This recipe for Indian curry meatballs makes juicy, tender, oven-baked meatballs tossed with a delicious sauce. They are freezer friendly and great for meal prep!
These Indian curry meatballs are packed to the brim with flavor! The aromatic sauce is perfectly spiced and so easy to make. Serve with some Basmati rice and a side of toasted naan bread for a delicious meal that is ready in less than 30 minutes.
Ingredients for Indian Meatballs:
- Ground pork
- Sour cream: Plain yogurt can also be used.
- Egg: 1 large egg binds the meat mixture and adds flavor.
- Red onion: Diced very small.
- Salt & pepper
- Spices: Garam masala, curry powder, ground ginger, garlic powder, chili powder, and ground cumin.
Curry Sauce:
- Oil: Vegetable or other neutral-flavored oil.
- Red onion & garlic: Coarsely chopped, since the sauce is going to be blended you don't have to worry about chopping them small.
- Tomato paste
- Broth: Chicken or vegetable broth. I used low-sodium chicken broth. Make sure you adjust the added salt if your broth is salt-free or if it isn't low-sodium.
- Salt & pepper
- Spices: Ground turmeric, garam masala, curry powder, ground ginger, chili powder, and ground cumin.
- Sour cream: Or plain yogurt.
- Heavy cream: Or coconut cream.
- Cilantro: Chopped fresh cilantro, for serving.
How to Make Indian Curry Meatballs:
Preheat your oven to 425°F.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and lightly spray the parchment paper with nonstick spray.
Make the meatballs: Use your hands to mix the meatball ingredients together in a large bowl. Take about 2 tablespoons of the mixture at a time and roll into ping pong-size balls. Arrange the meatballs on the lined baking sheet and bake for 12-14 minutes, or until no longer pink in the center. Flip the meatballs halfway through so they cook and brown evenly.
While the meatballs bake, make the curry sauce:
Heat the oil in a medium saucepan, add the chopped red onion and saute for 3-5 minutes, then add the chopped garlic and saute another minute. Stir in the tomato paste, sour cream (or yogurt), broth, salt, pepper, and all of the spices. Transfer the sauce to a blender and blend until smooth. Pour the sauce back into the pan and stir in the heavy cream (or coconut cream).
Once the meatballs are finished baking, add them to the pan and toss to evenly coat with the sauce. Serve and garnish with chopped fresh cilantro.
Tips for Making Indian Curry Meatballs:
- Before rolling and baking the meatballs, cook up a small portion of the meat mixture in a small frying pan. That way you can adjust the seasoning if needed.
- Don't roll the meatballs too big. Each one should be made with just 2 tablespoons of the meat mixture. A food scale is the best and easiest way to get them all the same size.
- When making the sauce, you might find it easier to saute the onion and garlic in a frying pan first, then switch to a saucepan to make simmering and tossing the meatballs with the sauce easier.
How to Freeze Meatballs:
This recipe makes 22-24 meatballs. If you don't need all of them right away, you can easily freeze the baked or unbaked meatballs and save them for later.
To freeze unbaked meatballs: Roll into balls and arrange on a pan. Set the pan flat in the freezer until the meatballs are mostly solid (about 2 hours). Add them to a large plastic bag and keep frozen for up to 1 month. Thaw overnight in the fridge and bake as normal. You can also bake the meatballs straight from frozen. Place on a baking sheet and bake in a 425°F oven until no longer pink in the middle. Flip halfway through baking. Mine took 20 minutes to bake from frozen. You can cut one in half to check for doneness, or check the internal temperature with a digital meat thermometer.
To freeze baked meatballs: Let the meatballs cool completely and then set them flat in the freezer until pretty solid (2 hours). Add them to a plastic bag and keep in the freezer for up to 3 months. To reheat, place the frozen meatballs on a baking sheet and bake in a 300°F oven until warm. About 30-40 minutes.
More Indian Recipes:
Curry Meatballs
Ingredients
For the Meatballs:
- 1 lb. ground pork
- 1 tbsp. sour cream, or plain yogurt
- 1 large egg
- ½ cup red onion, finely diced
- ¾ tsp. salt
- ½ tsp. pepper
- ¾ tsp. garlic powder
- ¼ tsp. ground ginger
- ½ tsp. curry powder
- ¾ tsp. chili powder
- ¾ tsp. ground cumin
- ¼ tsp. garam masala
Curry Sauce:
- 1 tbsp. vegetable oil
- ½ medium red onion, coarsely chopped (1 cup)
- 1 tbsp. fresh garlic, chopped
- ¼ cup tomato paste
- ½ cup low-sodium chicken broth*
- ½ cup sour cream, or plain yogurt
- ¾ tsp. salt
- ½ tsp. pepper
- ¾ tsp. ground turmeric
- 1 tsp. ground cumin
- ¾ tsp. curry powder
- ½ tsp. garam masala
- 1 tsp. chili powder
- ½ tsp. ground ginger
- ½ cup heavy cream, or coconut cream
- chopped fresh cilantro, for serving
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 425°F.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and lightly spray the parchment paper with non-stick spray.
Make the Meatballs:
- Use your hands to mix the meatball ingredients together in a large bowl. Take 2 tablespoons of the meat mixture at a time and roll into ping pong-size balls. Arrange the meatballs on the lined baking sheet and bake for 12-14 minutes. Flip halfway through so they cook and brown evenly.
Make the Sauce:
- Heat the oil in a medium saucepan. Add the chopped onion and saute 3-5 minutes or until soft, add the garlic and saute another minute. Stir in the tomato paste, broth, sour cream (or yogurt), salt, pepper, and all of the spices.
- Transfer the sauce to a blender and blend until smooth. Pour the sauce back into the pan and stir in the heavy cream or coconut cream.
- Once the meatballs are finished baking, add them to the pan and toss to coat with the sauce.
- Serve meatballs and sauce with a side of rice and naan bread, if desired. Garnish with chopped fresh cilantro.
Adrienne Boswell
Wow! That was delicious! I'm trying to cut down on fat, so I used ground chicken thighs instead of pork. I also air fried the balls until they reached. 160. It's too darned hot to turn the oven on! I also added cayenne to the sauce because sweating makes you cooler. This is definitely a keeper. Thank you!
Molly Walcome
Thank you! Glad you liked it:)