Baked Teriyaki Meatball Lettuce Cups

Baked Teriyaki Meatball Lettuce Cups are perfect for entertaining, with juicy meatballs tossed in teriyaki served on lettuce cups with pineapple and rice. A great appetizer!

What are these teriyaki meatball lettuce cups, you ask?

Let me tell you about them!

Juicy meatballs are tossed in a sweet and tangy homemade teriyaki sauce, seasoned with ginger, garlic, and green onion. The meatballs are placed onto a leaf of Boston lettuce for serving with basmati rice, toasted sesame seeds, and pineapple tidbits. Green onions and a few drops of sriracha garnish the meatballs for extra flavor.

David and I ate these baked teriyaki meatball lettuce cups up so fast. It left us wanting more and so very sad that they were all gone.

These baked teriyaki meatballs are practically a flavor explosion inside your mouth. The sweet pineapple tidbits add a tangy sweetness to the teriyaki, and the sriracha gives it just a touch of heat to balance it all out.

Baking Meatballs In a Muffin Tin

The night I made these meatballs, I didn’t feel like standing over the stove. So, I decided to bake the meatballs inside of a muffin pan. This was the first time I had ever used a muffin tin for meatballs, and I was pleased with the results. Here’s why:

• A muffin pan helps you gauge the size of the meatballs, making them more uniform.
• The muffin pan helps the meatballs keep their shape.
• A muffin pan also makes the exterior a little more crunchy.
• It significantly reduces mess instead of using a sheet pan, in which the meatballs can potentially roll around.

Ingredients Needed

A detailed list of ingredients is provided in the recipe card at the end of this post.

For The Meatballs:

• Beef: Ground chuck is best with a 80/20 ratio of lean and fat.
• Onion: thinly sliced scallions 
• Rice Vinegar: for tang and flavor
• Aromatics: minced garlic, freshly grated ginger
• Soy Sauce:  low-sodium soy sauce helps control the salenity of the meat.
• Cornstarch: aids in binding the meatballs together. Can use an egg if you don’t have any.
• Oil: sesame oil adds great flavor to the meat.
• Pineapple Juice: adds sweetness, tang and delicious flavor to offset the savoriness of the meat.
• Seasoning: Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste

For the Teriyaki Sauce: Low-sodium soy sauce, rice vinegar, brown sugar, sesame oil minced garlic, freshly grated ginger, and pineapple juice. Cornstarch and cold water are mixed in to thicken the sauce.

For Serving:

• Butter Lettuce
• Basmati Rice
• Pineapple Tidbits
• Toasted Sesame Seeds
• Sriracha (optional)
• Chopped Scallions (optional)

How To Make Baked Teriyaki Meatball Lettuce Cups

Make the Meatballs:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Grease a mini-muffin pan or baking sheet; set aside.
2. In a large bowl, combine all meatball ingredients. Using a tablespoon of the meat mixture per meatball, form the mixture into balls and place it into the greased pan.
3. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until browned and cooked through.

Prepare the Sauce:

1. Combine the teriyaki sauce ingredients in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Whisk together until the sugar has dissolved.
2. Make a Slurry: stir together the cornstarch and cold water with a fork, making a slurry. Pour the slurry into the teriyaki sauce; stirring constantly, cook sauce until thickened. (The sauce should be thick enough to coat the back of the spoon.)

Toast the Sesame Seeds:

Toast the sesame seeds until lightly browned.

Sauce the Meatballs:

Transfer cooked meatballs into a large bowl. Pour in the teriyaki sauce and toss gently to coat.

How To Serve Baked Teriyaki Meatballs On Lettuce Cups Serving:

1. Place 4 lettuce leaves onto a plate.
2. Add a couple of spoonfuls of rice to each lettuce leaf.
3. Place 2 meatballs into each lettuce cup with rice.
4. Sprinkle each with sesame seeds, a few pineapple tidbits, and green onions, followed by some droplets of sriracha if desired.

Serve these flavorful meatballs as an appetizer or eat them as a meal, but make sure you make enough because this crowd-pleaser will go fast!

Other Meatball Recipes

• EASY ITALIAN MEATBALLS
• BAKED PASTA WITH MEATBALLS AND SPINACH
• MEATBALL SANDWICHES

I’m sharing this over at Fiesta Friday today. Come on over and join in on the fun!

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Baked Teriyaki Meatball Lettuce Cups

Baked Teriyaki Meatball Lettuce Cups are perfect for entertaining, with juicy meatballs tossed in teriyaki served on lettuce cups with pineapple and rice.

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes minutes

Total Time 40 minutes minutes

Servings 24 Meatballs

Calories 96kcal

Author David & Debbie Spivey

Ingredients

The Meatballs

• ▢ 1 pound ground beef
• ▢ 2 large scallions trimmed and thinly sliced
• ▢ 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
• ▢ 1 clove garlic minced
• ▢ 2 teaspoons fresh ginger grated
• ▢ 2 teaspoons low-sodium soy sauce
• ▢ 2 teaspoons cornstarch
• ▢ ½ teaspoon sesame oil
• ▢ 1 tablespoon pineapple juice
• ▢ Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste

Teriyaki Sauce

• ▢ ¼ cup low-sodium soy sauce
• ▢ 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
• ▢ ⅛ cup brown sugar
• ▢ ⅛ teaspoon toasted sesame oil
• ▢ 2 cloves garlic minced
• ▢ 1 ½ teaspoons ginger fresh grated
• ▢ 2 tablespoons pineapple juice Use juice from drained canned tidbits
• ▢ 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• ▢ ½ cup cold water

For Serving

• ▢ 6 whole Butter lettuce leaves
• ▢ 1 cup Basmati Rice
• ▢ 8 ounce canned pineapple tidbits reserve juice, drained
• ▢ 1 ½ tablespoons sesame seeds toasted
• ▢ Sriracha (optional)
• ▢ 3 green onion sliced, (optional)

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Grease a mini-muffin pan or baking sheet; set aside.
• In a large bowl, combine all meatball ingredients. Using a tablespoon of the meat mixture per meatball, form mixture into balls and place into the greased pan. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until browned and cooked through.
• In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, combine the soy sauce, rice vinegar, sugar, sesame oil, garlic, ginger, and pineapple juice. Whisk together until the sugar has dissolved. In a small bowl, stir together the cornstarch and cold water with a fork, making a slurry. Pour the slurry into the teriyaki sauce; stirring constantly, cook sauce until thickened. (The sauce should be thick enough to coat the back of the spoon.)
• Meanwhile, toast the sesame seeds over medium heat in a dry pan for 3 to 5 minutes or until lightly browned, stirring occasionally.
• Transfer cooked meatballs into a large bowl. Pour in the teriyaki sauce and toss gently to coat.
• To serve, place 4 lettuce leaves onto a plate. Add a couple spoonfuls of rice to each lettuce leaf. Place 2 meatballs into each lettuce cup with rice. Sprinkle each with sesame seeds, a few pineapple tidbits and green onions, followed some droplets of sriracha, if desired.

Notes

Yield: (24) 1-inch Meatballs

Nutrition

Calories: 96kcal | Carbohydrates: 10g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 13mg | Sodium: 116mg | Potassium: 91mg | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 50IU | Vitamin C: 1.9mg | Calcium: 16mg | Iron: 0.6mg

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