Published Mar 14, 2019 Updated Oct 24, 2024
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
I love a good meatball, especially my new Sticky Asian Meatballs. You won’t even believe that these are Whole30 and Paleo compliant. They serve as a great family dinner served on top of cauliflower rice or as a great appetizer for a party or social gathering. The sauce is the best part of this dish. It really steals the show.
I always love cooking with Asian flavors such as ginger, sesame seed oil and coconut aminos. I’ll have to admit, Chinese takeout used to be one of my favorite options on a Friday night. Now that we live Paleo, we only do real takeout on rare occasion. I love to indulge every now and then, but I don’t love making it a habit.
When creating recipes, my mission is to take my favorite unhealthy dishes and twist them in a healthy way. For example, these Asian Meatballs came from an unhealthy favorite. These meatballs have become a family favorite that is on our menu on a weekly basis.
I usually get a ton of questions about recipes so below I am here to answer a few!
Can I substitute anything for the arrowroot flour?
If you are living Paleo and needing another substitute for arrowroot, I suggest using tapioca flour. It serves as a thickening agent and will work almost identical to arrowroot. I like arrowroot better because I feel like it dissolves smoother and doesn’t leave a lot of chunky pieces. For Keto, I love using Xantham Gum. Another great option is potato starch, which is not considered Keto, but is Paleo.
What do you use thicken the Asian sauce?
Arrowroot flour is such a great alternative for real flour to thicken Paleo sauces. I have recently found that arrowroot is my favorite because it dissolves better and doesn’t get gummy. They both are great and get the job done, but I prefer using arrowroot for all of my Paleo and Whole30 recipes.
For Keto, I simply substitute 1/4 tsp xantham gum instead of using arrowroot or tapioca. Those 2 flours do have a higher carb count, while xantham gum does not.
My sauce won’t thicken. What can I do?
The biggest tip to thickening your sauces is to allow it to simmer and get hot (be patient). As the sauce heats after adding the arrowroot flour it will thicken, it just may take a few minutes.
If your sauce still won’t thicken after a few minutes, feel free to add another tsp or 2 dissolved in a little bit of water to the sauce. Dissolving the arrowroot flour in water first allows it to thicken smoothly without any chunks.
Do these meatballs freeze well?
Yes! Simply add them to a gallon size freezable baggie or a freezer proof container and keep for up to 3 months. Thaw, heat and serve. For instance, if you want to save time in the kitchen, make a few batches of these meatballs and freeze. Remove from the freezer, heat up and serve over veggies. During those busy weeks, pulling something quick and healthy out of the fridge will save you.
What else can you serve with these Sticky Asian Meatballs with that will make it a meal?
I love adding these on top of cauliflower rice cooked in sesame seed oil along with veggies. These meatballs also serve as a great meal prep option and will stay good in the fridge all week long.
In conclusion, if you are looking for a recipe that is sure to please everyone in the family, give this one a try. To clarify, I know how easy it can be to run through a Chinese drive thru after work to grab dinner. However, I have created a recipe that is not only delicious, but that is super quick to make.
Shop My Post:
Don’t forget to pin this recipe to your Pinterest Board:
Want more healthy, yet delicious recipes that are Whole30 and Paleo?
Sticky Asian Meatballs
Ingredients
Asian Meatballs
- 2 lbs ground beef 90/10
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 1/2 tsp sea salt see notes*
- 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
- 1/3 cup chopped onions
- 1/2 cup almond flour add more if needed
- 1 Tbsp coconut aminos
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- green onions chopped, for garnish
Asian Sticky Sauce
- 1 cup coconut aminos
- 1/2 cup rice vinegar
- 2 1/2 tbsp water
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 2 tsp sesame seed oil
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 2 tsp teaspoons arrowroot powder dissolved in 1 1/2 tbsp of water *See notes for Keto option
- OPTIONAL: 1 Tbsp Honey or Monk Fruit Syrup Remove for Whole30
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 F and coat a baking sheet with olive oil or cooking spray.
- Add all the meatball ingredients to a bowl and mix until combined.
- Form the meatball mixture into golf ball sized balls. Place each meatball on a sheet pan. Bake for 20 - 25 minutes or until they are cooked through.
- Add all of the sauce ingredients except for the arrowroot flour (Sub tapioca flour if needed) to a skillet and heat on medium/high heat. Once the mixture is hot, add in the arrowroot flour dissolved in water. Stir frequently. As the sauce heats, it will begin to thicken, (This may take a few minutes).
- Transfer the cooked meatballs to the sauce and allow to come together for a few minutes.
- Serve over cauliflower rice and garnish with green onions and sesame seeds.
Notes
- For Keto, sub 1/4 tsp xanthan gum
- If you are sensitive to salt, you maybe only want to do 1/4 tsp of salt in the meatballs compared to the 1/2 tsp, or remove the salt all together. The coconut aminos is already pretty salty. So just use your judgement. You can also add a touch more water to the sauce to tone it down if needed.
- Feel free to add 1 tbsp of honey or Monk Fruit Syrup if you are NOT following a Whole30.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Awesome easy recipe! Made this for my mother in law and now she craves it. Even has dreams about me making it again for her. Tried the recipe when I was doing a whole30 but now I keep it around because the whole family loves it even the kids. I always thought meatballs were something complicated to make but this recipe has proved me wrong. So delicious!
YAY TIA……..love that this recipe made your family favs list!!!!! Easy, PEEZY is my goal. Thank you so much for the kind words and review. Blessings your way;-)
These were delicious and quick! A great week night dinner! I served it with riced broccoli!
Look at you Patricia!!! Love the riced broccoli idea. May have to use that one myself. Thank you for sharing your idea and kind words. Blessings your way;-)
Oh my goodness. This recipe gets made at least weekly in our household. My son (4), is the pickiest eater of all time and will make a happy plate each time I make this. I have not changed anything to the recipe and comes out perfect each time!
Hi Emily. I certainly know how hard it is to please the little ones. Thrilled to know you have a recipe of mine that makes life easier when preparing healthy meals for the family, especially the picky little ones. Blessing your way;-) Thanks for the kind review!
This recipe is AMAZING. It is so delicious and so easy to make. The way the sauce thickens up is practically magic and you’d truly shock someone you served it to if you told them there was no sugar in it. Even my fiancé, who is extremely picky with “healthy” versions of things, said this was one of the best things I’ve ever made for us and he now requests it weekly.
YAY Cindy……I love it when the fiances/hubbies/boyfriends are satisfied. Over the moon that you loved these:-) Thanks for the kind words.
This recipe was so delicious and super easy to follow. My boyfriend loved them and often ask for me to make them. These meatballs are now in rotation in my household.
YAY Thi………I have officially made the rotation!!!!! Love when my followers find one of my creations that meets the needs of love ones:-) Thanks for letting me know it was a rotation must!!!
We LOVE these meatballs!! They make a great meal prep for weekday lunches. So tender and juicy all through the week!
Hi Ashley…..thank you for sharing. Meal prepping can be not so fun it you don’t love the food you are prepping to eat the rest of the week. So glad you now have a recipe that you look forward meal prepping:-)
I made this recipe for my daughter after she had surgery. We all loved it and my 5 year old granddaughter had them again the next night. This was so easy to make and so tasty. 😋
YAY……that’s my goal Janine….EASY PEEZY and tasty. Hope your daughter is recovering well and is back on her feet soon. Thanks for sharing;-)
Loved these! I’m loving your recipes while doing whole30 this month. It’s been fun to have new recipes to try and these are a new favorite.
Thanks Alex…….it really makes doing Whole30 so much easier and enjoyable if you don’t have to put recipes together yourself. Glad I could help!!
These were so good. As someone who only cooks for herself, I normally am over food by the last day. But I was actually sad to run out of leftovers on this recipe.
Thanks so much Rebecca for the kind review!!!! Not all leftovers are winners. I agree with you about leftovers. This one definitely is a tasty treat the next day for sure:-)
Delicious! I served this with cauli rice and a bag of frozen stir fry veggies and it was so satisfying! Both my hubby and baby girl loved it too. Next time I’m going to double the recipe and stash half in the freezer.
Love when you guys let me know how much the family enjoys the recipes. Nothing like doubling a recipe to eat the next day. Thanks Kate for your kind review:-)