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These Thai Meatballs are paleo, gluten-free, and bursting with flavor. The meatballs themselves, made from ground turkey, are full of veggies and infused with the perfect flavor combination of ginger, chili, garlic, and more. A total crowd-pleaser that gets rave reviews!

A bowl of turkey meatballs with rice.

Healthy Thai Turkey Meatballs

Let me (re)introduce you to one of my favorite recipes from the early days of this blog! These Thai Meatballs are from the first few years of blogging and I’m excited to be giving it an update with new photos, so more of you can find this amazing recipe. These meatballs are bursting with Thai flavors, filled with some extra hidden veggies, and have stood the test of time. I know you are going to love them as much as my family has over the years!

When a meatball recipe is as delicious as these are–plus, easy-to-make–you know you have yourself a dinner-time favorite. Mix all the ingredients, toss on a baking sheet, bake, and enjoy! They make for a great meal prep option too! Protein-packed, nutritious, and easy to take on the go.

And don’t worry, if you’ve had trouble making gluten-free turkey meatballs in the past, we’re sharing our tips for working with turkey meatballs to make this recipe fool-proof.

Ingredient prep for Thai meatballs.

Thai Meatball Ingredients

  • Ground Dark Meat Turkey
  • Carrots
  • Scallions
  • Garlic + Ginger
  • Coconut Aminos
  • Chili Paste
  • Salt + Red Pepper Flakes
  • Sesame Oil
  • Fish Sauce

Substitutes

Here are some common substitution questions answered for this recipe:

Turkey: Feel free to swap out the turkey for ground dark meat chicken!

Fish Sauce: We know we often get questions about this. This is optional! But recommended as it does add a really nice flavor to the meatball.

Coconut Aminos: This is a soy-free alternative to soy sauce. You can use soy sauce in this but omit the added salt.

Sesame Oil: This adds a really nice flavor, but can be substituted for olive oil or avocado oil.

Chili Paste: If you don’t have this, you can swap it with sriracha.

Pouring sauce over thai meatballs.

Tips for Making Turkey Meatballs

Making gluten-free meatballs with ground turkey can be a little tricky. Follow these best practices to make for the best Thai meatballs!

  1. Don’t use only white meat ground turkey. It will be too dry. Stick to ground dark meat or a mix of white and dark meat. If you can’t find ground turkey already in the case, check with the butcher to see if they can grind up some boneless dark meat for you fresh!
  2. Work with very cold meat! The colder the meat mixture, the easier it is to work with. We’ve even stuck the meatballs in the freezer for 10-15 minutes to shape them better when need be.
  3. Make sure to wet your hands! This helps prevent the meat mixture from sticking to you.
  4. Use a cookie scoop to portion out the meatballs to ensure even-sized meatballs.

How to Serve Thai Meatballs

There are two main ways to serve these meatballs. The first is as an appetizer! These meatballs have frequently been served as an Hors d’Oeuvre in my house over the years, and to great fanfare! Or, you can serve this as a meal on it’s own (and they make great meal prep!).

If serving them as a meal, serve them with any of these sides for a complete lunch or dinner:

A bowl of Thai meatballs.

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Like this healthy meatball recipe? Try these other favorite meatball recipes:

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A bowl of turkey meatballs with rice.

Thai Meatballs

4.91 from 31 votes
These Thai Meatballs are paleo, gluten-free, and bursting with flavor. The meatballs themselves, made from ground turkey, are full of veggies and infused with the perfect flavor combination of ginger, chili, garlic, and more. A total crowd-pleaser that gets rave reviews!
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes

Ingredients
  

For Meatballs:

  • 1 lb. ground turkey
  • 1/2 cup shredded carrots
  • 1/4 cup scallions chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 tablespoon fresh grated ginger
  • 2 tablespoons coconut aminos
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon chili paste
  • ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
  • Pinch red pepper flakes

For Sauce:

  • 1/4 cup coconut aminos
  • 2 tablespoon sesame oil or olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon fish sauce
  • 1 clove garlic finely minced
  • 2 teaspoon grated ginger
  • 1 teaspoon chili paste

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 375ºF and set aside a baking sheet.
  • Add all of the meatball ingredients to a large bowl and mix together. Portion out about 2 heaping tablespoons amount of the mixture and form into meatballs with wet hands. If the mixture is difficult to handle, place in the refrigerator or freezer for a few minutes.
  • Place meatballs on the baking sheet for 14-16 minutes or until meatballs are golden on the outside and reach an internal temperature of 165ºF.
  • Meanwhile make sauce ingredients: Add all of the sauce ingredients to a medium pot and whisk together. Cook over medium heat until the sauce comes to a boil. Reduce the heat and let simmer until sauce thickens up.
  • Toss the meatballs with 3/4 of the sauce, and serve over rice or another side dish, or as an appetizer with some extra sauce on the side.

Notes

Feel free to substitute in ground chicken for the turkey.
If you don't have chili paste, you can substitute in sriracha.

Nutrition

Serving: 1/4 recipeCalories: 190kcalCarbohydrates: 4gProtein: 23gFat: 9gSaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 78mgSodium: 350mgFiber: 1gSugar: 3g
Keyword: Thai Meatballs
Course: Dinner
Method: Bake
Cuisine: Gluten-free
Author: Lexi's Clean Kitchen



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Comments

  1. I’ve never heard of amminos, are they better for you than tamari or soy?
    If you don’t like fish sauce can I omit it?

  2. So excited for these but they are sooo sticky! Whats your trick to rolling them into balls when they get stuck all over your fingers? Thanks!

  3. These look great, I can’t wait to try! Do you know if there is anything to sub the coconut aminos with? Thanks!

  4. HI Can’t wait to make these tonight (finally)!! How many meatballs would you say is a serving size? Thank you for all your recipes and cook book!!!

    Beverly

  5. I loved the flavors in these meatballs. The meatballs and sauce were on the salty side for me so I would eliminate the salt in the recipe and find some amino that is low sodium. I would also double the amount of sauce for the meatballs; I found that it wasn’t enough as a single recipe.

  6. These sound amazing Lexi!! And look so good. Glad you had an awesome weekend. A night making sushi followed by meals out and shopping sounds like it was a great way to spend a few days.

      1. Currently, no because of the chile paste and red pepper flakes. However, I am starting to think about some reintroductions. Overall, I haven’t really felt different doing AIP. I have an appointment with my endocronologist next week. Hopefully I’ll get more blood tests done to see how my thyroid levels are doing and then go from there. Will let you know how it turns out (I’ve been missing not tasting some of the goodies you’ve posted recently). 😀

  7. Not going to lie, I was drooling when I saw you post this on instagram- I’ve been stuck on sweet and salty paleo meatballs but love the idea of a Thai flavoured one!

  8. These are right up my alley! I love Thai flavors, but never thought to make a meatball with them. Great idea!

  9. Dear Lexi, These meatballs sound wonderful…I love all the flavors in this dish. This would be a hit with my family. xo, Catherine

  10. These look terrific. May give them a try this week with my family. I laughed when I saw your comment about Sushi. Tried this at home also, but my rolls were too thick with rice. Just couldn’t get the right amount of rice in the roll to make it hold together, too much. Any hints from your class?

  11. Sounds like it was a pretty perfect weekend. The sushi making and tapas sound especially fun! These meatballs look delicious and I love the Thai flavors you gave them!

  12. I am a huge meatball fan and love using turkey to keep it light. Love the flavor combo. Sharing now!