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    Freezer Teriyaki Chicken Meatballs with Broccoli

    June 22, 2024

    Honey-sweetened homemade teriyaki sauce drizzled over tender, garlicky chicken meatballs and broccoli make for a freezer meal that deliciously redefines the whole genre.

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    Freezer meal teriyaki chicken meatballs on a sheet pan with broccoli

    The Best Freezer Meal Ever: Baked Chicken Meatballs

    We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again—having a well-stocked freezer gives us immense joy. It feels SO good. And, stocking someone else’s freezer—a friend going through a tough time, or your BFF that’s just about to have a baby—is one of the kindest things you can possibly do for a person. Freezer meals, people! They’re magic. But, you may wonder, which do we love more: meatballs (because you know we love meatballs) or freezer meals? To that very fair question, we say...why choose? This teriyaki chicken meatball freezer meal recipe is the best of both worlds. Paired with broccoli and a homemade teriyaki sauce, it’s flavorful, healthy, easy and ready whenever you are.

    Ingredients laid out for chicken teriyaki meatballs eggs, salt, bread crumbs, garlic
    Ingredients laid out for chicken teriyaki meatballs eggs, salt, bread crumbs, garlic in a bowl
    chicken meatballs meat in a bowl
    blanched broccoli in a colander

    Make-Ahead Meatballs: Gather Your Ingredients

    Your freezer meal bag will include Asian-inspired chicken meatballs (cooked, or uncooked), broccoli florets, and a little baggie of homemade teriyaki sauce—you can find that teriyaki sauce recipe here. For the baked chicken meatballs, you’ll just need a few basic ingredients:

    • Ground chicken
    • Eggs
    • Ginger
    • Fresh garlic
    • Panko
    • Scallions
    Asian inspired chicken meatballs on a baking sheet with parchment paper
    baked chicken meatballs on a parchment paper lined baking sheet

    How To Make Chicken Meatballs For Dinner...Next Month.

    Or next week! Or whenever you might need a quick, easy, last-minute dinner. Here’s how to make our teriyaki chicken meatball freezer meal:

    1. Mix the meatballs! .
    2. Roll the meatballs!
    3. Blanch the broccoli!
    4. Make the teriyaki sauce! Maybe! This is an optional step, because if you’re prepping this make-ahead meal for yourself (rather than to bring to someone else) you could also plan to whip up the teriyaki sauce on the day you plan to eat the meal.
    5. Bake the meatballs! Maybe! Or, if you’re going to freeze them raw, don’t! If you’re going to freeze them raw, don’t just drop raw meatballs into a freezer bag. Arrange the raw meatballs on a parchment-lined baking sheet and freeze them for an hour. Then, once they’re hard, you can easily transfer them to a freezer bag along with the broccoli and teriyaki sauce.
    6. Freeze all of it! Pop the broccoli, chicken meatballs and teriyaki sauce into a labeled freezer bag and freeze.
    7. For more meatball recipe ideas, check out our favorite Meatball Recipes!
    Freezer Teriyaki Chicken Meatballs with broccoli in a ziplock bag
    Freezer Teriyaki Chicken Meatballs with broccoli on a baking sheet

    How Long Can You Store Meatballs in the Freezer?

    We’re so glad you asked! Storage time is really important. First of all, don’t forget to label your freezer meal with the date you made it. We also like to write the “good until” date on the bag, because it’s so easy to forget how long it’s safe to store various foods for. If you go the cooked route, according to the FDA’s cold storage recommendations, these baked chicken meatballs can be stored in the freezer for 1-3 months. If you freeze them raw, you get a little more time—frozen raw, the teriyaki chicken meatballs can be safely stored for 3-4 months in the freezer.

    Is It Better to Freeze Cooked or Raw Meatballs?

    This one is totally up to you! It saves you time upfront to freeze the meatballs raw and cook them later. Freezing them before baking also buys you a bit more time in the freezer—up to 4 months—as we mentioned above. However, freezing the chicken meatballs after baking will give them a deeper golden color on the outside—meaning, they’ll just look a little nicer. Also, freezing them already-baked makes your life a lot easier on the day you eat them—there’s just less to do! There’s no wrong way, and we explain how to do both methods in the recipe—just weigh the options, and decide what makes the most sense for you.

    Freezer Chicken Meatballs on a baking sheet with teriyaki sauce on a spoon

    Tools You’ll Need

    • A big bowl for mixing the meatballs, or a stand mixer works, too.
    • Freezer bags.
    • Sharpie for that all-important date labeling!
    • Sheet pans.
    • Stock pot.

    Freezer Meals Galore!

    Stocking a friends’ freezer is one of our favorite ways to help them out when times are tough—or even just exceptionally busy. It’s a great way to be “there” for someone you love—or even just for your future self! Here are three easy freezer chicken dinners we love:

    Freezer Teriyaki Chicken Meatballs with broccoli and rice

    Go You! Way To Work Ahead!

    Good job, you super-genius meal-prepper, you! There’s no feeling quite like being super on top if it, and a freezer full of meals is a good way to achieve it. Let us know how this one goes for you! Snap a photo of your baked teriyaki meatballs and tag us on Instagram using @themodernproper and #themodernproper. Happy eating!

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    Freezer Teriyaki Chicken Meatballs with Broccoli

    Updated on June 22, 2024

    • Serves:  8
    • Prep Time:  25 min
    • Cook Time:  20 min
    • Calories:  273
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    Ingredients

    • 2 lbs ground chicken
    • 4 eggs
    • 1 tbsp ginger, grated
    • 6 garlic cloves, minced
    • 1 cup panko
    • 3 green onions, light and dark parts, chopped
    • 1 tsp salt
    • 1 lb broccoli, florets
    • 1 cup homemade teriyaki sauce

    Teriyaki Sauce

    • ¾ cup low-sodium soy sauce or tamari
    • ⅓ cup honey
    • 2 garlic cloves, minced
    • 1 tbsp ginger, minced
    • 1 tbsp chili paste
    • 1 tbsp lime juice
    • 1 tbsp corn starch
    • ¼ cup water

    Method

    1. Preheat oven to 400° F.
    2. In a stand mixer or using your hands, gently mix the ground chicken, eggs, ginger, garlic, panko, green onions and salt until fully incorporated.
    3. Using a cookie scoop or heaping tablespoon, measure out roughly 35 meatballs. * Dipping your hand into a bowl of water before rolling them will make the meatball surface smooth.
    4. Transfer the meatballs to parchment-lined rimmed baking sheets.
    5. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through.
    6. While the meatballs are baking, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add in the broccoli and cook for 2 minutes. Transfer to a colander and run under cold water until completely cooled. Allow to dry in colander.
    7. Make teriyaki sauce and transfer to a small ziplock freezer bag.
    8. Once meatballs are cooked and cooled, add to a large freezer bag along with broccoli and small bag of teriyaki sauce. Remove as much air as possible before sealing and store flat. Freeze for up to 3 months.

    Note: Meatballs can be frozen raw. Spread raw meatballs on a parchment lined baking sheet and place in freezer for an hour. Transfer frozen meatballs to a freezer bag along with broccoli and bag of prepared teriyaki. Remove air before sealing and store flat in freezer for up to 3 months.

    When ready to bake:

    1. From frozen (either raw or cooked): Run frozen bag under warm water just long enough to break up ingredients.
    2. Preheat oven to 400°F. Spray a baking sheet with oil or use parchment paper. Arrange meatballs and broccoli on baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes. Serve over rice or noodles topped with prepared teriyaki sauce.

    Note: cook time for raw and pre cooked meatballs are the same, however, precooked meatballs will have a deeper golden outside.

    * This recipe makes 35 (2-inch) sized meatballs.

    Teriyaki Sauce

    1. In a small saucepan set over medium-high heat, bring soy sauce, honey, garlic, ginger, chili paste and lime juice to a boil.
    2. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring frequently, about 5 minutes.
    3. Mix the cornstarch and water in a small bowl. Pour the cornstarch slurry into the sauce and simmer for 2 minutes longer until thickened.

      *Makes 1 ½ cups

    Nutrition Info

    • Per Serving
    • Amount
    • Calories 273
    • Protein 29 g
    • Carbohydrates 28 g
    • Total Fat 9 g
    • Dietary Fiber 2 g
    • Cholesterol 183 mg
    • sodium 1066 mg
    • Total Sugars 15 g

    Freezer Teriyaki Chicken Meatballs with Broccoli

    Questions & Reviews

    Join the discussion below.

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    • Chelsea

      Can I cook diced chicken instead of making chicken meatballs? will it heat the same in the oven after frozen?

      Should be fine! Hope you enjoy!

    • Evelyn

      How long does the sauce freezes for? :)

      Should be good for 3 months. Hope you enjoy!

    • Stephanie

      Could I use Ground Pork instead? and if so, do i need to adjust or change the flavorings for it?

      Sure, it should still work fine with the same spices. Hope you enjoy!

    • dixon

      what do you recommend for bread crumb substitute if you want to retain moisture but be gluten free?

      You can use gluten free breadcrumbs. Hope you enjoy!

    • Megan

      Do I bake it with the sauce?

      No. Bake it without the sauce. Serve the sauce drizzled over top.

    • MK

      This is one of my all-time favorite recipes on MP! I always make sure to have these in my freezer before any trip because I hate getting takeout when I get home. It feels incredibly comforting to have something so delicious and nourishing ready to go! If I feel too lazy to prep the teriyaki sauce as written, I make a simplified version with 4 tbsp soy sauce, 4 tbsp sake, 4 tbsp mirin, 2 tbsp brown sugar with a dash of ginger or garlic powder. This will definitely be less than a cup after reduced & thickened, but usually is enough for serving two.

      Thanks MK, we are so happy you love this one and love to hear how you prepare it for your future post-trip self!

    • Nichole

      Best chicken meatball recipe I've ever had. I added a dash of soy sauce and some tumeric and it was delicious.

      THANK YOU Nichole! We are so happy you loved these so much!

    • Lauren

      Another winner! I made it "fresh" and didn't freeze...easiest weeknight dinner ever. Sharing the recipe with all of my friends.

      Thank you so much Lauren!! So happy you loved it and we appreciate you sharing the recipe!

    • Liz

      made these "live" if you will and they meatballs are delicious! only used 1 egg to bind as my mixture was a bit wet.

      Glad to hear you enjoyed them!