Thai turkey meatballs with green curry and peanut sauce

Thai turkey meatballs are an easy weeknight dinner. Tender, juicy, turkey meatballs flavored with green curry, ginger and garlic served with peanut sauce for a delicious midweek meal. This 30 minute meal is a little spicy, full of flavor and low effort.

I’ll give you variations and substitutions where I can, plus helpful tips and tricks for success. Read on for this info as well as the recipe. If you’d like to skip straight to the recipe, use the jump to recipe button at the top of the post.

You may also be interested in my ricotta meatballs and my best chicken meatballs recipes. For ease of browsing, you can find all of my meatballs recipes in one place.

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Thai turkey meatballs with peanut sauce

Ground turkey is a staple in our house, so these are always just 30 minutes away. This recipe is also perfect for meal-prepping, consider making a double batch. The sauce will take you less than 5 minutes to make, and if you’re feeling less than enthusiastic about making rice, just order some from the take-out restaurant.

Some of the ingredients here can really bring the heat – green curry paste, Thai red chilies, and ginger. You can leave out the chilies if you don’t like it too spicy. Another option is to cut back on the curry paste. Adjust the ingredients as needed, you will still end up with a delicious dinner.

Meatballs have so many variations. The possibilities are nearly endless, which makes them great for almost anything you want to make with them. Whether your preference is straight-up, classic Italian meatballs swimming in marinara, or thrown in a slow cooker with some BBQ sauce, meatballs are always a crowd-pleaser.  These are no exception.

What you need to know

Meatballs can be prepped ahead of time. You can make the mixture, form them, then cover with plastic wrap and tuck them away in the fridge. This is especially helpful if you’re making a double batch.

Everything in the sauce can be adjusted to suit your personal taste – I like it a little saltier, so I add a bit more soy. You can add a splash of water if the consistency is too thick. If you like a little more tang, add a bit more vinegar. There are no hard and fast rules with the sauce.

My go-to for serving these is jasmine rice, but I’ve also served them with soba noodles or rice noodles when I didn’t feel like having rice. 

I had a certain client who repeatedly sent me glowing text messages about my meatballs. He told me that he “basically drank that peanut sauce”. So, if you needed any additional motivation to make these, there you have it.

One last thing, if you want to learn how to make the curly scallions in the photo, pop over to Instagram and watch me make them. It’s super easy and fun to do with older kids.

Peanut sauce for Thai meatballs

Is this an authentic Thai peanut sauce? NO. Thai peanut sauce does not contain American peanut butter. However, this sauce is made with ingredients that are available in most grocery stores.

It is an easy sauce that comes together in minutes, and will keep in the fridge for 2 weeks. If you don’t feel like making a sauce, these meatballs are delicious on their own. You really can’t go wrong. 

If you happen to live near an Asian market, take a trip and explore the aisles. For a real deal peanut sauce, made with fish sauce, palm sugar and tamarind, check out this recipe.

Ingredients

• Ground turkey – Because ground turkey is very mildly flavored, it is the perfect vehicle for taking on the spices and seasonings in this meatball recipe.
  • Substitution: You can swap out ground turkey for ground chicken, ground beef, or ground pork.
• Garlic, ginger, chili – These give the meatballs an incredible amount of flavor, and a bit of heat.
• Green curry paste – Green curry is made from green chilies, along with some aromatics. It is usually fairly hot, but it can vary from brand to brand.
  • Substitution: You can use red curry paste in place of green.
• Fish sauce – This ingredient can be a deal-breaker, but stick with me. It will not make the meatballs take fishy, but it will give them savory, salty flavor.
• Scallions and cilantro – Fresh herbs infuse these turkey meatballs with so much flavor and freshness. The meatballs aren’t the same without the herbs.

Peanut sauce for Thai turkey meatballs

• Peanut butter – Use any peanut butter you like. Commercial peanut butters, like Skippy or Jif, are smoother and less runny. Natural peanut butters tend to be runnier, and a little grainy. You can also swap it out for any other nut butter of your choice.
• Coconut milk – I like full fat, it gives the best result.
• Sambal oelek – This is a hot pepper condiment that has become more widely available lately. If you can’t find it, swap it for Sriracha or your favorite hot sauce.
• Soy sauce – Soy sauce or tamari will give this sauce the saltiness that is needed to balance the creaminess from the coconut milk and peanut butter.
• Rice vinegar – This light vinegar helps to cut through the richness of the coconut milk and peanut butter.

How to make

Here’s a quick summary of how to make Thai turkey meatballs with green curry. Please see the recipe card at the bottom of this post for the full recipe. 

1. Prep – Add all ingredients for the meatballs to a large mixing bowl. Use a clean hand to fold the mixture together until it is uniform. Make the sauce, then set aside.
2. Scoop – Using a cookie scoop, portion out the meatballs, then roll, using clean hands.
3. Cook – Brown the meatballs, then continue cooking until cooked through. They can also be baked in the oven.
4. Sauce and serve – Serve with sauce, garnish with more herbs, a bit of lime zest, and dig in.

FAQ’s

Variations and substitutions

• Green curry coconut sauce – Sometimes, I omit the peanut sauce and make a quick green curry sauce with coconut milk instead. We’re using most of these ingredients in the meatballs, so we can use what we already have.

1. Combine a can of coconut milk with a tablespoon or two (depending on how spicy you like it) of green curry paste. 
2. Add in a teaspoon of ginger and garlic, a squeeze of lime and a splash of fish sauce.
3. Add a tablespoon of brown sugar to balance the heat, if desired.

Serving suggestions

I like serving these green curry meatballs over jasmine rice. It’s the perfect accompaniment to the flavorful meatballs and sauce. If you prefer noodles, rice noodles are great with this dish.

Helpful tools and equipment

• Cookie scoops are the best way to make sure your meatballs are all the same size. This matters to ensure they all cook at the same rate, and also, so no one fights over the biggest meatball.

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Questions? Send me an email, I’m happy to help. I’d love to send you weekly tips and recipes, so you can get updates about what’s happening in the kitchen!

Originally published 4/30/18, most recent update 3/13/25. 

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