By Millie Peartree
- Total Time
- 30 minutes
- Rating
- 4(1,489)
- Notes
- Read community notes
This recipe takes the deep flavor of jerk chicken and turns it into easy meatballs. The jerk seasoning paste does double duty here, adding both spices and moisture, so don’t reach for dry jerk seasoning. Whether served alone as an appetizer, over rice, or even tucked in a sandwich, these meatballs are perfectly salty, sweet and spicy.
or to save this recipe.
Print Options
Include recipe photo
Advertisem*nt
Ingredients
Yield:4 servings
- Neutral oil
- 1pound ground chicken or turkey
- 1small yellow or red onion, finely diced
- 1egg, beaten
- ¼cup bread crumbs
- 2tablespoons Jamaican jerk seasoning paste, such as Grace or Walkerswood
- 1tablespoon chopped fresh parsley or cilantro leaves
- 1teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼teaspoon black pepper
- 1cup pineapple juice
- ½packed cup light or dark brown sugar
- ¼cup ketchup
- 2tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1small garlic clove, minced
- ½teaspoon onion powder
- Pinch of red-pepper flakes
- Pinch of kosher salt, plus more to taste
- 1tablespoon cornstarch
- White rice, for serving
For the Meatballs
For the Glaze
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)
429 calories; 15 grams fat; 3 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 7 grams monounsaturated fat; 3 grams polyunsaturated fat; 53 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram dietary fiber; 39 grams sugars; 23 grams protein; 538 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Powered by
Preparation
Step
1
Heat oven to 375 degrees. Line a sheet pan with aluminum foil and very lightly coat it with oil.
Step
See AlsoMake The Best Grilled BBQ Chicken In Your Neighborhood With This RecipeGrilled Jamaican Jerk Chicken Wings Recipe | Foodal10 Of The Best Recipes By Carlsbad Cravings - Chaos & WineJamaican Oxtail Recipe (Oxtail Stew)2
Prepare the meatballs: In a medium bowl, combine the chicken, onion, egg, bread crumbs, jerk seasoning paste, parsley, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Mix thoroughly to combine, being careful not to overwork the meat. Using lightly wet hands, form the mixture into 12 meatballs, each a bit larger than a golf ball, and space them out on the prepared pan. Bake until golden brown, about 15 minutes. (Alternatively, you can fry them in a nonstick pan coated in oil over medium heat for about 4 to 5 minutes per side.)
Step
3
While the meatballs cook, prepare the glaze: Whisk the pineapple juice, brown sugar, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, onion powder, red-pepper flakes and salt together in a medium pot over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer until it reduces enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 10 to 15 minutes.
Step
4
In a small bowl, mix together the cornstarch with 1 tablespoon water. Slowly whisk into the sauce, increase the heat to medium and stir until you reach the desired consistency. (Sauce should look like a thicker gravy.) Taste and adjust seasoning as needed.
Step
5
Add the meatballs to the sauce and stir until coated. Cook over medium-low heat for 2 minutes, until the meatballs are evenly glazed and deepen slightly in color. Serve hot on their own or over rice.
Ratings
4
out of 5
1,489
user ratings
Your rating
or to rate this recipe.
Have you cooked this?
or to mark this recipe as cooked.
Private Notes
Leave a Private Note on this recipe and see it here.
Cooking Notes
Emqueue
I made my own jerk base once and it came out great:Jerk base2 tsp allspice (I used whole but ground works)½ cup packed brown sugar½teaspoon ginger minced8 garlic cloves5 serrano peppers, tops removed1/4 teaspoon dried cayenne pepper2 tbsp thyme leaves12 green onions, bottom white part removed (or spring onions if you can find them!)1 teaspoon cinnamon½ teaspoon nutmegsalt and pepper to taste2 tbsp soy sauceBlend it all up and enjoy!
Maddy
Ok this is PHENOMENAL. Best meatball recipe ever. Used Walkerswood Hot & Spicy and recommend it. And honestly? Double the sauce, it’s worth it. I would recommend using a fresh pineapple for the juice - peel/chop then blitz in food processor with some water. Plus then you can make extra juice to make a pineapple rum highball...
Kelly
I only am able to find dry jerk seasoning. Could I make a paste from it and use for this recipe? Thank you!
stephanie
not josee, but here's my coconut rice- toast 1c rice (i use jasmine) in a little EVOO, ~4 mins. add 2c of liquid-1 can of shaken full fat coconut milk will get you most of the way, top it up with water. (for ginger, i would add it, grated, at this point.) a pinch of salt, stir, crank the heat to high. as soon as it starts to boil, lid on, reduce heat to low. cook for 15 mins, turn off the heat & let sit untouched for another 15. fluff rice. then i add lime juice, scallions, & cilantro to mine :)
beth
Found walkerswood jerk seasoning at Walmart
nathan
also can only find either dry jerk powder, or a marinade which i don;'t think is the same as the paste.without having to put it all together from scractch can the powder be used to make the paste?>
LKC-Chase
Great weeknight meal! I cheated and used frozen turkey meatballs and the glaze brought them to another level. Entire family really liked this. Served over jasmine rice.
W.W.Kirscht
I found the sauce really benefited by adding a tbsp or so of rice wine vinegar!
nancy heath taylor
I wouldn’t add ANY salt to either the meatballs or the glaze - jarred jerk seasoning is salty!!
Jennifer
I get Grace jerk sauce from Amazon.
John
I would also like to know how to make the amount of jerk seasoning paste for this recipe (2 tbsp.) using dry jerk seasoning I have on hand without having to buy or concoct a whole lot. Thanks in advance.
Angie
This was absolutely delicious! I ordered the Grace brand Jamaican jerk paste from Amazon. Just an fyi, the label on the jar doesn't say "paste" but if you check the ingredients it includes vinegar. So you'll know you're getting the right thing. I'll definitely make these again!
Alex Maitland
Must share: experimented last night using half cup of a pineapple chunks with one fresh cut peach, puréed lightly and then continued glaze recipe as written. SO. DELICIOUS. Great upgrade to the glaze and I didn’t need the cornstarch addition.
Josée
I used a whole can of small pieces of pineapple in its juice. Delicious!
JudiM
Amazon has it. I’m ordering Walkerswood’s Mild version.
GB in LA
I agree that the sauce is way too sweet. Even my sugar hound teen ate around the rice soaked in it. I used turkey meat and cilantro options & only change was adding a bit of rice vinegar. Meat balls were good but not exceptional. I’ll try again with pineapple pieces in juice, ground chicken and maybe only a tbsp brown sugar.
Nancy
I have made these meatballs several times and followed the recipe to the letter. The results were delicious each time. I enjoyed watching the video as well. The flavor is so good. I did have to buy the jerk seasoning paste on Amazon, as my local grocery store didn't carry it. This will definitely stay in my rotation.
iglookeeper
I have made this several times now and my whole family of 4 loves it. I tend to double the recipe anddouble the sauce. Super good on rice. Also, for a friend who was having a feast of the 7 fishes on Christmas Eve, I decided to try this with finely chopped (from my butcher) salmon. I didn’t change anything in the recipe at all otherwise, and it was PHENOMENAL. This is hands down my favorite recipe of 2023 and will make it many many more times to come!
iglookeeper
Oh! Wanted to add that the first batches I made with Busha Browne’s Traditional Jerk Seasoning Rub. I loved it. Tonight I am trying Walkerswood for the first time after ordering that on Amazon.
Dos Cinco
Can you make this with Elk burger?
S L Anderson
Made this dish last weekend for second time - after some changes - and it was a huge hit. Used dark turkey meat as I couldn't find ground dark chicken meat. Kept meatball ingredients the same, but switched up the sauce: nixed the brown sugar and used unsweetened ketchup, relying on fresh pineapple juice for the sole sweetener. Much, much better according to our daughter, who objected to how sweet the sauce was the first time around. Will make again.
Ferguson
I didn't want to wait for mail-ordered jerk paste so I bought some Lawry's Jerk marinade and boiled it down to paste-consistency and used that. Probably not authentic but by the time I put on that sugary-glaze everyone thought they were yummy.
karen
Liked by boys. Would make again. Did 1.5 times the recipe
Alyssa
Knockout of a recipe! Used coconut sugar in place of brown sugar and subbed arrowroot powder in for cornstarch. Served with short grain brown rice!
Roger
It is delicious and easy to make. Ordered Grace Jerk sauce from Amazon. This is definitely in our dinner rotation.
laura
Next time I am skipping the red pepper. It was pretty good!
Ing
I cooked this exactly as described in the recipe with ground chicken and it is delicious! I will cook this again and again!
Niko
Here’s how to make jerk paste from dry seasoning.For this recipe, I used 1 table spoon melted butter, a teaspoon of honey and 2 tablespoons dry jerk seasoning. Just mix them all together and let it sit for 15 minutes. You can adjust the heat, omit honey, use apple sauce instead of butter… You just need a “body” to make the paste. I imagine pineapple purée could be a good one. BTW, these meatballs are so delicious! I didn’t add any brown sugar in the glaze, but it’s plenty sweet.
Charlotte
Tasted ok but they were incredibly ugly and not appealing to look at.
Holly
Next time I will double the sauce!We also added pineapple chunks to the sauce after using the pineapple juice and it was delicious. Will definitely make again - easy weeknight dinner!
Private notes are only visible to you.
