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Creamy Crockpot Coconut Curry Chicken Meatballs. The perfect bowl of warming comfort food that’s incredibly delicious. Indian-inspired curry chicken meatballs made with plenty of spice and creamy coconut milk. This curry is perfectly spicy, creamy, and filled with warming Indian-inspired flavors. Making the dish in the crockpot leaves you with an even more flavorful sauce and the tastiest meatballs. Serve these creamy curry chicken meatballs over bowls of rice with acorn squash roasted in garlic butter. You’ll have the perfect dinner that can be enjoyed any night of the week. And the leftovers are even more delicious the next day. Directions for the Instant Pot and stove-top are provided too!
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We’ve officially entered crockpot season! I use my crockpot throughout the year, but I really start to lean into crockpot recipes once September rolls around. They feel cozier and are usually pretty easy to prepare.
Creighton has been asking me to make a curry for weeks now. Butter chicken and tikka masala are both his favorites. My very favorite way to cook meatballs is in the crockpot (they never dry out). I thought a butter chicken meatball curry would be delicious and great for this transitional time of year.
Since I love sharing all-in-one dinner recipes, I also added seasonal acorn squash tossed with roasted garlic and honey butter.
Everything is cooked together in the crockpot, or you can use the instant pot if you prefer. If you’re looking for a stove-top variation, try my 30-Minute Butter Chicken Meatballs.
Here are the details
Step 1: mix the spices
I like to use garam masala, ginger, curry powder, turmeric, and cayenne. Mix them together in a bowl. Half of the mix will be used for the meatballs, and the other half for the coconut sauce.
Step 2: mix the meatballs
In a bowl, mix the chicken (or use pork or turkey), with half of the spices and plain Greek yogurt.
Once you’ve rolled the mix into balls, place them in the crockpot with the onion, shallots, and garlic cloves. Then place the squash on top of the meatballs. Slowly cook.
Step 3: pull out the squash and garlic
Once the squash and garlic have finished cooking remove them from the crockpot. Place them on a sheet pan with butter and put them under the broiler until charred, about 5 minutes.
Toss with some honey. So yummy!
Step 4: finish the sauce
To the meatballs, stir in the coconut milk and cilantro. Let cook until thickened.
Then the sauce is complete.
Step 5: serve
As this cooks, the aroma in the kitchen is truly incredible. It’s just like your favorite Indian spot in town, but maybe just a touch better. I always find anything made at home to be even more delicious.
I like to serve my curry chicken meatballs over steamed rice with some fresh naan for scooping up the creamy, coconutty sauce. Absolutely DELICIOUS!
Looking for other Indian-inspired dinners? Here are my favorites:
Crockpot Creamy Coconut Chicken Tikka Masala
30 Minute Spicy Indian Butter Chicken
30 Minute Butter Chicken Meatballs
Super Simple Coconut Chicken Tikka Masala
Gingery Coconut Sweet Potato and Rice Stew with Chili Oil
Lastly, if you make this Crockpot Coconut Curry Chicken 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!
Crockpot Coconut Butter Chicken Meatballs
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons garam masala
- 1 tablespoon fresh grated ginger
- 2 teaspoons yellow curry powder
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper, use to your taste
- 1 1/2 pounds ground chicken, pork, or turkey
- 1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt
- kosher salt
- 1 yellow onion, chopped
- 1 shallot, chopped
- 6 whole cloves garlic
- 1/2 cup tomato paste
- 1 small acorn squash, cut into wedges
- 1 can (14 ounce) full-fat coconut milk , (or sub 1 cup cream)
- 4 tablespoons salted butter
- 1 teaspoon honey
- 1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
- steamed rice. and naan, for serving
Instructions
Crockpot
- 1. Mix the spices. In a bowl mix the garam masala, ginger, curry powder, turmeric, and cayenne pepper. 2. Add the chicken, half of the spice mix, and the yogurt to a bowl. Season with salt. Mix to combine. Coat your hands with oil, and roll the meat into tablespoon-size balls (will make 15-16 meatballs). Place the meatballs, onion, shallot, and garlic cloves in the crockpot. Add the tomato paste. 3. Pour over 1/3 cup water and sprinkle the remaining spices over the meatballs. Add garlic, then the acorn squash wedges. Cover and cook on low for 3-4 hours or on high for 1-2 hours.4. Preheat the broiler to high. Remove the squash and garlic from the slow cooker and place on a baking sheet. Add the butter. Broil 2-5 minutes, until charred. Peel away the garlic skin, then chop and mix with the butter, honey, and squash on the sheet pan.5. Meanwhile, crank the heat on the crockpot to high. Stir in the coconut milk and cook, uncovered, 10 minutes until warmed. Stir in the cilantro.6. Serve the meatballs and sauce over bowls of rice with fresh naan and squash on the side. Enjoy!
Instant Pot
- 1. Mix the spices. In a bowl mix the garam masala, ginger, curry powder, turmeric, and cayenne pepper. 2. Add the chicken, half of the spice mix, and the yogurt to a bowl. Season with salt. Mix to combine. Coat your hands with oil, and roll the meat into tablespoon-size balls (will make 15-16 meatballs). Place the meatballs, onion, shallot, and garlic cloves in the instant pot. Add the tomato paste. 3. Pour 1/3 cup water overtop and sprinkle the remaining spices over the meatballs. Add the garlic, then the acorn squash wedges. Cover and cook on high pressure for 6 minutes.4. Once done cooking, release the steam. Set the Instant pot to sauté. Preheat the broiler to high. Remove the squash and garlic from the instant pot and place on a baking sheet. Add the butter. Broil 2-5 minutes, until charred. Peel away the garlic skin, then chop and mix with the butter, honey, and squash on the sheet pan.5. Meanwhile, stir the coconut milk into the meatballs and cook, uncovered, for 5 minutes until warmed. Stir in the cilantro.6. Serve the meatballs and sauce over bowls of rice with fresh naan and squash on the side. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Did you make this recipe? Please rate & comment below.
I did things a little different to make it more authentically Indian. Instead of ginger powder, I used two spoons of ginger garlic paste (plus about 4 cloves of garlic). Instead of cayenne pepper, I threw in two dry chilies. I used panko crumbs in the meatballs because I thought it would help with the texture – although it wasn’t an Indian cooking method! The meat wasn’t very flavorful (I used ground turkey), so next time I’ll probably add minced onion or more spices. And lastly, I mixed the coconut milk and tomato paste with the sauteed onions and a whole lot more butter, which allowed the meatballs to cook in the sauce and pick up a little bit of flavor. But only cooking in the crock pot for an hour doesn’t give it enough time to marinate all the way through.
Thank you so much for giving the recipe a try! Have a great day! xT
This might have been the first time some of us have ever seen this recipe being that we’re new to HBH. Maybe expand your searches.
I made this last night for dinner. I used ground pork for the meatballs, as I find chicken can often get dry.
Only difference for me is I made the meatballs a bit bigger, and so I put it in the crockpot on high for 3 hours.
I think everything turned out great. Really yummy, and has a nice mild flavor. I personally like kick you in the face amount of spice so I think next time I’ll do 1.5 times the spice and add a bit more to the meatballs.
Otherwise, really yummy.
So glad you enjoyed this recipe! Have an amazing day! xT
I like the spices in the sauce, and the acorn squash is a nice addition. I also added potatoes to the crockpot, which were great and added some extra water to make it saucier. The meatballs were dry and underwhelming, though, and I think this would be a better dish with a different protein, like lamb or beef short ribs.
Awesome!! Love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed! Have a great week! xT
Amazing!
Thanks Janis! xT
This was a bit disappointing. I cooked this in my slow cooker on high for 2 hours, as given as an option, and the meatballs were dry while the squash wedges were undercooked. I ended up having to bake the squash and garlic separately in the oven for a while before broiling. Perhaps cooking on low for longer is the way to go. I followed the recipe as written so not sure why this didn’t turn out super great. Maybe the slow cooker needed more water/moisture added for the cook (I used the amount written in the directions).
Not all crockpots cook the same! I have two crockpots and one definitely cooks faster than the other. I prefer the slower cook one. When cooking on high, I tend to check on the food after awhile — then either lower the temp or let it keep going. With that being said, I can’t wait to try this recipe and love the addition of the squash!
Mary
This looks so yummy! Making it tonight. Thank you for making dinner ideas so much easier! I appreciate you!
Thank you so much for giving this recipe a try! I’m SO glad you enjoyed it! xT
What would you recommend instead of the onion and shallots? We have an allergy. The rest looks sooo good!
Hi! Maybe throw in some extra garlic? xT
I feel like you used to have such amazing and creative recipes, but I think I’ve seen these curry meatballs on your blog 6 times now. I’m begging you to please stop drizzling everything with butter. Every recipe, it’s just too much. I think it would be fun to go back to your old OG recipes and bring them back because those really were great and I have made many of them over and over (without the rut of the same recipes, extra cream, cheese, butter). Like your old kale Brussels spaghetti with breadcrumbs! Or Thai enchiladas! Recently this blog has been more exhausting than inspiring.
If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all. RUDE.
I think her point is valid and she wasn’t rude.
I’d never heard of the kale Brussels sprouts spaghetti and now it’s on my list to try!
Imagine taking time out of your day to post a comment like this LOL.. Don’t like it, move on and find something new. Everything is better with butter!
Keep it up Tieghan! Looking forward to trying this on the weekend 🙂
Helpful hint: If you don’t want the butter drizzle, don’t drizzle the butter! You’re welcome.
Hey Alissa! Thanks for the feedback. Heard loud and clear. I always try to keep things as fresh and new as possible. I will look backwards a bit. Have such a wonderful day and upcoming weekend! xT
When you say add the butter to the baking sheet, are you talking about on top of the acorn squash or just on the baking pan?
Hi Jillian! I usually put little pats of butter on the pan and on top of the squash!
This looks delicious, can’t wait to make! Is the skin on the acorn squash edible? Or do you eat around it?
Hi there! It’s totally edible, but you can remove it if you’d like!
This looks amazing! Is there a dairy-free alternative for the yogurt? I can’t think of anything but maybe you know!
Hi there! Hmmm maybe just some dairy free yogurt! xT
Hi Tieghan,
This recipe looks very good, looking forward to trying it out. Just wondering do you peel the acorn squash before or after cooking? Is the skin edible? Please let me know!
Wendy Goldstein
wsirota1962@gmail.con
Hi Tieghan!
This recipe looks fantastic can’t wait to try.
My mom above put her email for the world to see, hoping you can remove the comment if possible and she will repost asking the same question 🙂
Hi Wendy! I usually peel the squash after cooking because it’s easier to peel off! xT
Would this be good with Thai basil instead of cilantro? We have sooo much in the garden!
Hey Sara! Yes that would definitely would be yummy! xT
It seems like you’d want to mix the tomato paste with the water? I’m going to try it that way. Sounds like a great recipe!
Hope you enjoy Karen! xT