Sticky Mongolian Meatballs made in under 30-minutes! The meatballs and broccoli bake together on one baking sheet for extra easy cleanup. Tossed with a delicious, thick, sweet sauce and served over rice or noodles.
My recipe for Mongolian Beef has always been a hit on the blog. Especially on Instagram. Every time that photo with the glossy sauce hits my feed, the love pours in. And since I aim to impress, I thought I’d do a fun twist on that swoon-worthy recipe, with these Mongolian Beef Meatballs.
My original recipe calls for frying up strips of beef that are coated in cornstarch to make them extra crispy. They truly are delicious! But honestly, I’m not a huge fan of frying. It freaks me out a bit to have a pan of hot oil on the stove and it makes such a mess! This recipe swaps in meatballs. They bake in the oven, right alongside some broccoli (read: easy cleanup).
For the meat, I used ground beef. But ground turkey, chicken or pork would all work! I seasoned the meatballs with spices that are echoed in the sauce – ginger, garlic and green onions.
I like to bake them on a baking sheet that’s been lined with parchment paper or foil for extra easy cleanup. Just arrange the meatballs on half of the baking sheet, and scatter some broccoli florets on the other half. Bake for about 15 minutes until the meatballs are deliciously crispy and the broccoli is tender.
Meanwhile, it’s the perfect time to whip up the sauce. The sauce is exactly the same as I used in my original Mongolian Beef recipe. It cooks up so deliciously sweet, tangy and spicy. And could I just say that I wish my hair were as glossy as this sauce. Definitely swoon-worthy.
Just bring the sauce to a boil and let it thicken for about 15-20 minutes. It should be done about the same time that the meatballs are ready. Then, toss the meatballs with the sauce, until they’re perfectly coated.
Serve it all up over a bed of instant pot rice and garnish with green onions and sesame seeds. These Mongolian Beef Meatballs are also delicious served over noodles, instant pot quinoa, or even cauliflower fried rice for a low carb option.
Or, just make the meatballs (skip the broccoli) and serve them as an appetizer either with toothpicks or on mini skewers. So much fun!
🥣 What’s in Mongolian meatballs sauce?
- Soy Sauce (Be sure to use low-sodium or the sauce will be too salty)
- Brown Sugar
- Vegetable Oil
- Garlic
- Ginger
- Rice Wine Vinegar
- Red Pepper Flakes
- Cornstarch
📋 How to make them
- Add the ground beef, green onions, ginger, and garlic to a large bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Mix until just combined.
- Form the meat mixture into balls with your hands (or use a cookie scoop) and place on one side of a baking sheet. Add the broccoli to the other side of the baking sheet and toss with oil, salt, and pepper.
- Bake at 450-degrees for 15 minutes or until the meatballs are cooked through.
- Meanwhile, in a large skillet add the oil, soy sauce, brown sugar, garlic, ginger, water, rice wine vinegar and red pepper flakes. Simmer for about 10 minutes. Whisk together cornstarch with 1/2 cup water and add to your sauce. Continue to cook until the sauce thickens.
- Add the cooked meatballs to the sauce and toss, until the sauce coats the meatballs.
- Serve the meatballs and remaining sauce over bowls of rice (or cauliflower rice) topped with additional green onions and sesame seeds. Serve the broccoli on the side.
🍚 What to serve with Mongolian meatballs
- Instant Pot Rice
- Cauliflower Fried Rice
- Bacon Fried Rice with Shallots
- Instant Pot Fried Rice
- Asian Cucumber Salad with Toasted Rice Powder
- Ginger Veggie Stir Fry
- Thai Cucumber Salad
- More → 25+ sides for meatballs.
🍷 Wine pairings
- A nice, fruity red wine such as a Zinfandel or Grenache will pair nicely with the flavors in this beef dish.
- If you’re looking for a white option, Riesling is always a great match for bold, somewhat spicy dishes.
🥡 More take out recipes
- Pad Kee Mao (Drunken Noodles)
- PF Chang’s Lettuce Wraps
- Kung Pao Noodles
- Slow Cooker Kung Pao Chicken
- Vietnamese Lemongrass Chicken
- Thai Beef Salad
- Chicken Larb Recipe
- Thai Chicken Salad
🥘 More easy dinner recipes
- Easy Roasted Chicken
- Easy White Chicken Chili
- 30 Minute Easy Pork Piccata
- Easy Lemon Pasta
- Easy Tuna Casserole with Gruyere Cheese
Did you try these sticky Mongolian meatballs?
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EASY Mongolian Meatballs Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 pounds ground beef
- 4 green onions (finely chopped, plus more for serving)
- 2 inch fresh ginger (grated (or 2 Tbsp. ginger paste))
- 6 cloves garlic (minced or grated)
- 1 head broccoli (cut into florets)
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
Sauce
- 1 Tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 cup low-sodium soy sauce
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 4 cloves garlic (minced)
- 2 Tablespoons ginger (minced)
- ⅔ cup water
- 1 Tablespoon rice wine vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 2 Tablespoons cornstarch (whisked with 1/2 cup water)
- Kosher salt and pepper (to taste)
To Garnish
- 3 green onions (thinly sliced)
- Sesame seeds
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with foil or parchment paper.
- Add the ground beef, green onions, ginger, and garlic to a bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Mix until just combined. Roll into tablespoon-size balls, placing them on one side of the prepared baking sheet. Add the broccoli to the other side of the baking sheet and toss with 1 tablespoon oil, salt, and pepper. Transfer to the oven and bake for 15 minutes or until the meatballs are cooked through.
- Meanwhile, in a large skillet add the oil, soy sauce, brown sugar, garlic, ginger, water, rice wine vinegar and red pepper flakes. Stir and cook over medium-high heat, for about 10 minutes. Whisk together cornstarch with 1/2 cup water and add to your sauce. Continue to cook until the sauce thickens. Remove from the heat.
- Add the cooked meatballs to the skillet of sauce and toss, until the sauce coats the meatballs.
- Serve the meatballs and remaining sauce over bowls of rice topped with additional green onions and sesame seeds. Serve the broccoli on the side.
Equipment
Nutrition
This post was originally published in 2021. It was updated in 2023 to add new content. The Mongolian meatball recipe remains the same. Enjoy!
Mongolia, my friends showed me the way they grill meat on the fire. Sticky Mongolian Beef Meatballs serve with steamed rice is delicious. Beef meatballs are infused in spicy. With me, I especially like sauce inside, we can pour on the rice. Very interesting!
I see the nutritional information but not the serving size. Also- it doesn’t say what kind of beef the nutritional Information is based on…80/20? 90/10? Could you please specify?
I’m also assuming the nutritional information is for the meatballs and broccoli only, not the rice, since you are mentioning options of how to serve.
Thank you! Can’t wait to try this!!!!
I am a novice cook. These came out good for me but not as good as I was anticipating. I’m wondering how thick or sticky the sauce should be. I cooked mine for at least 30 minutes or more over med/high heat,…but it continued to be fairly thin and watery. Not really “sticky”. Do you cook yours longer to make it sticky? or what is the secret? …thanks.
Hi! Yes, I would try raising the heat a bit and cooking for a bit longer to reduce the sauce. Hope that helps!
The sauce did not thicken! What did I do wrong? Served with rice and broccoli and was still a big hit even though sauce was like water.
Hi Karen – Thanks for the feedback! I’ve received this comment before and I’m going to retest the recipe next week. Will report back!
Great recipe. I saw a few comments about the sauce not getting thick and noticed the same (even after bringing to a boil) so I dissolved 1 tbsp. of cornstarch into 1/2 cup of cold water to make a roux and added until I got the thickness I wanted. It was perfect.. Thanks for the goodness!
Thanks for sharing that tip Stephanie!!! I’m going to be retesting this recipe soon and was thinking cornstarch would do the trick!
I made this tonight with venison instead of beef! It was amazing! The flavors really complemented the venison. Reduced the red pepper to 1/4 tsp to our taste and did a mix of water and cooking sherry which gave it a nice depth. For those that had trouble getting the sauce to thicken…when she says med-high heat it means med-high heat…not medium, and use the full 29 mins. You’re basically caramelizing the brown sugar as a thickener. I whisked almost constantly to keep it from burning…but let it get frothy…that’s how you know it’s doing it’s thing. 😊
Thanks for this feedback Danielle!!! The higher heat definitely helps to reduce the sauce down further!
Very quick and yummy! The sauce didn’t quite reduce correctly for me so I ended up adding a cornstarch slurry to get it to thicken up, and added some other veggies to the tray (red pepper, onion and asparagus). Easy to throw together or make ahead and pop in the oven, thanks!
You’re welcome Kelly! Thanks so much for the feedback!
Made this for my husband and he really enjoyed all the flavours together. Super easy to make
Thanks so much Nicole!
Made this for a party last night. I doubled the recipe and it was a hit. Not sure what the issue is some have been having with the sauce not thickening. It worked for me. I ended up putting them in a crockpot and served from there. Didn’t do the broccoli or rice but it would have been a nice addition.