These Keto General Tso’s Meatballs are easy to make and family friendly. Delicious hot or cold, these sweet and spicy keto meatballs are also perfect for meal prep for lunches all week long!
Keto General Tso’s Meatballs guys – you’re gonna want to make these STAT.
These keto General Tso’s meatballs are inspired by the popular Chinese takeout dish that consists of fried chicken chunks in an addicting sauce that is both sweet and spicy.
I’ve taken all the flavors of the classic favorite and jammed them into these little gems of poultry bliss!
One of the things I love about these sweet and spicy keto meatballs is that they are equally delicious either hot or cold. Maybe I’m just weird that way, but I enjoy them right out of the fridge – no heating needed. Which makes them super convenient to take them for lunch on the go when you don’t have the option to warm them up.
I’m including some answers to frequently asked questions in the section below. If I’ve missed anything feel free to put your question in the comments and I’ll do my best to answer them.
What is the best ground meat to use for these keto meatballs?
I recommend that you use ground chicken or turkey for the most authentic flavor in these keto General Tso’s Meatballs, but ground pork would also work nicely.
In a pinch, you could use ground beef, but the stronger flavor of the meat won’t work as well with this particular sauce in my opinion.
Are keto meatballs gluten free?
The majority of my recipes here on IBIH are gluten free. These particular meatballs can be made with regular soy sauce if that’s what you have on hand and a small amount of gluten isn’t an issue for you.
Traditional soy sauce is a no-no for Paleo and Celiacs, so if you want to make sure these keto meatballs are gluten free, you can substitute a tamari-based gluten free soy sauce, or coconut aminos for the soy sauce in this recipe with excellent results.
Substitutions for this recipe
- Typically, General Tso’s chicken contains blisteringly hot dried peppers, but if you can’t get them, or you don’t like it too hot, you can use fresh chili’s instead and adjust the amount to your preference. Another option is to use crushed red pepper flakes, but the flavor won’t be as authentic.
- If you are Paleo, you can substitute honey for the granulated sweetener, and arrowroot powder (or another preferred thickener) for the xanthan gum. I don’t recommend omitting the thickener altogether in this recipe, because the sauce won’t cling to the meatballs as well and it won’t have that authentic sticky feel – however, the flavor will be just as good!
- If you are allergic to almonds, you can replace the almond flour with sunflower seed flour, hemp hearts, or crushed pork rinds to use as your binder in this keto meatball recipe.
Serving suggestions for Keto General Tso’s Meatballs
Finally, and I’m not trying to tell you how to live your life here, but these keto General Tso’s Meatballs go perfectly with my Coconut Lime Cauliflower Rice to soak up that sticky, yummy sauce.
Print
General Tso’s Meatballs (Low Carb & Gluten Free)
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Diet: Diabetic
Description
These keto General Tso’s Meatballs have all of the flavors and textures of the classic Chinese takeout favorite! Low carb and gluten free, there are also Paleo substitutions available.
Ingredients
For the Meatballs
- 1 lb ground turkey or chicken
- 2 tablespoons minced ginger
- 1/4 cup scallions, chopped
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 cup almond flour
- 1 egg
- light flavored oil for frying
For the General Tso’s Sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
- 3 tablespoons rice wine vinegar (unseasoned and sugar free)
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce (tamari based for GF, or coconut aminos for Paleo)
- 1/4 cup water
- 3 tablespoons sugar substitute (I like Swerve for keto, honey for Paleo)
- 1/4 teaspoon xanthan gum (or arrowroot powder)
- 1/4 cup scallions, chopped
- 4 – 5 small dried chilies, seeded and chopped (or 1 tablespoon of crushed red pepper flakes)
Instructions
To make the meatballs:
- Combine all of the meatball ingredients and mix thoroughly.
- Form into 16 balls about 1 inch in diameter.
- Fry in hot oil over medium heat until cooked through and crispy.
**Alternatively you could bake them but they won’t get the crunchy exterior.
To make the sauce:
- Combine the sesame oil, vinegar, GF soy sauce, water, sugar substitute, and xanthan gum in a small saucepan and whisk until combined.
- Add the scallions and chili pepper and bring to a boil.
- Simmer for five minutes or until thickened, and remove from heat.
To serve:
- Add the cooked meatballs to the thickened sauce and stir to coat.
- Garnish with more chopped scallions and chilis if desired.
Notes
Approximate net carbs per serving = 4g
To lower the fat and calories, use extra lean ground turkey, and bake rather than fry them.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Category: Keto meatballs
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Chinese
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 4 meatballs
- Calories: 322
- Fat: 25g
- Carbohydrates: 5g
- Fiber: 1g
- Protein: 23g
Keywords: Keto meatballs, Keto General Tso’s
More Keto Meatball Recipes
Keto Spinach & Artichoke Dip Meatballs
Keto Chicken Piccata Meatballs
Keto Turkey Saltimbocca Meatballs
Louann says
Very easy and very good! I will probably make one change next time and air fry or bake the meatballs. This is a personal preference and not a criticism.
★★★★★
Angela says
Not impressed with the overly delicate hold together on these. Came apart while turning them and finished looking like taco meat . Probably would have made more sense baked in the oven instead? As is, are a disappointment as meatballs. Sauce is good, but I wouldn’t make this meatball recipe again.
Kathy says
I made these meatballs several years ago, gave some away, and have thought about them ever since. They were a huge hit and I’m glad to see the recipe again to remind me it’s time to make them again. Thank you for some of my most favorite keto dishes!
★★★★★
Bonnie says
Hi Mellissa, I know this is an *old* recipe but I’ve never tried it before. I’m going to correct that tonight. My question is about the use of one of the new air fryers recently on the market. Can this recipe be made in an Air Fryer and, if so, at what temperature and for how
Thank you!
Regards
Susan says
Just made this, and it was great. I didn’t find ground chicken so ground turkey was used. The meatballs were a bit loose, so I just added more almond flour. This is a definite saver.
★★★★★
Gloria says
One other thing I forgot to mention is for my sweetner, Brown Swerve was the bomb! Thanks again for ALL of your fabulous recipes. Wish we were neighbors and I was your taste tester, lol
★★★★★
Gloria says
That sauce taste like it came from a Chinese restaurant, I’ve made the wings with it! Thanks for taking the time, money, and effort to get it right. I do have a question, I made the meatballs, put them in the freezer to firm them up, and forgot them until the next day. So I got them out bagged them up for another day and back to the freezer again. Before I mess up, can I cook them frozen or thaw first?
★★★★★
Mellissa Sevigny says
I think cooking them from frozen would work Gloria, but I would cook them longer and at a lower temp so the middle cooks through without the exterior getting overcooked.
Nancy Ayers says
Made the meatballs exactly as written with ground chicken, the mixture was too wet to roll into balls. i put a tablespoon full in a skillet to taste test, found it terribly bland.
I added more almond flour and a sprinkling of psyllium husk powder to soak up with wetness, and added salt, pepper, and several dashes of hot chili oil, and a couple teaspoons of stir fry seasoning for flavor.
After letting it sit for an hour, i was able to use my cookie scooper to make balls and fry them. Flavor is much better. Making the sauce today.
Nancy Ayers says
i like heat, and always complain general tso is too sweet. this sauce as written with chili flakes was HOT HOT HOT! had to strain out solids, double the recipe without the chili to tame it down.
Ended up after me my sister and my niece tasted, i threw the whole thing away. sad, i spent a bit of money on a double recipe for me and my family, they’re new to keto and i was hoping to hook them with familiar flavors, we’re HUGE chinese food fans.
super disappointed in this recipe.
BUT i’m on your egg fast right now, and mmm i have SO perfected a cheese omelet, it’s working to get me out of my weight loss stall.
★
AL says
I actually made the sauce and used an almond coated diced chicken breast fried separately (I cant do pork rinds) then added the sauce. It was wonderful. The chicken took a little longer to cook but this is the best General Tso Keto recipe I have found. It was sooo good, I skipped the cauliflower rice.
★★★★★
Kathy L says
Loved these and shared them with friends who also loved them. I’ll be keeping this one as a favorite!
Jessie Sams says
I have made these a few times. They are easy and wonderful. Turkey can be sort of blah if its not dressed up. The seasoning and sauce in this are perfect.
★★★★★
Amy Atkinson says
I’m so glad I found this recipe! I haven’t had Chinese food in 3 years, as it’s impossible to find restaurant Chinese food without cornstarch and sugar. This is SO good! We chickened out and did not add the chiles to the sauce, but that was a mistake. It’s still delicious, but it needed the heat and bite from the chiles. I served it as suggested, with coconut lime cauliflower rice, but plain cauliflower rice would be fine, as the sauce and meatballs are flavorful. A definite keeper, since the non-keto family scarfed it up as fast as I did!
★★★★★
Mellissa Sevigny says
So happy you all liked this recipe Amy! Definitely try it with the chilies or red pepper flakes next time!
Elinor says
I made these a couple of nights ago and they were delicious. Like others said, the sauce was especially delicious, and I didn’t find it too gelatinous, as others complained. I made them with turkey and didn’t love the texture of the meat; it was a bit like a paste. Might try ground chicken next time, or even beef. I just finished the leftovers for lunch and they were even better. Will definitely make again.
★★★★★
Mellissa Sevigny says
Thanks for taking the time to review and comment Elinor – glad these worked out for you! I do prefer the texture of pork over turkey personally!
Mary K Murphy says
This was absolutely delicious. I really loved the flavor. How do you work with the chilis? Do you rehydrate them first?
★★★★★
Christy says
These look yummy! Pinterest not working?
Kim says
I have had this recipe saved for months, and finally got the stuff to make it. I served with some cauliflower rice. Oh my GOODNESS! It was delicious! Thank you for sharing this with us!! I can’t believe I waited so long to make it! Definitely won’t be the last time!! :)
★★★★★
Bekah says
This is so yummy! Adding it to my menu rotation!
★★★★★
Suzi says
Just making these but I just noticed no salt in the meatballs. Error?
Mellissa Sevigny says
This recipe is from years ago but I remember that the sauce is quite salty so I may have omitted it on purpose. You can add a pinch to the meatballs if you like though, just don’t go overboard I would say.
Marla says
The family loves these meatballs!
Elisabeth says
This recipe is a keeper! I too doubled the sauce, used Sambal Olek for the chilis, and served my husband’s over jasmine rice. I will definitely be using this sauce for other stir fry dishes! Perfect combination of sweet, spicy, and sour!
Tasanee Campbell says
Made these tonight. Turned out so good, big hit with my little ones. Left out the almond flour in favor of another egg and a 1/2 c of parm.
Thanks
★★★★
Tara says
I have to say, I am super excited about this recipe. I’ve been craving Chinese food something fierce (especially after all of the holiday flavors). This recipe is on my short list to make! Thanks for sharing!
Naomi says
Oh, man, I had this for dinner over cauli rice. So delicious! One complaint though: the sauce has a slimy mouth feel. Is that to be expected with xanthan gum?
Naomi says
I also used fat free turkey and had a mess. My solution: Patted the mass of turkey mixture onto a silicone-lined baking sheet in a rectangular shape. Using a large knife I cut it into 16 portions, separating the portions with the knife so that the scraping of the knife made a clean break from the rest of the turkey. I then just used my fingers to neaten up the meatball squares. Was thinking of leaving them in the square shapes because they would lie on a flat side easily while cooking, easier to flip to cook another flat side. I left them resting on the silicone mat and placed in the freezer. When they are fully frozen I will bag them up for freezer storage. It was much faster than trying to shape into balls. Now I can’t wait to cook and eat them!
Marguerite O says
Made these tonight and turned out fabulous! My husband, oldest son & I ate every last one. Neither of them eats LCHF so I served theirs with rice & only modification I made was to double the sauce. We ate it all. Thanks for all the great recipes!
Tom says
Wow! These are the best thing ever! I didn’t think 4 meatballs would be enough, but with a side salad, they are so flavorful, it was very satisfying. I want to put that sauce on everything!
★★★★★
Erica says
Can this sauce be frozen?
Mellissa Sevigny says
Technically yes, but I haven’t personally tried it and I’m not sure if it will affect the texture when thawed. Let us know how it works out if you try it!
Jillian says
I just cooked these tonight and they turned out perfect!!! I subbed ground corn starch since I didn’t have xanthan gum, but the sauce came out restaurant-quality. Thanks Mellissa!
★★★★★
Amanda Poppen says
Could I use ground beef instead of chicken or turkey? I’m in a time crunch for dinner tonight and don’t have either chicken nor turkey ground lol Only beef and pork! I know nutritional value will be different, but will it totally change the taste to something gross? Or should I be ok? lol
Mellissa Sevigny says
Sorry I didn’t get this last night Amanda! Did you end up going with the beef and how was it if so? I don’t think it would ruin it, just a slightly stronger flavor than chicken or turkey for future reference!
Louann says
I used ground beef in mine because I prefer it to chicken or turkey. I doubt there was any real difference. The sauce is most of the flavor anyway.
★★★★★
S says
You have to make these.. delicious. .. ..
Alexx says
How long and at what temperature would I bake these?
Lata says
These ”meatballs’ wouldn’t even form into balls so I had to add breadcrumbs along with the flour. How am I the only one with this issue?
John says
They are difficult to form. I used a spoon and got my fingers wet. Made little balls and put them on a silicon baking sheet. I agree, it was a pita. But they turned out just fine.
★★★★★
Cynthia M says
These look amazing, on my list to make. Just a note, if you bake the meatballs and use your Convection function on your oven you will get crispier meatballs. I know a lot of people have convection ovens these days and never use the convection part – such a mistake.
Matthew Underbrink says
Hi Mellissa. These were OK. I really liked the sauce, but I used ground turkey for the meatballs and they just seemed really bland. Do you think adding a 1/4 tsp of salt to the mixture would make them a little better? I also think the turkey wasn’t fatty enough. Is ground chicken very fatty? I might try that next time.
StephG says
Just made these for dinner. YUM-O! I didn’t have scallions so added a smidge dehydrated onion to both balls and sauce. Only had coconut flour it worked well. Omitted thickener because I didnt have any. We like spicy so I also added extra red pepper flakes to sauce. I also uswd inly ground beef. Delicious. Served them with some steamed broccoli. The picky kid raved. Thanks a trillion!
Tammy says
Oh my goodness gracious me oh my! This was delicious! I subbed pork rind flour for the almond flour since I have an allergy. I served over House Foods Tofu Shirataki noodles. The whole family loved it! If you don’t like too much zing, just add 2 peppers. Yum~Thanks for such a great recipe!
kara says
Made these for dinner tonight with ground chicken and they were delicious. Next time I will double the sauce recipe so that the meatballs are more coated and have extra to pour over with zoo del chow me in or cauliflower rice. Thanks for the recipe! !
Porcelina says
I have to say it again – this is a fabulous recipe, we made it last night for Chinese New Year. I substituted white wine vinegar for the rice wine vinegar and it worked a treat. Thank you xx
Kim says
I didn’t think I would be able to have General Tso’s chicken ever again. This really hit the spot!
Mellissa Sevigny says
Yay! So glad you liked them Kim!
Christine says
Hi and thanks for this recipe! I am going to make it tomorrow. I went to the grocery to buy the ingredients but couldn’t find rice wine vinegar. I found red and white wine vinegar and I found rice vinegar but not rice wine vinegar. I went ahead and bought the unseasoned rice vinegar. It’s got a slight yellowish color to it. Is this going to work or do I need to go find something else?
Tracy says
This look wonderful. I am looking for recipes I can make in bulk to freeze for later, will these work for this? Thanks!
Michele says
I made these two nights ago with a minor amount of dubious skepticism, and shame on me for that! THIS RECIPE IS AMAZING!
I served it over steamed veggies, and Konjac noodles. My husband, who was slightly reluctant to join my low carb life, is all in, and said this dish is in his top favorites.
Thank you so very much for sharing.
Michele
Rachel Horowitz says
I’m in the midst of making these right now, and just noticed there’s no salt in the recipe, and am trying to fight the urge to toss in just a pinch. I realize that the tamari provides the salt in the sauce …
Maxine says
I made this today and I liked the meatballs but thought they need a little more flavor but I don’t know what they needed. I see from one of the reviewers that they only needed to cook about 6 to 8 minutes. I cooked mine longer than that. Maybe I cooked the taste out of them???? The sauce was excellent. Can you tell me the reason to use xanthan gum or arrow root power instead of using cornstarch?
Mihir says
xanthan gum has incredible thickening power in a very small amount. so, it will be negligible as far as carb count.
i think the arrow root was given for people doing paleo.
Stacey Bs says
Hi, Melissa!
These look delicious. I have zero experience with chilies. What is the type of chili you are using exactly? Also, when you say to remove seeds and chop, is that the dried chili you are chopping, or should it be re-hydrated? Sorry for all the questions, but I want to make this recipe correctly. Thanks so much! Can’t wait to try them!
Mellissa Sevigny says
If you can find the tiny whole dry chilis, you can just use them whole and toss them in, they tend to break up a bit anyway in the sauce which is fine – larger dried chilis I sometimes break open and just shake out some or all of the seeds before using them – they aren’t pleasant to bite into, like little chunks of cardboard! If you’re using fresh red (or green serrano in a pinch) chilies, I would remove the seeds from those and chop them up! Hope that helps – it’s going to taste good either way, and a few seeds won’t hurt you if you miss some. Enjoy!
Aaron C says
I made the sauce tonight (not the meatballs) and it tasted wonderful! I added 1/2 tsp of garlic chili paste instead of the Chilis and a little cornstarch because xanthan gum is a bit out of my price range. It was excellent! I used half the “dressing” on my chicken, and the tossed the rest -still hot- into a little kale, cabbage, and carrot salad as the dressing. Probably a salt overload but it was great to have spicy crunch. Thanks for sharing, and I’ll try the meatballs the next time!
Mellissa Sevigny says
Glad you liked the sauce Aaron! I use it for all kinds of things too – one of my favorite easy recipes is to throw a bag of broccoli slaw into some hot oil, add some cooked protein (chicken, shrimp or pork work great) and then a bunch of this sauce! Hope you like the meatballs too if you try them!
Mihir says
i made these last weekend and they were delicious!
the only issue i ran into was how wet/sticky they were. i even added in extra almond flour but it didn’t seem to help. it was actually quite difficult to form them into meatballs. did you run across this at all? i used ground turkey.
either way, i’ll definitely be making these again!
Mellissa Sevigny says
Some brands of ground turkey add a lot of moisture and I find them difficult to work with too – this is most true in the extra lean turkey. When you use a full fat ground turkey it’s not usually as wet – but the addition of 1 Tbsp of coconut flour should absorb it and make it easier to work with next time you run into that problem.
Sori says
Would coconut flour work instead of the almond flour in the meatballs? Or can I leave it out completely?
Mellissa Sevigny says
I would reduce it to 1 Tbsp, but sure you could use coconut flour instead!
Stacey says
Is the measurement for Ginger fresh or dried?
Mellissa Sevigny says
Fresh ginger, minced Stacey!
alana says
I haven’t left a recipe review in a long long time, but these meatballs were just delicious I have to thank you so much for coming up with this recipe! I have been eating gluten/dairy free for about 6 months now, but I’m experimenting with Paleo and it’s hard to transition my cooking skills. However, this recipe (with honey, coconut aminos, tapioca starch and apple cider vinegar as substitutes) was so unbelieveably satisying and tasty and really gave me the taste of my previously legume and wheat filled chinese takeout. Hardly made any subs, except to add a splash of OJ and make twice as much sauce! Also used turkey because I love ground turkey.
Anyways, thanks for such a delicious recipe!
Mellissa Sevigny says
Thanks so much for taking the time to let me know that you enjoyed the recipe Alana! Also I appreciate you sharing your Paleo substitutions!!
Christine says
Did you use toasted sesame seed oil or plain?
Mellissa Sevigny says
Toasted is the best but either will work!
Christine says
Thank You, I love toasted!
Mihir says
i just happened upon these yesterday and they look great! i’m wondering though, what are you using to do the nutritional analysis? when i use my analyzer, i get 13.3g carbs (12.5 net) per serving (4 meatballs).
http://caloriecount.about.com/cc/recipe_analysis.php
curious as to how you got the numbers you posted. thanks!
Mellissa Sevigny says
I’m not sure what went wrong but there is no way the ingredients in this recipe would net what you are describing unless there was a major error. I use calorie king, and I never input everything into a recipe analyzer program because it’s always way off. I’m confident in my numbers because I enter each item individually, write down the info for each ingredient, and then tally up the nutrition info myself and check it twice. The problem with sites like the one you linked to is that they guess when they don’t recognize something, and they also use an average of all listed brands – including those with sugar, etc. Sites like that recipe analyzer just aren’t reliable – sorry.
Mihir says
i figured the site i was using wasn’t correct. the reason i asked is because i was looking for a new site to use.
also, a friend entered the info into myfitness pal (makes you enter ingredient individually) and got 22g carbs per serving. looking at the ingredient list, neither of us can figure out where it could possibly get 88g carbs for the whole recipe.
either way, these look awesome and i’m making them!
Mellissa Sevigny says
I’m not a huge fan of MFP for calculating nutrition info either – though it has other great uses. I do like Calorie King but even with them I have to be brand specific and rarely use their “average” numbers for an item because it’s so far off sometimes. It’s helpful to keep a spreadsheet of nutrition info as a reference for items and brands that you use all the time for that reason too. Curious if you put an actual sugar substitute brand (ie Splenda, Truvia, etc) in the recipe when entering it – if not could it be reading it as just sugar? The only other thing I can think of is that it wasn’t subtracting the fiber from the carbs in the almond flour, but even that wouldn’t give you as high a number as you got – I don’t think. Oh well! Either way I hope you like these! :)
Mihir says
i did put in Splenda as the brand name. meh. i think i’ll just look at the labels for the brands i have and do the calculations on my own. curious as to which brand of rice wine vinegar you are using. the one we have at home has a whopping 14g carbs per serving! time to hit the store and see what other brands are available.
Mellissa Sevigny says
Definitely use “unseasoned” rice wine vinegar or it will have tons of sugar in it! You can usually find kikkoman brand even in the grocery store. Maybe that was the source of the carbs in the calculations! I just checked the recipe and I never specified to use the unseasoned, which is a major error on my part. Thanks for catching that, I just fixed it!
Cathy says
I was wondering about the fat content in the nutritional numbers ? Is this correct ? Or is there a decimal point missing ?
Mellissa Sevigny says
This is calculated using regular ground turkey and yes it is correct. If you are on a low fat plan, you can use lean ground turkey or ground chicken and it will lower the fat grams – you’ll have to calculate the difference yourself though as I don’t have those numbers. Enjoy!
Linda says
Do you think the sauce would work on skinless and boneless chicken breast pieces?
Mellissa Sevigny says
Absolutely yes!
Lynn says
I had pinned this months ago, and my sister and I made them for our birthday dinner tonight (we’re twins). Even the picky 8-year-old tried the sauce and LOVED it! I think that this sauce would be good on chunks of skinless/boneless chicken breast.
Tessa says
These look great. How long would you bake them, do you think?
Mellissa Sevigny says
About 18 minutes at 350 degrees (F) should do it Tessa! Enjoy!
Nancy says
These sound fantastic. I love the Generals Chicken.
Cant wait to try them.
CJ Huang says
It’s a favorite around here, and now in meatball form! I’ll have to give it a try. :)
Elyse says
Can you just use regular flour if you don’t have almond flour on hand? (I not necessarily need it to be gluten free)
Mellissa Sevigny says
I wouldn’t Elyse, it would be too dense – if you aren’t worried about gluten free, try bread crumbs in place of the almond flour – panko would be awesome if you have it. Enjoy!
a says
These look amazing! Although, we have someone allergic to sesame seeds in the family so I was just wondering if it would be ok to leave out the sesame oil or is there anything it could be replaced by? Thanks :)
Mellissa Sevigny says
It will have a different flavor, but should still taste great without the sesame! I can’t think of what you could replace it with since the flavor is so distinct though. Just omitting it should be fine!
rose54 says
Loved these! I made extra sauce and flash fried a bag of cole slaw – added the extra
sauce to it and had chinese “spaghetti” and meatballs! Delish!
Mellissa Sevigny says
That sounds AWESOME! Wish I’d thought of frying some cabbage as a side, totally doing that next time!!!
Bev says
Delish…..thanks for sharing!
Mellissa Sevigny says
Thanks Bev, still one of my faves too!
E. says
I made these for dinner tonight and they were so good! I didn’t have chilies on hand but I had a jalapeno so I just used one instead and it worked great. I also loved your parmigiana meatballs…buffalo balls are next!!
Dawn says
I can’t find the Asian meatballs that Renee mentions that she is addicted to. They sound really good…
Mellissa Sevigny says
Dawn I think that Renee is referring to the recipe for Asian Meatballs in my cookbook, The Gluten Free Low Carber.
Renee Patrick says
I’m making this recipe today. I’m so siked, especially after the Parmigiana ones came out perfecto. I’ve been addicted to your Asian meatballs forever so now I’m venturing out. Can you tell me how to determine the sugar sub amounts? Is it 1 to 1? So I can use 3 TBl stevia? or equal? Thanks for your time and amazing recipes. Love them!
Mellissa Sevigny says
Hi Renee, yes you use a one to one ratio of anything that measures cup for cup like sugar. You can also find out on the website of whatever sweetener you are using – for example the equal site if you enter 2 Tbsp of sugar it will tell you how much equal to use in the recipe. Hope you like them! :)
Laurie says
These were very tasty. The sauce was too gelatinous for me though so I will use 1/2 tsp xanthan gum next time. I look forward to making some of your other meatball recipes next week. Thank you!
Laurie says
oops I mean 1/4 tsp
McDonna says
These were easy to prepare and – my OH my! – so delicious! We are in Atkins Induction right now, so I left out the almond flour, and used ground beef and minced onion since that’s what I had on hand. Scooped the meat mixture up by the tablespoonfuls and fried them in coconut oil.
For the sauce, I used olive oil and apple cider vinegar, along with Bragg’s Aminos instead of regular soy sauce and rice wine vinegar. Also used organic stevia as the sweetener. Was pretty sure the whole thing was going to taste as amazing as it smelled, and it did NOT disappoint!
This was my first experience working with chilies. **What an adventure!** Next time I will wear gloves to handle the dried chilies, as two days later my finger tips, cuticles and hands would still “light up” every time they came in contact with water! And should I mention that – of course – my nose started itching while preparing the chilies, and somehow – still don’t know how – the membranes of my nose came in contact with airborne chilie dust or something! My whole head tingled and my nose BURNED! LOL Then when we ate the meatballs, I definitely realized that the chilies I bought from my Asian market were still the fiery kind…not the flavorful-but-not-too-hot dried chilies I was trying to buy! In all fairness, my husband said the chilies were plenty warm but not hot, according to his tastes. But my lips, tongue, throat and stomach…all the way through…were keenly aware of a chilie pepper invasion!
The meatballs were too delicious to let a bit of fire keep me from enjoying them, however. Glad I made a double recipe. Hubs had them for both breakfast and lunch the next day! Will definitely make these again, this time with more respect for the red chilies and their fire! LOL
Mellissa Sevigny says
I probably should have put in a warning about handling the chilis – I learned that the hard way myself after the first time! Glad you all liked the recipe though, and thanks for taking the time to comment! :)
shawna talkington says
I have never worked with dried chili’s give me some pointers and what to look for at the store and how to prepare them please
Mellissa Sevigny says
You can use red pepper flakes if it’s easier!
Rachel Horowitz says
I was wondering if one could substitute red pepper flakes. How much do you suggest? I realize that spicy is subjective, though.
Additionally, do you think these would turn out well with a meatloaf mix (pork, veal, beef)? Obviously, I’d have to figure out the nutritional info for myself, but I do that all the time with recipes. (I’m on the Atkins Diet)
This looks like a really tasty recipe!
Mellissa Sevigny says
I would start with a 1/2 tsp of red pepper flakes and go up from there depending on how spicy you want it Rachel! And I think pretty much any ground meat would work in these! Enjoy! :)
Cindy {crazloucreations} says
Just stopping by to let you know that I am featuring this on my PINTASTIC Friday blog post today, Friday, May 10th. Stop over and say hello!
Cindy @ crazyloucreations.blogspot.com
Beverly says
These are in the oven right now! I am a lazy pants, so I pretty much just guesstimated amounts of everything, but it smells delicious!
looseal says
Awesome! Made this tonight with broccoli. Next time I am going to double the sauce to have over Asian vegetables.
Mellissa Sevigny says
Thanks, glad you liked it! This sauce would definitely work in ginormous quantities over anything – especially some kind of stir fry or veggie side dish!
Raymond says
I made this last night. Can you say, “Party in my mouth?!” My wife and I enjoyed it with jasmine rice and broccoli.
Mellissa Sevigny says
Thanks Raymond! :)
Carol says
I made these last night and they were delicious served over cauliflower rice!
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Stefanie says
Hi Mellissa! For those of us that are new to cooking, how long do you think it’ll take the meatballs to cook through if we shallow fry in olive oil? I know you probably can’t say exactly but is it closer to 10 minutes or 40 minutes? Thank you!
Mellissa Sevigny says
Great question Stefanie – depending on their size the meatballs should take about 6 – 8 minutes to cook through! I would test one before removing them all from the pan, just to be sure! Enjoy!
Ron says
These look fantastic. I’ll be trying them out this weekend. Looking forward to seeing the meatball recipes and trying them out too.
Amy S says
I LOVE meatballs! In fact, I am adding this recipe to my Meatball Madness Pinboard. Thanks for a recipe that my family is sure to enjoy.
Kristyn says
Tried this last night, and it was delicious and so satisfying! The xantham gum really does give that stickiness that makes a good chinese dish saucy. I added a couple shakes of fish sauce, as well as a Tb of gin, since I had no sherry (which is a common flavoring for this dish) and poured it on some steak-chicken-broccoli stir fry, then served that on some cauliflower rice.
Thanks for all of the work you do on this site! Your recipes are head and shoulders above the crowds.
Mellissa Sevigny says
Thanks Kristyn, so glad you liked them!
Heather May says
This sounds really awesome. I do not need to worry about gluten so what could I sub for the almond flour (regular flour or bread crumbs?) and the xanathan gum? I love meatballs as well as General Tso so the two combined would be a winner!
Mellissa Sevigny says
Japanese panko breadcrumbs would be perfect in these if you aren’t worried about gluten or a few more carbs. The easiest substitute for the xanthan gum would be cornstarch, though you may want to increase it to 1.5 teaspoons and dissolve it in the 1/4 cup (cold) water before adding it to the sauce so it doesn’t clump up. Enjoy!
Teri Williams says
Could you substitute glucomannan for xanthum gum?
Alison says
Just an FYI, this is not gluten free if you are using soy sauce. Soy sauce contains wheat. The instructions need to say something about using gluten free soy sauce.
Mellissa Sevigny says
I’m so used to using Tamari which is gluten free that I don’t even think about it anymore and forget that not everybody uses it exclusively! Thanks for reminding me, I’ve updated the post!
Sonia! The Healthy Foodie says
Oh my goodness me, Mellissa, this looks so good!
And I so happen to have chicken in my fridge right now, how wonderful is that!
Looks like this one is in my near future… as in VERY near future!
Can I lick the screen in the meantime though? ;)
oh, and ps… soy sauce is also out for us paleo folks!
Mellissa Sevigny says
Thanks for the reminder Sonia! As another posted mentioned, you can also use coconut aminos and I’m going to update the post. Hope you like these as much as I did! :)
Beth says
Sounds awesome!! I can’t wait to try these, as I love me some meatballs. I just wanted to point out another paleo substitution – for the soy sauce, coconut aminos can be used.
Mellissa Sevigny says
Thanks for that Beth! I forgot about the soy sauce, I’m going to adjust the post to reflect your suggestion! Enjoy!