These Juicy and flavorful Asian meatballs are topped with a homemade sticky Asian sauce. These delicious Whole30 healthy Sticky Asian Meatballs are better than Chinese takeout food. they are not only so easy to make, but are also paleo, gluten-free, dairy-free, and keto-friendly!
Growing up in China, my dad always made a “sticky” sauce with most dishes. Sticky tofu, sticky short ribs, sticky eggplants. You name it.
And these sticky Asian meatballs are one of my favorites.
It is always his magic sauce in the kitchen.
In order to make a twist of healthy Asian food, I have made some substitutions for these paleo meatballs.
Additionally, you may love some of my favorite Asian recipes with a healthy twist:
- Chicken Teriyaki Stir Fry (Whole30)
- Healthy Paleo Orange Chicken
- Instant Pot Cashew Chicken (Whole30)
I have made my dad’s authentic Chinese food magic happen in my kitchen, 10 thousand miles away in America, with these super flavorful and healthy Asian meatballs with sticky sauce.
You won’t believe these are Whole30 and Paleo compliant.
Why do I love Sticky Asian Meatballs?
1. Packed with flavors
To begin with, this paleo meatball recipe itself is packed with all the aromatics – ginger, garlic, green onion.
Additionally, we are going to top off these Asian Meatballs with a flavorful sticky sauce simmered to perfection.
2. Easy to Make Whole30 Meatballs
This oven-baked Meatball recipe is so easy to make.
With only a few accessible ingredients, you have the best juicy and tender meatballs..
3. So “Fancy” to bring to the dinner table or party
Not your average Chinese Takeout Food.
This authentic Chinese dish is healthy, fancy and so creative, and will definitely please a crowd.
4. Reminds me of Home
I don’t make Chinese food often because I never think I get even close to my dad’s cooking level.
But these sticky Asian meatballs though, my dad would be proud!
Ingredients needed for this sticky healthy Asian Meatballs Recipe
If I learned a thing or two from watching my parents cooking Asian cuisine growing up, to begin with:
- Green Onion 葱
- Ginger 姜
- Garlic 蒜
These are the three ingredients you will find in most Chinese food.
Additionally, Asian cuisine also uses a lot of sesame seed oil, soy sauce, and white sugar.
Additionally, here are the main ingredients for these Asian meatballs.
1. A mix of ground pork and ground chicken
You can also use all ground pork, chicken, or turkey
I like the texture of pork meatballs and chicken meatballs the most. Because it provides just enough fat to bring out the flavor.
Asian pork meatballs or Asian chicken meatballs? Your choice!
2. An egg
3. Arrowroot flour
My dad always used corn starch or flour to marinate meat in his Asian cooking. I substitute it with arrowroot flour which helps to keep the meatballs moist after baking. Additionally, it is gluten-free and paleo-friendly.
4. Coconut Aminos
5. Salt to taste
I actually did not end up adding additional salt. Take into consideration that coconut aminos itself is salty.
HOW TO MAKE THESE ASIAN Meatballs WHOLE30 FRIENDLY
To make this meatball recipe whole30 and paleo compliant. I have made a few substitutions
Coconut Aminos:
Instead of soy sauce, I used coconut amino, which is gluten-free, paleo, and Whole 30 compliant. Additionally, it is packed with 17 amino acids.
Arrowroot Flour:
Similar to corn starch that acts as a thickener, arrowroot flour is a great gluten-free, paleo, andWhole30 alternative to use in this sticky Asian sauce recipe.
Coconut Sugar:
Unlike white sugar, coconut sugar is paleo-friendly. Although it is not Whole30 compliant. However, you can omit coconut sugar to make this meatball recipe Whole30.
What Makes the Asian meatball Sauce Sticky?
So my dad uses this flour called Sheng Fen 生粉, which is a kind of starch.
Besides the fact that I cannot find Sheng Fen in normal grocery stores, it is also not gluten-free or whole30 friendly.
Therefore, I have tried a whole 30 approved paleo starch – arrowroot flour.
What is Arrowroot Flour?
Arrowroot flour is a starchy substance extracted from the root of Maranta arundinacea (read more here).
You may be familiar with corn starch, a traditional thickener in many recipes. Similarly, arrowroot flour also thickens food, but has no taste, leaves food glossy and clear.
Even better? It is a healthy starch. It is gluten-free, paleo and Whole 30 friendly.
How to Serve THESE whole30 STICKY ASIAN Meatballs
Perfect Party Appetizers
These Whole 30 Asian Meatballs are the perfect bite-size. Put some toothpicks on them.
Then you have a fancy and healthy Chinese food “takeout” appetizer.
Healthy Dinner for the Whole family
Chinese food isn’t complete without rice. Serve these Sticky Asian Meatballs with some Jasmine rice and some stir-fried vegetables on the size.
Or top them off with noodles.
Again, NOT your average Chinese Food takeout.
For a whole30 friendly option, you can serve it with cauliflower rice.
These Whole 30 Sticky Asian Meatballs are great to serve as a healthy dinner, appetizers for parties and social gatherings. They look so fancy, but no one needs to know that you are that easy to make.
(Last Updated July 11th, 2019 – tweaked the recipe a bit to make it extra moist and soft)
OOO ALSO I LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOUR CREATIONS! YOU CAN USE “TRIED IT” ON PINTEREST OR SHARE ON INSTAGRAM BY TAGGING #SHUANGYSEATS
You May Also Like these Meatball Recipes:
1. Paleo Italian Meatballs (Whole 30)
2. Slow Cooker Paleo Italian Meatball
3. Whole 30 Turkey Burger Recipe
Sticky Asian Meatballs {Whole30}

These delicious Whole30 Sticky Asian Meatballs are not your average Chinese takeout food. They are paleo, gluten-free, dairy-free and easy to make.
Ingredients
Asian Meatballs
- 1 lb ground pork
- 1 lb ground chicken
- 1 egg
- 1 tbsp arrowroot flour (make it extra moist)
- 1/4 cup green Onion (chopped)
- 1/4 cup poblano pepper (optional for spicier taste)
- 2-3 cloves Garlic (minced)
- 1 inch Fresh Ginger (minced)
- 2 tbsp coconut aminos
- Salt to taste *
Asian Sticky Sauce
- 2/3 cup coconut aminos
- 1/3 cup rice vinegar
- 1 tbsp arrowroot flour
- 1/2 tsp fresh or ground ginger
- 1 tbsp coconut sugar (optional)
Instructions
Asian Meatballs
- Preheat the oven to 400 F. Grease a baking sheet with avocado oil.
- Finely chop green onion, garlic, poblano pepper, set aside
- Combine all meatball ingredients in a large mixing bowl and mix until combined well, using your hands. Roll into balls (approx. 24 - 26 meatballs for 2 lb of meat). Place the formed meatballs on the greased baking pan.
- Bake for 15 - 18 minutes. Broil for 2 minutes at the end.
Sticky Asian Sauce
- Add all the sauce ingredients except for arrowroot flour to a skillet. Bring to boil then urn the heat to medium to low.
- Stir in arrowroot flour slowly. Stir frequently until the sauce thickens. This will take about 5 minutes.
- Once the meatballs are done, combine them to the pan and cover with sticky sauce. Sprinkle some extra green onion and sesame seeds for garnishing. Enjoy!
Notes
- Instead of pork and chicken, you can use turkey or beef. I prefer having ground pork in the mix because the fattier meat brings out the flavor.
- If the sauce doesn't thicken, keep stirring and turn the heat up by just a notch.
- * Coconut aminos is salty itself, take into consideration when you add additional salt.
Recommended Products
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
8Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 322Total Fat: 19gSaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 11gCholesterol: 137mgSodium: 593mgCarbohydrates: 9gFiber: 0gSugar: 6gProtein: 29g
The Nutrition Facts above are specific to the ingredients I chose to use for this recipe, which may vary.
These are super good. One thing though, you need to make a slurry with the arrowroot flour and COLD water just like you do when using cornstarch. If you add the arrowroot to a hot liquid you get cooked lumps. Rule is add flour to hot, cornstarch/arrowroot to cold liquid. But this is really a good recipe. Served with stir fried vegetables.
Hi Jolene,
Thank you for the feedback! I usually don’t have trouble with clumping if I whisk it in. But that’s good advice I will certainly take into concern in the future.
Shuang
Have you tried to freeze the meatballs to warm for later with the sauce?
Hi Becca,
Yes you can freeze them! The sauce may get a bit more sticky. I usually just add a dash of water/broth when reheating. Hope this helps.
Shuang
Looks really delicious and I can’t wait to try it. I love meatballs and this sticky asian meatballs looks new to me but I bet they are good. 🙂
Hi there,
They are so good! I can’t wait for you to try either!
Shuang
Me and my family were doing whole 30 this month but my parents both started to loose way to much weight to quickly the docotor told them to stop so now me and my two sisters are on our own this meal was pretty easy to prepare and we all loved it also tomorrow’s lunch 🙂
Hi Skylar,
I am so glad you and your sister are able to enjoy it! I hope your family could all taste it too 😉
Shuang
These are a hit in our home! There were no leftovers which was a bummer. I am doubling the recipe tonight. I did not use the sugar and I don’t think it needed it. The poblano didn’t make it spicy at all! Thanks so much for this fantastic new dish!
Hi Andia,
Aw YAY!! That makes me so happy! I am so glad your family enjoyed it 🙂
Shuang
Very good but it seemed very salty even though coconut aminos used (vs soy) in both meatballs & sauce. Next time I would most certainly decrease the salt in meat balls & also decrease aminos & add a lil’ more coconut sugar for the sauce. Otherwise a great recipe! 👍🏻
Hi,
Thank you for the feedback. I should definitely note that here. Coconut aminos is salty enough generally even without the additional salt. But glad you enjoyed regardless 🙂
Shuang
This is the first whole 30 recipe I tried and they were delicious! Except when I mixed the ingredients together, the mixture had the consistency of peanut butter-very sticky and gooey. Any ideas as to what I might have done wrong? Thanks so much!!
Hi Dina,
If the mixer is super sticky, you can add some coconut aminos and water to dilute it. It will get more sticky once it cools too. To make it more liquid-y, you can heat it up with some water. Let me know if it helps 🙂 Enjoy!
Best,
Shuang Shuang
Hi your recipe has peppers in the description but not in the list of ingredients. Which is right?
Hi Christy,
Thank you for pointing it out. It was meant to be an optional ingredient for spicier meatballs. I just added as an “optional ingredient” in the recipe card. Enjoy 🙂
Shuang