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When you’re in need of warming comfort food, this vibrant, wholesome Coconut Curry Chicken Meatball Soup with Rice is just the creamy soup to make. Made with chicken, ginger, sweet potatoes, warming spices, and creamy coconut milk. It requires just one pot and can be made in under an hour’s time. It’s cozy, a little spicy, and filled with vegetables. Finish each bowl off with steamed rice and you’ll have the perfect bowl of creamy, curry soup. Fresh naan on the side is highly recommended!
During these late fall days and into November I find myself repeating the same flavors over and over. Lots of cheese pasta, caramelized onions, and slow-cooked chicken. I’m using plenty of sage, apples, and pumpkin – basically all the most delicious fall flavors.
And the truth is, I LOVE every single recipe. These are my favorite recipes to create. But I’ve finally hit that time of the year when I need a little more. I start to look for something bold in flavor with spice and color.
I put on my thinking cap for a minute and I brainstorm. This was me last week. I needed to switch things up!
I’ve been missing cooking for my older brother, Creighton. so I used Creighton and the foods he loves for some inspiration.
There is nothing Creighton loves more than a spicy curry. It can be Indian or Thai-inspired, he loves it all. And he loves meatballs. I put curry and meat together and this is what I got.
Truly the most delicious bowl of warming spicy flavors.
The details
Start with the chicken meatballs. I love to make meatballs because you can really season them up with flavor. I mixed ground chicken with shallots, and ginger, and then added a splash of tamari for saltiness.
Once the meatballs are together, the rest is easy. Sear the meatballs in a pot. I usually just use a medium size soup pot.
Then pull the meatballs out and set them aside. To that same pot, I add red curry paste, curry powder, another shallot, more ginger, and some garlic. Cook everything together until fragrant.
Now pour in the chicken broth and add the sweet potato. Simmer the sweet potato until it becomes soft, then stir in the coconut milk, spinach, and meatballs. Allow everything to cook together until the soup thickens.
The soup should be creamy and almost more like a curry than a soup, just slightly thinner than a curry.
Serve over steamed rice and top with sesame oil. You can add some cilantro if you like too! And of course, I recommend naan for scooping up all the creamy, coconutty broth/sauce.
So flavorful, full of color, and filled with good-for-us ingredients. It’s the creamiest, most flavorful bowl. And lastly, the leftovers – they taste even better the following day. The flavors have time to mend, and the broth is even more delicious.
Looking for other warming fall dinners? Here are a few ideas:
Better For You Chicken and Spinach Ramen
Creamy Butternut Squash Butter Chicken
30 Minute Spicy Indian Butter Chicken
Coconut Milk Braised Black Pepper Chicken
Coconut Sweet Potato Lentil Soup with Rice
Lastly, if you make this Coconut Curry Chicken Meatball Soup with Rice 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!
Coconut Curry Chicken Meatballs Soup with Rice
Servings: 4
Calories Per Serving: 1149 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground chicken
- 2 small shallots, chopped
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh ginger
- 2 teaspoons tamari or soy sauce
- black pepper + kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 4 cloves garlic, chopped
- 2 tablespoons red curry paste
- 1 tablespoon yellow curry powder
- 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 1 cup cubed sweet potatoes
- 2 (14 ounce) cans coconut milk
- 2 cups baby spinach
- 2 cups cooked basmati rice
- 1/3 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
- toasted chili sesame oil
Instructions
- 1. In a bowl, combine the chicken, 1 shallot, 1 tablespoon ginger, tamari, and a pinch of pepper, Coat your hands with a bit of oil, and roll the meat into tablespoon-size balls (will make 15-16 meatballs).2. Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a medium pot. Add the meatballs and sear until crisp, about 4-5 minutes, turning them 2-3 times. Transfer to a plate.3. To the same pot, add the curry paste, curry powder, 1 shallot, 1 tablespoon ginger, and the garlic. Cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Stir in the chicken broth and sweet potatoes. Cover and cook over medium heat until the potato is tender about 10 minutes. Add the coconut milk and spinach. Simmer, uncovered another 5-10 minutes, until thickened slightly. Slide the meatballs back into the soup. Stir in the cilantro. Season with salt. 5. Divide the rice among bowls and ladle the soup and meatballs overtop. Drizzle with chili oil. Serve with Naan on the side. Enjoy!
This recipe is delicious – warm, spicy, and fragrant! My meatballs stayed intact although I did use ground turkey since I prefer it. Otherwise, I followed the recipe and poured over rice. I will absolutely add this to my regular rotation. It’s a perfect flavourful warm soup for a cold day.
Hey Mekia,
Awesome!! 🍂 I love to hear that this recipe turned out well for you, thanks a bunch for trying it out! xx
I listened to the others with meatball fall apart & did add and egg as research showed that helped bind the proteins together. Delicious soup, perfect that we now have cilantro growing again due to warm weather in NYS!
Love this recipe warmed us up when we came off the lake tonight walleye fishing!
Thanks Tieghan for another winner dinner!
Hey Sharon,
Happy Sunday!! I truly appreciate you giving this a try and sharing your feedback, so glad it was enjoyed:) xx
This is one of the most amazing soup recipes that I have EVER made! We had to eliminate the garlic to accommodate a low FODMAP diet, but it was still sooo amazing. This is definitely going to be a monthly soup for us, all year long!
Hey Michelle,
Happy Sunday!! I truly appreciate you giving this a try and sharing your feedback, so glad it was enjoyed:) xx
The flavor just isn’t there sadly. I needed to add more of everything and it still wasn’t quite enough. Also, meatballs need a binder! Egg is highly suggested so they don’t fall apart!
Hi Ali,
Thanks for giving this recipe a try and sharing your feedback, so sorry to hear it was not enjoyed! xT
We loved it! The meatballs were delicious…. didn’t have the issues others have mentioned. Will definitely make again.
Hey Melanie,
Happy Friday!!🌻 I am so glad to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for trying it and sharing your review:) xT
Overall tasty and would try again
– 4 stars because the flavor wasn’t very strong, I feel like the curry powder faded out behind all the chicken broth. Would maybe try adding more next time.
– Would also consider adding more veggies like red bell pepper or peas
– I only used one can of coconut milk by accident but I don’t know that it was to the detriment of the dish
– Chicken meatballs were soooo tasty, I would mince the ginger next time instead of just chopping though (idk why other people’s were falling apart mine were very solid)
– I’ve never used curry paste before and I was worried it would be too spicy but it was very tasty and not too spicy at all
Hey Madeleine,
Happy Thursday! Thanks so much for trying this dish and sharing your review! I’m glad to hear it was mostly enjoyed! xT
This meal came out really well after some adjustments. I made the meatballs as per the directions- they were very soft and wanted to fall apart in the skillet. Next time I will add a bit more seasoning and a binder. Next, I couldn’t exactly decipher if the recipe called for one or two 14 oz cans of coconut milk- I only added one can and I am happy I did so. I would recommend beefing up the soup with additional veggies- I added some frozen peas in with the spinach! Lime juice & crushed red pepper flakes helped deeper the flavor and add a little more spice! The end product was delicious!!!
Hey Allexis,
Fantastic!! I love that this recipe turned out tasty for you, thanks so much for giving it a try! Thanks for sharing what worked well for you! xx
Thank you for letting us try this recipe! While I was super excited to put this on the table yesterday evening, I do have to agree with a few folks’ comments re: depth of flavor. Somehow, the wonderful spices seemed to fade into the background and no flavor quite took center stage as I was expecting. Still–a dash of lime and cilantro helped to brighten and bring it altogether. I’ll definitely be trying this again–with just a few tweaks to make all the ingredients shine. Thanks again for all your wonderful ideas!
Hey Selena,
Thanks so much for trying this dish and sharing your feedback! So sorry to hear you didn’t love this, but let me know if you give it another try and adjust anything! xT
Is it 14oz total of coconut milk or 2 – 14oz cans?
Hey Alison,
For this recipe, you will want to use (2) 14 ounce cans for a total of 28 ounces. Please let me know if you have any other questions! xT
Delicious! I’ll add more veggies next time, but this was a big hit in my family.
Hi Lindsay,
Fantastic!! I love that this recipe turned out tasty for you, thanks so much for giving it a try! xx
Just wanted to let you know of a typo:
“And lastly, the leftovers – they taste even better the following day. The flavors have time to mend, and the broth is even more delicious.”
Mend should actually say meld.
This looks quite yummy!
Thanks so much!! I hope you love the recipe Marcie!!
The meatballs fell apart and the ginger ended up having a crunch, but overall it’s a great dish for my picky eater kiddos and husband with stomach issues.
Hey Aimee,
I truly appreciate you giving this recipe a try, so sorry to hear about the meatballs! Please let me know if there is anything that I can help with! Glad to hear the flavor was enjoyed:) xTieghan
I absolutely love curry but have never made it. I prefer an extremely spicy curry but can not figure what is added to make the spice. Do you have a recommendation?
Try dried thai chilis (aka birds eye chilis) which you can find at most Asian food marts.
Hey Amanda,
The red curry paste should have a nice kick for you, if you want more heat I would add some gochujang! I hope this recipe turns out tasty for you, please let me know if you give it a try! xTieghan
This has my name all over it, and I can’t wait to make it. But, that’s a TRUCKLOAD of calories!!! Could it be a mistake?
I agree, this has to be an error … maybe for the whole recipe ??
Hey Melinda,
I always recommend that if the nutritional information is important to you, you use your own personal calculator. Ours is automatic and controlled by google. It’s not something we’d prefer to be using. We are required to. I’m sorry for the trouble, we do our best! Hope you enjoy the recipe! xT
The flavors were perfect! I wanted to amp up the protein and fiber so I added a cup of red lentils when I added the chicken broth and therefore doubled the broth. I also added more spices to the chicken meatballs after reading the comments. It was delicious. Thanks, Tieghan!
Hey Kylie,
Happy Wednesday! I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for making it and sharing your feedback! xx