AIP Friendly Cassava Flour Sweet and Sour Meatballs

Total time50 min

Prep time20 min

Cook time30 min

AIP Friendly Cassava Flour Sweet and Sour Meatballs

Sweet, tangy, and deeply satisfying, these meatballs deliver everything you want from a comfort food classic — without a single ingredient that conflicts with the autoimmune protocol. The sauce gets its glossy, clingy texture from an arrowroot slurry and sweet potato purée instead of tomato paste or cornstarch, which means no nightshades and no grains sneaking in through the back door. Coconut aminos stand in for soy sauce throughout, adding that savory depth while keeping things completely compliant. Fresh pineapple juice and apple cider vinegar create the bright, punchy sweet-and-sour balance you'd expect, and real pineapple chunks folded into the sauce at the end make every bite feel a little tropical. The meatballs themselves get seasoned with grated ginger, turmeric, and garlic, so they're anything but bland before they even hit the sauce. A quick sear in coconut oil followed by a short oven finish keeps them juicy and properly cooked through — no guesswork. This is the kind of recipe that makes it easy to forget you're working within any restrictions at all.

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Ingredients

4 servings

For the meatballs

1 lb ground beef (80/20)
Kroger Ground Beef 80/20 Simple Truth 80% Lean Natural Ground Beef Harris Teeter Premium 80% Lean Ground Beef SunFed Ranch 100% Grass Fed 80% Lean Organic Ground Beef Brick Kroger 80/20 Ground Beef
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2 tbsp cassava flour
2 tbsp coconut aminos
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp fresh ginger, grated
½ tsp salt
½ tsp ground turmeric
1 tbsp coconut oil

For the sauce

1 cup pineapple juice (unsweetened)
⅓ cup sweet potato purée
3 tbsp apple cider vinegar
3 tbsp coconut aminos
2 tbsp honey
Ingredient note
AIP restricts added sweeteners, but small occasional amounts of unrefined honey are accepted on the protocol; the ~1 1/2 teaspoons per serving here likely stays within that limited allowance. If you prefer to always avoid honey, please tap it and change its rating to Red.
1 tsp fresh ginger, grated
1 tsp arrowroot starch
1 tbsp cold water
1 cup fresh pineapple chunks (about 1-inch pieces)

For serving

2 scallions, thinly sliced (optional)

Instructions

1
Preheat the oven to 400°F (205°C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2
In a large mixing bowl, combine the ground beef, cassava flour, 2 tbsp coconut aminos, garlic, 1 tsp grated ginger, salt, and turmeric. Mix with your hands until just combined — do not overwork the meat. Roll into balls about 1½ inches in diameter (roughly 20–22 meatballs) and arrange on the prepared baking sheet.

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