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Keeping things simple with a warming weeknight style Creamy Coconut Chicken Meatball and Noodle Curry. This southeast Asian inspired noodle curry is the simplest weeknight dinner. Made with flavorful Thai curry paste, coconut milk, creamy peanut butter, and a sprinkling of cilantro. Toss in seared chicken meatballs and plenty of delicious egg noodles and it’s hard to beat this easy creamy curry. It’s the perfect any night of the week dinner that’s made in just about 30 minutes…hearty, cozy, and healthy too.
Hey, hi! We made it to Thursday, which means the weekend is almost here! Trust me, I know it’s been a long week, but thankfully we have good food to share, upcoming holiday excitement, and tomorrow…chocolate. Everything is better with a good dinner and a night that ends on a sweet note. And that is just the truth.
You guys, I am very excited about today’s recipe. It’s inspired by a Southeast Asian soup called Laksa. It’s spicy, creamy, and the most flavorful dish. And I love all the color throughout.
With fall in full force, and Thanksgiving planning and prep underway, I tend to get into a dinner rut of making casserole after casserole and pasta after pasta. In my mind, there isn’t anything wrong with that. I love these foods! But it’s always nice to switch it up. I was feeling like I needed to break away from all my cozy, cheesy pasta and Thanksgiving recipes and share something completely fresh and different, but yet still warming for fall.
The Thanksgiving recipes will return tomorrow and throughout next week, but when in the midst of Thanksgiving planning and prep, we also need good dinners!
The background.
Laksa is one of the most popular southeast Asian dishes. It’s a spicy noodle soup that usually consists of either rice or wheat noodles with chicken or fish. The broth is a spicy, rich curried coconut milk. Laksa can most commonly be found in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and southern Thailand. It varies from place to place in exact flavor, but the two things Laksa always has is a creamy, spicy coconut broth and lots of noodles. It’s not hard to prepare, but it does require a handful of ingredients that I can’t easily find.
So this is my simplified version of Laksa. It’s creamy, heavy on the noodles, and made with chicken meatballs. It’s a little different than a classic Laksa, but similar in flavor profiles. Most importantly, it’s easy to make and so delicious.
Here are the details.
Aside from cooking the noodles, you can make this dish entirely in one pot. The meatballs are simply a mix of ground chicken, green onions, soy sauce, and black pepper. Very simple, but yet so flavorful. The combination of green onions and salty soy is key here.
To make the meatballs, roll them out and then pan-fry them in a bit of oil to get them nice and crispy on the outside. I really like using avocado oil for this since it’s a high heat cooking oil, but olive oil works nicely too.
Once the meatballs are seared, remove them from the pot to ensure they don’t end up overcooking or losing their crispness. Once the meatballs are out, add everything else right to that very same pot. Starting with lots of shallots, ginger, and garlic, then toss in the cubed butternut squash or sweet potatoes.
Next, you’ll want to sauté the Thai red curry paste for a minute or two before adding in the liquids. This will activate the flavors in the curry paste and give you a richer tasting broth. Now, just add in all the coconut milk, stir back in the meatballs and simmer everything together for a few minutes.
While that’s happening, boil some egg noodles (or use rice noodles if you’re gluten-free). By the time the noodles are ready, the curry should be thick and ready to toss with the noodles and serve.
To serve, just add the noodles to bowls and then ladle both the veggies and meatballs overtop.
Finish with lots of fresh cilantro and pomegranate arils. Simple, but yet so complex with flavor, and so colorful too!
The broth, the crispy meatballs, the noodles, the toppings…everything all together? It’s delicious. Creamy, gingery, and garlicky, a touch spicy, salty, and truly so perfect. Loving this for busy weeknights, but yet it feels special enough for a cold Sunday night. Either night you end up serving this, it’s going to be perfect.
Looking for other warming curry recipes? Here are my favorites:
Slow Cooker Saucy Thai Butternut Squash Curry
30 Minute Coconut Milk Braised Chicken with Sweet Potatoes and Rice
Saucy Coconut Braised Chicken with Rice Noodles and Broccoli
Sweet Potato Lentil Curry with Crispy Sesame Chickpeas
Lastly, if you make this Creamy Coconut Chicken Meatball and Noodle Curry, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Creamy Coconut Chicken Meatball and Noodle Curry
Servings: 6
Calories Per Serving: 725 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground chicken
- 2 green onions, finely chopped, plus more for serving
- 1/4 cup + 2 teaspoons low sodium soy sauce
- black pepper
- 5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil or avocado oil
- 1 cup cubed butternut squash or sweet potato
- 2-3 medium shallots, thinly sliced
- 1 inch fresh ginger, grated
- 4 cloves garlic, minced or grated
- 1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped, plus more for serving
- 1/4 cup Thai red curry paste
- 2 (14-ounce) cans full-fat coconut milk
- 2 tablespoons creamy peanut butter
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce (or low sodium soy sauce)
- 2 cups baby spinach
- 8 ounces egg or rice noodles
- pomegranate arils, for serving (optional)
Instructions
- 1. Add the chicken, green onions, 2 teaspoons soy sauce, and a pinch of pepper to a bowl. Mix until just combined. Coat your hands with a bit of oil, and roll the meat into tablespoon-size balls (will make 15-20 meatballs).2. Heat a large pot over medium-high heat and add 2 tablespoons oil. When the oil shimmers, add the meatballs and sear until crisp, about 4-5 minutes, turning them 2-3 times until cooked through. Transfer to a plate.3. To the same pot, add 3 tablespoon oil, the shallots, ginger, and garlic. Cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add the butternut squash and curry paste. Cook another 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in the coconut milk, 1/2 cup water, 1/4 cup soy sauce, fish sauce, and peanut butter. Slide the meatballs back into the curry. Simmer over medium heat until the meatballs are cooked through, 5-8 minutes. Stir in the spinach. Thin as desired with additional water or broth.4. Meanwhile, cook noodles according to package directions.5. Divide the noodles between bowls and ladle the curry over. Top each bowl with pomegranate, cilantro, and green onions.
This post was originally published on November 5, 2020
Can you recommend a sub for peanut butter? I don’t have a nut allergy, I just don’t do well with peanuts. Could I sub my favorite mixed nut butter? Thanks!
Hey Rachel,
You could sub another nut butter or tahini! I hope you enjoy the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
So flavourful! I added some mushrooms and used kale because I didn’t have spinach 🙂
Every week I cook from your recipes now. You are amazing!
So simple to make and tastes even better than it looks!! Gonna be making this one a lot this winter!
Great tasting curry recipe! I did have to take my butternut squash out of the pan and cook them in the microwave to soften because it would have taken forever for them to soften in the sauce. Next time I will pre cook them before adding to the sauce. My meatballs also desperately needed a binder as they fell apart during searing. I served this over rice as that’s how we mostly ate it in Thailand and I wanted to recreate that experience for my husband. Overall, a success!
I made this tonight, it was absolutely delicious! I didn’t have pomegranate so I added crushed peanuts on top. 10 out of 10 will make it again. Love your recipes!
We love curry so I’m really excited to try this! Any other suggestions than squash or sweet potatoes? My fiancé can be a bit picky! Also – how prominent is the peanut butter taste?
First off can I just say that people who rate a recipe because it “looks so good” shouldn’t be leaving a review at all. Make it, and then leave your review.
I love curry, and love the way this recipe “looks” in the photograph, but was highly disappointed along with everyone else that ate it tonight. For one reason: Lack. Of. Flavor. Absolutely the blandest recipe I’ve made in a long time. Love the way all of half baked harvest recipes “look” but reluctant to try another based on this major let down.
Hi Lisa! I am really sorry this recipe did not turn out as expected. Is there anything that could have changed? I would love to help! xTieghan
This came out great! SO yummy and quick! I added a squirt of lime and will definitely be making this again!
Thank you so much Carolyn! xTieghan
Hello from Sleepy Hollow NY Tieghan—-Just finished making this recipe for my son and daughter in law. It is so delicious i am sorry i said I was making it for them!!!!! Followed the recipe to the tee and it is wonderful in flavor and looks. Thank you for another keeper!!!—-gail
Haha I am really happy this turned out so well for you, Gail! Thank you so much for trying it! xTieghan
Hi, this recipe looks amazing! I just wanted to double check the nutritional info – when I pasted the ingredients into MyFitnessPal I came up with 646 calories for 6 servings. Any idea why your calculation might have come out so much lower?
Hey Vikki,
The calorie count is just an estimated count based on the online tracker. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
Hello When do I add the half cup of cilantro? While making the sauce?
Thank you for your help.
Hey Donna,
The cilantro is used as a garnish. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
made this for dinner last night and it was very good! cut down the shallots to 1 since my partner doesn’t like them a ton and it was still good! my meatballs did take around 15 to fully cook and I let the sauce simmer for twice as long to make sure everything was cooked.
I am really happy this turned out so amazing for you! Thank you so much for trying this one! xTieghan
Any thoughts or suggestions about using halibut or another white fish instead of meatballs?
Hey Brad,
I think that would work well! I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
Hi, where does the 1/2 cup of cilantro go? I only see cilantro mentioned in the portion where you plate it. Thank you!
Hey Amanda,
The cilantro is for garnish. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
AH.MAZE.ING
as soon as you posted this, I knew I was going to make it tonight! the perfect Friday night de-stress meal!
the flavors come together soo perfectly.
I mixed chicken & pork for the meatballs and it’s good! i only wished I had paid attn to your directions to take it out as soon as their seared ? but that’s ok bc I’m definitely making this again!!
Thank you Tieghan!! I loveeee your Asian-inspired recipes – but honestly everything is delicious.