Name: Creamy Coconut Curry Meatballs
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 45 min
Ingredients: 300 ml coconut milk (1 small can ); 300 ml water; 1 yellow pepper; 2 medium sized fresh tomatoes; 1 large yellow onion; 3 cloves garlic; 1.5 tablespoons fresh ginger; 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro (plus more for garnish); 2 red chillies (or half a fresh jalapeno); 1 tablespoon coconut oil; 2 tablespoons curry powder (or to taste); 1 tsp salt (or to taste); 900 grams ground beef (or substitute other ground meat); 1 red onion (finely diced); 4 tablespoons breadcrumbs; 1 egg; 0.5 cup plain yogurt; 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro (finely chopped); 2 cloves garlic (mashed); 1 tsp fresh ginger; 1-2 hot red chillies (finely sliced and seeds removed); 2 teaspoons curry powder; 2 teaspoons garam masala; 1.5 teaspoons salt; 3 tablespoons sauce; 3 tablespoons mascarpone (or cream cheese); 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro (finely chopped)

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Melt-in-your-mouth tender beef meatballs poached in a sweet and spicy coconut curry sauce and served with a drizzle of creamy mascarpone. They will blow your mind for only 15 minutes of hands-on prep!

An overhead view of coconut curry meatballs with cilantro garnish and a bowl of rice on the side.

More great recipes:

These meatballs came about sort of by accident. I made seared tuna steaks with coconut curry sauce and had leftover sauce. I did the best thing you can do with leftovers - turn them into something new and exciting!

A close up view of the meatballs in the sauce with the cilantro and coconut cream garnish.

Making the coconut curry sauce

The coconut curry sauce it simple. I sautéed the aromatics, then added the vegetables, coconut milk and water and simmered for 15 minutes.

Ingredients for the coconut curry sauce

1 – 1.5 cans of coconut milk*
1 yellow pepper
2 medium sized fresh tomatoes
1 large yellow onion or 2-3 smaller ones
3 cloves of garlic
1.5 cm piece of fresh ginger
2 tablespoons of fresh cilantro, plus more for garnish
2 red chillies or ½ a fresh jalapeno (you can also use the rest as garnish)
1 tablespoon of coconut oil
2 tablespoons of curry powder

Once everything was soft I blended it all together until smooth and then returned it to the skillet and turned the heat back on at medium.

* I used 1.5 cans of coconut milk because the remaining ½ can went into coconut lime rice. If you don’t plan on using the remaining ½ can then you can either only use 1 can of coconut milk and replace the rest with water or use a full 2 cans of coconut milk for a really flavourful and rich sauce.

The vegetables and aromatics in the skillet being cooked.

Vegetables simmering in liquid to make coconut curry sauce.

This recipe makes about 2.5 - 3 cups of coconut curry sauce.

It's a great make-ahead flavour enhancer - freeze it to have a tasty sauce ready on busy weeknights.

Making the meatballs

The mixture for the meatballs being mixed.

The ground beef mixture being formed into round balls.

To save time, make the meatballs while the coconut curry sauce is simmering. Mix the ingredients together in a bowl and shape them into golf ball sized meatballs.

900 grams / 2 lbs ground beef (or substitute other ground meat)
1 red onion, finely diced
4 heaping tablespoons breadcrumbs
1 egg
½ cup plain yogurt
2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, mashed
1 cm piece of ginger, mashed
1-2 hot red chillies, finely sliced and seeds removed
2 teaspoons curry powder
2 teaspoons garam masala
1.5 teaspoons salt

Normally when making meatballs I fry them and then simmer them in sauce. In this case though I wanted to save time so I simmered the meatballs from raw and holy wow - they came out melt-in-your-mouth tender!

Amazing results and time savings is my jam.

The raw meatballs simmering in an orange sauce in a cast iron skillet.

The now cooked meatballs simmering in a skillet in an orange curry sauce.

After blending the coconut curry sauce and putting it back in the skillet, heat over medium heat until lightly bubbling. Gently put each meatball into the hot sauce - if the sauce is cold when you put the meatballs in they could sag and lose their shape before they have a chance to set.

After about 5 minutes of simmering, flip each meatball and then cover and simmer on medium-low heat for about 30 minutes.

Serving the coconut curry meatballs

While the meatballs are simmering you may want to make some basmati like I did.

Pro tip: To add a bit of low-effort pizzaz to your basmati: heat a teaspoon of cumin seeds in 1 tablespoon of butter or ghee until aromatic and then add the rice and toast it until lightly browned before adding water.

When you're ready to serve you can make a quick cream sauce. Spoon out 2-3 tablespoons of the cooking sauce and mix it with 2-3 tablespoons of mascarpone or cream cheese. You may want to use a fork to mix the mascarpone/cream cheese before combining it with the sauce so you can get a really smooth cream that's free of lumps.

Drizzle on the cream sauce and then garnish with more chopped cilantro.

An overhead view of the coconut curry meatballs in the sauce with a circular swirl of coconut cream and cilantro on top.

Recipe

Creamy Coconut Curry Meatballs

4.30 from 10 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: International

Keyword: Meatballs, Stovetop

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 45 minutes

Servings: servings

Calories: 659kcal

Author: Cristina

Ingredients

Coconut Curry Sauce

300 ml coconut milk 1 small can
300 ml water
1 yellow pepper
2 medium sized fresh tomatoes
1 large yellow onion
3 cloves garlic
1.5 tablespoons fresh ginger
2 tablespoons fresh cilantro plus more for garnish
2 red chillies or half a fresh jalapeno
1 tablespoon coconut oil
2 tablespoons curry powder or to taste
1 teaspoon salt or to taste

Meatballs

900 grams ground beef or substitute other ground meat
1 red onion finely diced
4 tablespoons breadcrumbs
1 egg
0.5 cup plain yogurt
2 tablespoons fresh cilantro finely chopped
2 cloves garlic mashed
1 teaspoon fresh ginger
1-2 hot red chillies finely sliced and seeds removed
2 teaspoons curry powder
2 teaspoons garam masala
1.5 teaspoons salt

Garnish (optional)

3 tablespoons sauce
3 tablespoons mascarpone or cream cheese
2 tablespoons fresh cilantro finely chopped

Metric - US Customary

Instructions

Prepare the coconut curry sauce
Sauté the onion, garlic, ginger and chilies in the coconut oil over medium-high heat until fragrant. Then add the vegetables, coconut milk, water, salt and curry powder. Heat on high until just starting to bubble, and then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 15 minutes.
Prepare the meatballs
While the coconut curry sauce is simmering, mix all the meatball ingredients in a bowl until evenly combined and then shape into golf-ball sized meatballs.
Blend the coconut curry sauce
Once the vegetables are soft, remove from heat and let cool for 5 minutes then blend until smooth. Taste and adjust seasoning to your preference (more salty, more spicy etc.)
Cook the meatballs in the sauce
Return the sauce back to the skillet. If it's too thin, add up to a ½ cup of water keeping in mind that it will reduce more as the meatballs simmer. Turn the heat on medium and once the sauce is lightly bubbling*, add the meatballs. Cook for 5 minutes on one side and then gently flip each meatball. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for about 20-25 minutes. When finished cooking, add the fresh cilantro and gently stir into incorporate.
Garnish
Spoon out 2-3 tablespoons of the cooking sauce and mix it with 2-3 tablespoons of mascarpone or cream cheese. You may want to use a fork to mix the mascarpone/cream cheese before combining it with the sauce so you can get a really smooth cream that's free of lumps. If it's still too thick to drizzle, add a couple teaspoons water. Drizzle this on the meatballs in a swirl and them sprinkle on the remaining chopped fresh cilantro.

Notes

* The meatballs should be added to hot sauce so they set immediately and keep their shape.

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