About This Dish

This Thai red curry meatball noodle soup is a single serve, one-pot noodle soup that takes four meatballs from the prepable beef meatball batch and simmers them in a rich, fragrant broth of Thai red curry paste, coconut milk and water. Knife-cut or ramen noodles and tenderstem broccoli (broccolini) cook directly in the broth, absorbing the flavour as they soften, before the whole thing is finished with soy sauce and a squeeze of fresh lime juice for a slight zing that lifts everything beautifully. It is warming, deeply savoury and just a little indulgent — a bowl of soup that feels like a proper meal rather than something light and incidental. The whole dish is ready in around 20 minutes once your meatball prep is done, making it one of the fastest and most satisfying dinners in the More Ways Than One series.

Why I Created This Recipe

Honestly I just adore a coconut-based broth or curry. I don't think a dinner gets much more satisfying than that. I love the balance of rich and creamy coconut milk, which brings a slight sweetness, balanced with the spiced fragrance of a curry paste. If you have already made the garlic honey soy meatballs earlier in the week, you will know that the meatball base works beautifully in Asian-inspired dishes. This recipe takes that idea further, dropping the meatballs into a proper coconut curry broth and letting them finish cooking there, absorbing the flavour of the paste and coconut milk from the inside out.

I also wanted one soup in this series. Something you could eat curled up on the sofa on a cold evening, with a nest of noodles and plenty of fresh coriander (cilantro) on top, that felt genuinely nourishing and complete. This is that recipe, and it is one of my favourites in the whole edition.

About the More Ways Than One Series

More Ways Than One is a series on One Pot, One Portion built around the concept of ingredient prep — making one base recipe at the start of the week and using it to create four completely different meals without any of the repetition of traditional batch cooking. This is the fifth instalment, and the base recipe is the prepable beef meatball batch. The four recipes in this edition are Thai red curry meatball noodle soup (you are here), garlic honey soy meatballs, roasted red pepper and mozzarella meatball orzo, and romesco meatballs with feta. Make the meatball batch once and you have four genuinely different dinners ready to go.

A Note on the Coconut Milk

This recipe uses 150ml of coconut milk — just under half a standard 400ml tin. If you have been following this edition of More Ways Than One in order, you will have already used 150ml in the roasted red pepper and mozzarella meatball orzo. That means this recipe uses the second portion of the tin, and the remaining 100ml can be frozen in an ice cube tray, transferred to a freezer bag once solid, and used from frozen in future soups, sauces or curries for up to three months. One tin, no waste, three uses across the series.

Why You'll Want to Make This Recipe

Single Serve

This is a perfectly portioned single serve noodle soup using exactly four meatballs from the prepable beef meatball batch. Everything here is measured for one — the broth, the noodles, the broccoli — so there is no scaling and nothing going to waste.

Rich, Fragrant and Genuinely Warming

The broth here is deliberately rich and indulgent — coconut milk, red curry paste and water rather than a thin stock base, which gives it a depth and creaminess that makes this feel like a proper restaurant-quality bowl of noodle soup rather than something knocked together in 20 minutes. Which, technically, it is.

One Pot, 20 Minutes

Everything happens in a single small pan — the meatballs are browned in it, the paste is fried in it, the broth is built in it, and the noodles and broccoli finish cooking in it. One pot, one portion, 20 minutes from fridge to bowl.

The Perfect End to the Week

If you have made the meatball batch on Sunday and worked through the other three recipes across the week, this is the ideal way to use the final four meatballs — a deeply comforting, fragrant bowl of noodle soup that makes the whole ingredient prep concept feel completely worth it.

A Note on Thai Red Curry Paste

Thai red curry paste varies considerably in heat and intensity between brands. Some supermarket versions are quite mild; authentic Thai brands like Maesri or Mae Ploy tend to be significantly hotter and more aromatic. One tablespoon is the right amount for a warming, well-spiced broth with this quantity of coconut milk — but if you are using a particularly hot paste or you are sensitive to heat, start with half a tablespoon and taste before adding more.

The paste does the heavy lifting in terms of flavour here — it contains lemongrass, galangal, kaffir lime, chilli and a blend of aromatics that would take considerably longer to build from scratch. Using a good quality paste is one of the best shortcuts in cooking, and it is absolutely worth seeking out a Thai brand if you can find one at an Asian supermarket or online.

My Top Tips for the Perfect Thai Red Curry Meatball Noodle Soup

• Brown the meatballs properly before adding the paste. Five minutes in hot sesame oil until sealed and golden gives the meatballs a flavour and texture that simply simmering them in broth from raw cannot replicate. Do not rush this step.
• Fry the curry paste for the full three minutes. This is the most important flavour-building step in the whole recipe — frying the paste in the residual oil cooks out the raw edge and releases the aromatic compounds in the lemongrass, galangal and chilli. The kitchen will smell incredible. If the paste starts to catch, add a very small splash of coconut milk to loosen it.
• Add the coconut milk and water together. Pouring them in at the same time helps them combine evenly into a smooth, consistent broth rather than the coconut milk separating before the water is incorporated.
• If the broth looks too thick once the coconut milk and water are in, add a splash more water — a couple of tablespoons at a time — until you have the consistency you want. The broth should be rich and slightly creamy but still pourable and soup-like rather than sauce-like.
• Add the noodles and broccoli at the same time and keep a close eye on them. Knife-cut and ramen noodles cook quickly — four to five minutes is usually right, but check from the four-minute mark. Overcooked noodles in a hot broth will continue to absorb liquid and become soft and swollen, so err on the side of slightly underdone.
• Season at the end, not before. The soy sauce and lime juice are the final seasoning step and they transform the broth — the soy adds depth and saltiness, the lime cuts through the richness of the coconut milk and lifts everything. Add the soy sauce a teaspoon at a time and taste as you go; add the lime juice last and adjust until the broth tastes rich with a bright, noticeable zing.
• Serve immediately and eat straight from the bowl. Noodle soups do not sit well — the noodles continue to absorb the broth as they cool, and what starts as a beautifully balanced soup can become very thick very quickly. Have everything ready before you ladle it up.
• Be generous with the toppings. Fresh coriander (cilantro), finely sliced spring onions (scallions), fresh red chilli (chili) and an extra squeeze of lime over the top are not optional extras — they are part of what makes this dish feel complete. Do not skip them.

Ingredients and Tools You'll Need

Essential Ingredients

• 2 tsp sesame oil – for browning the meatballs; gives a nutty, aromatic base note that works beautifully with the curry paste
• 4 beef meatballs – from the prepable beef meatball batch; take them out of the fridge 10–15 minutes before cooking
• 1 tbsp Thai red curry paste – the flavour backbone of the broth; see the note above on adjusting for heat level and brand
• 150ml coconut milk – gives the broth its characteristic richness and creaminess; see the coconut milk note above for how to use the rest of the tin
• 60ml water – added with the coconut milk to give the broth the right consistency; add a splash more if needed
• 1 nest of knife-cut or ramen noodles – both hold their texture well in a hot broth; cook directly in the soup for maximum flavour absorption
• 4 stems of tenderstem broccoli (broccolini) – adds freshness and a little bite; halve them lengthways if they are particularly thick
• 1–2 tsp soy sauce – for seasoning the broth; add a teaspoon at a time and taste as you go
• Juice of ½ lime – adds the zing that lifts and balances the richness of the coconut broth

To Serve

• Fresh coriander (cilantro) – scattered generously over the top
• Spring onions (scallions), finely sliced
• Fresh red chilli (chili), finely sliced – optional but highly recommended for heat and colour
• Extra lime juice – squeeze over just before eating

Essential Tools

• 1 small saucepan or deep frying pan — large enough to hold the meatballs, broth and noodles comfortably
• Tongs or a spoon — for turning the meatballs
• Knife and chopping board

Dietary Variations

Gluten-Free

Swap the soy sauce for tamari and ensure your chosen noodles are gluten-free — rice noodles are a naturally gluten-free alternative to ramen or knife-cut noodles and work well in this broth. Check your red curry paste label too, as some brands include flour as a thickener. Ensure the meatball batch was made with gluten-free breadcrumbs.

Dairy-Free

This recipe contains no dairy as written — just ensure the meatball batch was made without any dairy if needed.

Vegan / Vegetarian

The recipe is built around the prepable beef meatball batch and is not suitable for vegans or vegetarians as written. However, the broth is outstanding with firm tofu or shop-bought plant-based meatballs in place of the beef. Swap honey for maple syrup in any adaptations and ensure the curry paste is vegan — most are, but some contain shrimp paste, so check the label.

Adjusting the Heat

One tablespoon of red curry paste gives a warming, well-spiced broth. For a milder soup, reduce to half a tablespoon. For more heat, add an extra half tablespoon of paste or a pinch of dried chilli flakes (red pepper flakes) when frying the paste. Fresh red chilli (chili) scattered over the top at the end also adds heat without changing the flavour of the broth itself.

Different Vegetables

Tenderstem broccoli (broccolini) works particularly well here, but pak choi (bok choy), mangetout (snow peas), baby corn or shredded spring greens are all excellent alternatives or additions. Add tender leaves like pak choi in the final two minutes of simmering so they wilt without overcooking.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need to make the meatballs from scratch for this recipe?

This recipe is designed to use four meatballs from the prepable beef meatball batch — the base recipe in this More Ways Than One edition. If you have not made the batch yet, head there first. The meatballs take around 20 minutes to prepare and keep in the fridge for up to four days, so this soup can genuinely be on the table in 20 minutes once the prep is done. But if you prefer to use pre-made meatballs then you can do so too!

What noodles work best in this soup?

Knife-cut noodles and ramen noodles are the recommended choices here — both have a satisfying chew and hold their texture well in the broth without becoming mushy. Rice noodles are a good gluten-free alternative. Avoid very thin vermicelli-style noodles, which can overcook quickly and become lost in the broth.

Can I use a different curry paste?

Thai red curry paste is what gives this soup its distinctive flavour, but Thai green curry paste works equally well for a slightly more herbal, citrusy result. Massaman paste gives a richer, nuttier broth with less heat. Avoid curry powders or Indian-style curry pastes here — they are a different flavour profile entirely and will produce a noticeably different result.

Why does this recipe not use stock?

The broth here is intentionally built on coconut milk, water and red curry paste rather than a stock base — this gives it a richer, creamier consistency that is more in keeping with a Thai-style coconut curry than a clear noodle soup. The paste contains enough aromatics and depth of flavour that stock is not needed, and the meatballs add further body to the broth as they finish cooking in it.

What do I do with the rest of the coconut milk?

If you have been following this More Ways Than One edition in order, you will have already used 150ml in the roasted red pepper and mozzarella meatball orzo. This recipe uses the second 150ml portion. Freeze the remaining 100ml in an ice cube tray and transfer to a sealed freezer bag once solid — it keeps for up to three months and can be added from frozen to future soups, sauces and curries.

Can I make the broth ahead of time?

The broth can be made ahead — without the noodles and broccoli — and stored in the fridge for up to two days. When ready to eat, reheat gently in the pan, bring to a simmer, then add the noodles and broccoli and cook as per the recipe. Do not add the noodles in advance as they will absorb the broth and become very soft during storage.

Closing

A bowl of noodle soup at the end of a long week feels like exactly the right reward — and the fact that most of the work was already done on Sunday makes it even better. This is ingredient prep doing exactly what it is supposed to do.