Turkey meatballs in creamy curry sauce

And what to make with leftover rotisserie chicken

I love meatballs. They’re fun and versatile, delicious served Italian-style nestled into a red sauce, or Greek-inspired with a creamy tzatziki or tossed in a sugar-free teriyaki sauce. Meatballs also happen to be the perfect little finger foods. They’re great for dipping and okay by kids too (at least my kiddos have never met a meatball they didn’t like).

Keto turkey meatballs in creamy curry sauce is a meal you can throw together pretty easily on a Wednesday which is exactly what I did this week.

It takes about 30 minutes from start to finish and you can even make the meatballs in advance and freeze them for extra dinner prep ease.

I hope you enjoy this recipe! It will eventually live on the blog but I wanted to get it to you early.

Turkey meatballs in curry sauce

A few tips… For the meatballs, chopped green onion, chopped cilantro or basil (even better, Thai basil) all work well. Same goes for the curry sauce. Feel free to use your favorite medley of low-carb vegetables— bell pepper, zucchini, cauliflower florets, etc.— and let it simmer until the veggies are tender.

The almond flour replaces traditional breadcrumbs and creates a nice and tender meatball that’s not too dense.

If you’re not too keen on frying the meatballs, you can bake them instead! See the recipe notes for those instructions. I’m usually torn between the two meatball cooking methods. You could also use the air fryer and follow my cooking instructions in this air fryer chicken meatball recipe.

Also, I used a red curry paste but you can also swap in green curry paste if you prefer it.

Meatball ingredients

• 1-1/2 pounds ground turkey meat

• 1/2 cup almond flour

• 1/4 cup parmesan cheese

• 1 egg

• 2 teaspoons red curry paste

• 1/2 cup chopped green onion (or chopped cilantro or basil)

• 2 teaspoons minced garlic

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

• 2 tablespoons avocado oil

Curry ingredients

• 1/2 cup diced onion

• 1 bell pepper, chopped or sliced thin

• 2 teaspoons minced garlic

• small nub of ginger, grated OR 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

• 1-2 tablespoons red curry paste (use 2 if you want a spicier curry)

• 2, 14-oz. cans full-fat coconut milk (I like Thai Kitchen brand)

• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

• 1-2 tablespoons granulated monk fruit sweetener (sweeten the curry to taste)

• 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt

• 1 teaspoon fish sauce (optional)

• fresh green onions, basil or cilantro for serving

Instructions

1. Add all of the meatball ingredients to a large bowl and combine well.

2. Heat a large, non-stick skillet over medium heat. Pour in the avocado oil. Use a cookie dough scoop to scoop out the meatballs (I like to make sure it’s a heaping scoop, about 1-1/2 tablespoons in size), and place them directly into the hot skillet to cook (you may need to do this in two batches).

3. Cook the meatballs for about 1-3 minutes per side, turning to cook them evenly. When done, transfer them to a plate.

4. In the same skillet, add the onion and bell pepper and cook for 5 minutes over medium heat.

5. Add the minced garlic, ginger and red curry paste. Stir and cook for 30 seconds.

6. Pour in the coconut milk and lime juice. Add 1 tablespoon of the monk fruit sweetener, salt, and the fish sauce, if using. Stir well and taste the curry. Add more sweetener, if needed.

7. Bring the sauce to a boil, then immediately reduce the heat to medium-low and let the curry simmer for about 5 minutes.

8. Add the meatballs to the sauce and stir to coat them. Serve them immediately with a base or side of choice (or on their own!), garnished with extra fresh basil, cilantro or more green onion.

Recipe notes

• You can use your favorite sweetener of choice, just make sure to sweeten the curry to taste.

• For baking the meatballs: Preheat the oven to 450°F. Scoop out the meatballs and place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a baking mat. Bake for about 13-15 minutes or until done.

• For a dairy-free version, omit the parmesan cheese in the meatballs.

• I used organic ground turkey but you could also try this with ground chicken.

• You can serve this dish on its own or spoon it over cauliflower rice, broccoli rice or your favorite low-carb rice.

A moment for rotisserie chickens

As much as I love a homemade roasted chicken (or this air fryer whole chicken!), we all know that sometimes a store-bought rotisserie chicken saves the day. It’s an easy and affordable way to get dinner on the table and chicken leftovers can be repurposed into other tasty meals, too!

I’m constantly looking for new ways to use leftover rotisserie chicken meat which is why I just posted this roundup of 15 recipes made with leftover rotisserie chicken.

Some of the recipes are mine while others are recipes that fellow keto food bloggers contributed to the list. All of these meals are low-carb, keto-friendly and gluten free!

I hope they’re helpful to you! You’ll find recipes like my keto chicken soup, this keto chicken pot pie with biscuits and this flavor-packed Cobb salad with a keto ranch dressing. There are casseroles and quick lunch ideas, too.

And of course, there’s much more low-carb deliciousness over on the site.

Enjoy and happy weekend!

Abby