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Thai ground chicken meatballs in a skillet are made from scratch using lean ground chicken in less than 45 minutes. The sauce is made with coconut milk, so it’s creamy without being heavy. Enjoy coconut curry meatballs with rice for a delicious lunch or dinner or serve as an unexpected yet scrumptious party appetizer.
Thai chicken meatballs are blended with garlic, ginger and fresh cilantro for a bright Asian flavor. After browning the meatballs in a skillet, they are added to an aromatic and creamy coconut peanut butter curry sauce. Coconut curry meatballs have just the right amount of heat and are flavor-packed for a tasty, filling, and comforting meal.
If you love meatballs, try my Chicken Swedish Meatballs or Garlic Butter Turkey Meatballs.
Why You’ll Love This Thai Chicken Meatballs
- It’s light and flavorful. Lean ground chicken and coconut milk make these meatballs delicious without feeling heavy.
- It’s a great party appetizer. Serve these meatballs with toothpicks and a coconut curry sauce for dipping.
- It’s perfect for making ahead. Prepare the meatballs in a skillet in advance and freeze them. Defrost, then prepare a fresh curry sauce and serve.
Chicken Meatballs Ingredients
For the Chicken
- Chicken: use one pound of ground chicken meat for a lean dish. You can also substitute ground turkey, pork or beef if preferred.
- Egg: bring the egg to room temperature, and it will combine more easily with the other ingredients.
- Bread Crumbs: seasoned bread crumbs will help the meatballs stay moist.
- Cilantro: freshly chopped cilantro adds a bright flavor to the meatballs.
- Aromatics: use freshly minced garlic and grated ginger for flavor and aroma.
- Red Pepper Flakes: for just a touch of heat. Adjust as needed to control the heat level.
- Salt and Black pepper
- Oil: use your favorite light, neutral-flavored oil.
For the Thai Sauce
- Unsalted Butter
- Aromatics: use freshly minced garlic and grated ginger for flavor and aroma.
- Curry Paste: Red curry paste is a well-seasoned chili paste used to flavor Thai food.
- Sambal Oelek: This chili sauce adds mild heat to the dish.
- Soy Sauce: Use low-sodium to control the saltiness or substitute tamari or amino acids for a gluten free option.
- Chicken Broth: you can substitute vegetable broth or water.
- Coconut Milk: use full fat canned coconut milk rather than coconut milk for drinking.
- Peanut Butter: use your favorite creamy peanut butter or substitute your favorite nut or seed butter.
- Lime Juice: fresh lime juice adds a bit of acid and really rounds out the flavor.
- Cilantro: to garnish
- Chopped Roasted Peanuts: to garnish
- Lime Wedges: to serve
How To Make Thai Chicken Meatballs
- Prepare the meatball mixture. In a large bowl, combine the meatball ingredients except for the oil. Mix it well until everything comes together.
- Form the meatballs. With the help of an ice cream scooper, scoop the meatball mixture and roll it into a ball. Repeat the same with the remaining mixture.
- Brown the meatballs. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium flame. Add the meatballs and cook for 3-5 minutes until it’s brown by rotating it for even cooking. Remove the cooked meatballs onto a plate and set it aside.
- Cook the aromatics. To the same skillet, add the butter. Once the butter is melted, add garlic, ginger, red curry paste, and sambal, and cook for a minute.
- Deglaze the pan. Deglaze the skillet with chicken broth and stir in the soy sauce. Let it simmer for 2 minutes.
- Make the coconut milk sauce. Pour the coconut milk and stir in the peanut butter. Bring the sauce to a boil and transfer the meatballs back to the skillet. Allow the meatballs to simmer in the sauce for 7-8 minutes until the sauce thickens.
- Garnish and serve. Once done, garnish the Thai chicken meatballs with cilantro and peanuts. Serve the meatballs over the basmati rice with lime wedges and the sides to enjoy.
Tips to Make the Best Chicken Meatballs
- Bring the meat and egg to room temperature for 15-30 minutes before mixing the meatballs.
- Don’t overmix the meatballs or they can become tough.
- Use an ice cream scoop or cookie scoop to shape even meatballs.
- Rotate the meatballs as they cook so they cook evenly, but don’t force them. They will release from the pan and turn easily when ready.
- Easily control the heat level by adjusting the amount of red pepper flakes and Sambal Obelek used in the recipe.
- Use fresh ingredients like garlic, ginger and lime whenever possible.
- Not a fan of peanuts? Use cashews and cashew butter instead.
- If your sauce is too thick, add a splash of chicken stock.
- If you don’t have coconut milk, you can use heavy cream, but you will lose the traditional coc0nut flavor.
Frequently Asked Questions
Overmixing is usually the culprit when meatballs are tough. Sprinkle all the seasonings over the chicken and quickly fold to incorporate so you can avoid overmixing.
Using ground chicken keeps these meatballs lean and light. Feel free to substitute ground turkey, or beef if preferred.
Store leftover coconut curry meatballs in the fridge for 3-4 days. Reheat in the microwave or skillet until warmed through.
You can freeze these meatballs, raw or cooked, although we do not recommend freezing the sauce. For both methods, place meatballs on a baking sheet and flash-freeze them before placing them in a freezer bag or freezer safe container. Bake raw meatballs from frozen for 10-15 minutes at 400 degrees F, then make a fresh batch of coconut curry sauce. Cooked meatballs can be warmed in the microwave until hot. Serve with fresh curry sauce.
When served as a meal, pair with steamed rice or noodles. When serving as an appetizer pair with other finger foods like Air Fryer Pasta Chips, Easy Spanakopita Triangles, Air Fryer Garlic Chicken Wings or Air Fryer Zucchini Sticks.
More Thai and Indian Recipes
- Red Thai Vegan Curry
- Sweet Thai Chili Chicken Stir Fry
- Thai Red Curry Chicken
- Keto Naan Bread
- Chicken Pakora
- Healthy Chicken Tikka Masasla
I hope you enjoy all the recipes I share with you, including this delicious Thai Chicken Meatballs in a skillet recipe. I hope you try it, enjoy it, rate it, and share it with your friends and family!
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Thai Chicken Meatballs
Ingredients
For the chicken
- 1 lb ground chicken
- 1 medium egg
- ½ cup seasoned bread crumbs
- 2 tablespoons cilantro, chopped
- 1 teaspoon garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon ginger, grated
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 tablespoons oil
For the sauce
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1 teaspoon garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon ginger, grated
- 1 tablespoon red curry paste
- ½ tablespoon sambal oelek
- ½ tablespoon soy sauce
- ½ cup chicken broth
- 1 can, 14 oz coconut milk
- ½ cup peanut butter
- 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
- Chopped cilantro, to garnish
- Chopped roasted peanuts, to garnish
- Lime wedges, to serve
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine the meatball ingredients except for the oil. Mix it well until everything comes together.
- With the help of an ice cream scooper, scoop the meatball mixture and roll it into a ball. Repeat the same with the remaining mixture.
- Heat oil in a large skillet over medium flame. Add the meatballs and cook for 3-5 minutes until it’s brown by rotating it for even cooking.
- Remove the cooked meatballs onto a plate and set it aside.
- To the same skillet, add the butter. Once the butter is melted, add garlic, ginger, red curry paste, and sambal, and cook for a minute.
- Deglaze the skillet with chicken broth and stir in the soy sauce. Let it simmer for 2 minutes.
- Pour the coconut milk and stir in the peanut butter. Bring the sauce to a boil and transfer the meatballs back to the skillet. Allow the meatballs to simmer in the sauce for 7-8 minutes until the sauce thickens.
- Once done, garnish the Thai chicken meatballs with cilantro and peanuts.
- Serve the meatballs over the basmati rice with lime wedges and the sides to enjoy.
Notes
- Bring the meat and egg to room temperature for 15-30 minutes before mixing the meatballs.
- Don’t overmix the meatballs or they can become tough.
- Use an ice cream scoop or cookie scoop to shape even meatballs.
- Rotate the meatballs as they cook so they cook evenly, but don’t force them. They will release from the pan and turn easily when ready.
- Easily control the heat level by adjusting the amount of red pepper flakes and Sambal Obelek used in the recipe.
- Use fresh ingredients like garlic, ginger and lime whenever possible.
- Not a fan of peanuts? Use cashews and cashew butter instead.
- If your sauce is too thick, add a splash of chicken stock.
- If you don’t have coconut milk, you can use heavy cream, but you will lose the traditional coconut flavor.
Delicious!! Highly recommended by my family!
Happy to hear you enjoyed it. Thanks for leaving a review.