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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
This dish had good flavor, but as some other reviews suggested could be improved in a few ways. My meatballs also desperately needed a binder and almost fell apart in the pan. I love peanut flavor in Asian dishes, but I found the peanut butter to be a bit rich in addition to the coconut milk here, and in the future will reduce the peanut butter and increase the curry paste. The dish could also benefit from some acidity and some different textures, and so I think lime juice and perhaps a vegetable like red pepper would be an excellent addition. Finally, the dish does take more than the suggested time to make and prep, especially to ensure that the cubed sweet potato was cooked all the way through. All in all a solid dish, that I will likely remake in the future with some tweaks.
Hi Sarah! I am glad this turned out well, but I hope you love it even more with these changes! Please let me know if there is anything I can help with! xTieghan
I made this last night and loved it! South eastern Asian food is my FAV, so I love how many great recipes are on this page! I read through the comments for tips. I added an egg to my meatball mixture since people said they fell apart. They were still pretty soft so I had to carefully spoon them into my pot, but they came out great. They didn’t fall apart. I loved the pomegranate on this recipe! Don’t skip them! I think next time I’ll add a squeeze of lime at the end. Like someone mentioned, a little more acid would make this perfect. We also added a little red chili paste for a bit more heat. This one is a keeper!
I am so happy this recipe turned out so amazing for you, Kelly! Thank you so much for trying this one! xTieghan
Easy delicious and quick. Definitely going in dinner rotation.
Thank you so much Emily! xTieghan
This was so delicious! And both of our little kids loved it! (2 year old and 9 month old.)
Thank you so much Jenna! xTieghan
Hi yummy recipe!
One question, though I notice you say half a cup of cilantro but I can’t figure out where exactly to put this in other than to garnish.
Thanks!
Hey Nick,
The cilantro is to use as garnish. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
W O W!!!!!! This was absolutely delicious. I forgot to add the spinach but cannot wait to make it again!!!!! Definitely an all time favorite HBH recipe.
Aw I am really happy to hear that! Thank you so much Marissa! xTieghan
I liked this recipe ! I added half a lemon and hot sauce to balance out the creamy coconut milk. If I make this again I may decrease the coconut milk to 1 can and replace the with and equal amount of chicken stock.
Hi Josephine! I am glad you liked this one! If there is anything I can help with, please let me know! xTieghan
So so good!! We had our first chilly day of the fall/winter season here in LA and this was the perfect cozy dinner to transition us from the daily 100°F heat to the colder 60°F (not even that cold, we’re just dramatic). Thank you for yet another show stopping recipe Tieghan! Love the use of season ingredients like butternut squash too <3
Hi Gaby! I am so glad this recipe turned out so well for you chillier night in LA! Haha I have been there and it is pretty cold at night! Thank you for trying this one! I hope you continue to enjoy my recipes! xTieghan
This is the first time I ever used curry. Quite delicious! I received your cookbook as a gift and have made so many of your recipes. You are so talented. Thank you!
You are so sweet! I am really happy you have been loving this recipe and others of mine! Thank you Patricia! xTieghan
Hi,
I have a peanut allergy (all other nuts are okay). Which kind of nut butter would you recommend subbing?
Thank you!!
Hey Olivia,
You could do almond butter or tahini! I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
Thank you for this recipe! It was GREAT. I don’t know what my issue is, but anytime I make meatballs, they always come out dry, so for next time, I’ll use chicken breast or chicken thigh pieces instead. Otherwise, this was delicious, and I’m so grateful you sharing it!
Thank you so much Maddy! I am really happy this recipe turned out so amazing for you! xTieghan
I this is my new favorite dinner! It’s quick and easy to make yet packed with flavor. I used one can full fat and one can reduced fat coconut milk because that’s what I had in my pantry and it was still super creamy. Can’t wait to make it again!
Thank you so much Kacey! I am really glad this recipe has been turning out so well for you! Thank you so much! xTieghan
This recipe was terrific. Wonderful smells filled the kitchen as the sauce cooked and everyone wants me to make it again. Another keeper!
Thank you so much Chris! I am really glad this recipe turned out so amazing for you! xTieghan
I made several modifications to this recipe but it was still absolutely delicious! I used turkey instead of chicken, coconut aminos instead of soy, and replaced one of the cans of coconut milk with chicken broth. We ate it with udon noodles since that’s what I had on hand. The flavors all worked so well together! I’ll definitely be making this one again.
I am really happy you loved this recipe, Leslie! Thank you so much for trying it! xTieghan
THIS IS INSANE! So delicious. It’s pretty simple as well. I added about a teaspoon of chili paste for a kick. Creamy, curry, peanut buttery, meatballs=YUM!
Thank you so much Jill! xTieghan