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Creamy Coconut Meatball Korma Curry — Keto, Paleo, Whole30

Updated · 26 Comments

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Creamy Coconut Meatball Korma Curry is a delicious gluten-free, dairy-free, Paleo, Whole30, Keto, Low Carb and GAPS dinner that takes only 20 minutes prep time and is done in a total of 30 minutes, including cook time. You’ll love this one-pan dinner and how budget-friendly the ingredients are!

Add Roasted Cauliflower, cauliflower rice (or basmati white rice for gluten-free), and this fast healthy meal feeds four to five hungry eaters.

Bowl of creamy coconut meatball korma in a bed of cauliflower rice. This banner says this dish is whole30 + paleo + Low carb and an easy one pan meal made in 20 minutes.

Korma Curry

Originating in India, this comfort food dish traditionally combined meat or vegetables with coriander, cumin and other spices. Kormas have a creamy base from yogurt or coconut milk and meat juices. This Creamy Coconut Meatball Korma Curry is dairy-free, but I also love the ghee option in the recipe below for those of you who can tolerate ghee.

Kormas are first cooked over high heat, traditionally with ghee, and then simmered over low heat. They can be mild or spicy and made with a variety of truly free-range meats, including lamb, goat, beef and chicken.

I made this korma beautifully healthy by using pasture-raised beef from a nearby farm. We buy ground beef in bulk (from our farmer Alvena!), so it costs about $5 a pound, even though it’s THE best tasting and best-raised beef. Of course, you can buy pasture-raised beef for a lot less than that if you buy the whole cow! 🙂 There are many good quality, budget-friendly options these days, so I hope you have a farm you can support! 🙂

Bowl of creamy coconut meatball korma in a bed of cauliflower rice. This banner says this dish is whole30 + paleo + Low carb and an easy one pan meal made in 20 minutes.

The ghee option

Because kormas are often made with yogurt, the yak ghee I recommend (find it here) is particularly well suited to this recipe, because it has a bit more tang than cow’s milk ghee — truly a LOVELY, clean flavor. (It’s also delicious in butter tea or bulletproof coffee.)

White bowl with creamy coconut meatball korma, surrounded by fresh cilantro.

Enjoy this quick to prepare, yet completely whole food recipe, and the family or friends with whom you share it.

Print Recipe
4.96 from 21 votes

Creamy Coconut Meatball Korma Curry {20-minute prep time, One Pan, Paleo, Whole30, Low Carb, Keto}

Creamy Coconut Meatball Korma Curry is a delicious gluten-free, dairy-free, Paleo, Whole30, Keto, Low Carb and GAPS dinner that takes only 20 minutes prep time and is done in a total of 30 minutes, including cook time. You’ll love this one pan dinner and how budget-friendly the ingredients are!
Prep Time20 minutes
Total Time30 minutes
Course: DInner
Cuisine: American, Indian
Keyword: curry, korma, low carb, meatball, one pan, paleo, whole30
Servings: 5 servings
Calories: 457kcal
Author: Megan
Cost: $9

Equipment

  • large skillet

Ingredients

  • 1 pound ground beef , lamb or pork or a combination
  • 1 can coconut milk
  • 2 onions chopped, or use 1 small head of cauliflower chopped for Keto/low carb version
  • 1 bunch spinach - fresh, or use ⅓ bag of frozen spinach
  • 2 Tablespoons tomato paste <— I like this one that's packed in jars.
  • 1 Tablespoon avocado oil or pasture-raised ghee (see link in Recipe Notes)
  • 2 inch nub fresh ginger grated or minced
  • 4 cloves garlic crushed or minced
  • 1 Tablespoon curry powder <— great bulk price
  • 1 Tablespoon garam masala <—the BEST garam masala, or see below in Recipe Notes to make your own
  • 1 + 1 teaspoon sea salt separated (2 teaspoons total)
  • ⅛ teaspoon cayenne optional

Instructions

  • In small bowl combine and stir together spices. Set aside.
  • Heat large skillet over high heat until hot. Add fat, onions (or cauliflower) and 1 teaspoon sea salt. Lower heat to medium and sauté 8 minutes.
  • While onions/cauliflower cook, set out a large plate or broad bowl to make the meatballs. Measure 1 tablespoon from the mixed together spices onto plate. Add remaining 1 teaspoon sea salt, and stir together. Add beef. Mix it together with the spices and salt, and form 15-16 1" meatballs.
  • Add remaining spices from the small bowl to the sauté pan. Stir into the onions until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Lower heat. Add tomato paste and stir around a bit. Add meatballs, spaced around the pan. Add the coconut milk, spinach only if you're using frozen, ginger and garlic. Cover and simmer over medium low heat for 10 minutes.
  • Remove lid, stir, add spinach if you're using the fresh option. Cook another 1 minute to wilt the spinach.
  • Serve with cauliflower rice or basmati white rice (for gluten-free). Garnish, optionally, with freshly minced cilantro.

Notes

To make your own Garam Masala Spice Blend (ahead of time), instead of buying a ready-made blend, here's a recipe.

If you tolerate ghee, I'm profoundly excited to share with you THIS Yak Ghee!! I love when I find a dairy product that is easily accessible, A2 and pasture-raised. Alternately, I suggest making your own ghee from Kerrygold butter. Most butters available are not from A2 cows.

The nutritional information below is for the Keto/Low Carb version of this recipe, made with cauliflower in place of the onions.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 457kcal | Carbohydrates: 5g | Protein: 20g | Fat: 38g | Saturated Fat: 22g | Cholesterol: 64mg | Sodium: 1108mg | Potassium: 950mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 6507IU | Vitamin C: 25mg | Calcium: 120mg | Iron: 7mg

 

Bowl of creamy coconut meatball korma in a bed of cauliflower rice. This banner says this dish is whole30 + paleo + Low carb and an easy one pan meal made in 20 minutes.

Have you eaten Korma Curry before?

Reader Interactions

Comments

  15. Yang says

    My husband is Indian, so I get to eat delicious curries my mother-in-law makes. 🙂 The korma sounds lovely and garam masala has such wonderful flavours. I can wait to try it!

    Reply

  16. Mimi says

    5 stars
    Such a healthy and delicious Korma recipe! And all that health boost is ready in under 30 minutes – incredible. Not to speak about the looks of it – just perfect. I guess I found my new favorite dinner recipe 🙂

    Reply

    • Megan says

      Kerrygold has a mixed A1 A2 herd. I have spoken with them. But I find their butter easy to digest. I have tried literally all the butters. I believe they have the highest ratio of A2 cattle in their herd of any commercially produced butter, and it’s grass-fed. My body loves it, and my body loves no other butter, lol. So I’m super grateful they exist. I could make my own, but it’s #onemorething … 🙂

      Reply

  21. Michelle Wilber says

    I am in love with all of your soup recipes- so much I bought your Bone Broth Kitchen book! But I didn’t realize that on your website you have all the nutritional information (which I need when planning out the menu) but in your book you don’t include any of that. Is that something you have elsewhere? I would love to add that to my book if at all possible- it would make my life so much easier!

    Reply

    • Megan says

      Hi Michelle, I’m so happy you love my soup recipes. And I’m sorry the cookbook does not have the feature the website has! I do not have that elsewhere, as you said. I assume you already have a food tracking app you use, but if not, that would be my only suggestion for the cookbook. If you enter a recipe one time, you’ll have it for future. Sorry to disappoint, and I hope the cookbook can still serve you well!

      Reply

  22. Naomi says

    I feel like I am missing a step or something. I added the (raw) meatballs around the onions, added others and cooked on medium for 10 min, but meatballs were practically still raw. It does smell awesome (waiting to finish off the meat.)

    Reply

    • Megan says

      Hi Naomi, thanks for the question. The meatballs are 1 inch in diameter. When you add the sauce ingredients and bring it to a simmer, then cover and simmer for 10 minutes, they are definitely fully cooked through at this point. I hope that helps to clarify.

      Reply

  23. Rachel says

    I always like to stick pretty close to a recipe the first time I make it. Now that I have, this is a looooot of onions. Maybe this is how Korma is supposed to be, but I was tasting onion for a while after finishing dinner. If I make this again I’d decrease to 1 onion. I didn’t have fresh ginger so I used the Ginger People minced ginger in a jar and just eyeballed what I thought might be 2inches of fresh ginger root. To me, the dish needed more flavor (that wasn’t onion) to really be a wow-worthy dish.

    Reply
4.96 from 21 votes (15 ratings without comment)

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