This Thai Rooster Meatball Curry is a fast, one-pan dish that includes selfmade hen meatballs simmered in a coconut milk pink curry sauce with recent veggies like bell pepper, zucchini, and spinach. It’s filled with Thai-inspired taste, comes collectively in 35 minutes, simple to customise, and ideal with rice, noodles, or low-carb sides.

Thai Rooster Meatballs Deserve a Spot in Your Dinner Rotation!
Crimson coconut curry is one in every of my all-time favourite methods to make dinner, and I’ve a number of standard pink curry recipes on my website—like salmon coconut curry, duck curry, and shrimp banana curry. Now, I’m excited so as to add these Thai hen meatballs to the gathering, and I’m certain you’ll adore it simply as a lot. It is dairy-free, gluten-free, high-in protein, and low-carb. Listed here are a couple of different highlights:
- Do-it-yourself Meatballs: I make the hen meatballs from scratch with Thai flavors like pink curry paste, fish sauce, and Thai basil—they’re tender, juicy, and approach higher than something pre-made. However you may actually use pre-made ones.
- Crisp Veggies: I sauté the bell pepper and zucchini individually, then add them on the finish so that they keep crisp-tender as a substitute of getting soggy within the curry.
- One-Pot, 30-Minute Meal: This comes collectively in a single skillet in about half an hour—simple cleanup, massive taste, weeknight-friendly, and freezer-friendly!
- Tremendous Versatile: You should use floor turkey as a substitute of hen, toss in several veggies like snow peas or bok choy, and modify the warmth or sweetness relying on who you are cooking for. You possibly can serve it with rice, noodles, or low-carb sides like quinoa, cauliflower “rice”, or spiralized zucchini (zoodles).
- Nice for Meal Prep: The flavors get even higher the following day. I usually make additional for lunches or freeze the meatballs to chop down on prep time later. I’ve received a number of ideas under on the best way to prep Thai hen meatballs forward of time, plus the best way to retailer, freeze, and reheat them.


Storage Directions
- Fridge: Retailer the leftovers in an hermetic container for as much as 4 days.
- Freezing: Freeze cooked Thai hen meatballs and sauce collectively or individually for as much as 2 months. For greatest texture, freeze with out the spinach and add recent when reheating.
- Reheating (Stovetop): Simmer over medium warmth till warmed by means of, stirring often. Tip: Add a splash of broth or coconut milk if the sauce thickens an excessive amount of after storing.
- Reheating (Microwave): Warmth in 1-minute intervals, stirring in between, till sizzling.

Make-Forward Suggestions
- Put together and freeze uncooked meatballs individually for fast cooking later. Form the meatballs and place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, ensuring they don’t contact one another. Freeze till stable, then switch them to a freezer-safe bag or container. This fashion, they gained’t stick collectively, and you may cook dinner them straight from frozen when prepared.
- You can also make the complete curry forward of time and retailer it individually from the meatballs—both within the fridge or freezer—leaving out the spinach till reheating to maintain it recent and vibrant.
- Alternatively, you may put together the curry along with the cooked meatballs and retailer them as one dish, simply keep in mind so as to add recent spinach when reheating to take care of its texture and coloration. Each strategies work nicely for meal prep and make weeknight dinners fast and straightforward.
- Different ideas: Portion into containers for straightforward meal prep—flavors enhance after a day or two. Use freezer-safe containers to maintain meals recent as much as 2 months.
Extra Thai-Impressed Recipes

Thai Rooster Meatballs
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Components
For the Meatballs:
- 1 ½ lb floor hen (680 g)
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 small shallot finely minced
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon white pepper
- 1 teaspoon pink curry paste
- ¼ cup panko or common breadcrumbs (use gluten-free crumbs for GF model)
- 1 tablespoon chopped Thai basil
- 1 medium egg
For the Curry:
- 1 tablespoon impartial cooking oil like avocado or coconut
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon grated ginger
- 2 tablespoons pink curry paste
- 14 oz unsweetened full-fat coconut milk (400 ml)
- ½ cup hen broth (120 ml)
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce
- 1 teaspoon brown sugar or coconut sugar
- ½ medium lime juiced
- 1 small zucchini thinly sliced
- 1 medium pink bell pepper very thinly sliced
- 3 cups child spinach
- ¼ cup Thai basil leaves plus extra for garnish
Directions
Make meatballs
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In a bowl, combine all meatball substances till simply mixed. Kind into small meatballs (about 1 inch in diameter, about 27 meatballs). If the combination feels too sticky, moist your arms barely when shaping the meatballs.
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Warmth your forged iron skillet over medium warmth and add a drizzle of oil. Sear the meatballs in batches or suddenly till browned on all sides (about 6-8 minutes). They don’t have to be totally cooked but. Take away and put aside.
Pre-cook the veggies
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Add thinly sliced bell pepper to the identical, now empty, skillet, and cook dinner for about 2 minutes, often stirring, on medium warmth. Add sliced zucchini to the bell peppers and cook dinner for two extra minutes. Take away the cooked bell pepper and zucchini to the plate.
Make pink curry sauce and assemble
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In the identical skillet, add a bit extra oil if wanted. Sauté garlic and ginger till aromatic (about 30 seconds). Stir within the pink curry paste and cook dinner for 1 minute to deepen the flavour.
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Pour within the coconut milk and hen broth, stirring to mix. Add fish sauce and brown or coconut sugar. Deliver to a delicate simmer.
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Return the meatballs to the skillet and let every part simmer for 5-7 minutes till the meatballs are cooked by means of.
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Stir within the precooked pink bell peppers, zucchini and child spinach. Let the spinach wilt for about 1 minute. Squeeze within the lime juice and add Thai basil.
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Garnish with additional Thai basil. Serve sizzling with jasmine rice or noodles.
Notes
- If you happen to prefer it spicier, add a chopped Thai chili or a bit of additional pink curry paste.
- You possibly can swap floor hen with floor turkey.
- Add snow peas, inexperienced beans, child corn, or bok choy as a substitute of spinach.
- For a low-carb model, serve with cauliflower rice or zucchini noodles as a substitute of jasmine rice.
Vitamin
Methods to Make Thai Meatballs (Step-by-Step)
Right here’s a fast step-by-step preview of the recipe with useful pictures! For the complete directions and particulars, scroll as much as the recipe card RIGHT ABOVE.
- Make meatballs: Combine meatball substances, type into small balls, and sear in a sizzling skillet till browned however not totally cooked.

- Sauté veggies: Sauté bell pepper and zucchini in the identical skillet till tender, then put aside.

- Make curry sauce: Sauté garlic and ginger, add pink curry paste, and cook dinner briefly. Stir in coconut milk, hen broth, fish sauce, and sugar; simmer gently.

- Assemble: Return meatballs to the skillet and cook dinner by means of. Add precooked veggies and spinach, wilt spinach, then end with lime juice and Thai basil.

- Serve garnished with additional basil alongside rice or noodles.

