This post may contain affiliate links, which won’t change your price but will share some commission.

Jump to Recipe Print Recipe Download PDF

Fresh herb-studded meatballs are piled on a bed of rice noodles then topped with quick pickled veggies, peanuts and chili sauce.

Is Meatball Monday a thing? Because it totally should be. No disrespect to the Meatless Monday movement, of course.

But I made these on a Monday and WOW did they hit the spot!

I love the contrast of the cold noodles with the warm meatballs, and cool pickled topping. These meatballs are jam packed with fresh flavors, and they come together pretty quickly.

You can bring the pasta water to a boil and make the quick pickled veggies while the meatballs are baking. Then once the meatballs come out, drop the rice noodles in and get your garnishes ready.

This should serve 3-4 easily, but me and my husband gobbled up quite a few meatballs each, so there were only a few leftover for lunch later in the week. Dang.

Thai basil would be great here, but I can't always find that easily here, so I used a combination of basil and mint instead. But by all means, if you can get your hands on Thai basil, use that!

This is a light and refreshing, yet satisfying meal that's bursting with flavor. We thoroughly enjoyed every bite of this one!

📖 Recipe

Vietnamese “Spaghetti” + Meatballs

Plate of rice noodles topped with meatballs, fresh herbs, and lime.

Fresh herb-studded meatballs are piled on a bed of rice noodles then topped with quick pickled veggies, peanuts and chili sauce.

Big Flavors from a Tiny Kitchen - Ashley Covelli

No ratings yet

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Servings: 4 servings

Course: Main Dish

Cuisine: Vietnamese

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 30

Total Time 45

Ingredients

For meatballs:

1 pound ground beef I used 85% lean grass-fed organic
2 tablespoons hoisin sauce
1 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce
3 cloves garlic minced
1 tablespoon fresh basil finely chopped
1 tablespoon fresh mint finely chopped
1 tablespoon fresh parsley finely chopped
1 green onion finely chopped
1 egg beaten
¼ cup breadcrumbs
½ teaspoon sesame oil
½ teaspoon fish sauce
1 teaspoon fresh ginger peeled and grated or minced

For pickled veggies:

2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons unseasoned rice vinegar
1 teaspoon lime zest
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice
½ teaspoon fish sauce
½ teaspoon fresh ginger peeled and grated or minced
½ teaspoon sesame oil
1 English cucumber sliced into ribbons with a julienne peeler, vegetable peeler or spiralizer (about 1 ½ cup total)
4 carrots sliced into ribbons with a julienne peeler, vegetable peeler or spiralizer (about 1 ½ cup total)
2 green onions thinly sliced

For serving:

1 pound dried rice noodles

For garnish:

Sriracha chili sauce
Peanuts roughly chopped
Lime wedges
Fresh basil roughly chopped
Fresh mint roughly chopped
Fresh parsley roughly chopped

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray a baking sheet with oil.
Gently crumble ground beef into a large bowl. Add remaining meatball ingredients (hoisin through ginger) and blend it all together with your hands, being careful not to overmix.
Form into 1 ½-inch balls, rolling gently with slightly wet hands, and place in rows on the oiled baking sheet. Leave a little space in between each meatball - don't crowd them together. Bake meatballs for 20-25 minutes, or until cooked through to your liking.
While the meatballs are baking, in a medium bowl, whisk together honey, rice vinegar, lime zest and juice, fish sauce, ginger and sesame oil. Add in the cucumber, carrots and green onions and toss to coat.
Fill a large pot with cold water and bring to a boil. Cook the rice noodles according to package directions. Drain the noodles, rinse with cold water and drain well. If you still have some time before the meatballs finish cooking, you can place the noodles back into the pot and toss a little sesame oil in with them to keep them from sticking together.
To serve, place a pile of noodles on each plate. Top with meatballs and pickled vegetables, pouring extra pickling liquid over the tops of each plate, if desired. Garnish with Sriracha sauce to taste, a sprinkling of peanuts, lime wedges and more fresh herbs. Enjoy!

Notes

You may need to use a spatula to get the meatballs to come off of the baking sheet easily. I haven't tried lining the baking sheet, but that may help if you have problems with them sticking.

I used a scoop to get equal-sized meatballs and got 17 from this recipe.

Did you make this recipe?

Leave a comment + star rating below to let people know how it was!

Comments

Jessie Oleson Moore says

May 04, 2015 at 9:36 am

I want meatball monday to be a thing. This looks awesome!!

- BigFlavorsFromATinyKitchen says
  
  May 07, 2015 at 9:37 am
  
  Right?! I mean, it's a great excuse to eat more meatballs 🙂
  
Manila Spoon says

May 04, 2015 at 12:22 pm

I see hoisin sauce, fish sauce and ginger - I can already taste deliciousness in this dish! Love it! Pinned, too. 🙂

- BigFlavorsFromATinyKitchen says
  
  May 07, 2015 at 9:38 am
  
  Thanks so much!
  
Laura T says

May 04, 2015 at 10:34 pm

This looks SO GOOD!!! Pinned, stumbled, the whole 9 yards. Just YUM.

- BigFlavorsFromATinyKitchen says
  
  May 07, 2015 at 9:38 am
  
  Thanks, Laura! 🙂
  
Lauren says

May 05, 2015 at 7:41 am

Looks SO good! So flavorful

- BigFlavorsFromATinyKitchen says
  
  May 07, 2015 at 9:38 am
  
  Thank you, Lauren 🙂
  
Nutmeg Nanny says

May 07, 2015 at 6:20 pm

Totally delicious! love the look of this whole dish.

Addie K Martin says

May 19, 2015 at 9:58 am

What a tasty looking recipe! I've had a vermicelli bowl before but I love this take on it. Meatballs are so good, and I can imagine they're even better with a Vietnamese flare. 🙂

Vietnamese "Spaghetti" + Meatballs

📖 Recipe