Healthy, veggie-loaded gluten-free meatballs that taste just like dumpling filling! These delicious morsels are super easy to make, perfect for picky eaters, and have a flavorful and addictive homemade dipping sauce! This easy dinner has simple ingredients and is served in under 30 minutes!
What Makes This Recipe Great
My favorite thing about meatballs is that they’re easy to make and so versatile. Regardless of the base, you can switch up the flavors and the sauces to make them go with any cuisine you want. This is also my favorite way to sneak in lots of veggies and protein for my toddler.
Whether it’s Italian meatballs with tomato sauce or Greek meatballs with tzatziki sauce, juicy meatballs make dinner easy, fun, and delicious for all ages. For this gluten-free meatball recipe, I decided to make tender and flavorful Asian Pork Meatballs with an addicting sweet and spicy dipping sauce.
Much like my other Asian-inspired meatballs Sweet & Sour Meatballs & Paleo Egg Roll Meatballs, these delicious bites have all the classic flavors of your favorite Asian dishes in bite-sized form. These tender meatballs taste just like dumpling filling, which for me, is such a cozy and nostalgic taste!
Plus, they’re paleo, keto, and Whole30-friendly. Healthy and packed with veggies, even my picky 3-year-old loves these homemade gluten-free meatballs! This is the perfect recipe for the whole family.
Watch a Short Video of This Recipe
Ingredient Notes
Gluten-Free Meatballs
- Ground pork: I used ground pork, but you can use any ground meat you have on hand. Using 1/2 ground pork and 1/2 ground beef is also a great combination.
- Mushrooms
- Green onions: If you are feeding kids and they don’t like to see greens in their meatballs, you can also chop up regular onions finely and use that instead.
- Garlic cloves
- Grated ginger
- Tamari sauce: You can also use soy sauce or use coconut aminos for Whole30.
- Sesame oil
- Egg
Dipping Sauce
- Tamari sauce: You can also use regular soy sauce or coconut aminos.
- Rice vinegar
- Water
- Coconut sugar: You can also use brown sugar if preferred.
- Garlic clove
- Green onion
- Toasted sesame seeds: Plus more for garnish.
- Gochugaru: These are spicy Korean chili flakes. Optional for a slightly spicy kick.
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees F, and line a baking sheet with a wire rack if you have one and grease. If you don’t have one, grease the baking sheet.
- Combine all ingredients for the dipping sauce in a small bowl and set aside.
- Add all ingredients for the meatballs in a large mixing bowl and mix until just combined. Don’t over-mix the meat mixture.
- Wet your hands and shape the meatball mixture into golf ball-sized balls (about 36). Place the wire racks an inch apart.
- Bake for 15 minutes until cooked through and golden brown.
- Garnish with green onions and sesame seeds, and serve warm, drizzled with or dipped in the dipping sauce.
Expert Tips
- This can easily be made Whole30. Use coconut aminos instead of tamari sauce, and omit coconut sugar in the dipping sauce.
- If you’re looking for a meat alternative, I recommend using ½ ground pork and ½ lean ground beef. You could use ground turkey or ground chicken, but they’re not as flavorful as pork or beef.
- No gluten-free breadcrumbs are needed! The egg is the binding agent for this recipe, so there is no need for any additional flour or bread crumbs.
- You can also ensure the gluten-free meatballs are cooked by checking the internal temperature with a meat thermometer.
Serving Tips
- Garnish with green onions and sesame seeds, and serve warm, drizzled with or dipped in the dipping sauce.
- You can serve these gluten-free meatballs with white rice, a side of veggies, or even your favorite Asian noodles!
Storage Tips
- Store leftover meatballs in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
- These gluten-free meatballs can be frozen raw or cooked. To freeze raw meatballs or cooked meatballs, freeze them on a prepared baking sheet lined with parchment paper in a single layer without touching each other.
- Once frozen, place in a freezer-safe container or freezer bag and freeze for up to 2 months. Reheat the frozen meatballs in the air fryer or microwave or on the stove top in a skillet over medium heat with a little olive oil.
If you make this recipe, please leave me a star rating and comment below! I love to hear your thoughts and feedback. Follow me on social media Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest for even more delicious recipes!
Easy Gluten-Free Asian Pork Meatballs (No Breadcrumbs)
Ingredients
Meatballs
- 2 lb ground pork or any ground meat of your choice
- 4 oz mushrooms minced
- 2 green onions finely sliced, plus more for garnish (For picky eaters who don't like greens, you can finely mince 1/4 cup regular onions instead)
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 1 tbsp grated ginger
- 2 tbsp tamari sauce or soy sauce or coconut aminos
- 2 tsp sesame oil
- 1 egg
Dipping Sauce
- 2 tbsp tamari sauce or soy sauce or coconut aminos
- 2 tbsp rice vinegar
- 2 tbsp water
- 2 tsp coconut sugar or brown sugar
- 1 garlic clove minced
- 1 tsp finely chopped green onion
- 1/2 tsp toasted sesame seeds plus more for garnish
- Optional: 1/2 tsp gochugaru Korean chili flakes
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees F, and line a baking sheet with a wire rack if you have one and grease.. If you don't have one, grease the baking sheet.
- Combine all ingredients for the dipping sauce in a small bowl and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, add all ingredients for the meatballs and mix until just combined. Don't over mix.
- Wet your hands and shape the meatball mixture into golf ball sized balls (about 36). Place on the wire rack an inch apart.
- Bake for 15 minutes until cooked through.
- Garnish with green onions and sesame seeds, and serve warm drizzled with or dipped in the dipping sauce.
Video
Notes
Expert Tips
- This can easily be made Whole30. Use coconut aminos instead of tamari sauce, and omit coconut sugar in the dipping sauce.
- If you’re looking for a meat alternative, I recommend using ½ ground pork and ½ lean ground beef. You could use ground turkey or ground chicken, but they’re not as flavorful as pork or beef.
- No gluten-free breadcrumbs are needed! The egg is the binding agent for this recipe, so there is no need for any additional flour or bread crumbs.
- You can also ensure the gluten-free meatballs are cooked by checking the internal temperature with a meat thermometer.
Serving Tips
- Garnish with green onions and sesame seeds, and serve warm, drizzled with or dipped in the dipping sauce.
- You can serve these gluten-free meatballs with white rice, a side of veggies, or even your favorite Asian noodles!
Storage Tips
- Store leftover meatballs in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
- These gluten-free meatballs can be frozen raw or cooked. To freeze raw meatballs or cooked meatballs, freeze them on a prepared baking sheet lined with parchment paper in a single layer without touching each other.
- Once frozen, place in a freezer-safe container or freezer bag and freeze for up to 2 months. Reheat the frozen meatballs in the air fryer or microwave or on the stove top in a skillet over medium heat with a little olive oil.
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Just trust the recipe. WOW, yum. I usually dread making meatballs because I find all the ingredients + labor cumbersome but this did not disappoint. I did the version of sub onion for green onions (for the reasons Jean stated, my kiddos hate anything green) and they are so good. I wondered how it would turn out without salt, but there’s so much flavor. The sauce, chefs kiss.
I basically just bookmark every recipe that Jean comes out with and slot it in for the next weeks menu. Don’t let her videos fool you, she does all the testing to make sure it’s just right. She has done me no wrong. Ever.
This is the sweetest comment, thank you so much Jen!
Yum! Another great recipe. I like that these are baked, not for health reasons, but because it takes less time than pan frying! Also, I decided I need to double the amount of sauce, because it is so good and because apparently I use a lot of sauce. I served this with both rice noodles and steamed broccoli, which is probably why I felt the need to pour sauce all over.