Published Mar 14, 2019 Updated Oct 24, 2024
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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.
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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.
Yum!!!! Added something different to my regular monotonous meals. It was delicious, recipe was easy to follow and thorough, all together a crowd pleaser!!!!
Thanks for letting me know Caitlyn. So happy is was a hit.
we love this recipe! I typically make it with ground turkey and it’s delicious. The sauce is wonderful, and these freeze and reheat well. I just add a little more sauce when reheating and it’s perfect. These are a regular in our house!
I made this last night and it was a hit! The meatballs and sauce come together so quick and the result is delicious! My husband said to add it to the rotation! The sauce alone is so yummy I can see making it with other proteins. Go make this recipe!
Fantastic Mary. Love when a recipe is added to the family favorite rotation.
For keto: do you know what is making these meatballs so high in carbs? Is it calculated with the honey? Or is it just the rice vinegar?
It comes out to about 4g of carbs per meatball. The key contributors of carbs from the ingredients come from coconut aminos, almond flour, rice vinegar, and onions.
The flavor was amazing!!!! This recipe was so quick and easy to make that provided a huge amount of flavor! This is now on my list of favorites! Thank you!
Awww, you’re so welcome Shelly. Love when I make the family favorite rotation. Thanks for connecting with me with such kind words. Happy eating friend!!
Thank you Shelley for connecting with me. So thrilled to hear you loved the recipe and is now on the must have favorite rotation. Happy eating friend!!
Hello!
Cab I sub the vinegar to apple cider vinegar instead?
I haven’t tried this swap in this recipe, but you could do it though. Just keep in mind that the final taste may vary slightly due to the different flavor profiles.
This recipe is delicious. Easy and quick to make and even leftovers are good!
Another 5-star review!! Used ground turkey and replaced the coconut aminos with gluten free tamari – I just reduced it slightly in sauce ingredients as I read that tamari or soy sauce is saltier than coconut aminos. For the meatballs I kept it the same amount but did not add any extra salt. Also used the honey in the sauce – I did not find it sweet at all but loved the gentle addition that it added! I also kept half of the meatballs out of the sauce to freeze for later, but I tried one without the sauce and found it to be delicious as well! I ate my meatballs on top of a big salad and really loved it that way – kids had with jasmine rice. I also sauteed some red peppers and mushrooms to have on the side. Great recipe, thank you! I can’t wait to check out your other recipes.
This is amazing! I love to hear this. Thank you so much for sharing!
Been using this recipe for awhile now and its easily my favorite recipe to make! I like adding minced green onion and ginger into the meatballs for added flavor.
I also really enjoy/recommend trying out browning all the sides of the meatballs in a pan and then adding 1/4 cup of water to the pan and cover to steam them. Makes them the perfect meatball texture to not dry them out 🙂
This is a go to recipe! So good. I use turkey and it’s delish. Wondering if anyone has tried a different spice in place of ginger? Thinking of trying cardamom, as I have a sensitivity to ginger.