Thai Chicken & Grilled Pineapple Meatballs
This dish is packed with flavor — sweet sauce, acidic pineapple, earthy curried meatballs, distinctive cilantro and spicy pepper. The spice starts out light and delicate, then gets more complex as it lingers in your mouth. The meatballs are very dense and meaty so they feel extra satisfying. The sweet, zingy pineapple is the perfect complement to the spice.
The red jalapeño, green cilantro and bright yellow pineapple give the meatballs a vintage kaleidoscope look, like you’re at a happy hour in the 1960s. Indeed, they make a great app. Or serve them over rice and you’ve got dinner. Tip: Buy our L&B Fresh Pineapple Chunks. They’re already cut so you save all that time coring and cutting the pineapple. Voilà! Dinner is on the table in half an hour.
Makes 16 meatballs
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 25 minutes
Ingredients
1 16 ounce-package Mighty Spark Thai-Style Ground Chicken
½ cup Full Circle Organic Sweet Thai Chili Sauce, divided
8 ounces fresh pineapple, peeled, cored and cut in ½-inch rings
1 red jalapeño or Fresno pepper, sliced thin, for garnish
Cilantro leaves, for garnish
16 toothpicks
Directions
- Heat oven to 400 F and heat grill to high. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
- Take 1 ounce of ground chicken and roll in the palm of your hand to make a meatball. Continue to create 16 meatballs. Place meatballs on sheet pan and bake 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from oven and brush the meatballs with half the sweet Thai chili sauce . Continue baking for 6 to 8 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 165 F.
- Brush 2 pineapple rings with remaining sweet Thai chili sauce and grill on each side for 3 minutes. Remove from the grill and cut each ring into 8 pieces. Top each meatball with a grilled pineapple piece and secure with a toothpick. Garnish with sliced red jalapeño and cilantro leaves.
- Serve with additional sweet Thai chili sauce sauce for dipping, if desired.
Recipe source: Stacy Lesefky, FoodE Expert, Lunds & Byerlys Ridgedale
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