Because people do stand in line for BBQ whether it’s at your house with friends and family, at a sports game or at the park for a special event. Close to home, meatballs remind many people about good times in their childhood when mom wanted an easy way to make everyone happy. When you try our Molasses Bourbon BBQ Glazed Chicken Meatballs, your tastebuds will explode from the creative flavors of the recipe.
Take some pride in your homemade BBQ glaze with one of the world’s most historic sweeteners! The term ‘molasses’ comes from the Portuguese ‘melaço’ which comes from the Latin ‘Mel’, meaning honey. Molasses has a fantastic history! This sweet thing has been a profitable export, served as an ingredient for rum, has been highly taxed, and was famous for being one the most popular sweeteners in the US before people jumped ship for cheaper white sugar. Now it’s here to make your BBQ stand out!
This easy and completely Molasses Bourbon BBQ Glazed Chicken Meatballs recipe is sure to be a hit thanks to its BBQ flavorful glaze!
How long will BBQ Glazed Chicken Meatballs last for?
BBQ Glazed Chicken Meatballs are great to make 24 hours in advance or as a meal prep recipe for 3-4 days of advanced preparation. That’s perfect because this recipe will make you 4 servings that you can space out across the days or eat earlier because you can’t get enough of them.
Can BBQ Glazed Chicken Meatballs be frozen?
You can absolutely keep BBQ Glazed Chicken Meatballs for extended shelf life in the freezer. Just make sure you use airtight meal prep containers and you should be safe and sound the next time you are salivating for meatballs.
At MPOF, we recommend you don’t freeze your steamed vegetable sides along with your BBQ Glazed Chicken Meatballs because steamed vegetables are perfect freshly cooked or within a few days. It’s great to make your final portions from frozen or freshly cooked meatballs along with freshly steamed sides.
How do you make BBQ Glazed Chicken Meatballs?
There are three main phases to get your BBQ Glazed Chicken Meatballs perfectly ready: meatballs, glaze, and sides. Luckily for all of us, each phase is really easy! Prep time is about 20 minutes where you combine the ingredients, make your glaze and roll your meatballs. Then you let the cooking happen for 25 minutes and you will be ready to eat or ready to portion. The exact steps are in the instructions. Ready to begin?
How to portion BBQ Glazed Chicken Meatballs?
This meal prep recipe will give you 4 even portions of 26g protein, 60g carbohydrates and 13g fat for a total of 623 kcal. It’s a perfect size for dieting, bulking, or intermittent fasting so it should suit your needs and schedule easily. Dual compartment meal prep containers are perfect for BBQ Glazed Chicken Meatballs and sides.
More Meatball meal prep recipes:
- Try a bird of a different feather with 20 Minute Paleo Thai Almond Butter Turkey Meatballs
- MPOF has all the meatball goods! Round out your recipes with our biggest meatball blog: The Ultimate Guide To Meatballs Recipes
- Try our Carrot Meatballs With Mint Cauliflower Rice
- Dive into our Eggplant Meatballs and Zoodle Meal Prep for meatless meatball options
Other tips for making BBQ Glazed Chicken Meatballs:
- Use ground dark meat chicken to make your meatballs moister than with white meat
- Don’t overmix or your meatballs will be mush. Your mix will be good enough if you use the Goldilocks principle here: get it just right when it looks and feels like all the ingredients are evenly distributed.
- Cook a small test patty to make sure you love the taste before going all-in with the rest. You can always adjust!
Molasses Bourbon BBQ Glazed Chicken Meatballs Ingredients:
Meatballs:
- 1 lb. Ground Chicken
- 1 Egg
- ½ C. Gluten-free Panko Breadcrumbs
- 1 tsp. Each of:
- Himalayan Salt.
- Ground Black Pepper
- Garlic Granules
- Onion Granules
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- Avocado Oil Spray
Glaze:
- 1 C. BBQ Sauce (preferably Memphis style)
- ½ C. Bourbon Whisky
- 2 Tbsp. Orange Marmalade
- 2 tsp. Molasses
- ½ tsp. Garlic Granules
- ½ tsp. Onion Granules
Sides:
- Steamed or Grilled:
- ⅔ C. Carrots (steamed)
- ⅔ C. Broccoli (steamed)
- ⅔ C. Cauliflower (steamed)
- ¾ C. Cooked Brown Rice with ¼ C. Cooked Quinoa
Ingredients
Meatballs
- 1 lb. Ground Chicken
- 1 Egg
- ½ Gluten-free Panko Breadcrumbs
- 1 tsp. Himalayan Salt.
- 1 tsp. Ground Black Pepper
- 1 tsp. Garlic Granules
- 1 tsp. Onion Granules
- 1 tsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- Avocado Oil Spray
Glaze
- 1 cup BBQ Sauce preferably Memphis style
- ½ cup Bourbon Whisky
- 2 Tbsp. Orange Marmalade
- 2 tsp. Molasses
- ½ tsp. Garlic Granules
- ½ tsp. Onion Granules
Sides
- ⅔ Carrots steamed
- ⅔ Broccoli steamed
- ⅔ Cauliflower steamed
- ¾ Cooked Brown Rice with ¼ Cooked Quinoa
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400℉ and line a baking sheet with foil sprayed with avocado oil - set aside.
- Get started on the glaze by pouring bourbon into a saucepot over medium/high heat and let simmer for ~15 minutes.
- Next, stir in remaining glaze ingredients and let simmer ~20-30 minutes or until thickened and color has darkened — stirring occasionally. Once finished (if before the meatballs), keep glaze heated on low to keep warm.
- Now, stir together in a medium bowl the egg and ground chicken until well combined. Then, gently mix in the remaining ingredients.
- Scoop mixture in one tablespoon amounts int your palm and roll into a ball, then place on a greased foil-lined baking sheet. Tip: If meatballs are sticking to your hands, spray a bit of oil on them and then roll out meatballs.
- Place meatballs on middle oven rack and bake for ~20-25 minutes or until fully cooked (reaching an internal temperature of 165℉). Then, toss meatballs in the glaze.
- Serve with sides, store, and enjoy!
1 BBQ Sauce preferably Memphis style
1/2 Bourbon Whisky
you need to fix this-- "1 BBQ Sauce", "1/2 Bourbon"
Thank you for bringing this to our attention. We have adjusted the recipe.