Paleo Thai Coconut Chicken Meatballs {Grain Free, Dairy Free}
/Combine bold spices for these flavorful Paleo Thai coconut chicken meatballs. They're gluten free, grain free, dairy free, and Whole 30 friendly.
I've never been a huge fan of spaghetti and meatballs. This was even before I took gluten out of my diet.
It just didn't make sense to have this enormous ball of meat on my plate. It seemed like a lot of work to break it down and then it would be dry in the middle.
My paleo Thai coconut chicken meatballs are definitely not dry and definitely full of flavor from all the added spices.
I did make my meatballs smaller without even thinking. It's as if I was traumatized by a big meatball. I wasn't, but I covered my bases so there would be delicious bites in every spoonful.
The consistency on these chicken meatballs can be a little tricky. I used my food processor to break down all of the ingredients, because I'm lazy, and also don't want a dry ball.
The flip side to that is that you have to add a little coconut flour (or almond flour if you don't have an allergy like I do). The flour acts as a binder to keep everything together.
Since everyone's onions and carrots have a different water consistency, you're going to want to eyeball the flour until it holds together to your liking.
Alternately, you could process the onions and carrots, throw them in cheesecloth to ring out the added moisture, but see above, I'm lazy, and don't want a dry chicken meatball.
You can also add an egg for a lighter consistency, but I'm working on defeating an egg allergy.
Yes, you can defeat allergies if you tackle root causes, which I'm hoping I've done.
Still, I kept these coconut meatballs egg free.
So you have a few swaps you can try if you please. I hope you enjoy these paleo thai coconut chicken meatballs!
Paleo Thai Coconut Chicken Meatballs
{Grain Free, Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Whole30}
Makes about 24 small meatballs
Ingredients
Chicken Meatballs
1 pound organic ground chicken, pasture raised
1 large carrot, clean and coarsely chopped
1/2 small red onion, skin removed, coarsely chopped
2 garlic cloves
1" fresh ginger, skin removed
2 tablespoons of fresh basil
2 tablespoons of fresh cilantro
1 lime
2 tablespoons coconut aminos
1 tablespoon red curry paste
2 tablespoons coconut flour
Salt
Coconut Lime Sauce
1 tablespoon coconut oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1" fresh ginger, minced
1 tablespoon red curry paste
1-1/2 tablespoon Sunbutter (or peanut butter)
1 BPA-free full fat coconut milk
2 tablespoon fresh lime juice
Instructions
Preheat oven to 375F.
Place the carrot, red onion, garlic and ginger in a food processor and pulse until everything is broken down. Then add the basil, cilantro, lime, coconut aminos, curry paste, and salt and blend until combined.
In a large glass bowl, place the ground chicken along with the spiced vegetable mixture and use a spoon to fully combine all of the ingredients. Add the coconut flour and thoroughly mix. Allow to stand for 5 minutes so flour can absorb the liquid. If the mixture is still too runny to form balls, add more flour. (Almond flour can be swapped, but you'll need more as it's not as absorbent as coconut).
Take a baking sheet lined with parchment or a Silpat, and start forming small 1" balls with your hands. Wet your fingers so they don't stick to your mixture. Place in the oven and bake for 20 minutes or brown and cooked through.
Make the coconut lime sauce while the meatballs cook. Place a large skillet over medium heat with coconut oil. Once warm, add the ginger and garlic and cook for about 2-3 minutes until fragrant, then add the curry paste and Sunbutter. Stir until the mixture is smooth and then add the coconut milk. Continue to stir while watching the heat so the mixture doesn't boil. Allow to combine for 5 minutes, then add the lime juice.
Once the meatballs are done baking in the oven, add them to the coconut lime sauce, letting flavors combine for 3-5 minutes.
Serve over squash noodles, cauliflower rice or my curried cauliflower kale rice.
