Thai Turkey Meatball Curry with Red Curry Sauce is a slightly spicy and comforting meatball curry dish that your family will love! The tiny meatballs bake in the oven while the coconut milk and curry sauce made. As a bonus, this dish freezes beautifully.
Thai Turkey Meatballs ~~~>> a slightly spicy, garlicky coconut sauced meatball curry recipe with a pop of freshness from cilantro and lime.
"What are easy and super tasty recipes can I make ahead of time and still taste fabulous when I reheat them?"
As a personal chef, I get this this question all the time. The cooking I do for my clients centers around preparing dishes that taste wonderful and fresh whenever they are reheated and served.
Meatball curry recipes are dishes that fit this request. Thai Turkey Meatball Curry with Red Curry Sauce is a dish that reheats beautifully after a couple days in the refrigerator or a couple months in the freezer.
Jump to:
what does curry taste like?
Curry powder or curry paste are frequently used in Thai cooking. Both are savory, sweet and spicy. The ingredients are typically a combination of turmeric, cumin, cinnamon, and ground chili peppers. Curries can range from mild to very spicy. It all depends on how much chili pepper is added to the powder or paste.
the ingredients
Thai Turkey Meatball Curry with Red Curry Sauce is a make ahead dinner with an international flair. Ground turkey lightens up the meatballs. Garlic, fresh ginger root, and scallions flavor both the meatballs and the sauce.
- ground turkey
- bread crumbs
- garlic
- fresh ginger root
- reduced sodium soy sauce
- scallions
- large eggs
- kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
- coconut oil
- red curry paste
- coconut milk
- cooked basmati rice <<<~~ this is my easy perfectly fluffy rice recipe
- cilantro
- lime
Red curry paste flavors the creamy coconut milk based sauce. It is available in Thai/Asian section of grocery stores. With a slightly spicy kick and exotic flavors that include lemongrass, kaffir lime, and Thai ginger, it's a flavor packed dynamo!
expert tips
- Make sure the ingredients for the meatballs are cold. This makes it easier to form the meatballs.
- Ground turkey is the base for the meatballs. They are a little lighter tasting than other ground meats. But ground beef, chicken, veal or pork are good substitutes.
- As these meatballs get lots of flavor from garlic, fresh ginger root, scallions and soy sauce, be sure to use plain bread crumbs.
- Gently mix the meatball ingredients. Use your hands or a spoon to just evenly distribute the ingredients.
- If the meatball mixture is too sticky to roll chill it for 30 minutes. Alternately, either wet your hands with cold water or oil to streamline meatball rolling.
- I am not a fan of standing over the stove and browning the meatballs in a sauté pan so baking them in the oven is an easy alternative.
- Curry pastes vary in flavor and spiciness. Start adding the paste 1 tablespoon at a time and taste as you go. Adjust the amount added to suit your tastes.
make ahead recipe tips
To make the recipe ahead of time, just be sure to completely cool the meatballs and sauce before storing them together in an air tight container. The dish can be refrigerated up to 3 or 4 days or stashed in the freezer for up to 3 to 4 months.
Remember to label the container so you will know what it is when you pull it out of the freezer at a future date. The refrigerated meatballs can be reheated in the microwave on 70 percent power at one minute intervals. Alternately, warm the meatballs over low heat in a saucepan. Thaw the frozen meatballs overnight in the refrigerator and reheat as you would the refrigerated meatballs.
more easy dinner recipes
- Restaurant Worthy Lemon and Garlic Butter Shrimp Scampi
- Chicken with Pomodoro Sauce
- Jalapeno Chicken and Broccoli Stir Fry
- Roasted Maple Salmon Sheet Pan Dinner
just one more thing
If you make this delicious meatball curry recipe, I’d love hearing from you all. Be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating ~ I do my best to reply to all your comments. And snap a photo to post to Instagram. I’ll add the photos to my Insta stories as I love seeing all your creations.
Recipe
Thai Turkey Meatball Curry with Red Curry Sauce
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
Description
Thai Turkey Meatball Curry with Red Curry Sauce is a slightly spicy and comforting meatball curry dish that your family will love! The tiny meatballs bake in the oven while the coconut milk and curry sauce made. As a bonus, this dish freezes beautifully.
Ingredients
- 1 ½ pounds ground turkey
- 1 ½ cups fresh or dried unseasoned bread crumbs
- 5 minced garlic cloves (about 3 tablespoons, divided)
- 2 tablespoons minced ginger root (divided)
- 2 tablespoons reduced sodium soy sauce
- 2 scallions (thinly sliced, divided)
- 2 large eggs (beaten)
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
- 2 ½ tablespoons red curry paste
- 1 can (15-ounces) coconut milk
- 2 cups of cooked hot basmati rice
- ¼ cup chopped cilantro
- 1 lime cut in wedges
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
- In a medium sized bowl, add the ground turkey, bread crumbs, one-half of the minced garlic, one-half of the minced ginger root, soy sauce, one-half of the sliced scallions, eggs, kosher salt and pepper.
- Gently combine the ingredients with your hands until the ingredients are mixed.
- Form the mixture into about 55 meatballs. Each one will be about 2 teaspoons.
- Place on a baking sheet.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 15 to 18 minutes. The meatballs will be cooked through and golden brown on the bottom.
- While the meatballs are baking, prepare the sauce. In a medium sized saucepan over medium high heat add the coconut oil. Add the remaining garlic, ginger root and scallions and sauté the vegetables for about 1 minute.
- Stir in the red curry paste and cook for about another minute.
- Add the coconut milk and stir to combine with the other ingredients on the pan. Lower the heat to medium and simmer for 3 to 4 minutes.
- Remove the meatballs from the oven and add to the saucepan with the coconut red curry sauce. Toss to coat.
- Serve the meatballs and sauce over the hot rice and garnished with the chopped cilantro and a wedge of lime.
Notes
- Make sure the ingredients for the meatballs are cold. This makes it easier to form the meatballs.
- Ground turkey is the base for the meatballs. They are a little lighter tasting than other ground meats. But ground beef, chicken, veal or pork are good substitutes.
- As these meatballs get lots of flavor from garlic, fresh ginger root, scallions and soy sauce, be sure to use plain bread crumbs.
- Gently mix the meatball ingredients. Use your hands or a wooden spoon just until the ingredients are evenly distributed.
- If the meatball mixture is too sticky to roll, chill it for 30 minutes. Alternately, either wet your hands with cold water or oil to streamline meatball rolling.
- I am not a fan of standing over the stove and browning the meatballs in a sauté pan. Baking them in the oven is an easy alternative.
- Curry pastes vary in flavor and spiciness. Start adding the paste 1 tablespoon at a time and taste as you go. Adjust the amount added to suit your tastes.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Category: appetizer or entree
- Method: oven bake and stove top saute
- Cuisine: Thai
Nutrition
- Serving Size: ⅙ of recipe
- Calories: 477
- Sugar: 2.3 g
- Sodium: 1135 mg
- Fat: 28.6 g
- Saturated Fat: 13.8 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 0 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 22.9 g
- Fiber: 2 g
- Protein: 36.9 g
- Cholesterol: 178 mg
This recipe was originally posted in July 2015. Updates in August 2020 include photos, ingredient and cooking details and video.
Jill Simpson
These meatballs were so easy to make and the curry sauce was thumbs up. And I loved that they're baked in the oven. Genius!!
Amy Casey
This is such a flavorful meatball recipe. I'm so glad you enjoyed my recipe Jill!