Ready in 30 minutes, packed full of flavor, and high in protein, these coconut curry chicken meatballs are a perfect weeknight meal. Serve them on their own or on top of fluffy rice for a healthy and well-balanced meal.
Chicken Meatballs with Coconut Curry Broth
Curry is one of my favourite go-to dishes for quick and easy meals because it’s so easy to create a ton of flavour with very little effort. In fact, I always have at least one type of curry paste in the fridge; just combine it with a bit of coconut milk, add some veggies, meat or seafood and dinner is done! This coconut curry chicken meatballs recipe is just another fabulous (and delicious) way to whip up a healthy weekday meal in a pinch.
Although you may not think of chicken meatballs when you think of curry, trust me, they work perfectly well. Compared to fattier cuts of meat, like beef or pork, ground chicken can result in rather dry and flavourless meatballs, however, adding a bit of flavour to the chicken itself and cooking the meatballs in a rich sauce helps to ensure that you get moist and tender chicken with every bite.
For a Thai-inspired sauce, there are plenty of ingredients to choose from. Some of the more common curry ingredients include coconut milk, ginger, garlic, onion, kaffir lime leaf, lemongrass, cumin and coriander. However, for a quick and easy version, you can buy red, yellow or green curry pastes in most major grocery stores and, if you are feeling up to it, you can also make your own authentic Thai curry paste from scratch.
Thai Chicken Meatballs with Rice
Although I made this Thai chicken meatballs recipe with red curry paste, you could certainly use yellow or green curry paste if you prefer. Not to mention, you could also easily swap the ground chicken for ground turkey, ground beef, ground pork, or any combination you enjoy. Regardless of which route you choose, with moist and tender meatballs smothered with a rich and savory coconut sauce, these Thai chicken meatballs are sure to be a hit with the whole family.
More Thai Curry Recipes:
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Coconut Curry Chicken Meatballs
Simmered in a rich and velvety coconut curry sauce, these Thai chicken meatballs are a heart-warming and healthy recipe that you can whip up in 30 minutes or less.
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Prep Time: 10 minutes -
Cook Time: 15 minutes
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Total Time: 25 minutes
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Yield: 4 servings
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Category: Main
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Method: Baked
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Cuisine: Thai
Prep Time:
Yield:
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Cuisine:Ingredients
Meatballs:
- 1 pound ground chicken
- 2 cloves garlic, grated
- 3 green onions, finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons sesame oil or olive oil
- 2–3 tablespoons Thai red curry paste
- 1 can (14 oz) coconut milk, regular or lite
- 2 red bell peppers, thinly sliced
- 1-inch ginger root, grated
- 1 teaspoon fish sauce (optional)
- Salt
- Black pepper
To Serve (optional):
- Jasmine rice, cooked
- Cilantro, chopped
- Lime, cut into wedges
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- In a large bowl, add ground chicken, garlic, one green onion, and season with salt and pepper. Using your hands, mix the ingredients into the ground chicken until well combined.
- Coat your hands with a small drizzle of oil (this will help to stop the meat from sticking), scoop 1 tablespoon of the chicken mixture into your hands, roll into a ball and place on a large baking sheet. Continue until all of the ground chicken is gone, the mixture should make 16 meatballs.
- Once complete, transfer the baking sheet to the oven and bake for 15 minutes. While the meatballs are cooking, prepare the curry.
- In a large pan or skillet, on medium heat, warm 2 tablespoons of oil. Once warm, add remaining green onion, bell peppers and ginger root and allow to cook for 3-4 minutes until bell peppers are tender.
- Add curry paste, stir to combine with vegetable mixture and allow to heat about 1 minute until fragrant. (I added 3 tablespoons because I like it on the spicier side.) Add coconut milk and fish sauce (optional), stir to combine and bring to a simmer.
- Once the meatballs are done cooking, transfer the meatballs to the coconut curry sauce and allow to simmer for another 5 minutes. Season with salt to taste.
- To serve, fill bowls with cooked rice, top with coconut curry meatballs, fresh cilantro and a wedge of lime.
- These coconut curry chicken meatballs can also be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days or in the freezer for 3 months.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 4 meatballs
- Calories: 321 calories
- Sugar: 5 grams
- Fat: 22 grams
- Carbohydrates: 9 grams
- Fiber: 2 grams
- Protein: 21 grams
So delicious and really did come together quickly! Served over rice and topped with peanuts! When I make this again, I would increase the red curry paste to closer to 3T. I wasn’t sure how spicy it would be, but more flavor/spice from the red curry paste would only enhance the dish.
So happy you liked it, thanks for sharing!
This has become the go to meal at our house. I use milk instead of Coconut milk only because that’s what I have in the house – this is so good ! I double the recipe for 4 of us and there are no left overs …. ever !
I’m so happy everyone likes it and am happy to know milk works just as well as coconut milk, thank you for sharing the tip!
Great dish. I think I will try more curry paste next time. I was worried about the spice.
I loved how simple the recipe is to make. Unfortunately, I doubled it to make for my family of teenage boys and I probably should not have doubled the curry paste. In a double batch, I used 4 TBSP and it was like eating fire. Couldn’t do it. May try again.,
This was easy, and delicious! No leftovers in this house!!
Very good – would have liked it a bit spicier. Will try that next time I make this
Loved this recipe. Had a dinner party and served it. Big, big hit. So tasty and so very easy to make!
Thank you so much for sharing, Greg!
This was easy, quick and delicious. I can’t eat green or red pepper so I subbed thinly sliced carrots and I used the whole bunch of green onions. Also used 3 T. of the curry paste and found the flavors just right! Thanks for another great meal!
I’m happy you enjoyed it, thank you for sharing, Elizabeth!
I have made this several times. It is great made with either ground chicken or turkey. Very tasty and perfect for weeknight cooking!
Thank you so much for sharing, Mel!