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These savory chicken meatballs swim in a delicious red curry sauce made with coconut milk and thai red curry paste. If you’ve been following me for a while now you know I’m obsessed with all things red curry, which is why I had to try out these coconut curry chicken meatballs. They’re easy to make, paleo-approved, and taste a lot like fancy cooking, so you can get a healthy meal that impresses you and your friends or family.
Coconut Curry Chicken Meatballs Ingredients
Ground Chicken: This recipe calls for ground chicken, but ground turkey will work almost exactly the same. If you’d like to try for a bit of a different flavor, you could also experiment with ground pork or even ground beef for the meatballs.
Green Onion: The reason I include green onion inside of the meatballs is because it packs in an incredible amount of flavor. Adding fresh herbs and vegetables to raw meat before cooking it is one of my favorite hacks that instantly upgrades a boring meat dish to something more exciting.
Coconut Aminos: If you’ve never tried using coconut aminos before, it is a soy-free and gluten-free substitute for soy sauce that tastes practically identical. If you only have regular soy sauce on hand, that works perfectly too! The coconut aminos is used in both the meatball mix and the red curry sauce.
Spices: The spices you’ll need for this recipe are pretty basic: salt, black pepper and ginger. The salt and pepper is only required in the meatball mix, but if you’d like to you can season the curry sauce to taste with salt and pepper as well. As far as the ginger, feel free to replace the ground ginger with ~1 inch of grated fresh ginger.
Sesame Oil: I love the nuttiness of toasted sesame oil as the main oil for the red curry sauce, but you could also use avocado oil or any other neutral oil. I recommend using an oil with a high smoke point like avocado or coconut oil if you do choose to substitute it.
Bell Peppers: Sliced red bell peppers get softened and slightly browned before adding in the sauce components. I love having the component because it adds another texture and some extra veggies, but feel free to omit it. You can also use a green or yellow bell pepper.
Red Curry Paste: I’m very picky about which red curry paste I use, and try to exclusively use Thai Kitchen red curry paste, it’s the best! There are many other brands that you could use as well but that one is definitely my favorite. Try this recipe with green curry paste as well!
Fish Sauce: Fish sauce is one of those ingredients that I was always afraid to use until I actually used it in a recipe and realized how much of a flavor upgrader it really is. I also love the Thai Kitchen brand fish sauce. Don’t be afraid to try this with fish sauce, it does not taste like fish! (But if you really want to, you can leave it out).
Coconut Milk: I always recommend using canned, full-fat coconut milk for curry sauces. You can find canned coconut milk at any grocery store, but if coconut milk from a carton is all you have, that can work too.
Cilantro & Lime: The last step for this recipe is to mix in your chopped, fresh cilantro and a squeeze of lime. Cilantro adds amazing flavor to pretty much any dish and contrasts the salty sauce perfectly. A squeeze of lime juice on top adds acidy and the dish is ready to enjoy.
How To Make Coconut Curry Chicken Meatballs
Step One: Preheat oven to 425 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Combine the ground chicken, green onion, coconut aminos, salt and pepper in a large bowl and mix thoroughly using clean hands.
Step Two: Use a cookie scoop or large spoon to form the meatball mix into ~1-2 tbsp sized balls and place them on the baking sheet. Bake for 18-20 minutes, until the meatballs are cooked and browning.
Step Three: While the meatballs are baking, make the sauce. Add the sesame oil to a large pan over medium/high heat, then add in the sliced bell peppers. Cook for ~10 minutes, until soft, then add the ginger and cook until aromatic.
Step Four: Mix in the curry paste and stir to coat the peppers in it. Cook for a few minutes, until aromatic and reduced.
Step Five: Add the coconut aminos, fish sauce and coconut milk to the pan. Stir everything and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low then mix in to cilantro and lime juice.
Step Six: When the meatballs are fully cooked, transfer them to the pan and coat completely with the sauce. Serve immediately for best results or store in the refrigerator for up to five days.
If you try out this recipe, I want to know! Leave a comment with a star rating below if you love it. You can also snap a photo & tag @jenneatsgoood on INSTAGRAM. Your reviews help support this blog and make it possible for me to continue to create healthier recipes!
COCONUT CURRY CHICKEN MEATBALLS
4
servings15
minutes20
minutesGluten Free, Dairy Free, Paleo, Whole30
Ingredients
- CHICKEN MEATBALLS
1 lb ground chicken or turkey
4 green onions, chopped
1 tbsp coconut aminos
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
- RED CURRY SAUCE
2 tbsp sesame oil
2 red bell peppers, thinly sliced
1 tbsp ground ginger
3 tbsp red curry paste
3 tbsp coconut aminos
1 tsp fish sauce
1 15oz can full-fat coconut milk
1/3 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
1/2 tbsp lime juice
Directions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Combine the ground chicken, green onion, coconut aminos, salt and pepper in a large bowl and mix thoroughly using clean hands.
- Use a cookie scoop or large spoon to form the meatball mix into ~1-2 tbsp sized balls and place them on the baking sheet. Bake for 18-20 minutes, until the meatballs are cooked and browning.
- While the meatballs are baking, make the sauce. Add the sesame oil to a large pan over medium/high heat, then add in the sliced bell peppers. Cook for ~10 minutes, until soft, then add the ginger and cook until aromatic.
- Mix in the curry paste and stir to coat the peppers in it. Cook for a few minutes, until aromatic and reduced.
- Add the coconut aminos, fish sauce and coconut milk to the pan. Stir everything and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low then mix in to cilantro and lime juice.
- When the meatballs are fully cooked, transfer them to the pan and coat completely with the sauce. Serve immediately for best results or store in the refrigerator for up to five days.
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