One Pot Saucy Satay Chicken Meatballs

These gorgeously juicy satay chicken meatballs are simmered in a creamy peanut sauce you’ll want to spoon over EVERYTHING. Made in one pan and on the table in just 30 minutes, they’re a lovely, better-than-takeout weeknight dinner. Serve over rice to catch all that lovely sauce, with fresh, crunchy cucumber to catch all that lovely sauce.

Satay Chicken Meatballs, at a Glance

⏰Time: 30 minutes

🍽️Makes: 4 servings

🛒 Key Ingredients: Ground chicken, peanut butter, coconut milk, sweet chili jam, gochujang paste, garlic, ginger, light soy sauce

💪 Protein: 36g per serving

🍛 Serve With: Steamed rice, or loaded baked rice, or warm two-ingredient dough garlic naan to mop up the sauce, or a fresh crunchy Asian style slaw.

🥡Perfect For: Speedy weeknight dinners, meal prep, satay chicken cravings

For My Fellow Peanut Butter Lovers

My love for satay sauce is very well documented at this point, and I’ll basically always find any excuse to work it into dinner 😅 From juicy satay chicken skewers to my viral satay crispy rice salad, satay chicken smash tacos, and even these one-pot baked satay dumplings, it’s an era that’s in no danger of ending any time soon.

These lovely juicy meatballs give that beautiful sauce the hero treatment it deserves. It’s also one of those brilliant recipes that tastes SO good for so little effort. Most of the ingredients are things I tend to have in the cupboard, so it’s a great one to turn to when takeout cravings hit.

“Fabulous recipe, way and so full of flavour
Served it with Chinese veges and steamed rice
Winner winner chicken dinner”

– Gai

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It’s truly as easy as mixing and forming your meatballs, browning them for a few minutes, then simmering your sauce and adding the meatballs back in. You’ll have it on the table in 30 minutes, max.

I love serving them over herby steamed rice with crunchy cucumber on the side, but they’re brilliant tossed through noodles, or with a pile of soft two-ingredient garlic naan to mop up the sauce, stuffed into fluffy steamed bao buns or alongside a salad or two.

“Just made this for dinner and it’s definitely a new favorite for my husband and me! Super flavorful. Thank you for the recipe!”

– Allie

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Ingredients You’ll Need

• Ground chicken. You could also use ground turkey, pork, beef, or a plant-based alternative.
• Gochujang paste. This Korean fermented chili paste brings a lovely warm heat to the sauce, without making it too spicy. You should be able to find it in the ‘International’ aisle of your grocery store, or you can pick it up from Amazon. If you can’t find it, you could use red curry paste or sriracha.
• Peanut butter. I recommend natural peanut butter, without added sugar or palm oil, for the best, balanced flavor. You want the ingredients to list only ‘peanuts’ and ‘salt’.
• Sweet chili jam. I LOVE this because it has such a brilliant depth of flavor (thanks to the ginger, garlic, chili, lime and fish sauce), so it’s a bit of a shortcut ingredient. Any sweet chili jam will work, or sweet chili sauce. If you don’t have any, you could use honey.
• Panko breadcrumbs. These help keep the meatballs lovely and moist, and hold their shape. You could use regular breadcrumbs if you can’t find panko.

How to Make Chicken Satay Meatballs

This is a step-by-step photo overview of how to make the meatballs – the full recipe with ingredient quantities is at the bottom of the page for you.

1. Add all the ingredients for your chicken meatballs to a bowl.

1. Mix to combine well.

Kate’s Top Meatballs Tip

If you want to double-check the seasoning, pan-fry a little of the mixture, taste it, and adjust if needed before forming your meatballs.

1. Wet your hands (this will stop the meatballs from sticking to them) roll spoonfuls of the mixture into meatballs.

1. Pan-fry the meatballs until golden brown on all sides, then remove from the pan.

1. Add the gochujang paste, chili jam, peanut butter, soy sauce, fish sauce, coconut milk, and water to the pan and mix into a smooth sauce.

1. Bring the sauce to a simmer and add the meatballs back in. Cover and simmer until the meatballs are cooked through.

1. Scatter with cilantro, sesame seeds, and scallions.

1. Serve over rice, with flatbreads on the side to mop up the sauce or a big salad (this crunchy Asian style slaw, green goddess salad, or smacked cucumber salad work well).

Satay Chicken Meatballs FAQs

Can I make the chicken satay meatballs in advance?

Yes, you can! Roll the meatballs and pop them into the fridge for up to 2 days before cooking them.

You can also make the sauce and pop it into the fridge for 3 -4 days before reheating and adding the meatballs. It will thicken up as it sits, so you’ll want to add more water to loosen it up.

Can I use different ground meat in these chicken satay meatballs?

Ground turkey is a great substitute, as is ground pork. Ground beef would work too, as would a plant-based meat alternative.

What else could I add to the chicken satay meatballs?

You can easily add extra vegetables to this recipe. Stir in edamame beans, peas, green beans, spinach, red bell peppers, or broccoli when you simmer the sauce.

Watch How to Make Chicken Satay Meatballs

If you make this recipe, I’d love to hear from you! You can leave a recipe rating and a comment below. And remember to tag @Zageer on Instagram, Facebook and TikTok if you’ve made one of my recipes. Seeing your recreations really makes my day 😊.

These gorgeously juicy satay chicken meatballs are simmered in a creamy peanut sauce you'll want to spoon over EVERYTHING. Made in one pan and on the table in just 30 minutes, they're a lovely, better-than-takeout weeknight dinner. Serve over rice to catch all that lovely sauce, with fresh, crunchy cucumber on the side. Prep Time 10 mins
Cook Time 20 mins
Total Time 30 mins

Servings: 4 servings

Course: Main Course
Cuisine: asian

Ingredients Method Nutrition Notes

Ingredients

For the meatballs –

• 1 lb ground chicken, (500g)
• 2 scallions, finely chopped
• 1 inch piece of ginger, grated
• 4 garlic cloves, crushed
• Handful of cilantro leaves, chopped
• 2 teaspoons fish sauce
• 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
• 1 egg
• ⅓ cup panko breadcrumbs
• 1 tablespoon olive oil, for cooking

For the satay peanut sauce –

• ⅓ cup peanut butter, smooth or crunchy
• 1 tablespoon gochujang paste
• 2 teaspoons fish sauce
• 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon sweet chili jam, or sweet chili sauce, or honey
• 1 can of coconut milk, (14oz or 400g)
• ½ cup water

To serve –

• 2 scallions, finely chopped
• A handful of cilantro leaves, chopped
• 1 cucumber, finely diced
• ¼ cup crushed peanuts
• 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
• 1 red chili, finely chopped
• 1 lime, sliced into wedges

Method

1. Mix the meatballs.Add the ground chicken, chopped scallions, ginger, crushed garlic, cilantro, 2 teaspoons of fish sauce, 1 teaspoon of red pepper flakes, 1 tablespoon of soy sauce, 1 egg, and ⅓ cup of panko breadcrumbs to a large bowl. Use a spatula (or clean hands) to mix the ingredients so everything is evenly dispersed.
2. Form the meatballs.Set a clean tray or plate on your work surface and wet your hands (this will stop the meatballs from sticking to them).Scoop up a spoonful of the chicken mixture and roll it into a golf ball-sized ball in your hands. Place on the prepared plate or tray and repeat with the rest of the ingredients.
PRO TIP: If you have time, I recommend popping the meatballs into the fridge for about 30 minutes to firm up before cooking them. They'll hold their shape better this way.
3. Brown the meatballs.Place a large, high-sided pan or skillet you ideally have a lid for over medium-high heat, then add 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Once hot, add the meatballs and cook until browned all over.This will take about five minutes, and you may need to cook them in batches, depending on the size of your pan. The meatballs don't need to be fully cooked through at this point, as you'll simmer them in the sauce later. Remove the meatballs from the pan and set aside for now.
4. Make the peanut sauce.Wipe any excess oil from the pan, then reduce the heat to medium. Add ⅓ cup of peanut butter, 1 tablespoon of gochujang paste, 1 tablespoon of sweet chili jam, 1 tablespoon of soy sauce, 2 teaspoons of fish sauce, coconut milk, and ½ cup of water. Use a wooden spoon or whisk to mix the ingredients into a smooth sauce. Bring to a simmer.
5. Simmer the sauce.Once the sauce is simmering, nestle the meatballs into the sauce, then pop the lid on (or use aluminum foil, a plate, or a wooden board) and leave to simmer for 10 minutes.
6. Garnish and serve. After 10 minutes, remove the lid and sprinkle with the chopped scallions, cilantro, cucumber, crushed peanuts, sesame seeds, and red chili. Finish with a squeeze of lime.Serve the meatballs over steamed rice or quinoa, with two-ingredient dough garlic naan to mop up the sauce, or with a big crunchy Asian-style slaw.

Nutrition

Serving: 1bowl
Calories: 698kcal
Carbohydrates: 23.9g
Protein: 36.1g
Fat: 54.4g
Saturated Fat: 25.6g
Polyunsaturated Fat: 7.6g
Monounsaturated Fat: 18.3g
Cholesterol: 154mg
Sodium: 1235mg
Potassium: 1292mg
Fiber: 3.9g
Sugar: 9g
Vitamin A: 727IU
Vitamin C: 14mg
Calcium: 81mg
Iron: 6.1mg

Notes

INGREDIENT NOTES: Swap ground chicken for ground turkey, pork, beef, or a plant-based alternative. If you can’t find gochujang paste, use red curry paste or sriracha. I recommend using good quality natural peanut butter (that only lists peanuts and salt in the ingredients) for the best flavor. PREP AHEAD: You can form the meatballs and pop them into the fridge, covered, for up to 2 days before cooking them. You can also make the sauce and pop it into the fridge for 3 – 4 days before reheating and adding the meatballs. It will thicken up as it sits, so you’ll want to add more water to loosen it up. SERVING SUGGESTIONS: I love these meatballs served over steamed rice, quinoa, rice noodles, or flatbreads to mop up the sauce. You can also serve them alongside a salad – try this crunchy Asian-style slaw, smacked cucumber salad or green goddess soba noodle salad. OPTIONAL ADDITIONS: You can easily add veggies into the recipe – just throw in edamame beans, green beans, broccoli, spinach or peas once your sauce is simmering and continue with the recipe.