Thai Chicken Meatballs

This Thai Chicken Meatball Curry is a quick, one-pan dish featuring homemade chicken meatballs simmered in a coconut milk red curry sauce with fresh veggies like bell pepper, zucchini, and spinach. It’s full of Thai-inspired flavor, comes together in 35 minutes, easy to customize, and perfect with rice, noodles, or low-carb sides.

Course Main Course

Cuisine Asian, Thai

Keyword Thai chicken meatballs

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 20

Total Time 35

Servings

Calories 389kcal

Author Julia

Ingredients

For the Meatballs:

1 ½ lb ground chicken (680 g)
2 cloves garlic minced
1 small shallot finely minced
1 tablespoon fish sauce
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon white pepper
1 teaspoon red curry paste
¼ cup panko or regular breadcrumbs (use gluten-free crumbs for GF version)
1 tablespoon chopped Thai basil
1 medium egg

For the Curry:

1 tablespoon neutral cooking oil like avocado or coconut
2 cloves garlic minced
1 tablespoon grated ginger
2 tablespoons red curry paste
14 oz unsweetened full-fat coconut milk (400 ml)
½ cup chicken broth (120 ml)
1 tablespoon fish sauce
1 teaspoon brown sugar or coconut sugar
½ medium lime juiced
1 small zucchini thinly sliced
1 medium red bell pepper very thinly sliced
3 cups baby spinach
¼ cup Thai basil leaves plus more for garnish

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Make meatballs

 In a bowl, mix all meatball ingredients until just combined. Form into small meatballs (about 1 inch in diameter, about 27 meatballs). If the mixture feels too sticky, wet your hands slightly when shaping the meatballs.
Heat your cast iron skillet over medium heat and add a drizzle of oil. Sear the meatballs in batches or all at once until browned on all sides (about 6-8 minutes). They don’t need to be fully cooked yet. Remove and set aside.

Pre-cook the veggies

Add thinly sliced bell pepper to the same, now empty, skillet, and cook for about 2 minutes, occasionally stirring, on medium heat. Add sliced zucchini to the bell peppers and cook for 2 more minutes. Remove the cooked bell pepper and zucchini to the plate.

Make red curry sauce and assemble

 In the same skillet, add a little more oil if needed. Sauté garlic and ginger until fragrant (about 30 seconds). Stir in the red curry paste and cook for 1 minute to deepen the flavor.
 Pour in the coconut milk and chicken broth, stirring to combine. Add fish sauce and brown or coconut sugar. Bring to a gentle simmer.
Return the meatballs to the skillet and let everything simmer for 5-7 minutes until the meatballs are cooked through.
Stir in the precooked red bell peppers, zucchini and baby spinach. Let the spinach wilt for about 1 minute. Squeeze in the lime juice and add Thai basil.
Garnish with extra Thai basil. Serve hot with jasmine rice or noodles.

Notes

If you like it spicier, add a chopped Thai chili or a bit of extra red curry paste.
You can swap ground chicken with ground turkey.
Add snow peas, green beans, baby corn, or bok choy instead of spinach.
For a low-carb version, serve with cauliflower rice or zucchini noodles instead of jasmine rice.

Nutrition