Mary Mangia

Recipe Creator | Constantly Embarrassing Myself

Menu
  • Home
  • About
  • Recipes
    • Appetizers
    • Entrees
      • Pasta
      • Chicken
      • Beef
      • Pork
    • Vegetarian
    • Sauces and Condiments
    • Soups
    • Snacks
  • Blog
  • Contact Mary
Menu

Orange Chicken Meatballs

Posted on August 2, 2020August 2, 2020 by marymangia20

When I was in high school, Panda Express was THE place to go. Often times, we’d hop in the car, head to the mall, and go HAM on some orange chicken. It was quintessential suburban white kid cuisine. Bad for you, sweet, salty, fried, and it didn’t matter because our 16 year old metabolisms could handle it with zero consequences.

Even in college…was a wild night out ever NOT followed up with orange chicken from Great Wall? Nothing soothed a hangover better than a 8 lb takeout box of orange chicken with fried rice and spring rolls. One order would somehow last you at least 3 meals, if not many more.

Orange Chicken Meatballs
OH BABY

But now I’m 30, and definitely eat more mindfully, and I have an affinity for meatballs. I love meatballs. Some of my favorite recipes from my blog are meatballs, like these. So I was bored one day and trying to think of new, healthier recipes and my brain went straight to ORANGE CHICKEN MEATBALLS, and so here we are. I’ve been nailing my stir fry sauces lately, so I figure, “why not make it spicy and orange…why not make flavorful gingery, garlic bombs of meatballs to go with it?”

So I did. And this is it! It was spectacular…I legitimately “muahaha’d” when I tasted this sauce for the first time. For my particular go at this, I used super lean turkey (because I’m trying to hit my goals, ya’ll!), so the were definitely more dense, but I suggest a fattier ground turkey or ground chicken breast to make these luscious meatballs. Anyway, check it out below!

Ingredients

For the meatballs:

  • 1 lb ground chicken (or turkey…dealer’s choice!)
  • 1/4 cup bread crumbs
  • 3-4 tbsp of egg whites (or 1 regular egg)
  • 1 scallion, sliced
  • 1 tbsp ginger
  • 2 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 1/2 tbsp of orange zest
  • salt, pepper

For the sauce:

  • 1/4 cup coconut aminos
  • 1 cup of chicken broth
  • 3 tbsp of fresh squeezed orange juice
  • 1 tbsp of orange zest
  • 4 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 1 tbsp of ginger
  • 1 tbsp of sambal oelek
  • 1 tsp agave syrup
  • 2 tbsp of arrow root powder or cornstarch mixed with equal water
  • 1 scallion, sliced
  • Serve with: Rice, sesame seeds, salad, scallion pancakes, toothpicks if you’re throwin’ a party!
Directions
  1. Combine all of your ingredients for your meatballs into a large bowl and refrigerate up to 4 hours or more. If you are in a rush, you definitely don’t need to let it marinade for thatttt long, but the flavors meld together just a bit better.
  2. Once your meatball mixture has had time to marinade, form the meatballs. You can make this as large or as small as you want. I usually just go with whatever I’m in the mood for. For this recipe, I went with about golf ball-sized.
  3. Bake your meatballs at 400 degrees for about 15-20 minutes or until they are toasty and a safe temperature for eating (165 degrees in the middle, at minimum!)
  4. While your meatballs are cooking – make your sauce! Combine all of your ingredients for the sauce, except for the arrowroot slurry (the powder with the water mixture).
  5. Simmer your sauce for about 10 minutes so your garlic and ginger become fragrant and flavor begins to build. Once you’re close to pulling the meatballs out of the oven, add your sliced scallions and arrow root slurry to your sauce. Be sure to add this slurry slowly and gradually and to stir continuously. This mixture will thicken up your sauce, so just be mindful as you add this in to your own liking of sauce thickness.
  6. Once your meatballs are done and sauce is thickened, add the meatballs to your sauce and slather them in all of the deliciousness. And then serve!
Category: Recipes
Woman with long brown hair and a green shirt with water in the background
Welcome! I'm Mary. Blogger born in the late 1900s. You'll find a lot to love here - from my stories behind the recipes, my love for Chicago, and my personal musings and musically inspired essay. Come and stay awhile.

Recent Posts

  • A Multifaceted Year
  • Let Me Fall
  • Soup Snakes

Subscribe and Follow

Archives

Copyright Mary McMahon 2022

© 2023 Mary Mangia | Powered by Minimalist Blog WordPress Theme
We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
Do not sell my personal information.
Cookie SettingsAccept
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT

Privacy Policy