These Thai Coconut Curry Turkey Meatballs are such a fabulous dinner that is decadent, yet healthy. Curry spiced ground turkey meatballs smothered in a delicious creamy red curry coconut sauce that is sure to be your new favorite meal! Grain-Free, Gluten-Free, and Paleo too!
Meatballs: a family favorite!
I’m back with MORE meatballs! We really can’t get enough. I have a knack for finding our favorite flavors, and making a meatball out of it! Whether it be my Pizza Meatballs, Chicken Satay Meatballs, Enchilada Meatballs, or Moroccan Meatballs.
BUT……These meatballs you guys. I’ve been thinking about them non-stop. The creamy coconut red curry sauce is sooooo dang good, I was licking my bowl clean. I also loved the fresh ginger and bell pepper to really add a more depth of flavor. Another reason I can’t stop thinking about them is that EVERY PERSON in my family keeps asking me if we’re having these for dinner again.
Mr. Wholesomelicious has now claimed these as his new favorite dinner. And just to give you some perspective, he’s had the same favorite dinner for over 5 years. For him to de-throne that meal, and place this one at the very top, really says something about how tasty these are.
How to make Thai Coconut Curry Turkey Meatballs:
- To start, you will mix together a quick blend a few spices, some almond meal, and fresh basil to your ground turkey and sausage.
- Roll them into small balls, and place them in the oven. This will make A LOT; I think it made about 45 meatballs for us. Which was a good thing because we absolutely needed those leftovers.
- Place them on a large baking sheet and cook for 20 minutes.
- While the meatballs are baking, whip up the sauce in a large skillet. This is a nice blend of ginger, bell pepper, onion, Thai curry paste, and coconut milk. You’ll saute the veggies first, then add in the paste and coconut milk.
- Once the meatballs are done baking, add to the sauce:
Recipe Notes and Tips!
- Just a few notes about the meat. I use a blend of ground turkey and ground turkey sausage. The sausage can be difficult to find, and even more difficult to find without sugar or other additives. So keep that in mind when shopping, or use plain grass-fed ground beef and pork.
- I had planned on making these all in one skillet, but decided it would be easier to bake in the oven with the amount of meat that I had.
- I topped the sauce and finished dish with fresh cilantro and lime. So much yummy, comforting, and tangy flavor in these meatballs! I know you will absolutely love, and if you’re obsessed with this recipe like we are, you will also love my Thai Curry Chicken Zoodle Soup!
Serving and Storing:
I normally serve this over spaghetti squash, but you can also serve over rice or cauliflower rice. My Cilantro Lime Cauliflower Rice would be perfect! My kids wanted this over regular pasta, which they absolutely loved.
The sauce will taste even better the next day! You can store in the fridge for up to 1 week. You can also freeze the meatballs and reheat on the stovetop when ready to serve.
More Thai recipes you will love:
Looking for more Thai recipes? You will love all of these:
- Thai Beef Basil Stir Fry
- Instant Pot Coconut Red Curry Shrimp
- Instant Pot Thai Green Coconut Chicken Curry
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Grain-Free Thai Coconut Curry Turkey Meatballs
Thai Coconut Curry Turkey Meatballs are the ultimate delicious dinner! The creamy and decadent sauce paired with meatballs is so delicious. Grain-free, Paleo, Keto, and Whole30!
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground turkey
- 1 lb ground turkey sausage*
- 1 tsp curry powder
- 2 tsp ground basil
- 1/4 tsp ground ginger
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 3/4 cup almond flour
- 1 egg beaten
- 2 tbsp coconut oil
- 1 medium yellow onion chopped
- 1 red bell pepper chopped
- 2 garlic cloves crushed
- 2 tbsp chopped fresh ginger
- 3 tbsp Thai red curry paste
- 1 14 oz can + 3/4 cup full fat coconut milk
- 1/3 cup chopped fresh basil or cilantro
- 1 tsp salt + more to taste
- 2 limes Juiced
Instructions
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Begin by preheating your oven to 375.
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MIx together the ground turkey and sausage in a medium sized bowl. In a smaller bowl, mix together curry powder, basil, ginger, garlic powder, and almond flour. Add to the turkey mixture and incorporate well. Finally, add the egg. Form the meatballs into 1 -1.5 inch diameter balls, and place on a large baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes.
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While meatballs are cooking, make the sauce. Heat a large skillet to medium high heat, add coconut oil. Add the chopped veggies: onion, bell pepper, garlic, and ginger. Cook for 5-7 minutes until onion is translucent. Add curry paste, than all of the coconut milk. Reduce heat to medium and simmer for 10 minutes until the curry paste is completely mixed into the sauce. Add salt, and more to taste if needed.
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Add meatballs to the sauce, and cook for another 5 minutes. Finish off with lime juice, then top with fresh basil or cilantro.
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Serve hot over Spaghetti squash, noodles, zoodles, rice, or cauliflower rice.
Recipe Notes
Turkey sausage can be hard to find without fillers and added sugar. You can also use ground pork, or all ground turkey as a replacement.
Can’t wait to try this! Just wondering what the nutritional facts are? Like fat, carbs, protein per serving?
I’m with Marla above. What are the nutritional facts?
Hi Gina, Nutrition facts are as follows: 450 calories per serving, 34 g fat, 28 g protein, 9 g carbohydrates. You can look up the rest at Yummly, by clicking on the orange Y button above!
Can’t find the orange Y anywhere on my screen. Has this been updated or may appear differently on my iPad? I’ve made this recipe multiple times and it’s becoming something I come back to! Would love the nutrition facts!
Hi Chelsie, your eyes are not deceiving you, the orange Y is gone from my site. Anyhow, I do have the calories and macros for this recipe only. You could plug in the ingredients to my fitness pal if you want more details, but here they are: Calories: 450 per serving, 34g fat, 28 G protein, 9g carbohydrates. Hope that helps!
Hi – planning on making this. It looks delicious! Can you tell me what a serving is? For example, one cup?
Depending on your size of meatballs, around 6-8. And with about 1/2 cup of sauce.
This meal absolutely rocked! Thank you! I made it nut and egg free to suit my daughter’s allergies by subbing 4 Tbsp coconut flour for the almond flour and egg and it worked beautifully!!
For a pic of the yumminess check out @heather_d_mortimer on Instagram!
So glad you loved it!!
I made this last night and it was amazing! The flavors were wonderful and the recipe was very filling! My boyfriend enjoyed this as well. I made this with ground chicken and ground turkey. I am definitely keeping this as a staple.
So glad you loved it Ashleigh!
My husband went crazy over this and asked that I make it every week. I omitted the almond flour (nut allergy) and served over cauliflower rice. Delicious. The sauce would also go well with chicken thighs. Thank you for sharing the recipe.
You are welcome!! So glad you loved it!!
I made this for dinner tonight. It was so good!!! I just wanted to drink the sauce, but I was reasonable and poured it over cauliflower rice.
So glad you enjoyed Heather!!
Any substitutes for the red curry paste that would be whole 30 approved? I have red curry powder and am wondering if there’s a way to use this with additional whole 30 ingredients to substitute?
Hi Kasi, the Thai Kitchen brand of red curry paste is Whole30 approved. If you can’t find that one, go ahead and substitute with red curry powder and a little apple cider vinegar. You may need an extra tbsp of curry powder. Hope that helps!
I just realized that I don’t have enough coconut milk for the sauce (I only bought 1 can). Is there anything I can use to substitute?
Just use the one can! It won’t be as creamy, but plenty saucy 🙂
Thanks! My husband and I absolutely loved this!
Awesome! Glad it worked out and you loved it!
Seriously SO good! And easy to make! Win-win. Even my picky (because he’s an AMAZING chef himself) boyfriend approved of this meal! I’m currently doing the Whole30 (he’s not), and served this over cauliflower rice. He would have preferred regular rice over the cauliflower,but he survived. 😉 Can’t wait for the leftovers for lunch this week. And I can’t wait to make this for guests! First recipe I’ve made from your site…and I’m hooked. 😉
So glad you loved it Miranda! Seriously one of my all time favorite dinners too 🙂
I’m making this tonight and debating cutting the recipe in half… do you have a feel for how many meatballs the recipe made? Or would you say your picture represents a real single serving (implying that the total amount is 6-8x what you’re showing)?
This generally makes a lot of meatballs, like around 40. You could cut it in half, but it’s good to have the leftovers! They are so yummy and will last a week.
Sooo good. I served it over cabbage I sautéed in coconut oil just to see if that would work, and it was DELICIOUS. Thanks for the recipe!
Hi! I made this last night: yum! I’m trying to figure out where nine carbs would come from. The veggies?
Yes, the veggies and maybe a small fraction from the almond flour. So glad you enjoyed them!
I just made this and it is one of the best recipes I’ve ever made! Thank you!! Will definitely be making some of your other Whole30 recipes. This was easy to make and very nutritious and makes a ton!
Thank you, Liz!! I hope you find lots of good Whole30 recipes. I am biased, but after doing a few rounds myself, I make sure the recipes are super yummy!
Fantastic recipe! Second week in a row I have made for my family. I doubled the recipe last night and brought dinner to an ill friend who is about ready to undergo cancer treatment. I just randomly found it searching for grain free meatballs.
Thank you for posting.
Wonderful!! So glad you enjoy it and so nice of you to make this for your friend!
This is so yum! I made this today, and I threw in a handful of spinach, because spinach is tasty in everything. As soon as I tasted it, I knew this recipe was a keeper!
Could I substitute the amine flour for coconut flour and would it be the same amount?
Thank you
Yes, the same amount will work.
I am excited to make this recipe. I noticed that your instructions mentioned adding “the egg”, but there is no egg listed in the ingredients. Just an FYI. Am I supposed to add egg or no? 🙂
Hi Sarah, Yes there is an egg listed in the ingredients! It’s under almond flour as 1 egg, beaten.
I’m sorry, this sounded so delicious that I couldn’t wait to make this today. I found the turkey sausage for $8 a lb. by the time I had all the ingredients together I thought man this better be really good. I made the meatballs & they were ok. I have an amazing chicken meatball recipe from a Thai entertaining book that’s amazing but this one didn’t hold a candle to it. Then while they were baking I made the sauce. I followed it verbatim & then I added the meatballs & served it over coconut rice. I thought I was going to die from the spiceiness. My stomach was on fire & I thought what the heck did I make? It really needed some sweetness like pineapple to balance the spiciness… like honey does to hot Mexican food. This had no balance. I could also see adding sweet potatoes to it as well. If you like fire in your tummy then this is for you.
Hi Karen, sorry it didn’t work out for you. These shouldn’t be spicy at all, I make them all the time for my kids. I am wondering if the Thai paste was a spicy one? I use the Thai kitchen brand and it doesn’t contain anything spicy.
I made this recipe exactly as outlined other than using all ground turkey because I had no turkey sausage. A note to the recipe said that substitution would work. I was very excited to try it with so many incredibly positive comments. The sauce was delicious, although I would make it spicier-but that’s just personal preference. However, my entire family was VERY disappointed in the meatballs. They were flavorless. Sadly I made the full recipe so have all these boring meatballs – Inwould ether not throw them out so I’m hoping to come up with a way to fix them. Really disappointed!!
Hi Betty,
Sorry the taste was off on those meatballs. I do think the sausage adds another element of bold flavor, and it isn’t quite the same without. Could you perhaps add some sausage seasoning? Use 1/2 tsp fennel, oregano, garlic and onion powder, dried basil, plus some salt? That will give the taste of sausage. Hope that helps!
Hi Amy and Betty – If you use all ground turkey without the turkey sausage, you will need to add some SALT, because that’s what the sausage adds to the meatballs. With no salt in the meatballs they will be bland.
Can regular (all-purpose) flour be used instead of almond flour?
Sure! You can also use bread crumbs.
Hi!
This recipe sounds amazing and I can’t wait to try it. However…. I keep a Kosher kitchen and I cannot find kosher red curry paste or powder, in my area. I know it’s difficult to replicate, but can you suggest a replacement paste OR blend of dry spices (which I have, Kosher) to replicate the taste of red curry paste?
Thanks for your suggestions to my interesting conundrum!
Hi Sharona! Thanks for your questions. I know of a few brands you can buy online (amazon), but you could also make your own. I found this Kosher Green Thai Curry paste that would work great in this recipe! https://www.joyofkosher.com/recipes/thai-curry-paste/
I always look forward to making this dish! The meatballs are flavorful and the sauce is amazing. When forming the meatballs, putting a little olive oil on your hands will make it easier to roll. Serve this over Jasmine rice and the sauce soaks in nicely!
Made these tonight, and they are wonderful! I’m going to need to kick it up in the spiciness because I like it Thai hot! so maybe more of the red curry paste? I also added some zucchini noodles and cooked them in the sauce after removing the meatballs. Will definitely make this again!
This looks amazing! I’m wondering about the turkey sausage though…there are a few stores that carry their own chicken sausage but there is always a flavor attached, breakfast blend/sweet italian/apple and sage, etc. Since I’m not familiar with cooking curries I’m wondering if there is a preferred “flavor” of sausage. Thank you!
Hi Ann! You can try the breakfast blend, or sweet Italian. Those would both work great in this recip.
Thanks!
This recipes is LIFE!! This one got me through my Whole30 like none other and I make it often even after my round is done. It was even loved by non-Whole30ers that I fed and they also request it often. I ate it over cauliflower rice and my guests ate it over jasmine rice. It’s perfect Every. Single. Time. You must make this, you will not be disappointed. PS: I just use 2 lbs of ground turkey since I couldn’t find compliant sausage at the time, it was still perfect so don’t fret if you can’t find sausage.
Can’t wait to try it! Will the sauce freeze well, do you think?
Yes! I think it will freeze fine.
Would you freeze the sauce and meatballs separately or together? Trying to prepare for a shoulder surgery with some freezer meals!
This was fantastic. I left out the almond flour in the meatballs (can’t have nuts right now) and used all ground turkey (it was all I had). My only complaint is that the meatballs themselves needed some salt, though that was likely only an issue because I didn’t use turkey sausage and didn’t account for the missing seasoning.
I’ll definitely be using this sauce for other proteins. Thank you for sharing.
This looks amazing! Has anyone made it in a crockpot before? I want to try it today.
I have not tried that Autumn, but I am sure it would work great!
Do you have nutritional information for any of your recipes?
Yes, I am slowly updating all of my recipes. This one now has the nutrition facts in the note section.
My husband and I loved this recipe. I used less coconut milk this time because I didn’t really prepare a side dish so I didn’t need so much liquid. Can’t wait to make it again and put it over some spaghetti squash. I used ground turkey and chicken sausage because I couldn’t find turkey sausage. Worked great. This recipe will be on repeat in our house!
wooohoo!! Thanks for stopping by 🙂
How can I make these vegan. Do you have a fantastic vegan meatball recipe?
It sounds so delicious, I know it must be possible without animal meat.
I am sorry I don’t have a vegan meatball recipe! You can find some others, and then use this sauce. I am sure it will be delicious!
This was so delicious!!! I halved the recipe, added some sausage seasoning and subbed the almond flour for 2Tbs of coconut flour in 1 lb turkey. I added a little squeeze of honey to the sauce as well. Will definitely be on our rotation!!
A big hit with the family. I should have made double so we had leftovers.
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Made this tonight! Super tasty. I did add some fish sauce to make it taste more Thai (to me, it just takes it to the next level). There are some sauces that are Whole 30 compliant too! Thanks for sharing this.
So delicious! These have become a repeat recipe!
If you don’t have almond flour, can I sub all purpose? Would the amount change?
Yes! You can also use bread crumbs. I would cut the all purpose flour in half.
Looks really nice recipe! Thanks for sharing. I love turkey couse it has alot of proteine!
I made this last night for my family and it was a HUGE hit! I added roughly 1 1/2 teaspoons of fish sauce and only used 1 can of coconut milk, because I was in a hurry and misread the directions;) but it turned out great!
These were fantastic! I made these while at my boyfriends for the weekend and they may have just earned me a ring ;).
I substituted ground beef and ground sausage in place of the ground turkey for the meatballs but the flavor came through completely.
The sauce is also amazing, next time I’m going to add a touch of curry powder to the sauce for an extra kick over rice!
Oh I love hearing that!! Ground beef is a great substitute
I love this recipe and make it often. There’s only 2 of us so I just use 1 lb ground turkey but I double the spices, I use the whole small jar of Thai green curry paste (I like the green more than the red) and double the ginger. It’s so good and really easy. I usually add more vegetables too like broccoli and more peppers just so I don’t have to make a side vegetable. I love the almond flour in the meatballs – makes them light and delicious. We enjoy this over rice or Chinese egg noodles. Leftovers are amazing too! Thanks for an amazing recipe!
Hi! This looks so yummy! I have a question though – is the nutritional info per serving or as a total in the servings? I’m assuming the entire dish but just want to be sure before I break it down myself. I am definitely going to try this ASAP!
The nutrition info is per serving, not the entire dish.
We serve a 16 year old, 11 year old, 4 and a 2 year old. Everyone except 4 year old ate this up (she’s eating very little of anything, to be fair) and liked it which I consider a win! Thanks for all your great recipes!
Delicious! I made it with spaghetti squash. Will definitely make again.
So happy to hear that, Sue!
I made this for dinner tonight and it was SO GOOD that I had to hunt you down and compliment you. And thank you for the recipe! It honestly was the best thing I’ve had in a while. I couldn’t find red curry paste so I used the green that I had on hand. It was so delicious! I’ve got enough left for lunch tomorrow. I can hardly wait! THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!!
I love hearing that!! Thank you, Kathy.
Amazing flavor! Love these meatballs and the sauce is to die for! I have a question though….how big is your serving size?
Can you put these in a crockpot?