Vegan Thai Red Curry Meatballs
How was your weekend? Mine was busy as usual, but loads of fun. If you’re ready to tackle the week I have a totally scrumptious “meatless monday” (or Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday) recipe on tap today!
Since my black bean meatballs were such a hit with everyone, I thought I’d revisit the recipe with bit of a new tweak on it. This version has an infusion of Thai flavors from carrots, garlic, fresh ginger and basil topped with a creamy red curry sauce. Gosh darn it, these were GOOD and super stunning to boot.
And what you’re looking at today are these faux meatballs inspired by one of my all-time favourite restaurant selections – THAI RED CURRY. Now listen. You can use this sauce with just about anything. Shrimp, chicken, – whatever you’ve got hangin’ around – once the main ingredient is swimming in this ultra rich and light coconut sauce your mouth will 100% be watering.
Similar to the “black beaners”, the whole shebang gets tossed into a food processor and blended just enough to render you a sticky mixture to form into (non) meatballs. From there you roll the mixture into any size ball you want and bake them in the oven while you make the yummy sauce.
I prefer to bake rather than fry these because it helps to firm them up and calories are saved without the use of added oil. But, if you want to fry them on the stovetop go right ahead. No one will judge you, that’s for sure.
Here’s a question you might have. Can light coconut milk be used in this recipe?
Ideally no. I just happened to only have a can of the light stuff and I tried it. Although it was good, the full fat coconut milk is MUCH better. It gives this sauce that creamy, dreamy and silky factor which is a big bonus to this dish. Feel free to use unsweetened coconut cream in place of full fat coconut milk.
My favorite way to serve this dish is with a side of organic brown rice or my new favourite veggie side – cauliflower rice. I have a feeling any side dish would be great here because the sauce is a winner.
Not only it is so flavorful and healthy, it also can be made in 30 minutes or less. I’m going to say that this IS a perfect weeknight dinner. ENJOY!
- MEATBALL INGREDIENTS
- 1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- ½ cup rolled oats
- ½ cup chopped carrots (about 2 carrots)
- 2-3 garlic cloves, minced
- ½-inch fresh ginger, minced
- 10 -12 basil leaves - I used Thai Basil leaves)
- 1 cup chopped baby spinach leaves
- 1 teaspoon coriander
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 2 tablespoons reduced sodium soy or tamari sauce
- 1 teaspoon fish sauce
(OMIT FOR VEGAN) - RED CURRY SAUCE
- 2-3 tablespoons red curry paste
- 3 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 cup full fat coconut milk (you can use lite too but it's not as creamy)
- ½ cup water
- 1 teaspoon coconut or date sugar
- juice of 1 lime
- Preheat the oven to 375F (180 C) and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In the bowl of a food processor, add all of the ingredients for the meatballs starting with the chickpeas and ending with the soy or tamari and fish sauce. Blend for about 10 seconds, until everything is finely chopped and it starts to form a dough. DO NOT OVERMIX or you will end up with a puree. You need to be able to press the mixture between your fingers and have it stick together.
- Using a one tablespoon ice cream scoop, scoop out mixture and roll into balls then place onto the baking sheet a few inches apart. Option to spray the meatballs with avocado oil to make them crunchier but not necessary. Bake in the preheated oven for 20 -25 minutes, or until light golden brown and firm.
- While the meatballs are baking, prepare the sauce. In a large skillet over medium-low heat, add the red curry paste (If you're not into too much spice, add less paste), tomato paste, coconut milk, water and coconut or date sugar. Whisk ingredients together and bring to a low boil
- Reduce heat to low then squeeze in lime juice and stir.
- Once meatballs are done, add them to the pan, spooning the sauce over them. serve warm over brown rice and top with additional sauce. Garnish as desired.
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Hi!
Thanks for pointing that out. I have put a little note in the recipe in case you want to keep it strictly vegan.
xo
Thanks so much for pointing that out! I’ve noted it in the recipe for those who would like to keep this strictly vegan. xo debi
This looks great! But it says VEGAN meatballs and one of the ingredients is “fish sauce”, which is not vegan at all. It’s quite misleading, especially if this ingredient is essential to enhance the flavor of the dish. Perhaps sharing a substitute or not calling it vegan would be helpful for people searching for an actual VEGAN dish. Just some food for thought!