These veggie-packed meatball lettuce cups are like pork dumplings without the, well, dumpling. Perfect for kids (and adults) who aren’t veggie lovers, they’re full of flavor. Ponzu sauce makes a bright, citrusy dip.
| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 45 min |
| Active: | 30 min |
| Yield: | 18 meatballs (6 lettuce cups) |
Ingredients
- Nonstick cooking spray, for coating the baking sheet
- 4 cups store-bought coleslaw mix
- 1 pound ground pork
- 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger (from a 1-inch piece)
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 large egg
- 4 scallions, chopped
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 6 large Bibb lettuce leaves (from 1 head)
- Garlic chili sauce, such as Sriracha, for serving
- 1 cup ponzu sauce
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment and coat with cooking spray.
- Add the coleslaw to a large microwave-safe bowl. Pour in 1/4 cup water, cover and cook on high until tender and translucent, about 7 minutes. Let cool slightly.
- Add the pork, ginger, vinegar, soy, garlic, egg, all but 1 tablespoon of the scallions, 1/2 teaspoon salt and a few grinds of pepper to the coleslaw mix. Mix with your hands until just combined. Scoop mounds of the meat mixture (about 2 tablespoons each) onto the prepared baking sheet. With damp hands, roll the mounds into balls and space them evenly apart on the baking sheet. Bake until cooked through, 12 to 14 minutes.
- Put 3 meatballs on each lettuce leaf, sprinkle with the reserved scallions and drizzle with garlic chili sauce. To eat, fold each leaf like a taco and dip into the ponzu sauce.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 330 |
| Total Fat | 24 grams |
| Saturated Fat | 9 grams |
| Cholesterol | 85 milligrams |
| Sodium | 510 milligrams |
| Carbohydrates | 7 grams |
| Dietary Fiber | 3 grams |
| Sugar | 1 grams |
| Protein | 21 grams |
Reviews
Great recipe if you’re gluten free (use tamari instead of soy sauce)! It’s like eating potstickers without the wrapper. Made a ponzu substitute since it’s not available where I live (and most likely not GF – I have Celiac Disease so no gluten for me). It was packed full of flavor! Definitely on my make again list!
I may have needed to drain the coleslaw a little after cooking it…my meatballs ended up being a bit loose. Other than that, these were amazing!! I used a cookie scoop to shape the meatballs and that helped a lot! Hmmmm….guess I’ll have to make these a few more times to get it just right!
Oh my gosh! Such a great combo of flavors. Easy to out together and quick too. Everyone enjoyed as an appetizer. Yummy
These meatballs were delicious! This was a veggie delight with tons of flavor. My husband couldn’t stop eating them. Great, easy recipe!
I was so surprised at how good these meatballs were. Made a few changes, and served with rice and sautéed baby bok choy. Great weeknight meal.
I was surprised at how good these meatballs are. As someone previously posted, the meatballs don’t brown too much, but please don’t over cook…..they’re actually cooked just fine and did not fall apart. Serving them in the lettuce cup added a refreshing and healthy twist. I love cilantro, so the next time I’m going to try what was in a previous post and add some chopped cilantro to the meatballs. A little messy, but doesn’t messy food taste better?
These were pretty good. A 10 oz bag of pre shredded cole slaw was just over 4 cups. The meatballs don’t brown in the oven so when time’s up, they appear not to be cooked. For this reason, I let mine go an extra minute, and they were slightly overdone. They were super easy to make and quick enough for a weeknight meal, but I thought they were a little bland. If I were to make again, I would add some chopped cilantro for a little extra flavor. Also, I served in a lettuce cup and they were messy to eat as the Ponzu sauce kept dripping down my arm.
Very delicious! Served it over rice or lettuce cup. I followed the revipe exactly. I was worried that the meatballs were going to fall apart because the meat mixture was so moist. They did not. I will be making this again!
Made these meatballs using ground chicken (didn’t have pork) and followed the recipe exactly other than that. These are very tasty and could be served a variety of different ways. I served them with some fried rice. Won’t rate the recipe since I didn’t actually make it, but will just rate overall seasonings/flavors.