Easy Slow-Cooker Gochujang Meatballs Recipe | Spicy Korean BBQ
Slow-Cooker Gochujang Meatballs
Slow-Cooker Gochujang Meatballs
Ingredients
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced
- ½ cup gochujang paste
- ½ cup low-sodium soy sauce
- ¼ cup ketchup
- 3 tablespoons unseasoned rice vinegar
- 2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1 package (32 to 36 ounces) frozen beef meatballs
- Sesame seeds and sliced scallions, for garnish
Instructions
Step 1
Grab a large mixing bowl and add your minced garlic, gochujang paste, soy sauce, ketchup, rice vinegar, sesame oil, and honey. Whisk everything together until the mixture becomes smooth and glossy, with no streaks of honey or gochujang remaining — this should take about 30 seconds of vigorous whisking. The sauce will look rich and slightly thick, with a deep reddish-brown color that coats the back of a spoon. Set this bowl aside while you prepare your meatball mixture, since you'll be tossing the cooked meatballs right in here later.
Step 2
Grab your slow cooker and give those meatballs a gentle nestle into the bottom, making sure they're sitting in a single layer without overlapping. Now, pour that gochujang sauce evenly over the top — you want every meatball to get cozy with that spicy, sweet goodness. Take a wooden spoon and gently fold everything together, scraping along the bottom so the sauce starts working its way into all those nooks and crannies. Let it sit for just a minute while you get your serving dish ready — that's all the magic these little guys need before they start simmering.
Step 3
Set your slow cooker to Low heat and give the meatballs a gentle stir to distribute them evenly. Cover and let them warm through slowly, checking back around the 2-hour mark to give them another stir so they heat uniformly. After about 3 to 4 hours total, they should be sizzling hot all the way through — no pink in the center when you cut one open. If you're in a hurry, you can bump the heat to High for the last 30 minutes to speed things along.
Step 4
Now comes the fun part — the finishing touches that tie everything together. Grab a small bowl and give your sesame seeds a quick toast over low heat for about 2 to 3 minutes, just until they're fragrant and starting to turn golden. While they cool, thinly slice the white and pale green parts of your scallions on a diagonal so they fan out prettily over the meatballs. Sprinkle the toasted sesame seeds evenly across the top, then scatter those bright, fresh scallions right on top — their crisp bite is what cuts through all that rich, spicy-sweet gochujang magic.
Nutrition Information
My Tip
Mix the gochujang sauce ingredients in a separate bowl first, then taste and adjust the heat or sweetness before pouring it over the meatballs — this lets you balance the flavors perfectly since gochujang brands vary in spice level.
Leftovers
Store leftover meatballs in a shallow airtight container with their sauce to prevent drying out—keeps well for up to 4 days. Reheat gently in a covered skillet over low heat, adding a splash of water if needed, or microwave in 30-second bursts until warmed through.
Make It Your Own
Swap the beef meatballs for plant-based alternatives and use tamari instead of soy sauce for a vegetarian twist that keeps all the spicy-sweet Korean flavors intact.