Almond Free Cassava Flour Sweet and Sour Meatballs
Sweet, tangy, and deeply savory all at once, these meatballs deliver the kind of bold flavor that makes you go back for seconds before you've even finished your first plate. The sauce is built from pineapple juice, sweet potato purée, apple cider vinegar, and honey — no mystery thickeners, no nut-based anything — just real ingredients that come together into something glossy and genuinely crave-worthy. Cassava flour stands in as the binder inside the meatballs, keeping them tender without any grain or nut flour that could cause concern for those avoiding tree nuts. The sweet potato purée does double duty, adding body to the sauce while giving it a subtle earthiness that balances the bright acidity of the vinegar and pineapple. Searing the meatballs before finishing them in the oven locks in a caramelized crust, so every bite has texture as well as flavor. Fresh pineapple chunks stirred in at the end keep things vibrant and a little juicy, making this feel like a restaurant-quality dish you somehow pulled off on a weeknight. Finish with scallions for a pop of color and you've got a plate that looks just as good as it tastes.
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Learn more →Ingredients
4 servings
For the meatballs
- 1 lb ground beef (80/20)
- 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
- 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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