Herby meatballs, pan-fried to get nice and golden, with a quick yellow curry sauce! This is weeknight magic!
Yellow Curry Meatballs with Peanut Shallot Crispies
These Meatballs!! They Are a Crowd Favorite In Our House.
We recently hosted my parents, brothers, and their significant others for dinner on a WEEKNIGHT, and around 3pm ON THE DAY OF HOSTING I realized I needed a plan. Something that would not completely overwhelm me but would also be fun, interesting, and appealing to the foodies?!
Guys, this recipe was group dinner perfection! Herby meatballs, pan-fried to get nice and golden, and then a quick little yellow curry sauce (gravy? it’s really more of a gravy) that gets built right in the pan and bathes every meatball in magic.
These are everything I love in a recipe:
- Easy. 🙂 🙂
- Drenched in amazing, flavorful sauce.
- Beautiful! Especially with the peanut shallot crunch.
I’ve been having these meatballs with the lemony arugula salad from Trader Joe’s because it’s bright and fresh and it just looks really lovely on the plate.
This is the yellow curry paste I buy (affiliate link) and I am a diehard fan. It’s a Thai brand / Thai product and it is so so good. If you want to make homemade, this recipe is also SO good! It’s a bit less concentrated so you should use more of it.
How To Make These Curry Meatballs
1
Make the Meatballs.
Mix and roll! Fresh cilantro / herbs are optional but I think it helps bring them to life just a little bit more.
2
Brown the Meatballs.
The browning on the meatballs builds flavor. They don’t need to be fully cooked; we’ll simmer them in the sauce to finish.
3
Add Shallots and Curry Paste.
They’re sharing the pan with the meatballs! Sauté until they’re soft.
4
Add Coconut Milk.
And just let it simmer! I will often add a cornstarch slurry to thicken the sauce into more of a gravy.
5
Yum! You’re Done!
Serve over rice with the crushed peanut and shallot crispies!
Yellow Curry Meatballs with Peanut Shallot Crispies
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
Description
Easy meatballs, pan-fried to get nice and golden, with a quick yellow curry sauce! This is weeknight magic!
Ingredients
Units
Scale
Meatballs
- 1 pound ground turkey
- 1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
Yellow Curry Sauce
- 1 tablespoon avocado oil
- 1 shallot, thinly sliced
- 1 tablespoon yellow curry paste (homemade or store-bought)
- 1 can coconut milk
- 1/2 cup chicken or vegetable broth
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 1/2 tablespoons water
Peanut Crunch
- 1/2 cup roasted, salted peanuts
- 1/2 cup crispy shallots (I buy mine at Trader Joe’s, but crispy fried onions work too)
For Serving:
- 1 1/2 cup jasmine rice, uncooked
- Salad for serving (currently liking the lemon arugula salad mix from Trader Joe’s)
Instructions
- Form Meatballs: Mix meatball mixture and roll into balls. (Also, now is a good time to start your rice. Cook according to package directions.)
- Brown Meatballs: Heat oil in a a large skillet over medium heat. Add meatballs and cook undisturbed for a few minutes, until browned on one side. Flip them and let them cook to get browning on the other sides as well. The meatballs don’t need to be fully cooked at this point, you’re just building color and flavor.
- Curry Sauce: Scoot the meatballs to the perimeter of the pan to make some space n the middle. Add shallots and curry paste; sauté until softened. Add coconut milk and broth; stir it all together. Cover and simmer for 5 minutes until meatballs are cooked through (165 degrees).
- Thicken It: Add soy sauce and brown sugar. Whisk the cornstarch with the water; add it to the pan. As it simmers, the sauce will thicken into a gravy-like consistency and it is delightful.
- Topping: Chop the peanuts and shallots together into a finely crumbled mixture.
- Serve: Serve your meatballs over rice, with a scoop of extra curry sauce (dreamy). Top with the peanut shallot crispies. Salad goes on the side! What a meal!
Notes
If you’re using homemade yellow curry paste, you’ll want to use more like 3-4 tablespoons. The stuff that I buy is much more potent than what I make at home!
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Thai-Inspired
Keywords: curry meatballs, yellow curry, meatball recipe
Frequently Asked Questions For This Recipe
Can you use a different type of meat? (Beef, chicken, pork, etc.)
You can also use ground chicken or ground beef for these meatballs. I prefer turkey over chicken, but really, either will work well! And beef + yellow curry is one of my favorite flavor combinations. It would be delicious.
Where do you buy yellow curry paste?
This is the yellow curry paste I buy (affiliate link) I love the most! It is SO good. I get it on Amazon!
If I can’t access yellow curry paste, what can I use?
Red curry paste will work just fine! You may want to use 2 tablespoons depending on what brand of red curry paste you’re using.
How can I make this vegetarian?
Use crispy tofu instead of meatballs! SO yummy!
Can you bake the meatballs instead?
Technically, yes. Bake at 400 degrees for 25 minutes, then add them to the sauce. But when I tried this, I just didn’t like it as much as the pan-fried ones. The pan-frying gives the meatballs color which also gives the whole dish a bit of extra flavor that is lacking when you bake them. Technically baking can work, but I prefer browning the meatballs for this!
Three Seriously Good Meatball Recipes
April 21, 2026
Nice to meet you!
I’m Lindsay and I ♡ FOOD. I used to be a teacher, and now making food and writing about it online is my full-time job. I love talking with people about food, and I'm so glad you're here.
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I would love to try this, but I am wondering if you think it would be as good without the peanuts?
I have grandchildren with severe peanut, and tree nut allergies, so if the magic of this recipe is in the peanut I cannot go near it! Is there an adequate substitute?
It You could use toasted pepita seeds for the crunch and flavor!
I have half a bottle of Trader Joe’s yellow curry sauce sitting in my fridge from another recipe? Could I use that?
This may be a silly question, but can you use green curry sauce or red curry sauce, instead of the yellow?