This takes meatball sandwiches to a whole new level! The flavors in this Asian Meatball Sandwich recipe are beyond delicious. Sweet and savory, with a side of healthy. 341 calories and 9 Weight Watchers Freestyle SP. Thanks to the California Avocados for helping me to share this recipe with you.
Asian Meatball Sandwich Recipe with Avocado
This Asian meatball sandwich recipe brings up fond memories of family birthdays. When I was a kid, my most requested birthday meal was spaghetti and meatballs (or meat sauce), specifically made from the recipes in my Disney cookbook. Lady and the Tramp spaghetti and Tinkerbell's meat sauce, thank you very much.
The spaghetti and meatballs birthday request tradition carried on with my boys, though gradually morphed into rice with Baked Teriyaki Turkey Meatballs, which are also perfect (sans rice) on any hors d'oeuvres table. Just give your guests some toothpicks for stabbing and the meatballs will disappear in no time.
Knowing how much my family adores these meatballs, I wanted to give them new life in another recipe - in other words, another reason for my kids to say, "Mum, this is better than going out to restaurant. Well, except for sushi." My meals will never hold a candle to sushi in their minds. I can't say I blame them.
This meatball sandwich recipe may not rival sushi, but it holds its own, with tender, Asian-spiced meatballs, creamy avocado and a sauce that's good enough to drizzle on everything from meatballs and shrimp to chicken and pizza. I took a more simplistic approach with the sauce. Rather than sticking with our usual teriyaki sauce, I made a hoisin based sauce that only requires 5 ingredients, one of them being water. As I said - easy!
Tips for this Asian meatball sandwich recipe:
- Since these are somewhat similar to banh mi sandwiches, grated carrots seemed like the logical choice to tuck into the flatbreads with the meatballs, but red bell pepper, daikon or even jicama (or a combination of multiple vegetables) would work well, too. Think color, crunch and freshness!
- For the whole wheat flatbread, I used the small round ones found at Trader Joe's (which is reflected in the nutritional information). If you don't have access to a Trader Joe's, any whole wheat flatbread, or even pocketless whole wheat pita bread, will do.
Other avocado recipes:
Kicked-Up Avocado Margarita {Cookin' Canuck}
Healthy Breakfast Burrito with Avocado & Chipotle Yogurt {Cookin' Canuck}
Southwest Chicken, Avocado & Quinoa Lettuce Wraps {Noble Pig}
Souffle Bombay's Eggs Benedict with Avocado, Sriracha Hollandaise & Avocado Cream {Souffle Bombay}
Printable Recipe
Asian Meatball & Avocado Flatbread Sandwich Recipe
Ingredients
The Meatballs:
- 1 pound lean 93% ground turkey
- ½ small yellow onion grated
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 2 teaspoons grated ginger
- 3 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
- ½ teaspoon five spice powder
- 1 egg
- ¼ cup whole wheat breadcrumbs more if needed
- ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon ground pepper
The Sauce:
- ⅓ cup hoisin sauce
- 1 ½ tablespoon water
- 1 ½ tablespoons rice vinegar
- ¾ teaspoon chili garlic sauce
- ¾ teaspoon sesame oil
The Rest:
- 6 small whole wheat flatbreads such as Trader Joe's
- ¾ California avocado sliced
- ¾ cup grated carrot
- 6 basil leaves thinly sliced
Instructions
The Meatballs:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Thoroughly coat a large baking sheet with cooking spray.
- In a large bowl, stir together the ground turkey, grated onion, garlic, ginger, parsley, five spice powder, egg, breadcrumbs, salt and pepper.
- Use a 2 tablespoon portion of the turkey mixture for each meatball and form the meatballs by rolling between the palms of your hands. If they are not sticking together properly, add more breadcrumbs, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the correct texture is achieved.
- Place the meatballs on the prepared baking sheet.
- Bake until the meatballs are firm to the touch and almost cooked through, about 15 minutes.
- Brush the meatballs with 2 tablespoons of the sauce. Bake for an additional 5 minutes.
The Sauce:
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the hoisin sauce, water, rice vinegar, chili garlic sauce and sesame oil.
The Rest:
- Divide the meatballs, avocado, grated carrot, basil and remaining sauce evenly between the flatbreads. Serve.
Notes
Nutrition
This post was originally published on June 10, 2015, and was updated on June 3, 2019.
Disclosure: This post is sponsored by California Avocados. All opinions are my own. I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for me to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.
kellie | The Suburban Soapbox
What a fantastic idea! I'm going to try these AND the teriyaki meatballs you mentioned. Both seem like they'd be a hit with my family.
Gaby
If I hop on a plane right now, will you make these for me if I come over for dinner 🙂
Shawn @ I Wash You Dry
AMAZING!! And too cute about your Disney Cookbook! What fun memories! 🙂
Brenda @ a farmgirl's dabbles
Gorgeous! Love the Asian + meatballs + avocado = perfect!
Jeanette | Jeanette's Healthy Living
I love the five spice powder in your meatballs and that sauce sounds incredibly good!
Dani @ DaniCaliforniaCooks
What a fun idea! An innovative and healthier take on the meatball sandwich.
brenda@sugarfreemom
I love these for the kids! They love meatballs but I never though to make them like a taco! Great idea!
Toni | BoulderLocavore
There is something special about meatballs. Whenever I make them my kids especially love them and they are so simple. I love putting them into this sandwich with avocados (a favorite of ours as well)!
Susan
I love how meatballs are a blank canvas for a world of flavors! This Asian version with the avocado, carrots and basil is hard to pass up!
Lauren Kelly Nutrition
Oh I love everything about this! What a creative twist!
Liz @ The Lemon Bowl
My boys are always asking for meatballs - this would be right up their alley!
Lana | Never Enough Thyme
Who doesn't love a meatball!? Especially an Asian style one in a delicious sandwich! Yum.
Ginny McMeans
You did a great job in creating another recipe for your meatballs. It looks so good. I will pay anything for an avocado. Glad to hear you always have them. Maybe we should move to Fallbrook!
Renee - Kudos Kitchen
I love how you always requested Lady and the Tramp spaghetti and meatballs for your birthday meal. How funny!
This recipe looks like it would rival that recipe hands-down as far as taste, and would take the prize for colorful ingredients and wonderful textures. I would even choose your sandwich over sushi anyday.
The Food Hunter
I love the sound of this oh and that avocado margarita!!
Alison @ Ingredients, Inc.
sounds and looks amazing!
Liz
Thank you Dara for the nice recipe and have a great day!
Pink guava
All over this recipe which looks and sounds delucious. Can't wait to try these flavours. Thanks , Dara, for another enticing recipe!
TidyMom
you had me at avocado!! I've been eating a lot of avocado tacos lately...this will be a nice change!
Anna @ Crunchy Creamy Sweet
Loving this Asian spin on meatballs! This dish is going to be a hit in our house for sure! Pinned!