Thai style juicy chicken meatballs in a coconut curry sauce. This one-pot dish is incredibly delicious. The meatballs are tender, herby with a garlic note. Coated with a rich, spicy coconut curry sauce and topped with fresh cilantro and roasted cashew nuts.
Made with ground chicken or pork, the irresistible Thai flavor of this dish will have everyone convinced you picked it in a Thai restaurant. These are seriously tasty… and so easy to make, with familiar pantry friendly ingredients!
Let’s get into the details first! We start by making the meatballs, therefor we mix ground chicken among others with cilantro, garlic, scallions and a splash of soy sauce for some truly delicious meatballs.
Next, we pan-fry the meatballs, make the coconut sauce and cook everything in one pot to create a super flavorful meal. Enjoy served with naan, noodles, rice or cauliflower rice.
Let me guide you through the recipe with this step-by-step VIDEO.
RECIPE NOTES
- you can use chicken thighs and ground them in your food processor to make the meatballs from scratch. If you don’t have a food processor, you can ask your butcher to grind chicken thighs for your meatballs, or just buy ground chicken
- want more veggies? add broccoli, spinach, or cauliflower, and cook together with the sauce
- swap cashews for peanuts
- add more sambal oelek to make it as spicy as you can handle
- instead of frying the meatballs in the skillet, you can also bake them in the oven
- serve with steamed rice, warm naan, rice noodles, a crunchy asian-style coleslaw or a cucumber salad
More meatballs, please!
- Polenta with Drunken Meatballs
- One Skillet Meatballs with Orzo and Feta Pesto
- Baked Meatballs with Orzo in Roasted Pepper Sauce
COOKING VIDEO
Thai Coconut Curry Chicken Meatballs
Ingredients
chicken meatballs
- 500 g /1.1 pounds ground chicken thighs
- 2 tbsp corn starch
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 tbsp chopped cilantro
- 1/2 tsp each: crushed red pepper flakes, garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp white pepper
- 1 tbsp scallions, chopped
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
Coconut Sauce
- 2 tbsp coconut oil
- 2 tbsp red curry paste
- 2 tsp honey, or brown sugar
- 2 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
- 1 tbsp fish sauce
- 1/2 tsp turmeric
- 1/4 tsp white pepper
- 1 lemon grass
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 shallot, finely chopped
- 1 tbsp grated ginger
- 1 tsp sambal
- 1 can (400 ml/14 oz) coconut milk
- 1/2 cup low sodium chicken broth
- 4 scallions, thinly sliced
for serving
- sesame oil
- chili peppers, optional
- steamed rice
- black sesame and cashews
Instructions
- Add ground chicken to a bowl. Add corn starch, egg yolk, cilantro, chili flakes, scallions, garlic powder, white pepper and soy sauce. Mix until just combined. Coat your hands with olive oil or water. Roll into 2 tablespoon-size balls.
- Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add coconut oil. Add the meatballs and sear until golden brown, about 5 minutes, turning them 2-3 times. Add garlic, ginger and shallot. Cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Stir in the red curry paste and turmeric. Add coconut milk, chicken broth, soy sauce, fish sauce, sambal oelek, honey, lemon grass and white pepper. Simmer over medium until the meatballs are cooked through, 10-15 minutes. Stir in the scallions.
- Meanwhile, cook rice or noodles in salted water, according to package directions.
- Divide rice among bowls, top with meatballs and sauce. Sprinkle with sesame seeds, toasted cashews and scallions. Add some chili peppers if you like the extra heat. Drizzle with some sesame oil. Enjoy!
Notes
Calories Per Serving: 528 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
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Holy moly this recipe was incredible. I’m going to get you a cup of coffee . Thank you so much !!
Thanks so much! So glad you enjoyed the recipe!
Looks amazing going to try it.
I hope you love the recipe! Happy cooking!
wou.d you be able to tell me approximately how many meatballs this recipe yields – using your guidance of 2 tbsp per meatball. Thanks!
Approximately 20 meatballs. Hope you love it!
Ground chicken difficult to find on my area. What other meat can one use.
Hi, you can use ground pork or ground veal. Hope you love it!
Would just plain ground chicken or turkey work fine too?
Hi, it will work great here. Enjoy the recipe!
Could I do coconut aminos instead of soy sauce? Thanks!! Really want to try!
Hi, coconut aminos would work great here. Enjoy the recipe!
Hello! Could you suggest an alternative to coconut milk? Maybe 1/2 & 1/2?
hi! you can use half-and-half or soy cream, and just 1 tablespoon lemon juice. hope you love this one!
Made this tonight and it was a huge hit. I will definitely make again. Thanks for the recipe
I am so glad you enjoyed this recipe! Thanks for making it!
Do you ever prep the meatballs in advance and freeze them? I work ahead strategies when they’re available. Can’t wait to try this one!
Hi, you can easily make the meatballs beforehand and freeze them, they’ll keep for up to 3 months in the freezer. When you’re ready to eat, let them thaw in the fridge overnight and then bake as directed. Happy cooking!
Wow! You had me just at the photo but after making it I can honestly say this is restaurant quality made at home. I’ve several family members who now want me to make it for them. Delicious to the last bite, thanks for sharing the recipe 😊
yay! I am thrilled that you enjoyed this recipe, thanks a lot for giving it a try. I hope you have an amazing week!
Wow this was delicious!! It was very easy to make on a busy weekday night. I added red bell pepper and broccoli for veggies. I’ll be making this again very soon.
yay! I am thrilled that you enjoyed this recipe, thanks a lot for giving it a try!
Delicious! I tossed cilantro, lime zest and a squeeze of lime juice to the rice after it was cooked, which brightened everything against the curry. It was delightful. I will make this recipe again. Perfect for a cold winter night.
Fantastic ! I’m so thrilled that you enjoyed this recipe, thanks a lot for giving it a try!
Whenever I try one of Anna’s recipes, it’s always full of flavour and wonderfully tasty. These meatballs were yummy – delicious served with rice, toasted cashews and onions and cucumber! Thanks for sharing.
Thank you so much for your super kind message and following along. I’m so glad you have been enjoying the recipes, happy cooking!
I made this recipe and it tasted delicious but found the sauce very watery. What did I do wrong?
Hi, So happy you enjoyed the recipe. Next time, you can look for a brand that has two ingredients: coconut and water, or an organic coconut milk brand that doesn’t contain emulsifiers and/or preservatives. Also try to buy coconut milk with at least 15% -fat milk, good quality coconut milk should be solid at room temperature. Hope this helps!
Is this okay to freeze?
Hi, you can freeze it up to 3 months. Enjoy the recipe!
Is the cornstarch used in place of what would normally be breadcrumbs to bind?
Yes! Enjoy the recipe!
This recipe is delicious! However, I found the portion size quite small. Using 500g chicken mince, adding broccolini and lots of rice, I only just managed three servings (I’m quite a small person as well). I think I could almost double the chicken to comfortably have four servings.
Hi Jess, so happy you enjoyed it! Feel free to double the recipe next time. Happy cooking!
This looks so good! What a great weeknight meal for the family!
Thanks for sharing! Does it keep long?
Is this spicy because of the red curry paste?
Hi, it depends on your red curry paste, some brands are spicier than others. You can start by adding 1 tablespoon, taste and add more. If you don’t like spicy food, you could also leave out the crushed red pepper flakes in the meatballs. Enjoy the recipe!