Slow Cooker Thai Peanut Turkey Meatballs
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Turkey meatballs are slow cooked in Thai peanut sauce, then served over rice & topped with fresh cilantro, carrots & peanuts in this tasty rice bowl recipe!
Earlier this week, I was dreaming of my favorite Thai Peanut Sauce and thinking of new recipes that I could incorporate the sauce into.
During this dreaming/brainstorming process, I was also cooking up Slow Cooker Swedish Meatballs for the Cox Smart Home event I was catering and Snapchatting live from this week.
That’s when I got the idea for Slow Cooker Thai Peanut Turkey Meatballs!
I love using ground turkey in recipes! From buffalo turkey meatballs, to turkey chili spaghetti squash, to greek turkey tacos, it’s a deliciously lean protein that’s light on fat and calories, yet still brings the flavor!
Turkey meatballs and peanut sauce are a tasty combination and can be prepped in under 20 minutes! Let them slow cook in a crock pot all day for a deliciously flavorful dish, that can be served over rice, with rice noodles, wrapped up in naan or served by themselves as a delicious party app!
Ingredients you’ll need
- For the turkey meatballs
- Olive oil
- Onion
- Ground turkey
- Garlic cloves
- Fresh ginger
- Fresh cilantro
- Thai red curry paste
- Breadcrumbs
- Eggs
- For the Thai peanut sauce
- Coconut milk
- Creamy peanut butter
- Thai red curry paste
- Apple cider vinegar
- Soy sauce
- Brown sugar
- Fresh lime juice
- Serve With (optional)
- Cooked rice
- Shredded carrots
- Crushed peanuts
- Fresh cilantro
To prepare the meatballs, add 1 tbsp olive oil to a large skillet over medium heat. Cook the diced onions for 4-5 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside.
Add the ground turkey, garlic, ginger, cilantro, red curry paste, bread crumbs, egg, egg yolk and cooked onions to a large bowl.
Stir to combine ingredients. Portion out into 20-24 golf ball sized meatballs.
Place the same skillet you cooked the onions in back on the stovetop over medium heat with the additional tablespoon of olive oil. Add the meatballs to the skillet and brown on all sides, 2-3 minutes per side.
Place the meatballs in a slow cooker.
Add all of the ingredients for the Thai peanut sauce to a blender or food processor and blend until smooth and creamy.
Pour the sauce over the meatballs in the slow cooker.
Cook on high for 2 hours, or on low for 5-6 hours.
There are many different ways to serve these Thai Peanut Turkey Meatballs.
For the first serving I added the meatballs to the beautiful rice bowls you see pictured throughout the post with fresh shredded carrots, cilantro and crushed peanuts.
So much flavor! Seriously loving this bowl trend that’s happening right now!
The next day, I wrapped them up in warm naan with a little lettuce, a sprinkle of fresh cilantro and a drizzle of lime juice for a scrumptious lunch wrap!
These meatballs would also be the perfect party app! Put them in the slow cooker in the morning and serve them up for a football watch party, or upcoming holiday parties!
No matter how you serve them, I know you’re going to love this recipe and dream about that Thai Peanut Sauce, just like I do! 😉
Slow Cooker Thai Peanut Turkey Meatballs
Ingredients
Turkey Meatballs
- 2 tbsp olive oil, divided
- 1 cup onion, diced
- 2 lbs ground turkey
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tsp fresh ginger, grated
- ¼ cup fresh cilantro, chopped
- 2 tbsp Thai red curry paste
- ½ cup breadcrumbs
- 1 egg
- 1 egg yolk
Thai Peanut Sauce
- 1 ½ cups coconut milk
- 1 cup creamy peanut butter
- ¼ cup Thai red curry paste
- 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 1 tbsp fresh lime juice
Serve With (optional)
- 4 cups rice
- ½ cup shredded carrots
- ½ cup crushed peanuts
- ¼ cup fresh cilantro
Instructions
- To prepare the meatballs, add 1 tbsp olive oil to a large skillet over medium heat.
- Cook the diced onions for 4-5 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside.
- Add the ground turkey, garlic, ginger, cilantro, red curry paste, bread crumbs, egg, egg yolk and cooked onions to a large bowl.
- Stir to combine ingredients.
- Portion out into 20-24 golf ball sized meatballs.
- Place the same skillet you cooked the onions in back on the stovetop over medium heat with the additional tablespoon of olive oil.
- Add the meatballs to the skillet and brown on all sides, 2-3 minutes per side.
- Place the meatballs in a slow cooker.
- Add all of the ingredients for the Thai peanut sauce to a blender or food processor and blend until smooth and creamy.
- Pour the sauce over the meatballs in the slow cooker.
- Cook on high for 2 hours, or on low for 5-6 hours.
- There are many different ways to serve these Thai Peanut Turkey Meatballs.
- I added the meatballs to rice bowls with fresh shredded carrots, cilantro and crushed peanuts.
Notes
Nutrition Facts
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5 Comments on “Slow Cooker Thai Peanut Turkey Meatballs”
I wanted a quick fix so I ended up adding a little fish sauce to the meat ball mix and ended up pan frying the meatballs. Drained most of the oil and then added all the sauce recipe, more coconut milk and some fish sauce. I mixed until smooth and then added the meatballs back in to simmer. AMAZING.
I made this for dinner tonight and I seriously could not stop eating. It was SO GOOD. I cannot wait for lunch tomorrow!
Yay! Thanks for sharing Kel! So glad you enjoyed it 🙂
I cooked this for too long and the sauce kind of congealed. Any suggestions for how I can make this good again to eat? Would adding almond milk help? Thanks!
Hi Kate, I’d say to whisk in a little more coconut milk to the sauce to bring it back to life!