These Thai Meatballs are quick to make and bursting with bold, savory flavor from a homemade green curry coconut sauce. They’re the perfect 30-minute dinner served with jasmine rice or veggies.
Thai Meatballs deserve their own fan club.
Thai Meatballs deserve their own fan club. There are few recipes on my site with more bold and amazing flavor, with so little effort, as these Thai Meatballs. And the creamy green curry sauce turns them into a special meal that feels fancy but is totally doable on a busy weeknight. My whole family devours Thai Meatballs and everyone wants leftovers in their lunch.
I usually use store-bought curry paste, but here's a great homemade green curry paste recipe from Hot Thai Kitchen!
Try my other Thai-inspired recipes, like Pad Thai, Thai Basil Chicken, Thai Chicken Lettuce Wraps, or Chickpea Curry!
How to make Thai Meatballs:
Thai Meatballs: Mix oats, egg, and milk; let sit 10 minutes. Add ground meat, ginger, curry paste, fish sauce, sugar, salt, garlic, onion and mix well. Shape into balls. Heat oil over medium-high and cook meatballs in batches until browned on all sides (they don’t need to be fully cooked). Remove to a plate and drain excess grease, if needed.
Green Curry Sauce: In the same pan, sauté curry paste and garlic for 30 seconds. Stir in one can of coconut milk, scraping up browned bits. Whisk cornstarch into the second can of coconut milk and add to the pan, along with brown sugar, garlic, lime, fish sauce, and cilantro. Return meatballs to the pan and simmer in the sauce until cooked through, about 10 minutes.
Serve: Spoon over hot rice (jasmine, basmati, or brown) and garnish with fresh Thai basil and cilantro. Enjoy immediately!
Follow me for more great recipes
Recipe
Green Curry Meatballs
Ingredients
For the meatballs:
- 1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats* or panko breadcrumbs
- 1 large egg
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1 1/2 pounds lean ground turkey, chicken , pork or beef
- 2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger
- 2 teaspoons Green curry paste
- 2 teaspoons fish sauce (optional)
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 cloves garlic , finely minced
- 1/2 cup onion , diced
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
For the sauce:
- 1 Tablespoon Green curry paste *
- 4 cloves garlic , minced
- 2 15 ounce cans canned unsweetened coconut milk
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- 2 teaspoons light brown sugar
- 1 lime juiced
- 1 teaspoon fish sauce
- salt and freshly ground black pepper , to taste
- ⅓ cup chopped fresh cilantro
- 4-5 cups cooked jasmine rice , brown rice, white rice, or basmati rice, for serving
Instructions
- Thai Meatballs mixture: Add the oats, egg and milk to a large mixing bowl. Mix together and set aside for 10 minutes. Add ground meat, ginger, curry paste, fish sauce, sugar, salt, garlic and onion. Mix to combine.1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats*, 1 large egg, ¼ cup milk, 1 ½ pounds lean ground turkey, chicken, 2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger, 2 teaspoons Green curry paste, 2 teaspoons fish sauce, 1 teaspoon granulated sugar, 1 teaspoon salt, 3 cloves garlic, ½ cup onion
- Roll into balls: Scoop the meat mixture into balls, a little smaller than golf-ball size.
- Cook Meatballs: In a large nonstick skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Once hot, place one layer of meatballs in the pan, leaving space between each—you may meed to cook them in two separate batches, depending on the size of your pan. Brown the meatballs on all sides, turning occasionally as they cook. They don't need to be cooked through, just browned on all sides. Remove the meatballs to a plate. (Remove some of the grease if there is excess).2 Tablespoons olive oil
- Green Curry Sauce: Add curry paste and garlic to the pan and cook for 30 seconds. Stir in one can of coconut milk, scraping up any browned bits from the pan. Stir cornstarch in to the other can of coconut milk, and add to the pan. Add brown sugar, garlic, lime, fish sauce, cilantro and stir to combine.1 Tablespoon Green curry paste, 4 cloves garlic, 2 15 ounce cans canned unsweetened coconut milk, 1 teaspoon cornstarch, 2 teaspoons light brown sugar, 1 lime, 1 teaspoon fish sauce, ⅓ cup chopped fresh cilantro, salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Simmer: Return meatballs to pan and simmer them in the sauce until cooked through, about 10 more minutes.
- Serve over hot, cooked rice.4-5 cups cooked jasmine rice
Notes
Nutrition
*Nutritional label does not include rice.
I originally shared this recipe in February 2014. Updated January 2018 and April 2023 and September 2025.
Follow Me
This post contains affiliate links.
I was disappointed with this recipe. My husband and I both found in bland. The only thing I did differently was I used bottle lime juice but I served it with a fresh lime. This had so many flavors that I was surprised by the lack of flavor. I have lots of leftovers, any idea on a interesting way to use the meatballs in another dish?
You could totally turn the leftovers into Thai meatball lettuce wraps just add some crunchy veggies, herbs, and a drizzle of sauce to wake it up. Also, the flavor might’ve been affected by the curry paste. do you remember what brand you used? Some are way more bold than others.
Instead of cooking the meatballs in a skillet on the stove top, could I roast them in the oven? And then can I make the sauce and put the meatballs in the sauce and then put them back in the oven instead of on the stove top?
Totally! You can absolutely roast the meatballs instead—400°F for about 15–20 minutes should do it (just check that they’re cooked through). Then yep, go ahead and pour the sauce over them and pop it all back in the oven for a few minutes to let everything mingle
Don’t overcook this. It was delicious before I got rid of all the delicate flavors.
These were so good! My whole family loved them. I didn’t have fish sauce, so I left that out, but we didn’t miss it. I also cooked the meatballs in the oven at 375 while I made the sauce and then transferred them into the pan while the sauce was simmering and it worked really well with less mess.
Delicious, full of flavor! Easy…pour over rice!