Chicken meatballs spiced up with a sweet, spicy, and savory sauce are sure to leave a pop in your mouth, like a firecracker! These require minimum work and can be made in under 30 minutes. Serve with some plain rice to soak up the sauce, or add them to a salad for a spicy kick!
Any food that has “firecracker” in the name has my heart. Firecracker shrimp, chicken, meatballs, even just the sauce itself. I decided to make my own version of firecracker meatballs. I used sriracha for the sauce, but any hot sauce will do. Sriracha does make it pretty hot, though I feel using Frank’s Red Hot might be a milder choice. The meatballs take no time to make and the sauce takes about 10 minutes to make. That’s it! Bake the meatballs, drown them in the sauce, and dinner is served! You can make these into smaller meatballs and use toothpicks as finger food for a party.
How to make Firecracker Chicken Meatballs
I’m obsessed with how the firecracker sauce came out and now making sure I have some on hand. You can use the sauce for eggs, popcorn (yes, popcorn), marinade for meat, or as a dip. (Full ingredient amounts and complete instructions are available in the recipe card down below).
- Ground Chicken: You can substitute this out for ground turkey, or any ground meat you wish. I recommend ground chicken or ground turkey for this. I find that it pairs better.
- Canola or Avocado Oil: You want an oil that can handle high heat. This is used for sauteing the jalapenos, onions, and garlic just before they go into the meatballs. Avocado oil is a bit healthier to use.
- Onion: A Vidalia onion works best, but you can use a yellow onion. Vidalia onions are a type of sweet onion that has about 12 grams of sugar (hence why it’s a sweet onion), while the yellow onion has about 5 grams.
- Garlic
- Jalapenos: I seeded them and cut out the white parts (the ribs) so the meatballs weren’t spicy. The seeds and ribs are the spiciest part of the jalapeno. Feel free to not use the jalapenos if you’re sensitive to any spice or seeds.
- Egg
- Panko Breadcrumbs: These are a bit crunchier than regular breadcrumbs. I also find they bind meatballs better.
- Salt, Pepper, Garlic Powder, and Onion Powder
- Cayenne: You just need a pinch. You can omit it entirely if you wish.
- Firecracker Sauce: The recipe is in the recipe card below. You can also use storebought.
Preheat the oven to 400F. In a saute pan, heat the oil on medium-high heat, then cook the jalapenos and onions until slightly charred, then add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds so it doesn’t burn. Remove from the heat. In a medium mixing bowl, combine ground chicken, salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne, egg, and breadcrumbs. Add in the jalapeno mixture and quickly combine. Roll the meat mixture into 1/2-1 inch balls (about the size of a golf ball) and place onto a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil that’s been sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. Bake for 10-12 minutes. In a bowl, combine ingredients for firecracker sauce. After the meatballs are done cooking, coat them with some of the firecracker sauce, then bake for 2 minutes more. Coat them again when completely done baking. Serve immediately.
Tips & FAQs
- Storage: Store them in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days. The sauce can be stored by itself in a jar or container for up to a week.
- How to freeze the meatballs:
- Freeze the raw meatballs in a single layer on a lined sheet pan for an hour or until solid, then transfer them to a sizeable freezer-safe Ziploc or airtight container. Meatballs can be baked frozen or thawed. If cooking from frozen, increase the cooking time by 5-10 minutes before starting the process of coating the meatballs with firecracker sauce.
- If you are freezing cooked meatballs, let them cool completely before putting them in a freezer-safe Ziploc bag and placing them in the freezer. When you are ready to eat, let them thaw in the refrigerator. You can reheat them in the microwave or oven, making sure to coat the meatballs in the firecracker sauce first or reheat the meatballs in a pot of firecracker sauce on the stovetop.
- If you make the sauce from scratch you can add some extra ingredients to take it up a notch. Add some grated ginger, a dash of sesame oil, or some extra sweetness if you don’t like it too hot. Swap out the hot sauce for buffalo sauce.
- If you would like to serve your meatballs with sauce, I would double the ingredients for the sauce portion as this recipe makes just enough for basting.
- The meatball mixture can be prepared the night before and baked the day of if desired.
Want the recipe? Click print below! Let me know how it came out for you by tagging me on Instagram (@missravenskitchen) and using #missravenskitchen! Follow my Facebook page for updates as well! Let me know if I need to tweak anything.
Firecracker Chicken Meatballs
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground chicken
- 1/2 medium onion, finely diced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 large jalapeno, seeded and finely chopped, or 2 small
- 1 egg
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- Pinch of ground cayenne pepper
- 1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
- 1 tbsp canola or avocado oil
- 1/2 cup hot sauce (Preferably Frank’s Red Hot)
- 1/2 cup brown sugar, or more to make it less spicy
- 4 garlic cloves, grated or finely minced
- Salt, to taste
- 1-2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
- 2 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
- 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
Instructions
- In a small saute pan, heat the oil on medium-high heat until shimmering. Saute the onions and jalapenos until soft and just charred, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds more, then remove from heat and set aside.
- In a medium-sized bowl, combine the ground chicken, egg, salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne pepper, and breadcrumbs. Add in the jalapeno mixture and thoroughly combine.
- Roll the meat mixture into 1/2-1 inch balls (about the size of a golf ball) and place onto a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil that’s been sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Make the firecracker sauce.
- After the meatballs are done cooking, coat them with some of the firecracker sauce, then bake for 2 minutes more. Coat them again when completely done baking.
- In a saucepan, combine the ingredients of the firecracker sauce over medium-high heat, allow to come to a boil, and reduce the heat to medium so it simmers.
- Let it simmer for 8-10 minutes. Remove from heat and allow the sauce to cool. The sauce will thicken as it cools so don’t worry if it looks thin.
Notes
- Storage: Store them in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days. The sauce can be stored by itself in a jar or container for up to a week.
- How to freeze the meatballs:
- Freeze the raw meatballs in a single layer on a lined sheet pan for an hour or until solid, then transfer them to a sizeable freezer-safe Ziploc or airtight container. Meatballs can be baked frozen or thawed. If cooking from frozen, increase the cooking time by 5-10 minutes before starting the process of coating the meatballs with firecracker sauce.
- If you are freezing cooked meatballs, let them cool completely before putting them in a freezer-safe Ziploc bag and placing them in the freezer. When you are ready to eat, let them thaw in the refrigerator. You can reheat them in the microwave or oven, making sure to coat the meatballs in the firecracker sauce first or reheat the meatballs in a pot of firecracker sauce on the stovetop.
- If you make the sauce from scratch you can add some extra ingredients to take it up a notch. Add some grated ginger, a dash of sesame oil, or some extra sweetness if you don’t like it too hot. Swap out the hot sauce for buffalo sauce.
- If you would like to serve your meatballs with sauce, I would double the ingredients for the sauce portion as this recipe makes just enough for basting.
- The meatball mixture can be prepared the night before and baked the day of if desired.
Nutrition Facts
Calories
123.37Fat (grams)
4.8Sat. Fat (grams)
1.16Carbs (grams)
12.47Fiber (grams)
0.41Net carbs
12.06Sugar (grams)
9.5Protein (grams)
7.89Sodium (milligrams)
446.21Cholesterol (grams)
46.15
Miss Raven's Kitchen 
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