Tasty nuggets of joy aka baked turkey meatballs get a Thai twist with the addition of ginger, garlic, and red curry paste to keep them light, fluffy and moist when they’re dunked in a Thai coconut milk sauced easy dinner.
Turkey meatballs are simple. Simple ingredients. Simple to make. But don’t underestimate them.
So how do you make humble brown meatballs look like the belles of the ball? Plop them in a lush, velvety red curry coconut sauce topped with sprinkles of herby freshness. Suddenly, with the christening of a spatula as the dinner clock strikes time, their fairy tale allure matches the goodness within.
Here’s how to make this easy, flavor-filled bomb of a dinner. Snap! Your dinner’s fairy godmother has arrived!
Heidi’s Tips for Recipe Success
- The coconut milk can really make or break these coconut curry meatballs. Choose a quality, full-fat variety of canned coconut milk. Lower fat coconut milk or cheaper brands can be more liquid than cream, resulting in a less flavorful, watery sauce.
- Use 85/15 ground turkey to make the Thai meatballs. Anything leaner than that will result in dry, tough meatballs.
- In an effort to be pantry ingredient conscious and cut down on the grocery list, a few of these ingredients are used in both the meatballs and the sauce. Read through the recipe before preparing to be sure you have enough on hand for both components.
What’s In This Recipe?
The full recipe, with amounts, can be found in the recipe card below.
- Thai turkey meatballs — My favorite baked meatballs start with lean ground turkey that’s seasoned with soy sauce and spiked with red curry paste for bold Thai flavor. Egg and panko breadcrumbs are what bind the meatballs together.
- Ginger — Freshly grated or store-bought ginger paste will give the freshest ginger flavor.
- Coconut milk — Use a high quality canned coconut milk, preferably full fat. I prefer an organic, full-fat coconut milk. Shake the can as best you can, and if the coconut milk has separated put the contents of the can in a bowl and whisk as well as you can. The solids are the fat of the milk that should melt into the sauce when heated.
- Red curry paste — Use your favorite brand; we use the Thai Kitchen brand, which we don’t find too spicy.
- Brown sugar — Curries always need a little sugar to balance out the medley of spicy and umami flavors.
- Vegetables — Bell peppers and onions can be sliced quickly and cook at the same rate.
- Fresh cilantro — The perfect fresh garnish for finishing off the saucy Thai turkey meatballs.
How to Make Red Curry Thai Turkey Meatballs
- Shape and bake the turkey meatballs. All you have to do is combine the ground turkey, seasonings, and binding agents in a big bowl. Avoid overworking the ground turkey, or else the meatballs will turn out dense and tough. Roll the meat mixture into balls and bake until golden brown and crispy.
Heidi’s Tip: For easy meatball-shaping, first scoop the meat mixture into balls using a small cookie scoop. Once that’s done, dampen your hands with water before shaping into smooth balls (this prevents the turkey from sticking).
- Saute the vegetables. Slice the yellow onion and seeded red bell pepper into strips and sauté in a skillet with canola oil.
- Make the red curry sauce. Stir the red curry paste and ginger into the onion mixture for 1-2 minutes or until the ginger is fragrant. Cooking the red curry paste before adding liquid removes the raw ingredient taste and adds depth to the flavor.
- Simmer to thicken. When the vegetables are softened, add the brown sugar, fish sauce and coconut milk, cooking for the flavors to meld and the sauce to reduce and thicken.
- Finish the Thai turkey meatballs in the curry sauce. Once the meatballs are cooked through, add them to the sauce to simmer for an additional 5 minutes to make even more tender as they absorb the sauce and curry flavor. Serve straight from the pan and sprinkle with chopped fresh cilantro or Thai basil.
FAQs
Yes! The meatballs can be baked and frozen for later, or make the sauce below while they’re cooking in the oven.
This recipe calls for red curry paste for a lightly spiced curry also used in my Slow Cooker Thai Chicken Soup and Thai Shrimp Curry.
Curry pastes are an essential building block in many Thai recipes. Most common in red, green, yellow, each curry’s individual characteristic depends on the chile it’s made from and range from spicy to sweet.
Simply put, fish sauce is fermented fish that has broken down to become a tangy, funky sauce. It’s flavor is salty, earthy, a little bit caramel-y sweet, and totally distinct.
A good quality fish sauce hardly tastes fishy at all, and adds the unique salty bite that can’t be imitated by substituted ingredients in Vietnamese and Thai cooking.
When choosing fish sauce, always choose a high quality fish sauce that hasn’t been left opened in your cupboard for too long (the fishy flavor will become more pronounced.) And know that smaller quantities of the sauce goes a long way.
This is my favorite brand of quality fish sauce that can be found online or at many Asian grocery stores.
What to Serve with Thai Red Curry Meatballs
- over white, brown, or coconut rice
- over rice noodles, pad thai noodles, soba noodles or pasta
- with Sweet And Sour Asian Pickled Cucumbers
- Broccoli and Shiitake Mushrooms With or Without Soba Noodles
- Crunchy Asian Cucumber Watermelon Salad
- Stuffed Artichokes with Thai Shrimp Salad
If you make this recipe, please let me know! Leave a 
rating on this recipe below and leave a comment, take a photo and tag me on Instagram with #foodiecrusheats.
Thai Turkey Meatballs In Coconut Curry Sauce
Ingredients
For the Thai Meatballs
- 1 pound ground chicken or turkey
- 1 egg
- 1 cup panko
- ½ cup minced green onion
- 3 cloves pressed garlic
- 1 ½ tablespoons grated ginger or ginger paste
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce or fish sauce
- 1 tablespoon red curry paste
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
For the Coconut Curry Sauce
- 1 tablespoon canola oil
- ½ red bell pepper sliced
- ½ yellow onion sliced
- 1 tablespoon ginger
- 1 tablespoon red curry paste
- 1 13.5 ounce cans unsweetened coconut milk
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce or soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- chopped cilantro , for garnish
Instructions
For the Baked Turkey Meatballs
- Preheat the oven to 400°F and spray a baking sheet with cooking spray. Set aside.
- In large bowl, combine the ground turkey or chicken with the egg, panko breadcrumbs, green onion, garlic, fish sauce, ginger, red curry paste, and salt and pepper. Use a whisk to break the egg yolk and lightly fold the ingredients together. Gently knead the mix with damp hands until incorporated. Cover and refrigerate the mixture for at least 15 minutes for the breadcrumbs to soften, up to overnight.
- Use a small scoop to form the meatballs into 1-inch balls and place on a cutting board. Dampen your hands and lightly shape and roll the meatballs between your palms and place evenly spaced on the baking sheet. Bake until no longer pink inside, about 20 minutes, then broil on high for another 5-10 minutes for a deliciously crispy crust. Remove from the oven and add to the coconut curry sauce.
For the Curry Coconut Sauce
- While the meatballs are baking, prepare the coconut curry sauce. In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium high heat. Add the onions and red bell pepper and cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring often. Stir in the ginger and and red curry paste and cook for another 2-3 minutes, stirring often so the vegetables don't burn but become soft and fragrant.
- Add the coconut milk and add the brown sugar and fish sauce or soy sauce and stir to combine. Cook for 5 minutes then add the meatballs to the sauce and cook for another 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Taste for seasoning and if it needs more salt, add a dash or two more fish sauce or soy sauce. Garnish with chopped cilantro leaves and serve over rice or noodles.
Notes
Nutrition
More Thai-Inspired Recipes to Try Now
- Shrimp In Thai Coconut Sauce
- Thai Quinoa Salad
- Thai Coconut Chicken And Rice
- Slow Cooker Thai Chicken Soup
- Thai Coconut Noodle Salad
- Creamy Thai Beef Curry
More Ground Turkey Recipes to Try Now
- Basic Baked Thai Turkey Meatballs
- Greek Turkey Burgers With Tzatziki Sauce
- Grilled Turkey Kofta Skewers With Yogurt Sauce
- Turkey Bolognese Lasagna Toss
- Best Ever Turkey Burgers
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Jenny
Great recipe but I think the cooking time for meatballs is way too long. They came out dry as a bone on the inside. Family loved the sauce and the taste of the meatballs. I would reduce the cooking time to 15 minutes, 5 minutes in the broiler. Since they are only an inch thick they dry out fast. I added a rack under the meatballs so they brown more evenly. I also added a tablespoon of extra fat to the meat mix and it was still dry. I think it’s possible the panko crumbs might be the culprit. Next time I make it I’ll try it without crumbs and with less time in the oven. Still great base for a quick weeknight meal that seems a lot more elaborate/difficult than it is to do.
Sorry they were dry for you Jenny, I haven’t had that issue. Good tips on the rest of your comment for others to consider.
Linda
I used an organic coconut whole milk, the sauce still turned out very thin. I just added a small amount of corn starch to help thicken slightly. The meatballs are very delicious and very easy to make. Loved the spiciness flavor.
Great idea to add the cornstard for thickening.
Amanda
This was super tasty (and easy)! I actually made the meatballs the day before when I already had the oven turned on. I threw them in the fridge and then just warmed them in the sauce the next night for dinner.
Agreed Amanda, It’s a great make-ahead meal! Glad you liked it too.
Denise
Made this for dinner. One of the best new recipes I’ve made in a long time. I had it saved on Pinterest for so long and finally made it. Will definitely share and make again.
Glad it worked out Denise!
Jodie
Very tasty and easy to make. I served them with rice, sweet & sour pickled cucumbers and naan bread.
Sounds delicious Jodie!
Ofelia
Absolutely delicious, especially the next day.
Happy to hear it Ofelia!
Amber
Delicious! I used palm sugar instead of brown sugar because that’s what I had on hand. Made the meatballs out of ground pork because we have a lot of that in the house; the pork was an excellent substitute! I was a little thrown with the “number of servings” this recipe claims to make. I’d say it’s better suited as four servings. I also will plan to double the sauce next time since I like it real saucy.
Glad you enjoyed Amber!
Ang
Absolutely delish
Glad you enjoyed!
Sue Q
A family favorite!
Thanks Sue!
Julie
Omg!! What a delicious dish! So easy too and healthy. Thank you so much. I shared it at worked and all I heard was “oh wow””. Family loved it even the picky eaters.
Hayley
Thanks, Julie–we’re so happy you and your family loved these!