Coconut Curry Chicken Meatballs Recipe

When you think of meatballs, what’s the first thing that comes to mind? For many of us, these are most reminiscent of meat doused in tomato sauce, served with a pasta dish, or in a sub. But there’s really nothing stopping us from exploring the use of meatballs in other kinds of recipes too.

In fact, almost every country has its own version of a meatball. In this dish, your meatball will be filled with distinctive Indian flavors and served topped with a yummy coconut curry sauce that works perfectly for cooler evenings.

This unique dish requires a bit of time to prep, but the flavor versus effort pay-off is definitely tipped in your favor. To save time, make sure to have your food processor ready, and consider making the sauce for this in advance.

One of the biggest deviations from a traditional Indian meal is the use of almond butter. In most Indian dishes, this is where you’d see peanut butter included, so this substitution is necessary to maintain the Paleo-friendly nature of this meal.

Almond butter is fine to eat in moderation, especially given the amount used here versus the amounts of other ingredients. If you have time, you can even make this nut butter yourself in advance instead of buying an expensive, store-bought version.

For these meatballs to work as a complete meal, consider serving them on top of a bed of your favorite roasted vegetables. To add a bit more to this dish (and complete the Indian theme), you can always serve it with cauliflower rice.

Coconut Curry Chicken Meatballs Recipe

Serves: 4 Prep: 25 min Cook: 55 min

Ingredients

• 1 ½ lbs. ground chicken or turkey
• 1 carrot, roughly chopped
• ¼ red onion, roughly chopped
• 6 mushrooms, roughly chopped
• 2 tbsp. fresh cilantro
• 2 tbsp. fresh basil
• Juice of 1 lime
• 2 tbsp. coconut aminos
• 2 tsp. fresh ginger, peeled
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 tsp. ground cumin
• ¼ tsp. red chili flakes
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Coconut Curry Sauce Ingredients

• 2 cups full-fat coconut milk
• 2 tbsp. red curry paste
• 2 tbsp. almond butter
• 2 tbsp. lime juice
• 1 tsp. minced garlic

Preparation

1. Place the carrot, red onion, mushrooms, cilantro, basil, lime juice, coconut aminos, ginger, garlic, cumin, and chili flakes in a food processor; pulse until everything is minced.
2. Place the chicken in a bowl; mix in the spice mixture evenly with your hands.
3. Roll the meat mixture into equally sized meatballs and place on a baking sheet.
4. Bake in the oven for 35 minutes, turning the meatballs halfway through.
5. In a saucepan, combine the ingredients for the coconut curry sauce.
6. Bring the sauce to a light boil, stirring until everything is well combined.
7. Simmer for an additional 8 to 10 minutes over medium heat.
8. Add the meatballs to the sauce and cook an additional 4 to 5 minutes.
9. Serve the meatballs on top of your favorite cooked vegetables.

📖 Recipe

Coconut Curry Chicken Meatballs Recipe

Meatballs don't have to be paired with tomato sauce and pasta. Here chicken meatballs are smothered in a coconut curry for an Indian themed dish.

4 from 2 votes

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Prep Time 25 minutes mins

Cook Time 55 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr 20 minutes mins

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Servings 4 people

Calories 559 kcal

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 1 ½ lbs. ground chicken or turkey
• 1 carrot roughly chopped
• ¼ red onion roughly chopped
• 6 mushrooms roughly chopped
• 2 tbsp. fresh cilantro
• 2 tbsp. fresh basil
• Juice of 1 lime
• 2 tbsp. coconut aminos
• 2 tsp. fresh ginger peeled
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 tsp. ground cumin
• ¼ tsp. red chili flakes
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 cups full-fat coconut milk
• 2 tbsp. red curry paste
• 2 tbsp. almond butter
• 2 tbsp. lime juice
• 1 tsp. minced garlic

Instructions

 

• Place the carrot, red onion, mushrooms, cilantro, basil, lime juice, coconut aminos, ginger, garlic, cumin, and chili flakes in a food processor; pulse until everything is minced.
  1 carrot, ¼ red onion, 6 mushrooms, 2 tbsp. fresh cilantro, 2 tbsp. fresh basil, Juice of 1 lime, 2 tbsp. coconut aminos, 2 tsp. fresh ginger, 2 garlic cloves, 1 tsp. ground cumin, ¼ tsp. red chili flakes
• Place the chicken in a bowl; mix in spice mixture evenly with hands.
  1 ½ lbs. ground chicken or turkey, Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• Roll the meat mixture into equally sized meatballs and place on a baking sheet.
• Bake in the oven for 35 minutes, turning the meatballs halfway through.
• In a saucepan, combine the ingredients for the coconut curry sauce.
  2 cups full-fat coconut milk, 2 tbsp. red curry paste, 2 tbsp. lime juice, 1 tsp. minced garlic, 2 tbsp. almond butter
• Bring the sauce to a light boil, stirring until everything is well combined.
• Simmer an additional 8 to 10 minutes over medium heat.
• Add the meatballs to the sauce and cook an additional 4 to 5 minutes.
• Serve the meatballs on top of your favorite cooked vegetables.

Nutrition

Calories: 559kcalCarbohydrates: 13gProtein: 35gFat: 43gSaturated Fat: 26gPolyunsaturated Fat: 4gMonounsaturated Fat: 10gTrans Fat: 0.1gCholesterol: 146mgSodium: 311mgPotassium: 1448mgFiber: 3gSugar: 2gVitamin A: 4711IUVitamin C: 10mgCalcium: 118mgIron: 9mg

Keyword chicken, chicken curry, coconut, meatballs

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