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These Coconut Curry Chicken Meatballs with Garlic Butter are full of fresh, spicy, salty, tangy, flavors, and so simple. Made with flavorful Thai red curry paste, creamy coconut milk, and a quick homemade curry powder. The meatballs are seasoned, mixed, rolled, baked until crispy, and then served in a creamy curry sauce with spicy chili garlic butter. A side of rice soaks up all that yummy curry sauce, so delicious with fresh herbs and lime.
You know my oldest brother Creighton is influencing my recipes whenever I share meatballs. I used to hate making meatballs, but he’s helped me see the light. I try to get creative with them any time I feel like I need to switch my recipes up a bit.
I’ve been craving nothing but color for the last few weeks. The picture/dream I have in my head every day is this – I want everything I make and share with you to be bright, fresh, full of herbs, and in general the most delicious recipe you’ll make that week. Like the most delicious.
It’s a high-achieving, high-expectation approach, but I want everything to be pretty and yummy!!
It’s difficult to execute though. Food changes quickly, the light moves, and being creative can be hard, but some recipes, like this one, just work. I adore this recipe, the simplicity of it, and the color. It’s not my prettiest recipe, but all the color, the ease, and the flavor is here.
I’m excited to share this recipe, it’s so delicious!!!
Details
Usually, I’ll order spicy curry powder on Amazon, but when I’m out, I always make my own curry blend. It takes 5 extra minutes, but I always love customizing the spices. I add lots of cumin and ginger with a touch of paprika, cayenne, and cinnamon, it’s the perfect blend.
I shared the recipe in the notes, I use it a lot for chicken and salmon. Of course, you can also just use store-bought spicy curry powder. I’d add some cayenne or chili flakes to make it spicer!
Mix the meatballs, I love using a mix of ground chicken and ground pork. Add the curry powder, a drizzle of Tamari, shallots, and black pepper to the meat. You don’t need to add garlic since that’s going in the butter!
Once the meatballs are mixed, bake until crispy. This is my favorite easy, mess-free, way to cook any kind of meatball. No splattering!
I kept the sauce really simple: butter, ginger, and lots of Thai red curry paste. Coconut milk keeps it creamy, and tamari adds a little salty flavor.
Finish cooking the meatballs in the curry sauce so they stay really tender and flavorful.
The last step is the garlic butter. Brown the butter, garlic, and chili flakes until the butter turns golden and the garlic crisps. Drizzle the garlic butter over the meatballs just before serving. It makes every bite melt in your mouth.
Serve the meatballs and sauce over rice with lots of chopped cilantro or try some Thai basil.
This is such a simple, wholesome, and delicious meal. Love that!
Looking for other dinner recipes? Here are my favorites:
Black Pepper Chicken and Bacon Quesadillas with Avocado Basil Ranch
Thai Black Pepper Chicken and Garlic Noodles
One Pot Stove-Top Mac and Cheese
Honey Garlic Salmon Soba Noodle Bowls
Coconut Milk Braised Black Pepper Chicken
Coconut Curry Salmon with Garlic Butter
Lastly, if you make this Coconut Curry Chicken Meatballs with Garlic Butter, 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 with Garlic Butter
Servings: 6
Calories Per Serving: 507 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds ground chicken or ground pork
- 1-2 tablespoons spicy curry powder
- 3 tablespoons tamari or soy sauce
- 1 shallot, chopped
- kosher salt and black pepper
- chili flakes
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 6 tablespoons salted butter
- 1/4 cup Thai red curry paste
- 1 tablespoon fresh grated ginger
- 2 orange or red bell peppers, sliced
- 2 cups canned full-fat coconut milk
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce (or soy sauce)
- 1/2 cup chopped Thai basil, or cilantro
- 3-4 cloves garlic, chopped
- limes, for serving
Instructions
- 1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment.2. Add the chicken, curry powder, shallot, 1 tablespoon tamari/soy, salt, and pepper to a bowl. Mix until just combined. Coat your hands with a bit of oil, and roll the meat into tablespoon-size balls (will make 15-20 meatballs) placing them on the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes, until the meatballs are crisp.3. In a large skillet over medium heat, melt together 1 tablespoon butter, the curry paste, and ginger. Cook, 2-3 minutes until fragrant. Add the peppers, coconut milk, 3 tablespoons tamari/soy sauce, and fish sauce. Slide the meatballs into the sauce and simmer 5 minutes, or until cooked through. 4. Meanwhile, melt 5 tablespoons butter, the garlic, and a pinch of chili flakes. Cook until the butter is browning and the garlic crisps.5. Serve the meatballs and sauce over bowls of rice. Drizzle the butter over the meatballs and top with basil or cilantro.
Notes
Spicy Curry Powder:
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2-1 teaspoon cayenne
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
kosher salt and black pepper Mix everything to combine. Makes 2-3 tablespoons.
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2-1 teaspoon cayenne
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
kosher salt and black pepper Mix everything to combine. Makes 2-3 tablespoons.
Absolutely delicious! I loved this recipe. My husband doesn’t care for obvious garlic, so I sauteed the garlic with the ginger and curry paste instead of making the oil. I also skipped the red pepper flake. I used lite coconut milk with no ill effects. The sauce was super flavorful without being hot….like one of the best Indian dishes I’ve had. Next time I would serve with some naan bread too. Love this!
Hi Julie,
Amazing!! I am thrilled to hear that this recipe was tasty for you, thanks a lot for giving it a try!🥑🥝 xT
Made this for my son the other night – super quick, super easy. Super delicious!! Do not skip the garlic butter – totally adds to the flavours. Love these “come together quickly” dinners. You are a genius!
Hey Leslie,
Amazing!! I am thrilled to hear that this recipe was tasty for you, thanks a lot for giving it a try!🥑🥝 xT
Made this last night for my family and everyone loved it. We will be making it again. What I always appreciate about HBH recipes is you can control your spice levels. I added some roasted zucchini and squash to my bowl to get some extra veggies in.
Hey Stephanie,
Wonderful!! I love to hear that this recipe turned out well for you, thanks so much for making it! xx
Amazing flavor, and the meatball texture was perfect.
Hey Niza,
Wonderful!! I love to hear that this recipe turned out well for you, thanks so much for making it! xx
We had last minute guests last night. I made this recipe for dinner and it was perfect! Quick, easy, and delicious.
Hey Alicia,
Happy Monday!! 🍋🫐 I truly appreciate you making this recipe and your comment, love to hear that it was a hit! xT
This meal came together quickly and was super tasty. Even my kids liked it!
Hey Sara,
Happy Sunday!! So glad to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks a bunch for making it! xT
This was delicious! I added an egg and some panko bread crumbs to the meatballs and topped with Italian basil because I didn’t have any Thai. Will definitely be making it again! My 3 year old even liked the meatballs and helped make the curry powder!
Love to hear this Shannon!! Thanks so much for making this dish and sharing your feedback! xT
So delish. Love this. I’m wondering why no curry powder in your homemade spicy curry mix? (I added some)
Hi Mary,
Curry powder is a mix of spices:) If you look at the ingredients on the jar of your curry powder, you will see there is no actual “curry” in it. I hope this helps! xx
Very tasty. We all agreed that this recipe is a keeper! Next time I would increase the meatball ratio as there is a lot of sauce. Thanks Tieghan
Hey Wendy,
Happy Monday!! I am so glad to hear that this recipe turned out well for you, thanks for making it! xx
Sooooo tasty! I could drink the coconut curry sauce. I added some snow peas and broccoli for added veggies. Even made my husband a batch using venison for the meatballs and he loved them! Thanks for creating this one Tieghan!
Hey Julianne,
Happy Wednesday!! Thanks a bunch for trying this recipe and your comment, so glad to hear it was a hit! xx
Hello,
Just wondering if the sauce is supposed to be thin? From the photos it makes it look like the sauce was a bit thicker then mine. Any suggestions to thicken the sauce up?
Hey Sydney,
My sauce is is pretty thin, you can see on the sides of the photos that it’s a bit “soupy”. Sounds like you did everything correctly! Thanks for making this recipe! xT
Made this with ground bison and ramen noodles. Oh. My. Gosh. Talk about delicious! I also air fried the meatballs. 360° for 8-10 minutes seems to do the trick if anyone was wondering.
Definitely will make again!
Hey Claire,
Happy Monday!! I am so glad to hear that this recipe turned out well for you, thanks for making it! xx
Tasty meal, thanks. Next time I’ll mix in some lemon grass and galangal to the sauce and see how thT goes
Hey Craig,
Happy Sunday!!☀️🧁 I appreciate you making this recipe and sharing your review, so glad to hear that it turned out well for you! xT
Love your recipes! My 5-year-old kiddo doesn’t eat spicy food. Any way to modify this dish to make it not spicy?
Hi Eugenia,
For the spicy curry powder, just omit the cayenne and then I wouldn’t serve the chili crisp from step 4:) I hope this helps, please let me know if you have any other questions! xT
Needed that answer about when a kid doesn’t like spicy! Thank you for answering 🙂 yay!
I hope you love the recipe!!
I love your recipes, it would be wonderful if you included the fat, carbs and protein for them for tracking purposes. Do you know them for this recipe in particular? Thanks very much.
Thanks so much for sharing your feedback Sandi!! So sorry, I do not have that info available for this recipe. Please let me know if I can help in any other way! xx
I made this for dinner last night. Excellent! I served cauliflower rice with it
Hey Betty,
Perfect!! Thanks so much for giving this recipe a try, I’m so glad it was delish! Have a great weekend:) xx