball. Sauce is easy too.
A keeper just like all of the recipes in Once Upon a Chef!
These were delicious. I served these as a main dish. However, these would be fantastic as an appetizer, or make Banh Mi sandwiches with some pickled carrots, daikon and hot chili mayo.
If I use all pork as you suggested in my first question, would you consider using the baking soda technique to ensure they’re tender? Sometimes pork is not as tender as beef. I tried the baking soda as you directed in your beef chili recipe and was so pleased with the resulting tenderness of the beef.
Hi Candy, I wouldn’t think it’s necessary to use baking soda with pork as it’s naturally more tender than ground beef, but I don’t think it would hurt.
I just fixed this recipe as written for my husband as a dry run for a dinner party. We both loved it. Then my husband reminded me one of our guests doesn’t eat any beef. Would you recommend using all pork or 1/2 pork, 1/2 turkey or some other meat mix? Thanks for another delicious recipe. You never disappoint.
Glad you enjoyed, Candy! I’d go with all pork. 🙂
I made this a couple nights ago and the meatballs were so delicious and flavorful (even without the sauce). My one year old couldn’t get enough of it. I will definitely be making this again.
Hi Jenn, I am serving these to my toddler so can’t use anything with heat. How should I tweak the sauce to make it kid-friendly? Thanks!
Hi Elizabeth, You could just omit the sauce from your toddler’s portion. The meatballs have plenty of flavor in and of themselves. Enjoy!
These meatballs look fantastic and I really want to try them out, but I have a problem… I absolutely cannot stand cilantro, the moment I taste it I have to spit it out; it’s just too strong for my liking. Is there any way to substitute the cilantro or can I omit it without losing much of the flavour?
Hi Sam, No worries – you can use 2 tablespoons basil or just leave it out.
Made this recipe for a dinner party and everyone was so excited to see it/hear what it was. Rave reviews! The meatballs were soft, fragrant, flavorful and the sauce gave it that extra special touch/punch of flavor. Served it with Jenn’s Cauliflower Stir Fried Rice recipe which everyone was equally excited to see and try and loved just a much. Neat to see and hear everyone’s excitement and interest as they ate and commented about how good it was. Extra Bonus: My husband loved his “flavor bowl” of leftover meatballs and cauli rice the next day. Thought he died and went to heaven. Thanks, Jenn!
We enjoyed this recipe…it’s very tasty. If you like the taste of a soy sauce & washbi type sauce, you will like this chili/soy sauce. I served the meatballs over a store bought sticky rice and made stir fry broccoli. Also served with pickled ginger.
Your husband is right; these are a flavor bomb! One bite and my husband said “Company dish.” Outstanding. Do you think it would be okay to use these as an appetizer? Good luck on your book tour!
Glad you enjoyed these and, yes, you can definitely serve these as an appetizer!
I forgot to add the 5 stars – haven’t had a recipe from you yet that didn’t rate at least 5. 😊
Hi Jenn
Just wanted to say these meatballs have become another family favourite along with everything else I have tried on your site. My husband thought we should have them at least twice a week lol. Thank you for sharing your expertise. My new cookbook just arrived and I am ready to dive in and start trying the recipes. I have a large cooking family and I am now set on what to get them for gifts this year. I am sure it will become a best seller! If you have a stop in Vancouver that would be wonderful!
Colleen
The meatballs came out moist and delicious. I paired mine with vermicelli (rice) noodles.
Great meatballs and sauce – thanks. I served them on top of jasmine rice, and had an accompanying Vietnamese style salad. Australia has some wonderful Vietnamese grocery stores:)
Hi Jenn–Can I make and cook the meatballs the night before–then before serving, brush them with the sauce and reheat, serving sauce on the side? Also, I love your pairing suggestions but wonder–would this taste good with your Cauliflower Fried Rice recipe?
Yes and Yes! Enjoy!
Thank you so much! Can’t wait to make both for company soon. Truly appreciate your expertise and guidance as well as your masterful recipes. Every single one I’ve tried has become a go-to favorite for entertaining.
Happy to help! 🙂
Thank you Jenn, for this wonderfully flavored and delicious recipe. I love any kind of Vietnamese food, but these meatballs were the bomb. I made a lot of them and froze them. This way they are available anytime.
P.S. Also really food on the grill
Oh my goodness. I’ve had this recipe bookmarked for a couple of weeks now and after having made it, I cannot believe I put off making these succulent meatballs for as long as I did. I paired these meatballs with the jasmine rice (as recommended under the “pair with” tab) and roasted carrot (medallions) sprinkled with coriander. I am not the best rice maker, but I, surprisingly, did very well! There wasn’t much chit-chat tonight at dinner, I’ll tell you that! Too many missed bites otherwise! This recipe is a keeper!!! I’m looking forward to the next potluck and making these bite-sized bits of yummy to share with everyone I know! Thank you, Jenn!
HI… So what are the recipe ingredients for the sauce? I’m confused… Thanks
Hi Valerie, If you scroll down to the full recipe, the first section has the ingredients for the meatballs and the section immediately below it has the ingredients for the sauce. Hope that clarifies and that you enjoy the meatballs!
Wow! Totally amazing and delicious…. If you want to impress your family and friends and are short on time this is the recipe for you;-) Thank you Jen. You are so talented! Congratulation on your beautiful book.
❤️
Hi
I want to try this recipe. But I don’t eat pork for religious reasons. Should I substitute it with more beef or do you suggest another type of meat?
Sure, Uz – all beef will work. Enjoy!
This just didn’t do anything for me. I wish I had a different reaction as I have loved every other recipe I have tried. Can’t put my finger on what didn’t work.
Am sad.
Flavor bombs indeed!!! ABSOLUTELY DIVINE….and delicious too! I’m going to serve them for dinner with friends in 6 days. Since it took me a heck of a lot longer than 20 minutes to prepare these, I’m going to spend tomorrow making up a batch. Would I be better off freezing the meatballs UNCOOKED or cooked, then reheated? p.s. LOVE your new book, Jen. Congratulations!
Sorry to hear they took longer than you anticipated to prepare, but glad you enjoyed them! Yes, you can freeze them (I’d suggest cooking before freezing them, but you can go either way.)
Thanks Jen, I think my long prep time was due to an old dull box cheese (etc.) shredder. I just ordered a microplane to help speed up the lime zest and ground ginger operation!
You will love it!
Hi. My question had nothing to do with this recipe, but 1) I’d like to thank you for the step by step pictures you provide. 2) Will you someday do a picture tutorial on buying, peeling (if necessary ), and slicing a shallot? Also, what is the difference between the shallot, the green onion and the purple / red onion and can they be used interchangeably?
Thank you!
Hi Jeannette, Glad you find the pictures helpful. I will add purchasing/slicing a shallot to my list of potential “how-tos.” Thanks for the suggestion! This piece outlines a variety of onions and the best ways to use them.
These are soooooo good. Making them for my book club this weekend…with lamb!