When I made these best ever paleo curried pork meatballs last week, I had no idea I was gonna fall this hard.
Talk about food-crush! These babies are pretty near perfect. Just the right amount of spice and flavor that’s nicely mellowed out with a healthy dose of full fat coconut milk. They’re tender yet sturdy enough that they hold up to the curry sauce, and packed with flavorful ingredients like fresh cilantro, garam masala spice, onion and ginger.
It’s enough to make me want to jump up and down and tell you just how much I love ’em. Which is, I guess, kinda what I’m doing 🙂
We loved them so much that I didn’t even get to my photo shoot before more than half of them were gone.
It was a time span of about 12 hours.
Between 2 people.
Okay we miiight have a meatball-loving probem.
So don’t be deceived by the 6 cute little meatballs hanging out up there. This recipe actually makes a lot – about 18 or so depending on what size you make them. Perfect to be shared with friends or family, or tucked away into the refrigerator for a stellar lunch line up for the week ahead.
This dish ended up being something of a mash up of these two recipes that I found online:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/porkmeatballswithcur_87389
https://elanaspantry.com/meatballs/
The first one providing most of the flavor inspiration, and the second one helping me nail that whole paleo meatball thing. Who knew adding a tiny bit of baking soda could do so much for a meatball.
It’s kind of amazing.
I already have the ingredients to make these again this week, and I’m considering blending the sauce before adding the meatballs back to it for a variation on the recipe. I think it would be delicious either way – the texture of the tomatoes, onions and peppers is kind of nice, but it could also be super tasty in a silky smooth, spicy + creamy coconut sauce. I would say to make it whichever way calls to you :
We enjoyed these with a little bit of quinoa, and garnished with lots of cilantro and some roasted cashews. The cashews didn’t make the photo shoot but they add a lot to the dish and I would highly recommend including them!
These perfect pork meatballs would also be awesome over some cauliflower rice, roasted cauliflower florets, or some vegetable noodles.
Did you make this recipe? I would love to know how it turned out for you! when you rate my recipes and leave feedback it helps me continue to improve. you can leave me a comment below, or snap a picture and post it to instagram with the tag @nyssaskitchen or hashtag #nyssaskitchen! xo
Printbest ever paleo curried pork meatballs {grain free + dairy free}
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 4-6 servings 1x
Description
Best ever paleo curried pork meatballs! The most delicious grain free meatballs I’ve ever had. Perfectly spiced, sturdy yet tender, and paired with an incredibly flavorful curry sauce with red peppers, tomatoes, onion, garlic and ginger.
Ingredients
- FOR MEATBALLS:
- 1.5 lb ground pork
- 1 egg
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- 1 tbsp coconut sugar
- 1/2 tsp Garam masala
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 2 tbsp chopped cilantro
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1 very small onion or 1/2 of a medium sized onion, grated
- 1 1/2 tbsp coconut flour
- 1 inch ginger, grated
- FOR CURRY:
- 1 medium sized onion, thinly sliced
- 2 cloves of garlic, chopped
- 1 inch ginger, grated
- 1/2 tsp ground turmeric
- 1 1/2 tbsp yellow or red curry paste
- 1 small can whole peeled tomatoes
- 1 large red bell pepper, thinly sliced
- 1 13.5 oz can coconut milk
- 1 cup broth
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 tbsp coconut sugar
- TO GARNISH:
- cilantro
- roasted cashews, chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450.
- Mix all ingredients for meatballs together in a large bowl, using your hands it you don’t mind doing that (it’s easier to mix evenly than by using a spoon).
- Test for proper seasing by frying a little bit of the meatball mixture in a pan. Add more salt/coconut sugar/pepper/garlic powder if desired.
- Roll with wet hands into 1 1/2 inch meatballs.
- Bake, about 1 inch apart on a large, parchment lined, shallow baking sheet for about 20-25 min, or until starting to brown.
- While meatballs are baking heat 1 tbs avocado oil in a large sauce pan over medium heat.
- Sauté onions for a few minutes until starting to brown.
- Add garlic, ginger, curry paste and turmeric and cook 1 minute more.
- Add tomatoes, breaking up with your hands or the back of a spoon and use liquid to scrape up any browned bits on the bottom of the pan. Stir and cook for about 3 minutes.
- Add 1 can coconut milk, broth, sliced red peppers and bring to a simmer. Move meatballs from baking sheet to the sauce pan and stir to coat in sauce. Cover and cook on low heat for about 15 minutes, until vegetables are tender and meatballs are cooked through.
- Season with lemon juice, coconut sugar, and more salt if needed.
- Serve garnished with plenty of cilantro and roasted cashews, over quinoa, roasted cauliflower florets, cauliflower rice or vegetable noodles.
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 35 mins
- Category: dinner
- Cuisine: paleo, grain free
Leave a Reply