These Asian beef meatballs are served with a flavourful Thai peanut coconut sauce that tastes great served over rice, rice noodles or zucchini noodles! Super easy and delicious, this meal is ready to serve in just 30 minutes! {Gluten-free and dairy-free}
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Thai Beef Meatballs in Peanut Sauce
Meatballs have always been a family favourite, and these Asian Beef Meatballs are one of our top ways to serve them up! The meatballs are infused with so much flavour and the Thai peanut butter sauce? To die for!
The sauce is perfectly thick and creamy with just the right amount of sweet and spicy flavours that you’ll totally want to lick the bowl. I highly recommend serving the meatballs and peanut sauce over rice, rice noodles or zucchini noodles to soak up all of that delicious sauce!
Made from scratch, this Thai-inspired dinner is a great healthy alternative to your usual takeout, and it’s so quick and easy to make. This is one delicious family-friendly meal that everyone will love!
Be sure to try my Healthy Korean Beef and Slow Cooker Peanut Chicken Recipe too!
Why We Love These Peanut Butter Meatballs
- Quick: Ready to serve in just 30 minutes, this is a great option for a quick and tasty weeknight meal. It’s so good, you’ll totally want to add it to your regular menu rotation!
- Make ahead: You can easily make this dinner ahead of time and reheat it. It’s freezer-friendly too, so it’s great for meal prep.
- Healthy: Packed with protein (with 29 grams per serving) and lower in sodium than your traditional takeout, this meal is way healthier (and cheaper!) than ordering in.
Ingredient Notes
For the Asian Beef meatballs:
- Beef: Use extra lean ground beef for the leanest option. You can also sub in extra lean ground chicken, turkey or pork.
- Oats: Quick oats are used to soak up some of the excess moisture and help hold the meatballs together. You can also use regular or gluten-free breadcrumbs or almond flour.
- Sesame oil: This adds moisture to the meatballs and gives the meatballs and sauce a slightly nutty taste. Use regular or toasted sesame oil.
- Egg: To bind the ingredients together.
- Garlic and green onion: Finely minced to add flavour to the meatballs.
- Parsley: To add freshness to the meatballs. You can also use cilantro.
- Ginger: Ginger is a key ingredient in Thai cooking and adds a delicious warming flavour. Use freshly grated ginger root rather than ground for the best flavour.
- Seasonings: Salt, pepper and red pepper flakes add flavour and a slight kick of spice. Add more red pepper flakes if you want to increase the heat.
For the Thai Peanut Coconut Sauce:
- Coconut milk: Use full-fat canned coconut milk for a thicker, more creamy sauce. You can also use light, but the sauce won’t be as rich and creamy.
- Peanut butter: Use natural peanut butter with no added salt or sugar. Ideally, “peanuts” should be the only ingredient on the ingredients list.
- Honey: Adds a slight sweetness to the sauce.
- Soy sauce: Use a reduced sodium soy sauce to lower sodium content. You can also sub in Tamari sauce or coconut aminos.
Step-by-Step Instructions
How to Make Meatballs
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper or spray with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.
- To make meatballs, mix together all meatball ingredients in a large bowl until combined. Form mixture into approximately 24 meatballs, about 1.5 inches in size. Place on prepared pan.
- Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, until the meatballs are cooked through and nicely browned on the outside.
How to Make Peanut Sauce
- While meatballs are cooking, prepare sauce. In a deep, non-stick skillet, whisk together all sauce ingredients. Heat over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, until sauce boils. Reduce heat to medium and cook uncovered for about 3 minutes, stirring often. Sauce will thicken a bit.
- Add cooked meatballs to sauce and toss to coat or serve it as a dip with meatballs.
- Serve warm over zucchini noodles, rice noodles or rice and top with extra sauce. Garnish with additional minced green onion and a sprinkle of sesame seeds, if desired.
Recipe Notes:
- Be sure to chop the parsley and green onion very finely so that there aren’t large pieces in the meatballs. We want them to be evenly distributed so there’s equal amounts of flavour in each bite.
- Don’t over mix the meatball mixture or it may result in tough meatballs. Instead, mix ingredients until just combined.
- Once the meatballs are done baking, I recommend dabbing off the excess grease on some paper towel before adding to the peanut sauce.
- If you wish to save time, make up a batch of the sauce in advance and add the meatballs and reheat just before serving.
Storage & Reheating Guidelines
To refrigerate: You can store the meatballs and sauce in the fridge covered for up to four days. Let them cool fully before storing.
To freeze: You can freeze the meatballs and sauce either together or separately. Let them both cool before placing in a freezer safe bag or container. Thaw in the fridge overnight before reheating.
To reheat: You can reheat the meatballs and peanut sauce in a skillet over medium low heat, stirring occasionally until heated through. Don’t reheat over too high of a setting or the sauce may start to boil, thicken and stick to the sides of the pan.
Recipe FAQs
These meatballs are made with ground beef and classic Asian flavours and seasonings like ginger, chili flakes, green onion, garlic, sesame oil and soy sauce. You can also make Asian meatballs with other ground meats like chicken, turkey or pork.
In this recipe, eggs and quick oats are used as the binders. I use quick oats to incorporate more fibre, but you can also use fine breadcrumbs. You can also replace the egg with a flax egg.
Absolutely! These meatballs are oven baked rather than shallow fried so they don’t require any cooking oil, and use extra lean ground beef to reduce calories and saturated fat.
They are a great source of protein which can leave you feeling satisfied and less likely to cave in those those cravings throughout the day. They are also low in refined carbs since oats are used as the binder, and are a gluten-free option for those who might have specific dietary requirements.
Serving suggestions
You can serve the beef meatballs in peanut sauce over a bed of rice (like this Coconut Cilantro Lime Rice), cauliflower rice, rice noodles or zucchini noodles.
Pair it along with some veggies like carrot ribbons, roasted broccoli or this Asian Cucumber Salad for a balanced meal!
You can even serve them up as an appetizer and use the peanut sauce as a meatball dipping sauce!
Recipe variations
- Different meat: You can make these meatballs with other ground meats like chicken, turkey or pork.
- Add an extra kick of heat: Make them spicier by adding in more chili flakes or some diced fresh red chilies.
- Different meatball binder: The quick oats can be substituted for regular or gluten-free breadcrumbs or almond flour.
- To make egg-free: Sub in a flax egg for the regular egg.
More Delicious Recipes
- Healthy Orange Chicken
- Thai Shrimp Coconut Soup
- Easy Low Carb Meatballs
- Mexican Meatball Soup
- Chicken Quinoa Meatballs
- Meatball Barley Soup
- Cranberry Party Meatballs
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Asian Beef Meatballs with Peanut Coconut Sauce
Ingredients
For the Meatballs:
- 1 ½ pounds extra lean ground beef
- ¼ cup quick oats (can also sub in regular or gluten-free bread crumbs)
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 egg
- 1 tablespoon reduced-sodium soy sauce
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 3 tablespoons finely minced green onion
- 2 tablespoons finely minced fresh parsley
- 1 teaspoon grated gingerroot
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
For the Peanut Coconut Sauce:
- 2 cups full-fat canned coconut milk
- 1/4 cup natural peanut butter
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1/4 cup reduced-sodium soy sauce
- 1/4 cup finely minced fresh parsley
- 2 tablespoons grated gingerroot
- 2 teaspoons grated lime zest
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper or spray with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.
- To make meatballs, mix together all meatball ingredients in a large bowl until combined. Form mixture into approximately 24 meatballs, about 1.5 inches in size. Place on prepared pan.
- Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, until the meatballs are cooked through and nicely browned on the outside.
- While meatballs are cooking, prepare sauce. In a deep, non-stick skillet, whisk together all sauce ingredients. Heat over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, until sauce boils. Reduce heat to medium and cook uncovered for about 3 minutes, stirring often. Sauce will thicken a bit.
- Add cooked meatballs to the sauce and toss to coat or serve it as a dipping sauce with the meatballs.
- Serve warm over zucchini noodles, rice noodles or rice topped with extra sauce. Garnish with additional minced green onion and a sprinkle of sesame seeds, if desired.
Notes
- Be sure to chop the parsley and green onion very finely so that there aren’t large pieces in the meatballs. We want them to be evenly distributed so there’s equal amounts of flavour in each bite.
- Don’t over mix the meatball mixture or it may result in tough meatballs. Instead, mix ingredients until just combined.
- Once the meatballs are done baking, I recommend dabbing off the excess grease on some paper towel before adding to the peanut sauce.
- If you wish to save time, make up a batch of the sauce in advance and add the meatballs and reheat just before serving.
Nutrition
This recipe was originally posted August 2015 and was updated November 2021 to include more helpful tips and photos. The sauce recipe was also doubled from the original recipe as recommended by some readers.
Eating this as I write this comment. Followed recipe exact except I doubled the sauce ingredients because we like sauces over rice. Served with basmati rice and a sprinkle of chopped cilantro! Yum! This will be in my permanent rotation!
So glad you enjoyed the recipe Janet! Extra sauce is always a good idea ;) Thanks for stopping by to comment!
I have an obsession with new meatball flavours, these will make a great addition to my collection!
I’m with you Ange! Love experimenting with new kinds of meatballs! Thanks for adding my version to your collection :)
I love anything thai….so it works for me!!
Same here Gloria! Glad we’re on the same page :)
Oh this sauce looks amazing!!! I could probably drink it. I love coconut milk and ginger. Definitely making this recipe asap!
Not gonna lie Chrissa.. I totally drank the sauce out of the bowl after the meatballs were gone! The flavours we’re delish ;) hope you enjoy!
The words Thai and Coconut just makes me salivate. My brain’s wired that way. They look amazing. I want to just grab a piece from my screen. Gahh.
Oh you and me both Ai! I’m drawn to those flavours too! Thanks for the comment!
I would LOVE to chow down on a pile of these over some zoodles for lunch. Such a great flavor combination!
They would make a tasty lunch or dinner! I know..I’ve tried both ;) Thanks for stopping by Becky!
The flavors in these meatballs sounds really great! I am going to pin this recipe for later!!
Thanks for the pin Chris!
This dish sounds so yummy! Love all of those flavors!
Thanks Tempie!!
can’t wait to try them, they look mouthwatering! happy DIYing!
Thanks so much Claudia!
This looks and sounds amazing. I love all kinds of meatballs. I’m sure the seasoning and the sauce will work with any kind :) Think this will be part of the menu this weekend!
Awesome Lydia! It definitely would add some nice flavour to any kind of meatball! Hope you enjoyed the recipe!
OMG Elysia, that thai coconut sauce is to die for, I love how you used it on the meatballs, this dish is a bomb of flavor.
Thank you Katalina!! The sauce totally makes the dish!
Uuuuu! This sounds delicious! I love antique markets, you can find so many awesome props for food photography, too. Did you find anything interesting?
Thanks so much Lorena! I was looking for props and I did find this gorgeous white tray! Just gave it a good coat of paint..love those kinds of finds!!
Aww that’s so sweet of you J! Your comment totally made my day :) I appreciate you stopping by to comment! It’s definitely a tasty dish!
Girl! You had me at spicy peanut and coconut sauce! Actually you had me at the first thumbnail picture (but what’s new? Your pictures are always amazing!). Yum!