A healthier version of a banh mi sandwich, these amazing chicken meatball bahn mi sandwiches are super flavorful and from one of my favorite cookbooks: 100% Real: 100 Insanely Good Recipes for Clean Food Made Fresh. If you’re interested, here is a list of my favorite cookbooks!
A Banh Mi is a Vietnamese sandwich that is traditionally layered with pork, pickled vegetables (especially important for a textural crunch), jalapeno, cilantro, mint, pate and mayo and topped with Sriracha.
Banh Mi sandwiches originated as a street food in Saigon. In my opinion, some of the best food comes from street carts or food trucks. I am shamelessly obsessed with food trucks. I think they offer a great launching pad for budding chefs to test out recipes and cuisines. But I digress…back to the recipe!
Before I make this sandwich, I like to make a large batch of my quick pickled Asian vegetables in these jars. There are plenty of ways to use these vegetables. A few of my favorite ways are below:
- Korean beef bbq tacos
- Asian ground turkey and rice bowls
- Instant pot asian shredded beef bowls
- Slow roasted chicken tacos with radish slaw
After the vegetables are made, it’s time to whip up the spicy mayonnaise. For this, I like to use a little trick; just simply combine mayonnaise and something like Sriracha sauce and viola – spicy mayo! If you’d prefer the authentic way of preparing it, take a peak at the recipe card for more info. Either version is super delish and will work wonderfully on this sandwich.
Now, onto the meatballs! These seem daunting because of the number of ingredients, but they come together easily and they’re totally worth it. Side note though, you can absolutely use frozen meatballs if you’re in a hurry or don’t have all of the ingredients. I’ve certainly done it on those super busy days and the sandwich is still super tasty.
Once your meatballs are formed and cooked, it’s time to assemble your sandwich!
- Slice your rolls
- Spread with spicy mayo
- Add meatballs
- Top with pickled vegetables, jalapeno and cilantro sprigs
You’re now a Banh Mi expert – I hope you enjoy this amazing chicken meatball banh mi recipe, enjoy!
Other recipes you might enjoy:
- Shrimp Meatballs with Garlic Aioli Recipe
- Parmesan Chicken Meatballs & Pasta-Gluten Free
- Turkey Meatballs with Feta Rice and Tzatziki Sauce
Chicken Meatball Banh Mi Sandwiches
Ingredients
- Pickled Vegetables
- Spicy Mayonnaise
- 1 1/2 cups mayonnaise
- 1/2 tsp. fish sauce
- 1 Tbs.minced red onion
- 6 Tbs. cilantro leaves chopped
- 1-2 Tbs. hot chili sauce
- 1 Tbs. grated ginger
- Meatballs
- 1 pound ground chicken
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 2 shallots finely chopped
- 1/2 cup cilantro leaves chopped, plus sprigs for garnish
- 4 green onions finely chopped
- 1 Tbs. chopped fresh ginger
- 2 Tbs. fish sauce
- 1 Tbs. gochujang
- 2 Tbs. coconut sugar
- 2 tsp. cornstarch
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 2 Tbs. olive oil
- 6- inch baguettes
- 2 jalapenos sliced thinly
Instructions
- See post about preparing quick pickled vegetables
- To prepare the spicy mayonnaise: combine the mayonnaise and next 5 ingredients in a small bowl. Cover and chill. (I also have used a shortcut in the past and just combined mayo and hot sauce)
- To prepare the meatballs: gently mix the ground chicken and next 12 ingredients in a large bowl. Using moistened hands, shape the mixture into 1 1/2 - 1 3/4 inch meatballs.
- Heat the oil in a skillet over medium-high. Working in batches, saute the meatballs until cooked through, turning to brown on all sides. Keep warm.
- Slice the rolls open lengthwise. Toast in the oven, if desired. Coat the insides of the rolls with spicy mayonnaise. Divide the meatballs among the sandwiches. Top with the pickled vegetables, jalapeno slices and cilantro sprigs.
Notes
- I usually just take a shortcut and combine mayo and hot chili sauce to make the spicy mayo.
- I use olive oil or vegetable oil, the original recipe calls for duck fat
- You can use pre-made meatballs
Nutrition
Amanda says
This is one of my go-to recipes when I feel like something really delicious and have the time to cook. I often use pork mince instead, and cheat by using pre-made spicy mayo – whatever way you make it, it’s wildly delicious! I also often only use coriander as it’s more readily available and cheaper than basil where I live. This recipe is one of my all time faves! Thank you, Phi!
Sweetphi says
I’m so happy to hear this wonderful feedback, thank you so much for taking the time to share it! I too love these sandwiches and am now day dreaming about making them next week!