General Tso's Meatballs are a delicious weeknight meal. Tender spiced beef meatballs are baked and topped with a sweet and spicy sauce. Ready in just over 30-minutes!
Sometimes I get a hankering for greasy Chinese take-out, but I love creating a recipe that I can make at home for my family. My husband love General Tso's Chicken, and I made a delicious variation on his favorite with My General Tso's Meatballs.
Typically, General Tso's Chicken is made with fried chicken and tossed in a sweet and spicy sauce. However, this recipe uses beef meatballs, but it is easy to substitute ground chicken, turkey, or pork for the ground beef.
The best part of this dish is the sauce. It is sweet, spicy, and so easy to make while the meatballs are baking in the oven.
My husband and kids love General Tso's Meatballs. My kids are comfortable with a bit of heat so the amount of hot sauce in the recipe below is perfect for us. If you are not a fan of the spicy flavor you can omit or reduce the amount the hot sauce, or add extra if you want more heat.
Ingredients
- lean ground beef- ground chicken, ground turkey, or ground pork can be substituted or used together.
- eggs- I typically use large size eggs for this recipe.
- bread crumbs- unseasoned and dried work great.
- green onions- fresh green onions are typically mild and a key flavor in my General Tso's Meatballs.
- garlic powder- fresh minced garlic can be used, in place of powder. I find that I like how the powder disperses in a meatball better than minced. If you want to use fresh garlic I recommend using 1 clove and finely mincing it.
- salt
- black pepper
- ground ginger- fresh ginger can work well, but I recommend grating it so it is very fine.
- sesame oil- olive oil, seed or nut oil, or corn oil are great substitutions.
- rice wine vinegar- this is not the same as white vinegar and I typically use unseasoned
- soy sauce- regular or low-sodium work well
- honey
- water
- cornstarch- for thickening.
- Sriracha sauce- any chili garlic hot sauce
- Baking Sheet
- Cutting Board
- Meat Thermometer- this is my favorite brand, and it makes temping the meatballs a breeze!
Protein Substitutions
My General Tso's Meatball recipe uses lean ground beef. Why? I enjoy the flavor, and like the texture of a beef meatball.
However, other proteins can easily be used and yield excellent results. Ground chicken is a great option and keeps the chicken flavor of the fan favorite General Tso's Chicken. Turkey is another great alternative, and it can be used in a 50/50 combination with the beef.
Ground pork is another great option. However, the pork meatballs will give a little more grease.
Another great option to make this dish vegetarian is to use a plant based ground product. There are so many great ones out there right now that give great texture and flavor.
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with foil and spray lightly with cooking spray and set aside.
- Add ground beef and all meatballs ingredients into a large bowl. Gently mix by hand and roll into 16 larger meatballs.
- Place meatballs on the baking sheet. Bake for 30 minutes or internal temperature reached 165°F.
- While meatballs are cooking, whisk oil, rice wine vinegar, soy sauce, honey, water, Sriracha, and cornstarch together in a saucepan until combined. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer and stir in the green onion. Allow the to sauce thicken for about 5 minutes and remove from the heat.
- Remove meatballs from oven and plate on a large rimmed dish. Pour the sauce over the meatballs and serve with rice.
Let's Talk Sauce!
General Tso’s sauce is typically a combination of soy sauce, an acid- like vinegar, sugar, chilies, sugar, garlic, and a thickener like cornstarch.
My recipe for General Tso's meatballs uses these ingredients as a base and includes flavors from ginger and green onion.
Adding spicy peppers is an option for more heat, or you can increase the chili garlic sauce.
If you do not like your sauce thickened that can be omitted as well. The sauce with the cornstarch has a consistency like thin honey, and without it will result is a thinner sauce, but will still be delicious.
The green onion in the meatballs and sauce is not overpowering, and provides a nice flavor. If you are not an onion lover the onions can be sprinkled over the top as a garnish and not on each plate.
Looking For More Delicious Meatball Recipes?
Sweet and Sour Skillet Meatballs with Pineapple
Chipotle Peach Meatballs from The Culinary Compass
Greek Meatball and Veggie Skillet from The Creative Bite
Meatball Bombs from Kylee Cooks
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General Tso's Meatballs
Ingredients
For Meatballs:
- 2 lb lean ground beef
- 2 eggs
- ½ cup bread crumbs
- 4 green onions thinly sliced
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- ½ tsp ground ginger
For Sauce:
- ½ tsp sesame oil
- 3 tbsp rice wine vinegar
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- 3 tbsp honey
- ½ cup water
- 1 tsp cornstarch
- 6 green onions chopped
- 2 tsp Sriracha sauce
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with foil and spray lightly with cooking spray and set aside.
- Add ground beef and all meatballs ingredients into a large bowl. Gently mix by hand and roll into 16 larger meatballs.
- Place meatballs on the baking sheet. Bake for 30 minutes or internal temperature reached 165°F. .
- While meatballs are cooking, whisk sesame oil, rice wine vinegar, soy sauce, honey, water, Sriracha, and cornstarch together in a saucepan until combined. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer and stir in the green onion. Allow the to sauce thicken for about 5 minutes and remove from the heat.
- Remove meatballs from oven and plate on a large rimmed dish. Pour the sauce over the meatballs and serve with rice.
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General Tso's Meatballs was originally published in 2014 and was updated in 2020 for reader enhancement and enjoyment.
Looks absolutely delicious!!! Catherine