Breastfeeding Friendly Cassava Flour Sweet and Sour Meatballs
Sweet, tangy, and deeply satisfying, these meatballs hit every flavor note you want from a classic takeout dish — all made from scratch with ingredients you can feel good about. The sauce gets its gorgeous body from sweet potato purée and pineapple juice rather than refined sugar or cornstarch, making it a nourishing choice during a time when what you eat genuinely matters. Fresh ginger and turmeric show up in both the meatballs and the sauce, bringing warmth and anti-inflammatory goodness that nursing parents often seek out. Coconut aminos stand in for soy sauce throughout, so you get that savory depth without any of the additives or preservatives hiding in conventional bottles. The arrowroot slurry thickens the sauce beautifully, and the fresh pineapple chunks stirred in at the end keep everything bright and light. Ground beef provides a solid hit of protein and iron — two nutrients that are especially important when your body is working overtime to produce milk. This is the kind of wholesome, flavor-packed dinner that feels like a treat but works hard for you at the same time.
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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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