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The best summer Weeknight 30 Minute Coconut Curry Chicken Meatballs…with spicy mango salsa. This dish incorporates a variety of Thai flavors, all with an abundance of health benefits. It’s a delicious mix of cozy and healthy, and a great way to use up those garden bell peppers and fresh basil. It’s made creamy and extra saucy with coconut milk, spiced with curry paste, and served over steamed rice. Top with spicy mango salsa and toasted coconut for a DELICIOUS quick meal. Best part…all you need for this recipe are pantry ingredients and 30 minutes!
If there’s one thing I love doing, it’s taking something kind of boring, like chicken meatballs, and reinventing the dish to be exciting and extra delicious. Why? I guess I love a good challenge. So much so that I’ve made this a game I play with myself to help keep things fresh and creative. I get bored of things incredibly fast, especially when it comes to food. So challenging myself to reinvent dishes helps to keep things refreshing and fun for me.
What’s the game?
Basically, I just force myself to take a recipe that feels a little boring and completely switch it up. I might mix up the process by making the recipe in the instant pot or on a sheet pan. Or I might combine two cuisines into one. Or maybe even turn something traditionally meat-based into something vegan. Who knows, but I’m always trying to switch things up, even if it’s only a little bit.
And with these meatballs that is definitely the case.
Truth is, I’ve never been someone who has cared for meatballs and red sauce, or really meatballs of any kind. In fact, the word meatball really weirds me out. BUT my oldest brother loves meatballs so much, he’s always asking me to make them.
The other thing Creighton loves? Curry…of any kind, whether it’s Indian or Thai, he just loves curry.
So I thought why not combine his love of meatballs and his love of saucy curry. I know it sounds odd, but stick with here, this curry is good. It’s not like any other chicken curry you’ve ever had. It’s a mix of Thai with a touch of Indian flare. So much flavor, so saucy, creamy, and full of vegetables. All in all, a great healthy dinner that’s flavorful and easy to throw together too.
So here are the details…
The meatballs. I like to cook them in the oven. I know it’s summer, and I know it’s hot, but using the oven is just easier, cleaner, and faster. It also creates the perfect non-dry chicken meatball. I like to use a mix of ground chicken, green onions, garlic, salt, and pepper. The secret…a touch of Worcestershire sauce, which adds a really delicious, salty, and almost umami-like flavor. You don’t know it’s there, but it adds so much.
There are no eggs and no bread crumbs in these meatballs. I wanted to keep them simple. Really, I just want them to be a base for the coconut curry sauce. Meaning, the meatballs soak up the sauce instead of being the key flavor.
Roll the meat into balls, place them on a baking sheet, and then bake them at a high temp. They will brown on the outside and cook perfectly on the inside.
Meal prep tip: double the meatball recipe, bake them all, then freeze half of the meatballs for another time. You can then easily turn this dinner into a 15 minutes situation since all you’ll need to do is thaw the meatballs and toss them with the sauce. EASY. Additionally, you can use the meatballs for other recipes too!
The sauce. While the meatballs are cooking, make the sauce on the stove. It’s pretty simple, but made incredibly flavorful with shallots and ginger. I like to use bell peppers as my vegetable, Thai curry paste to keep things spicy, and canned coconut milk for a super luscious and creamy sauce. I then add a splash of soy sauce and fish sauce for saltiness, then fresh basil or cilantro.
DONE.
If bell peppers are not your favorite, try using broccoli florets or sliced summer squash. Really any vegetable you enjoy will be great here!
Now, toss in the meatballs and let the curry cook for a few minutes to thicken up the sauce. While this is happening, prep the mango salsa, which is simply diced mango, jalapeño, and lime. My favorite.
Serve the curry over steamed rice, top with mango salsa, and toasted coconut. Quick, simple, beyond good, and bonus? This dish is super healthy too! To make this even healthier, you can serve with brown rice, quinoa, or even over cauliflower rice.
Meal prep tip #2: if you like, you can freeze the meatballs and sauce together. Just thaw overnight in the fridge, then warm on the stove until heated through…and now you have a 10 minute dinner. Again, EASY and perfect for back to school/back to work/back to reality. That time of year we are all soon to enter.
So…have I convinced you that these Coconut Curry Chicken Meatballs will make a great summer dinner for tonight?
My hope is the answer is YES and that you’re running to the store to pick up any ingredients you might not have on hand. Then head home to make the best summer chicken curry. It’s kind of cozy, but yet lite at the same time. And the bottom line…every last spoonful of this saucy curry is oh so satisfying. You will love it.
If you make these weeknight 30 minute coconut chicken curry meatballs be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Hi Tieghan! I’m excited to try out this recipe. Do you think it would work to make the meatballs in advance and store in the fridge raw and bake them a couple of days later? Or bake them in advance and refrigerate and then add to the fresh sauce? Thank you 😀
Hey Anna,
Totally fine to assemble the meatballs ahead of time! I hope you love the recipe, please let me know how it turns out! xTieghan
I only have green curry paste, would that work or not be good?
Hey Em,
Sure, you can use green curry paste, just note it will change the color and flavor of the dish. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
LOVE THIS! It seriously is my “go to” for an easy yummy healthy meal. I add extra veggies and meal prep this for lunches for my work week. SO GOOD! Thank you!
Hey Carrie,
I am delighted that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a lot for trying it out! Happy Friday! xTieghan
This sounds so yummy! Any suggestions if im making it with beef instaed of chicken?
Hey Michelle,
I would follow the recipe as is:) I hope you love the dish, let me know how it turns out! xTieghan
We had almost all of the ingredients (no green onions, bell pepper or mango) so I decided to make this last night for dinner. My husband and I liked it and we would have this again! I wasn’t sure how spicy our red curry was so I did two tablespoons instead of three but next time I I’ll do three as it was a hint of spice. Thank-you for the recipe next time we’ll double it up
Hey Sandra,
I am delighted that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for making it! xTieghan
One of my favorites! Just made it and it was so good.
Hey Katie,
I am so thrilled that you have enjoyed this recipe! Thanks so much for making it:) xTieghan
Made this the other night. My husband’s response: “This is GOOD. This is serve to strangers GOOD.” Thanks!
Hey Star,
I am so glad the recipe worked out for you! Thanks for making it:) Happy Friday! xTieghan
Love the flavor of the curry! My meatballs were on the dry side without a lot of taste. Next time I would add more green onions and would only baked them part way. Will finish cooking them in the curry sauce to add a little moisture and flavor from the sauce. Will definitely make them again with these modifications.
Hey Mary Ellen,
Thanks so much for giving the recipe a try, I am so glad you enjoyed it! Happy Holidays! xTieghan
I made these and OMG they are so good! Thanks!
Thank you so much Mari! xTieghan
Second time I’ve made this meal. Delicious the first time, equally good the second. First time around, I froze the leftovers. They reheated perfectly, and I was blessed with delicious meals with zero effort.
Don’t skip the toasted coconut! It’s a nice finishing touch and I love the crunch.
Today, I couldn’t find a ripe mango, so I actually added the jalapeno to the other sauteed vegetables and called it a day.
Highly recommend this recipe.
Hi Donna! I am so happy this recipe turned out so well for you! Thank you so much! xTieghan
Another amazing recipe by Tieghan. I made this for dinner tonight and was astounded by how simple the recipe is yet how colorful and tasty the meal was. It was easy to make and was hit for dinner. Tieghan transformed a simple curry recipe into a fun and tasty meal.
Thank you so much for trying this one, Swale! I am really glad this turned out so well for you! xTieghan
First recipe I’ve made by you after ogling my friend’s instas of a few of your other recipes. it was SO good. per my room mate: “what was IN that delicious yellow goop?’. keep the coconut milk and veggie heavy recipes coming, this was awesome. Can’t wait to make it again. also- it appears to have frozen decently well, for anyone concerned about that.
Haha that is amazing! I am really glad this recipe turned out so well for you! xTieghan
I love everything else about this recipe except for the meatballs. I think they needed breadcrumbs or egg…something to make them less dry. I’m glad I tried it because I love the sauce and especially the mango garnish with it! I’m currently trying to figure out how to revamp it with just veggies!
I am so glad you loved this one, Tess! Thank you so much for trying it! xTieghan
I made this for dinner tonight and it turned out SO GOOD! Thanks for an easy weeknight recipe that I’ll definitely be making again!
I made this tonight for my husband (who “does not like thai”) and it was such a winner. I’m 3 out of 3 for winning recipes on your site – will definitely continue trying new recipes! Thank you for posting such a great recipe.
Love that! Thank you Kristin! xTieghan