Thai chicken meatballs in peanut sauce. Tender, juicy meatballs simmered in a rich, ultra creamy peanut butter sauce enlivened with ginger, garlic and red curry paste. This easy weeknight dinner is loaded with sautéed bok choy and served over creamy coconut rice. Top with fresh cilantro and toasted peanuts for a crowd-pleasing dinner.
The most amazing thing about this recipe is that it’s a one skillet kind of dinner. Chicken meatballs are also a leaner alternative to beef or pork meatballs, with a mild flavor that perfectly pairs with any herb, sauce or vegetable. Here, we combine ground chicken with soy sauce, ginger, garlic and cilantro to create a tiny flavor explosion.
First, we sear the meatballs, then create an irresistible pan sauce by sweating the garlic and ginger. We add bok choy to this flavorful mixture, but you could use bell pepper or green beans. Then red curry paste goes in, followed by chicken broth. Next we add coconut milk to create that creamy touch and stir in the peanut butter. It’s traditional to use fish and soy sauce, but brown sugar too, however since I wanted this sauce to be less sweet, I just used a small amount of honey.
There’s also a generous splash of lime juice to balance the flavors and add some tang to the sauce. For that extra kick, I love to use sambal oelek, the heat really mellows out as it cooks in the sauce, adding just the right amount of spice. Not too spicy, but just right.
At the end the meatballs get simmered in this flavorful sauce, and while this is happening, we make the coconut rice. It’s creamy and with just a small amount of coconut flavor that pairs really well with this kicky dish.
We serve the meatballs over rice and top with chopped cilantro and toasted peanuts for a nice finishing touch. It’s creamy and comforting with a little bit of spice, perfect for any night of the week.
Let me guide you through the recipe with this step-by-step VIDEO.
RECIPE NOTES
- enjoy with a side of naan, green beans, broccoli, cauliflower or a crispy cucumber salad
- instead of bok choy, use peas, edamame, bell pepper or spinach
- you can always use ground beef or pork instead of chicken
- swap the peanuts for cashews
- make it as spicy as you can handle
- try to use plain a crunchy peanut butter that isn’t too oily, to create a creamy peanut sauce that won’t separate during cooking
- for the coconut rice, it’s best made with jasmine, basmati, long grain rice or brown rice
- the most delicious coconut flavor is mostly in the fat, so you get more flavor when using full fat coconut milk rather than low fat
Try These Next
- Coconut Gochujang Chicken Meatballs
- Easy Peanut Butter Chicken
- Firecracker Chicken Meatballs
- Thai Coconut Shrimp Curry
- Thai Coconut Salmon Curry
Cooking Video
Calories Per Serving: 551 kcalThai Chicken Meatballs in Peanut Sauce
Ingredients
Chicken Meatballs
Thai Peanut Sauce
Coconut Rice
Instructions
Notes
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Loved this will cook again soon
Fantastic! I’m so happy to hear that!