Brazil Nut Free Cassava Flour Sweet and Sour Meatballs
These meatballs hit every note you want from a sweet and sour dish — juicy, savory, tangy, and just a little sticky in the best possible way. Ground beef gets seasoned with garlic, fresh ginger, and turmeric before being seared for a golden crust and finished in the oven, so the texture is spot-on without any fuss. Cassava flour binds everything together beautifully, keeping the meatballs tender while staying completely grain-free. The sauce is where things get really exciting: pineapple juice, sweet potato purée, apple cider vinegar, and honey simmer down into something glossy and complex, thickened with a quick arrowroot slurry instead of cornstarch. Fresh pineapple chunks go in at the end so they stay bright and juicy rather than turning mushy. Every single ingredient here is naturally free from tree nuts of any kind, so there's no label-scanning or substitution stress — just a straightforward, flavor-packed dinner you can feel good about. Finish with sliced scallions and serve straight from the skillet while the sauce is still glossy and warm.
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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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