Healthy Thai Turkey Meatballs in Coconut Curry made with all gluten-free, dairy-free and paleo-friendly ingredients. This recipe is packed with flavor and can be served over your favorite rice, noodles, zucchini noodles, anything you want!
I think this is one of the best dinner recipes I have ever made. I am still salivating just looking at these photos and typing up this blog post for you guys.
The story of how these came about is so random. And now that I am even thinking about it – it really has nothing to do with the actual flavor of this recipe. But when Jordan and I went on our baby moon a few weeks ago, my mom made Ezra turkey meatballs in marinara sauce. And I kid you not when I say that he would jump up and down and go crazy when he saw them on his dinner plate.
Ez is obsessed with turkey meatballs and I was thinking of a new way to make one of his faves. I also have been craving all of the coconut thai-flavored dishes. So this just had to happen. And I am so happy it did.
These thai meatballs are the most delicious and simmered in the coconut curry – they get so flavorful and juicy!
If you guys make these at home, please let us know what you think! Rate/review the recipe below – I can’t wait to hear from you.
What ingredients you need to make this recipe:
- Ground turkey – or sub ground chicken if you prefer too
- Egg
- Gluten-free or grain-free cracker crumbs – use a food processor or crush up by hand
- Garlic
- Ground ginger – or add in fresh ginger instead
- Coconut aminos – or use soy sauce or tamari
- Red curry paste – this is a must! Adds so much flavor
- Avocado or olive oil – either works
- Red bell pepper – I usually use yellow, orange or red
- Onion – I prefer using a sweet white onion for this
- Full-fat coconut milk – I wouldn’t sub another milk here – the coconut milk and creaminess of the full-fat one is so key!
- Cilantro – fresh cilantro for garnish
How to make Thai Meatballs in Coconut Curry Sauce:
- In a large bowl, combine the ground turkey, egg, cracker crumbs, garlic, ginger, coconut aminos, red curry paste and salt and pepper and mix well with a spatula or large fork until the ingredients are fully combined (make sure egg yolk is fully mixed in)
- Add the bowl to fridge to chill for about 15-30 minutes
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper
- Roll turkey mixture into about 1-inch balls and add to parchment paper
- Add to oven to bake for 18 minutes (or until the meatballs are cooked and not pink when you cut them open!)
- While the meatballs bake, make the coconut curry
- In a large skillet, warm oil, pepper and onions over medium heat and cook for about 5-7 minutes or until golden
- Add in red curry paste, milk, and coconut aminos and mix well over medium low heat
- Allow the coconut curry to simmer for a bit while meatballs cook then add cooked meatballs to the coconut curry (I like to let them simmer together for about 30-60 minutes if I can so the flavors are really well combined!)
- Garnish with cilantro and serve over your favorite rice, stir-fry noodles or zucchini noodles (anything!)
Shop all cooking and baking essentials here!
A few of my other favorite dinner recipes:
Delicious Vegan Pumpkin alla Vodka Sauce (paleo)
Insanely Easy Philly Cheesesteak Skillet
Healthy Vegetarian Enchilada Pasta (gluten-free)
The BEST Cauliflower Pizza Crust (dairy-free + gluten-free)
PrintHealthy Thai Turkey Meatballs in Coconut Curry
Healthy Thai Turkey Meatballs in Coconut Curry made with all gluten-free, dairy-free and paleo ingredients. This recipe is packed with flavor and can be served over your favorite rice, noodles, zucchini noodles, anything you want!
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 30 mins
- Total Time: 40 mins
Yield: Serves 4
Ingredients
Thai Turkey Meatballs:
- 1lb organic ground turkey (or sub ground chicken)
- 1 egg
- 1 cup gluten-free or grain-free cracker crumbs (crackers broken into breadcrumb-like pieces)
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1.5 tablespoon coconut aminos
- 1 tablespoon red curry paste
- Sea salt and black pepper to taste
Coconut curry:
- 2 tablespoons avocado or olive oil
- 1 red bell pepper, sliced
- 1 small onion, diced
- 2 tablespoon red curry paste
- 1 – 13.5 ounce can full-fat coconut milk
- 1 tablespoon coconut aminos
- Cilantro for garnish
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine the ground turkey, egg, cracker crumbs, garlic, ginger, coconut aminos, red curry paste and salt and pepper and mix well with a spatula or large fork until the ingredients are fully combined (make sure egg yolk is fully mixed in)
- Add the bowl to fridge to chill for about 15-30 minutes
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper
- Roll turkey mixture into about 1-inch balls and add to parchment paper
- Add to oven to bake for 18 minutes (or until the meatballs are cooked and not pink when you cut them open!)
- While the meatballs bake, make the coconut curry
- In a large skillet, warm oil, pepper and onions over medium heat and cook for about 5-7 minutes or until golden
- Add in red curry paste, milk, and coconut aminos and mix well over medium low heat
- Allow the coconut curry to simmer for a bit while meatballs cook then add cooked meatballs to the coconut curry (I like to let them simmer together for about 30-60 minutes if I can so the flavors are really well combined!)
- Garnish with cilantro and serve over your favorite rice, stir-fry noodles or zucchini noodles (anything!)
Notes
*Store leftovers in fridge for 5 days
Michelle
I had it over rice and it was absolutely delicious!! 😋
Jessie
Holy wow this was so yummy! I could have just drank the sauce with a spoon. Only had a green bell pepper on hand so subbed for red, and I served with steamed rice and broccoli. Can’t wait to make it again!!
Rachel
aawwww YAY!!!!
Kamilla
Cant find the aminos. Are they a must?
Rachel
you can use soy sauce too!
Laura Rieth
This was SO good last week when I made it. Already making it again this week! I used green curry paste as that is what we had and it was so yummy and easy to make. We served it with cauliflower rice. Thank you!
Rachel
yay!!!!!
Jackie W.
So good and easy to make! I could just drink the sauce plain, it is that flavorful . I subbed whole wheat breadcrumbs and soy sauce and it came out perfect. Served over rice, which is great to absorb all of the sauce
Rachel
wwwooohhooo!
Sam
This was so bomb. So much flavor for something actually healthy
Rachel
wwooohhoooo!!
Amy F
Made this with pork, cause it is what I had on hand. Also added some carrots and zuchinni and it was fantastic. Super easy to make, too. Thanks for the new addition to our weekly rotation!
Rachel
awww yay thanks amy!!!
Mallory
This was excellent! I’m doing Whole30 so I omitted the crackers in the meatballs. Made over cauliflower rice. YUM! My husband told me to “make sure you save that recipe”
Rachel
so happy to hear!!! xx
Sara
Soooo delish!! So creamy and flavorful! I can’t wait to make it again for company:)
Rachel
yay!!! xx
Meral
Yum!!!! This was delicious and super easy! Deserves 5-stars for sure!
Rachel
yaayyy!!!
Steph
Literally licked my bowl clean! So good! The meatballs were so juicy!
Rachel
awww yay!!!
rita
omg this was so delicious!! i dont have crackers but i used almond meal instead. This was a keeper and have made it three times already within 2 weeks! i seriously feel like i am having a julie & julia moment here at home but instead its a rita & rachel moment lol! literally plan on making every recipe!! love all your recommendations and thank you for being simple with kitchen items lol apartment living with storage in the kitchen is a struggle!! Can’t wait for your cookbook to arrive! please make a book with more dinner recipes!! love it so far..
Rachel
yaaayyy!!!! so sweet! xx
Bella
I’ve made this tooo many times to count and it never fails! Amazing. How do you think it would taste with beef sub for Turkey?
Rachel
aww yay! i think it would be great. chicken too!
Kara
I’m already dreaming of my leftovers for tomorrow! 🤤 I had this over coconut jasmine rice and it was to die for. The sauce is dreamy and I recommend letting it simmer together for awhile like Rachel suggests.
Rachel
hehe yay!!
Tina
Do we simmer with lid on or off??
Rachel
usually off for me
Lins
very delicious!! will make again!! Added sliced zucchini and carrots along with the peppers. Subbed GF bread crumbs and tamari soy sauce and also added a few lime leaves to the coconut curry as it simmered. Had over rice. Thank you!
Emma
This recipe is so good!! Such a nice meal to mix it up from my usual recipes. Will definitely be making this again! It’s awesome over rice or spaghetti squash or even just over mixed veggies, awesome to mix it up!
Rachel
yyayyyyy!
Martha Theodoris
One of my favorite recipes!! This is great if you’re dairy free. I love the flavors and this is a great whip up for weeknight meals. I always add extra veggies and double the sauce to put over rice!
Rachel
aw yay thanks for sharing!! xx
Kaitlin
AMAZING!! I used prepackaged gluten free bread crumbs and they worked great. Will definitely repeat this dinner!
Rachel
🙂
Amy
Loved this recipe! Just made it tonight for dinner. Perfect as is! Thanks for the recipe!
Rachel
aawww yay!!!
Cathy
Amazing!! I can’t wait to make it again. Thank you!
Rachel
YAYYY!
margaret mulhern
Wow! I just shared this with everyone I know. I never comment on recipes but holy hell this is so good! Perfect amount of spice, extremely easy to through together and bursting with flavor. I used soy sauce instead of the aminos but followed everything else to a T. Thank you for this delicious meal.
Rachel
awwww thank you!!!
Jan
So delicious! We had it over rice noodles.
Rachel
yaaayyyyyy
Elizabeth
LOVE this recipe, thank you! Do you think this would freeze well? I’d love to make a couple of batches for my postpartum meals!
Rachel
i don’t see why not!! 🙂
Grace Kaplan
Making this tonight- I only have green curry paste- should that be fine, or should I run to the store :)?!
Leticia
Really flavorful! I added panko because I didn’t have crackers and it worked out well! Also, definitely something you can make the day before and just re-heat! Flavor was great. I will probably try to freeze meatballs and then make the sauce on the day.
Rachel
yay!!!
Mike L.
Great recipe! I followed the directions with the exception the egg. I used two tablespoons of unsweetened apple sauce instead because my wife is allergic to eggs. We will be having this again! So tasty!
Rachel
yay!!!
Kara
Can you freeze this? Looking for healthy postpartum meals!
Rachel
totally!!
J
Mother of 3 teenage boys, they DEVOURED this meal. It was soooooo good. I doubled the sauce-and I’m glad I did b/c it’s to die for. The flavors in this meal are insane. I didn’t have breadcrumbs on hand, so I used one cup of almond flour instead, meatballs turned out perfect. So easy to make, absolutely delicious.
Rachel
omg YAYYY so hopefully my kids will still love this when they’re older!
Jaclyn
this is in my monthly rotation, the whole fam likes it too. Packed with flavor and super easy to make!
Rachel
yayyy
Lexi
Absolutely obsessed with this dish. I made it for my weekly meal prep and I still craved it every. single. day.
Rachel
thank you!!!
Lee
I’m going to give this five stars in hopes that it is great when we have it for dinner. I decided to prep this earlier in the day – everything was looking and smelling great, but the longer the meatballs simmered in the sauce, the more the sauce began to separate. Now it just looks like oil and sauce in the pan 😕
Rachel
that could happen if your turkey is a bit fattier! just mix the sauce around a bit and you should be okay!
Alexandra
Hi! Did anyone have their meatballs have like jelly come out of them in the oven? How can i fix that next time?
Thanks so much!
Rachel
cook them on a drying rack (oven safe) then on the baking dish
Katie
Wow!!!! This recipe is insanely good! Will be a regular recipe in our rotation!
Rachel
thank you so much!!
Cass
Amazingly delicious, whole fam loved it. Don’t make this with frozen & thawed ground turkey – I made them twice and the previously frozen turkey tasted weirdddd.
Rachel
love it!
T
Do you think instead of simmering the sauce on the stove, it could be added to a crockpot to simmer and then add the meatballs in there? My crockpot has a simmer setting, that’s why I ask! Thank you!
Rachel
hmm tbh i haven’t tried!! i haven’t used a crock pot in years so go with your gut! i don’t see why not
Lindy
Could I air fry the meatballs instead?
Rachel
i haven’t tried but if you usually air fry meatballs, yes!
Alex
Fabulous recipe, my hubby says it has a special umami, so glad it is easy and quick to make, will go into our rotation for sure. Thanks Rachel!
Rachel
love !!!
Lexi
One of my dinner GO-TO’S! It’s perfectly flavored, creamy, and filling. I have made this for meal prep and for dinner and it’s always something I look forward to.
Stef
Do you think this would work well with beef?
Rachel
absolutely!!
Amy
This recipe is sooo good! This will be in my meal rotation going forward for sure!
sinFULL sweets
LOVED this recipe. So flavorful with very simple ingredients and instructions. Will be making again(:
Rachel
aw yay!! thank you!
Misha
Turned out really good using ground beef, I would definitely double the sauce next time.
Rachel
love!!!
Allyson
This recipe was super good. I think I could have cooked the meatballs a bit longer. They were super good but could have used a bit of a crisp or sear to them. But I absolutely loved this recipe. It was easy to make and came out so good. I sent this recipe to like 4 people to try. Next time I make it I think I’ll add broccoli to it.
Rachel
thank you!!
Christine L
Delicious! Used soy sauce instead of coconut aminos and it was a bit too salty. I’d recommend using less of you sub. Otherwise very good and mild for my boys.
Rachel
thank you!!
Gina Martini
LOVE this recipe. I prep this a few times a month for lunches or a quick dinner. Usually over rice but sometimes switch it up over chickpea noodles. Have shared this recipe with others who also enjoy.
Rachel
thank you!!!
Eliane
These were soooo Delish! I added grated carrots, zucchini, mushrooms and spinach to the sauce and it turned out amazing! Everyone loved it, and they were especially good for lunch the next day as the sauce really soaked into the meatballs. What a great dish! Will be on repeat.
Rachel
love to hear it!!
Cheryl Vallely
Excellent. The brand of the Red Curry you use will make or break this dish. Use the authentic type named, Mae Ploy. Also, adding hydrated Kaffir leaves in the sauce adds an authentic floral depth. I add cilantro, lemongrass and ginger pastes for the same reason. This dish is so great! Thank you for introducing this to me! We make this every week!!!!!!
Rachel
yay thank you!!!
Tabitha
Does it have to be made with full fat coconut milk?
Rachel
i like it for the creaminess! highly recommend but you can use canned low-fat coconut milk too
SD
This was really good and really easy to make! I used ground beef and panko breadcrumbs because that’s just what I had and it was delicious. The meatballs were tender and the curry sauce is delicious! For the adults in my family we added some sriracha for extra spice. I love that this sauce can be used with any sort of protein. It’s just a great recipe to have in your repertoire. I’m looking forward to trying it again with turkey!
Rachel
love it!!!!!
Lauren
Looking forward to making this – am wondering what I could use instead of red curry paste? The paste is often too spicy for my kids – could I use a combination Of spices (curry, turmeric, ginger, etc)?
Rachel
of course – so the one i buy isn’t spicy but some are i have learned. it gives it a hint of flavor so maybe do half curry paste half tomato paste
Olivia
Can I use almond flour in place of breadcrumbs? If so how much should I use, thanks!
Rachel
yeah! 1:1 sub!
lexie
i made this earlier this week after i saw your instagram reel about it. my boyfriend and i both loved this recipe. i can see myself making the sauce for beans or chickpeas if i don’t feel like going out to get ground turkey. all in all, i would call this a smash hit and will be making it again!!
Rachel
thanks for sharing!!
Nicole J Wescoe
This will absolutely become a new go to! Served with rice and broccoli for a perfect meal prep 😋
Rachel
so happy to hear!!
Danielle
I can attest that this recipe is SO DANG GOOD. One of my favorites and it’s even more delicious the next day! I personally add my veggies into the broth a little later in the processes or I find they get too mushy but otherwise this recipe is perfection.
Rachel
thank you!!!!
Carly
What red curry paste do you use/recommend? Excited to try this recipe but I need to buy the curry paste first!
Rachel
hi it is linked above! repasting here.
Lauren
Family fave! We make it at least twice a month. Healthy, easy, and delicious!
Rachel
woohooo thanks lauren!!
Shelby S
I added a little sugar and lime juice – delicious!
Katie
These meatballs are so flavorful and delicious! Best meatballs I’ve ever made for sure. I plan to make a huge batch and freeze them for easy dinners.
The curry sauce is yummy and was a hit with my picky kids. A couple changes I made to the curry: I added 1 tsp of fish sauce, which added a nice bit of savory flavor, and I added another red bell pepper for additional veggies.
10/10 recipe, will make again!
Rachel
YAY! THANK YOU!