Barley Free Cassava Flour Sweet and Sour Meatballs
Sweet, tangy, and deeply savory all at once, these meatballs deliver a bold flavor punch that feels anything but restricted. The combination of fresh pineapple, pineapple juice, and apple cider vinegar gives the sauce a bright, zippy backbone, while sweet potato purée adds body and a subtle earthiness that makes it feel genuinely special. Cassava flour stands in as the binder here — it works beautifully with ground beef, holding everything together without any grain-based fillers that could sneak barley or its derivatives into the mix. Coconut aminos replace traditional soy sauce throughout both the meatballs and the sauce, so you get that umami depth without reaching for anything that might contain hidden grain additives. Searing the meatballs before finishing them in the oven gives you a caramelized crust that holds up when you toss them in the glossy, arrowroot-thickened sauce. The whole dish comes together in one skillet after the oven does its work, making cleanup surprisingly painless for something that looks this impressive. Finish with a scatter of sliced scallions and you've got a weeknight dinner that genuinely earns its place at the table.
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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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