Banh Mi Meatball Bowls
with Pickled Veggie Salad, Sriracha Lime Mayo & Ginger Rice
- Wheat
- Fish
- Soy
- Eggs
- Milk
Combining tender meat, crunchy pickled veggies, fresh cilantro, spicy chilies, and creamy spreads, the Vietnamese banh mi is one of our all-time favorite sandwiches. Here, we take all those same flavors and textures and channel them into some seriously delicious rice bowls. Beef meatballs are infused with citrusy ponzu, then roasted until tender and tossed in a spicy sweet soy and chili glaze. They’re piled over ginger rice with a pickled cucumber and carrot salad, creamy chili lime mayo, and aromatic cilantro. Prepare to be bowled over!
Ingredients
1 thumb
Ginger
1 clove
Garlic
1 unit
Persian Cucumber
¼ ounce
Cilantro
1 unit
Lime
½ cup
Jasmine Rice
10 ounce
Ground Beef
¼ cup
Panko Breadcrumbs
(Contains: Wheat)
6 milliliters
Ponzu Sauce
(Contains: Fish, Soy, Wheat)
4 ounce
Shredded Carrots
1 teaspoon
Sriracha
2 tablespoon
Mayonnaise
(Contains: Eggs, Soy)
4 tablespoon
Sweet Soy Glaze
(Contains: Soy, Wheat)
Not included in your delivery
Salt
Pepper
1 teaspoon
Vegetable Oil
1 tablespoon
Butter
(Contains: Milk)
Nutrition Values
Utensils
Cooking Steps
• Adjust rack to top position and preheat oven to 425 degrees. Wash and dry all produce. • Peel and mince or grate ginger. Peel and mince garlic. Trim and halve cucumber lengthwise; thinly slice crosswise into half-moons. Zest and quarter lime (for 4 servings, zest 1 lime and quarter both). Finely chop cilantro.
• Melt 1 TBSP butter (2 TBSP for 4 servings) in a small pot over medium-high heat. Add half the ginger and cook until fragrant, 30 seconds. • Stir in rice, ¾ cup water (1½ cups for 4), and a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil, then cover and reduce heat to low. Cook until rice is tender, 15-18 minutes. • Keep covered off heat until ready to serve.
• While rice cooks, in a large bowl, combine beef *, panko, ponzu, garlic, remaining ginger, salt (we used ¾ tsp), and pepper. (Use 1½ tsp salt for 4 servings.) • Form mixture into 10-12 meatballs (20- 24 meatballs for 4). Place meatballs on a lightly oiled baking sheet. • Roast on top rack until browned and cooked through, 14-16 minutes.
• Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, combine cucumber, carrots, half the cilantro, and as much lime juice and lime zest as you like. Season with salt and pepper. • In a small bowl, combine mayonnaise, a squeeze of lime juice, and up to half the sriracha to taste (save the rest for the next step).
• In a second large bowl, combine sweet soy glaze with remaining sriracha to taste. • Once meatballs are done, carefully transfer to bowl with sauce; toss until meatballs are thoroughly coated and sauce is just warmed through.
• Fluff rice with a fork and season with salt and pepper. • Divide rice between bowls and top with meatballs, any remaining sauce from bowl, and pickled veggie salad. Drizzle with sriracha lime mayo. Garnish with remaining cilantro and serve with any remaining lime wedges on the side.
Customer reviews
Review summary
Updated on Feb 2026- Flavor: Many loved the delicious blend of flavors, with some calling it their favorite HelloFresh meal yet 🎉.
- Ease of prep: While tasty, several noted it took longer to prepare than expected and used more dishes than anticipated.
- Suggestions: Consider adding jalapeños for extra kick; some recommend pan-searing meatballs instead of baking for better texture.
- Portions: Many wished for more rice and sauce, while finding the carrot-to-cucumber ratio too heavy on carrots.
- Meatball texture: Some found turkey meatballs dry; consider adding egg or using pork/beef for juicier results.
Reviews from our home cooks
So yummy! Added green onion to the meatballs and salad and a farm fresh egg to the meatball mixture to bind it. But definitely a favorite! Could use some fresh jalapeno to really capture the banh mi flavor profile better!
The meatballs themselves get 4 stars, but the pickled veggie salad has some issues. I feel like I received double the amount of carrots needed for the 2-serving recipe. Also, the pickling liquid was just not sufficient - you need more than just lime juice for the acid, you really can't make decent banh mi style veggies without vinegar.
So tasty! Portions were kind of out of whack. Needs more meat, or less rice. Made a lot of pickled veggies. I used sriracha in mayo instead of sweet chili. Sweet soy is already sweet, no need to add sugar. Would be curious if hoisin sauce would be good instead and more classic for banh mi.
So many fantastic flavors in this dish. The pickled salad, meatballs, and sauces were wonderful. Easy to prepare and cook. Excellent recipe!
This is probably my top favorite right now. The meatballs are just the right small size to get crispy and then with the glaze they are delicious. The cuke salad is refreshing and the rice adds volume and fullness to the whole thing. The glaze and Sriracha sauce go really well together and I'm so excited I have my second portion waiting for me for tomorrow. And the portions are huge! I'm so full.
This one hit all the banh mi flavor and fell without the roll. It was delicious. Not too sweet. I did add a little more rice vinegar to my veggies than the recipe called for to really give them that picked flavor. Spicy mayo was nice in every few bites.
I actually doubled the meatballs by adding another 10 ounces of pork. I also spiced them with coriander to mimic the banh mi pates I've had. And I added rice wine vinegar and chili flakes to the pickles and marinated them longer. Great dish.
I really liked the flavors of this recipe and that the meatballs were baked. The sweet soy glaze is really sweet and worked nicely with the rice and other flavors in the pickled salad.
The banh mi label threw me: I expected quick pickles in a real brine, not just tossed with a little vinegar. The meatballs are great but with no fish sauce or fresh chili they don't feel Vietnamese at all to me. The mayo/sweet chili sauce/sweet soy glaze adds 200-300 calories per serving that don't need to be there. And finally: Banh mi literally means "bread", so serving this over rice is an odd choice. Re-name this "Sweet chili ginger meatballs" and there is no problem.
Excellent Flavor. The Ingredients provided for the Banh Mi recipe do a great job of Emulating that Fresh flavor. Very good for my first meatball dish
