The best Whole30 curry meatballs are the perfect addition to your Whole30 weekly meal plan. Bring them with you to lunch atop a big and hearty salad or enjoy them with a big bowl of cauliflower rice for dinner. These meatballs are paleo, low carb and Whole30.
Just wanted to let you know these incredible Whole30 meatballs are sponsored by my friends at KitchenAid!
What can I pair with these Whole30 curry meatballs?
I’m really clueless as to why it has taken me so long to come up with a recipe like this. I’m a curry fiend… ask anyone. I love Thai curry, Indian curry, you name it.
However, once I discovered how easy it was to make curry at home, there was no turning back.
I love picking up curry paste at the local grocery store and getting down with the stove. Seriously, once you pick some curry paste up, you’ll understand why it is such a game changer.
These Whole30 curry meatballs were finished by my husband in TWO days… I got to eat… 3 meatballs- total. Thanks babe.
You know what would pair really well with these meatballs besides plain cauliflower rice or white rice? Some souped up cauliflower rice recipes like:
Super Saucy Asian Cauliflower Rice
or Whole30 Cauliflower Fried Rice
Would almond butter work instead of cashew in these Whole30 meatballs?
You can absolutely substitute out the cashew butter in this recipe for almond butter. I don't always do well with almonds, so I choose to use cashews in their place for that reason.
Not to mention, I think cashew butter is way tastier and creamier, so that's a big win! 🙂
If you have access to cashew butter, I would highly recommend getting your hands on it for the sauce. If you already have some creamy almond butter at home and don't want to head to the store, I won't hold it against you.
One of my favorite parts of this recipe is how quickly everything comes together.
I love that I was able to just throw all of my meatball ingredients into the food processor and give it a whirl. It’s so convenient to have and it looks really beautiful on my countertop.
Could I use ground beef or pork instead of chicken?
You could use a different ground meat mixture like beef or pork, but if it's 90% lean or higher, I'd recommend adding some chopped bacon for extra fat to combat the dryness.
I have a few theories as to why these meatballs turned out just so delicious.
- The curry sauce they are swimming in is to die for. I like to double the recipe and keep some on hand in the freezer (in small serving cubes) to quickly defrost.
- A little fish sauce adds so much umami… and goes a long way
- They are so quick and easy to make. Less time in the kitchen doing dishes = a happy me
Imagine how incredibly easy it would be to throw these onto a large bed of greens with some extra veggies, pour some curry sauce on top and chow down on your break at work. No microwave necessary!
I’m patting myself on the back as I type this… for real.
Get on board with these Whole30 curry meatballs, and you'll be thanking me very soon. Promise.
This post is sponsored by the lovely folks at KitchenAid. Thank you for allowing me to continue creating such incredible content by supporting relationships with incredible brands and companies that The Movement Menu enjoys working with! Opinions will always remain 100% my own!
More Whole30 recipes like this:
Easy Buffalo Chicken Meatballs
Whole30 Beef and Bacon Breakfast Bowl
Whole30 Drunken Zucchini Noodles
Best Ever Whole30 Curry Meatballs
Ingredients
Meatballs
- 2 pounds grassfed beef 90/10 works best
- ½ cup cooked cauliflower rice
- 1 tablespoon flaxseed meal
- 6 garlic cloves
- ½ a red onion roughly chopped
- 1 cup carrots roughly chopped
- 1 ½ limes juiced
- 2 tablespoons coconut aminos
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon red chili pepper flakes
- splash fish sauce
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 3 tablespoons fresh basil chopped
- sea salt and black pepper to taste
Curry Sauce
- 14 ounces canned coconut milk
- 2 heaping tablespoons red curry paste
- 2 limes juiced
- 3 tablespoons cashew butter
- 2 teaspoons garlic minced
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- 2 tablespoons arrowroot flour whisked in 2 tablespoons water
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit and adjust the oven rack to the middle position. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- Place all of the ingredients (except the beef) for the meatballs in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse for 30 seconds or so until mixed well. Do not over process, as it will become mushy! Add the meat and process a few more times.
- Roll into 1 ½ - 2" balls and place them on the prepared baking sheet.
- Bake for 20 minutes and rotate the pan 180 degrees. Bake for another 10-15 until they have reached your desired doneness. I like mine cooked to a medium doneness, so I pulled them out after 30 minutes. While they finish cooking, prepare the curry sauce.
- In a medium saucepan, heat the coconut milk until is begins to simmer. Add the rest of the ingredients and whisk well. Bring to a low boil and turn the heat down to low. Let simmer and thicken for 10-15 minutes. if you like your sauce a bit thicker, you can add the arrowroot mixture (see the bottom of the Curry Sauce ingredients list!)
- Serve the meatballs on a bed of cauliflower rice or regular rice (if you aren't Whole30ing!) Cover with the curry sauce and garnish with fresh herbs and red pepper flakes.
is there something i can sub for the flaxseem meal?
Hemp seeds ?
Oh, my goodness...these are delish! Followed the recipe as is and they’re a hit with my picky family (kids without sauce and hubby and I with the curry sauce). This recipe is going into my regular rotation. Thank you!
That makes me so happy. They are a big fave at our house too, YUMMM!!
These were insanely good! By far one of the best whole30 meals we have tried!!
This makes me so, so happy to hear. Feel free to rate the recipe using the star system on the recipe card if you'd like! It helps me and my readers out tremendously. Are you doing a Whole30 now?
First time I made these I fudged the recipe a little because I was missing some of the ingredients. But they were still so good. Second time I made it to the T. It is one of my favorite recipes I have ever found online. Thank you for sharing it!
This makes me so unbelievably happy to hear!! I'm so happy you enjoyed them.
I’ve found that I’m not a fan of riced cauliflower in place of rice....but let me tell you what goes AMAZING WITH THIS! Riced plantain! I used some coconut oil, minced garlic, riced plantain, and when it was finally crispy enough I dropped some lime juice and salt into it and let it sizzle for a second. This curry sauce over the riced plantain is dangerously good.
Wow, that sounds flipping AMAZING. I will absolutely need to try that. Thanks for sharing with me 🙂
Dish looks amazing! My boys are allergic to nuts...is there anything that I can substitute for the cashew butter in the curry sauce? Thank you!
Can you use sunflower seed butter?
DO you put the cauliflower rice in the meatballs themselvesor is that on the ingredient list for putting the meatballs on top of to serve?
Hi there. The riced cauliflower goes into the meatballs, yep ! 🙂
Can I make these with ground turkey instead? Would you change any of the other ingredients with this substitution? Thanks!
Hi there. You can absolutely do that. I may add in some bacon, as turkey is much drier!
Sounds yummy but the Thai curry paste linked is not Whole 30 compliant (Soy), do you happen to know one that is?
Hi there, the red curry paste by Thai Kitchen doesn't seem to have any soy in it... can you link me?
Thanks I found that the one in the small jar does not have soy but the Amazon link takes you to one that's in a larger tub and it does have soy. Both the same brand Thai Kitchen. I bought the right one!
Oh, how strange! Thank you for making me aware of this... I'm changing the Amazon link now!!! Please let me know what you think of the meatballs 🙂
These are so amazing! We have actually made them a few too many times and they never fail. My husband is always a little nervous about anything too clean 🙂 and he LOVES these, we even made extra sauce, so we could pour it on anything and everything! This is in our regular rotation!
Hi McKenzie, wow this makes me so incredibly happy to hear! The sauce is just the best, isn't it? Drinkable 😉
Can you do me a huge favor and give the recipe a rating (1-5 stars)? You can do so towards the bottom of the recipe post. That helps me out a ton!
Would almond butter work ok in place of cashew???
Yep, absolutely!
Is a serving size 1 meatball?
Hi there. No, 8 servings is split amongst the 2 pounds of beef 🙂
I'm a curry fiend as well - This dish looks super tasty!
Thank you so much! It sure is tasty... curry all day 🙂
These look incredible! I have a few friends on Whole30 who would love this.