A quick and satisfying meal, these Whole30 Asian Inspired Meatballs are the perfect addition to your dinner menu or lunch meal prep plans.
Whole30 Asian Inspired Meatballs
I love meatballs. When made with real ingredients and served with veggies and/or a complex carb, they’re such a perfect way to add a clean protein choice to your meal. They’re also so easy to make and completely family friendly. Plus, they’re ready in a little over a half an hour, so they’re the ideal choice in a pinch!
Make it a Meal
When I’m doing a round of Whole30, I love to pair these meatballs with roasted broccolini and pine nuts, but if you’re not on Whole30, rice would be a delicious addition to your plate.
To make the broccolini, I start by preheating the oven to 425 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Then I chop to florets into smaller pieces. I am sure to keep the stems as well. They’re delicious and very good for you! Next I drizzle the broccolini with avocado oil and coat in garlic powder, onion powder, paprika and cracked black pepper. I use my hands to mix the oil and seasonings evenly over the broccolini, then pop it in the oven for 10-15 minutes.
To toast the pine nuts, you can remove the baking sheet a few minutes before the broccolini is done and sprinkle some on top, then return the sheet to the oven. Be sure to watch them. They toast very quickly!
Hungry for more?
Asian inspired takeout meals are one of my favorites to recreate with healthy alternatives and real ingredients. Check out some of my most popular creations, like this General Tso’s Chicken or Spaghetti Squash Chicken Pad Thai. Both are Whole30, but you would never know it!
Asian Inspired Meatballs
Ingredients
Meatballs
- 2 lbs ground beef
- ½ cup almond flour
- 1 egg
- ¼ onion, chopped fine
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp ginger powder
- 1 tbsp coconut aminos
- sea salt & black pepper, to taste
- green onions & sesame seeds, to garnish
Sauce
- 1 cup coconut aminos
- ½ cup rice vinegar
- 2 tbsp compliant ketchup/tomato paste (I use Primal Kitchen's ketchup)
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- 1 tbsp minced garlic
- 1 tbsp tapioca starch/flour
- 2 tbsp water
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400° and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Combine all meatball ingredients in a large bowl and mix to combine. I use my hands!Form meatballs into the size of golf balls and space out on the sheet. You should have around 30 meatballs. Bake for 20-25 minutes.
- Mix all the sauce ingredients aside from the tapioca starch and water. Add the sauce mixture to a skillet over medium heat.
- Once warm, mix the tapioca starch and water in a small bowl to form a paste. Add to the sauce and stir to combine.
- Bring the heat to medium/low and stir frequently while the meatballs finish cooking. The sauce will thicken.
- Once the meatballs are done, add them to the skillet and cover in the sauce.
- Serve warm with green onion and sesame seeds! I love this dish with roasted broccolini and pine nuts.
This recipe is delicious. I have to use ground turkey because that’s what I had on hand – still very tasty. I made the meatballs with broccoli and served over cauliflower rice for myself and regular rice for the rest of my family. This was such a hit in my household and my family asked me to make it again soon.
Hi Debra! I’m so happy to hear the whole family loved it and that it works with ground turkey as well! I’ll have to try that soon, I love ground turkey. Thank you so much for making and sharing!
These meatballs are delicious! The sauce is SO flavorful and tasty. I had the meatballs with quinoa and broccolini, and it was such a satisfying meal. At first my boyfriend was skeptical when he heard it was a Whole30 recipe, but then he absolutely loved it and requested that I make it again soon.
Nothing makes me happier than hearing Whole30 skeptics enjoying the compliant meals, yay! I love this recipe with broccolini too! Perfect with the sauce. Thanks so much for making!
These were fantastic! The sauce made the dish that much better! Definitely making again.
Hi Sarah! Thank you so much for making and taking the time to leave a review. I’m SO thrilled you loved these 🙂
Every time I make one of your recipes, it’s the sauce that just does it for me. This recipe is quick, easy, and so flavorful! It’s great for meal prep on Whole 30, though I’ll definitely make it off, too!
Alllll about the sauce 🙂 I love meal prepping this one too! Thanks so much, Kelsey!
This is one of my go-to recipes! It’s got so much flavor AND is easy to make. Win win!
Yesss we love an easy and delicious staple! Thank you so much, Steph! 🙂