Soy Free Cassava Flour Sweet and Sour Meatballs
Sweet, tangy, and deeply savory all at once, these meatballs hit every note you want from a classic sweet and sour dish — without a drop of soy in sight. Coconut aminos stand in for soy sauce in both the meatball mixture and the sauce, delivering that same umami depth you'd expect while keeping the whole recipe completely soy-free. The sauce is genuinely clever: pineapple juice and sweet potato purée form the base, giving it body and natural sweetness that thickens beautifully once the arrowroot slurry goes in. Fresh ginger and apple cider vinegar cut through the richness, so the final result is bright and balanced rather than cloying. Searing the meatballs before finishing them in the oven locks in a golden crust, and the baked interior stays juicy thanks to the 80/20 beef and cassava flour binder. Everything comes together in one skillet for the sauce, which makes cleanup mercifully easy. Pile them over rice or noodles and finish with scallions for a weeknight dinner that genuinely feels like a treat.
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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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