Paleo Sweet and Sour Meatballs
Paleo Sweet and Sour Meatballs are a delicious, kid-approved, quick & easy dinner recipe. Made with a few ingredients in 20 minutes.
Servings: 6 servings
Ingredients
Meatballs:
- 1 pound ground turkey (or ground beef)
- 1 Tablespoon coconut aminos (or soy sauce)
- 1 Tablespoon milk (almond, coconut or whole milk)
- 1 egg
- 1 ½ Tablespoons coconut flour
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¾ teaspoon sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
Sweet and Sour Sauce:
- ¾ cup coconut sugar (or honey or granulated sugar)
- ½ cup white vinegar
- ¼ cup ketchup
- 1 teaspoon garlic salt
- 1 Tablespoon coconut aminos (or soy sauce)
Thickener:
- 1 Tablespoon tapioca flour (or arrowroot starch/cornstarch)
- 1½ Tablespoon water
Instructions
Make the Meatballs
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Grease a baking sheet, set aside.
- In a small bowl, mix together the dry ingredients (coconut flour, onion powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper). Set aside.
- In a large bowl mix together the meat, coconut aminos, milk and egg until well combined.
- Add the dry ingredients to meat mixture. Stir until well combined.
- Roll the mixture into 1-2” balls and place evenly spaced on your prepared baking sheet. (This step could be pretty messy and sticky, but don’t worry they will bake very nicely)!
- Bake in the preheated oven for 10-15 minutes, until tops are slightly browned or internal temperature reaches 160 degrees F.
Make the Sauce
- While meatballs are baking, in a small bowl whisk together the sauce ingredients: sugar, vinegar, ketchup, garlic salt and coconut aminos. Set aside.
Assemble
- Transfer the baked meatballs into a pot or pan (I use a 4 quart saucepan) and pour sauce over them. Cook on medium heat until sauce begins to bubble, stirring every 3 minutes.
- Mix 1 Tablespoon tapioca flour into 1½ Tablespoons cold water and add to sauce.
- Continue to cook over medium heat until sauce thickens and the meatballs are evenly coated.
- Serve warm with stir-fried veggies, spaghetti squash, or your favorite Asian sides!
Notes
This recipe feeds my family (2 adults, 3 kids) perfectly. If you have more mouths to feed I recommend doubling it!
Ingredient Substitutions
- Ground Turkey. Lean ground beef and ground chicken also work well in this recipe.
- Milk. Any dairy-free, paleo-friendly milk works great in this recipe. Regular milk also works.
- Onion/garlic powder. Real onion and minced garlic can be substituted for the powders. Just be aware it will add texture to the meatballs. I recommend cooking them together until soft and letting them cool before mixing them into the meatballs.
- Coconut flour. It only takes a small amount of coconut flour to bind the meatballs together beautifully! No need to use breadcrumbs or other ingredients that usually make them off-limits for people with dietary restrictions. I don't recommend substitutions.
- Coconut sugar. I usually use coconut sugar as the sweetener. I have also had success with honey and regular organic sugar (not paleo).
- Vinegar. Both apple cider and distilled white vinegar can be used in this recipe.
- Ketchup. To keep these healthy sweet and sour meatballs paleo, be sure to use a paleo-approved ketchup or this low carb ketchup! If paleo isn't your thing, any ketchup will work (just please choose an organic variety whose main ingredient is not corn syrup)!
- Coconut Aminos. If you do not need to keep this recipe paleo, you can substitute soy sauce for the coconut aminos.
Nutrition
Serving: 4meatballs | Calories: 236.1kcal | Carbohydrates: 29.7g | Protein: 16g | Fat: 6.5g | Saturated Fat: 2.1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 84.3mg | Sodium: 587mg | Potassium: 31mg | Fiber: 0.8g | Sugar: 24g | Vitamin A: 115IU | Vitamin C: 1.2mg | Calcium: 6mg | Iron: 1.3mg