Thai Meatball Soup
Thai Meatball Soup features tender meatballs made with ground meat, herbs, and spices, simmered in a fragrant broth infused with curry paste and coconut milk. This comforting dish is served with pasta noodles and garnished with fresh cilantro and red onion!
Thai-Inspired Meatball Soup
We are pretty much in love with Thai curry paste that is easily found in most grocery stores. Or do what I do – order a 6-pack from Amazon (Thai Red Curry Paste) and keep your pantry stocked at all times.
While most of my recipes use red curry, this time I used green curry paste which is slightly milder in flavor than red. We also use it in our delicious Curry Beef Stew Recipe!
Why we LOVE this soup:
- SIMPLE – You can easily make this soup in around an hour. If you do some prep in advance (prep meatballs, have your ingredients out and ready to go, and cook pasta), you can make it even faster.
- DELICIOUS – Y’all, this is SO good. The Thai paste is obviously one of my go-to’s, and it’s because the flavor is amazing in so many recipes. Using coconut milk is also key as it provides a rich, luxurious texture and flavor. You will be slurping this up!
- IMPRESSIVE – You can really add an impressive presentation with this meatball soup. Practice on your family and then pull out all the stops for company! WoWzA!
Ingredient Notes:
- Ground Turkey and Beef – We used both ground turkey and ground beef for the meatballs. You could substitute any other ground meat for these like sausage or chicken.
- Garlic and Ginger – Plenty of fresh garlic and ginger adds amazing flavor to these meatballs.
- Thai Green Curry Paste – A KEY ingredient. You could also make your own, although the store-bought version is amazing AND easy.
- Coconut Milk – We recommend using unsweetened full-fat coconut milk for this soup. It MAKES the soup!
- Fish Sauce – Another KEY ingredient to Thai cuisine. It’s easily found in most stores.
- Pasta – Use rotinii noodles or any pasta you prefer.
TO SERVE: I recommend adding some fresh cilantro or basil, extra bell peppers and red onions, and some freshly ground black pepper.
How to make Thai Meatball Soup:
Step 1
Make the meatballs. In a mixing bowl, combine the ingredients – the ground turkey, ground beef, minced garlic and ginger, and seasonings (onion powder, red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper). Mix with your hands to combine. Add enough water (I usually add 1/4 cup or more) to moisten and form 36 mini meatballs.
Step 2
Sauté veggies. Heat a stockpot over medium-high heat. Add olive oil and bell peppers, and cook until slightly softened, about 4-5 minutes.
Step 3
Add remaining soup ingredients. Add the Thai curry paste, chicken broth, coconut milk, fish sauce, brown sugar, and salt and pepper. Bring mixture to a boil.
Step 4
Add meatballs to soup. Add the meatballs to the pot, reduce heat, and cook until cooked completely through. This will only take 5-7 minutes since the meatballs are small. (Don’t overcook!)
Step 5
Cook pasta. Meanwhile, cook the pasta to al dente (leave just a little bit of bite to them). Use plenty of salt to the water to add flavor. Strain and set aside.
Step 6
Serve. Serve soup with cooked pasta, chopped cilantro, sliced red onion, and freshly ground black pepper.
STORE soup in an airtight container in your refrigerator for 3-4 days. Great for meal prep too!
Expert Recipe Tips:
- Use fresh garlic and fresh ginger. I don’t recommend substitution powdered versions. FRESH is best!
- Make mini meatballs. We like mini meatballs in this soup recipe. They’re easier to eat and delicious too.
- Use rotini noodles. I’ve experimented using both short and long pasta and decided the short pasta is much easier to eat.
Other Delicious Thai Recipes:
We’re loving all the Thai food lately, including these recipes.
Kitchen Tools Used: (affiliate links)
xoxo ~Sue
Thai Meatball Soup
Ingredients
For the meatballs:
- 1 pound ground turkey
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 4-5 cloves garlic – finely minced
- 3 Tablespoons fresh ginger – minced
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper – to taste
- water to moisten
For the soup:
- 1 Tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium red bell pepper – sliced thin
- 1 medium yellow bell pepper – sliced thin
- kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper – to taste
- 4 oz. Thai green curry paste
- 3-4 cups lower-sodium chicken broth
- 30 oz. unsweetened coconut milk (full-fat) – we use Thai Kitchen
- 1/4 cup fish sauce
- 2 Tablespoons brown sugar – or honey
- 12 oz. rotini noodles – cooked
- fresh lime juice, fresh basil or cilantro, and extra black pepper – to serve
Instructions
- Make the meatballs. In a mixing bowl, combine the ingredients – the ground turkey, ground beef, minced garlic and ginger, and seasonings (onion powder, red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper). Mix with your hands to combine. Add enough water (at least 1/4 cup) to moisten and form 36 mini meatballs.
- Sauté veggies. Heat a stockpot over medium-high heat. Add olive oil and then the sliced bell peppers and cook until slightly softened, about 4-5 minutes.
- Add remaining soup ingredients. Add the Thai curry paste, chicken broth, coconut milk, fish sauce, brown sugar, and salt and pepper. Bring to a boil.
- Add meatballs to soup. Add the meatballs to the pot, reduce heat to a simmer, and cook until cooked completely through. This should only take 5-7 minutes since the meatballs are small. (Don't overcook!)
- Cook pasta. Meanwhile, cook the pasta to al dente (leave just a little bit of bite to them). Use plenty of salt to the water to add flavor. Strain and set aside.
- Serve. Serve soup with cooked pasta, chopped cilantro, sliced red onion, and freshly ground black pepper.
- STORE soup in an airtight container in your refrigerator for 3-4 days. Great for meal prep too!
Notes
- STORE soup in an airtight container in your refrigerator for 3-4 days. Great for meal prep too!
-
- Use fresh garlic and fresh ginger. I don’t recommend substitution powdered versions. FRESH is best!
- Make mini meatballs. We like mini meatballs in this soup recipe. They’re easier to eat and delicious too.
- Use rotini noodles. I’ve experimented using both short and long pasta and decided the short pasta is much easier to eat.
A keeper! I love this soup and it’s a nice change of pace! Well done…