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These Asian Pork Meatball Bowls are packed with umami flavor! The tender pork meatballs are drizzled with a sticky, slightly sweet glaze and served over a delicious fried “rice”. This entire meal comes together in less than 30 minutes!
I love a good fake-out takeout meal, and this one may be on top of my list after trying it out this week! The ingredient list may look long, but I bet you already have most of the spices and sauce ingredients in your pantry. There are a couple different moving parts involved here, but I promise this meal comes together quickly. I’ve tried to write out the instructions in the most efficient, multi-tasking way possible 🙂
What Ingredients do I need to make these Asian Pork Meatball Bowls?
Chances are you already have a lot of this in your freezer and pantry! You can also serve the meatballs over rice noodles, regular rice, or anything else that you want! I get a lot of my pantry staples at Thrive Market (all linked below) – it’s a great way to save on everyday healthier items. Think Whole Foods meets Costco!
- Ground Pork
- Almond Flour – I like to get a big bag of certified gluten free almond flour at Costco, or on Thrive Market.
- Coconut aminos – this is a gluten free/Whole30 friendly soy sauce replacement. It is slightly sweet and delicious when used in Asian-inspired dishes.
- Rice vinegar – also sold in most stores!
- Toasted sesame oil – I absolutely love the flavor of this! you can also use regular sesame oil if it’s all you can find.
- Red Boat Fish Sauce – you can substitute salt if you can’t find this, but I think it adds amazing flavor to Asian dishes. It can be found in most stores!
- Honey – omit this for Whole30. I love the sweetness this adds to the sauce!
- Arrowroot Powder – This acts as a Whole30 and paleo approved thickener. It’s a great substitute for corn starch!
Stocking up on these essentials and having them on hand makes it really easy to whip together a fun, quick Asian inspired meal any night of the week!
You can also use ground turkey, chicken, or beef to make these meatballs.
Can I make these into an appetizer?
You sure can! Double the meatball and sauce portion of this recipe and you’ve got yourself a great Super Bowl appetizer this weekend!
Looking for some other fun Whole30 meatball recipes? Check out my Whole30 Meatball Stroganoff or Oven Baked Prosciutto Meatballs!
Ok, let’s get cookin’!
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Asian Pork Meatball Bowls (Whole30, Paleo)
Ingredients
Asian Pork Meatballs
- 1 lb ground pork , I like Butcher Box
- 1 egg
- ¼ cup almond flour
- 1 tbsp coconut aminos, 1
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp sea salt
- ½ tsp crushed red pepper
Fried "Rice"
- 2 tbsp sesame oil
- ½ onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 12 oz bag frozen cauliflower rice, pound on it so there are no large chunks!
- 1 bag coleslaw mix , (green cabbage, purple cabbage, carrots)
- ¼ cup coconut aminos
- ½ tsp sea salt, more or less to taste
Sticky Sauce
- ¾ cup coconut aminos
- 1 tbsp rice vinegar
- 2 tsp toasted sesame oil
- ½ tsp Red Boat Fish Sauce
- ½ tsp ground ginger
- 1 tbsp honey, omit for Whole30
- 2 tsp arrowroot powder
- 2 tbsp water
Garnish
- diced green onion
- sesame seeds
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Combine all of the meatball ingredients in a large bowl and mix well using your hands. Form into 2 inch meatballs. You should have 12 total per lb of pork. Place the balls on the baking sheet, and bake for 20 minutes.
- Meanwhile, gather your fried "rice" ingredients. Heat a large skillet over medium high heat and add in the onion and garlic. Saute for 2-3 minutes until fragrant. Add in the frozen cauliflower rice, coleslaw mix, coconut aminos, and salt. Stir to combine. Cover and let it cook, stirring occasionally, for 5-7 minutes.
- While the fried "rice" is cooking, add all of the sticky sauce ingredients (except for the arrowroot/water mixture) to a small saucepan. Mix the arrowroot powder and water together in another small bowl. Bring the sauce ingredients to a boil, then whisk in the arrowroot slurry mixture. Keep whisking for approximately 1 minute until thickened. Set aside until you're ready to use it.
- Take the meatballs out of the oven and serve them over the fried "rice" with the sauce spooned over top. Add green onions and sesame seeds, if desired!
Notes
Nutrition
All nutrition facts are an estimate and automatically calculated. While I fact check them using My Fitness Pal, please note that they may not always be 100% accurate and depend on ingredients used. Weigh your total and divide by the number of servings for the most accurate grams per serving size.
Made this for dinner tonight and it did not disappoint! I used a broccoli saw since that was what I had on hand, and hubby added some sriracha to his, as he always likes to spice things up. Thanks for the great recipe!
Hi Jennifer- so glad to hear you enjoyed it!
That was fantastic! And easy too! Thanks for the recipe.
Thank you Jess!!
I love this recipe! I didn’t have arrowroot powder, but i had tapioca flour so i used that instead and it worked wonderfully. I also made my meatballs out of ground venison… so yummy! Definitely recommend!
Amazing! Thank you, Erin!
This was amazing! I was pleasantly surprised how flavorful the meatballs were with relatively few ingredients. My sister and I both agree this is better than takeout. Thanks for this great recipe that will become a staple!
Yay – thank you Lara! So glad to hear this!
Made this tonight and so delicious!!! Thanks for this wonderful recipe
Thank you Nicole! I am so glad you loved it!
This was amazing! My husband said that this satisfies any craving he has for Chinese takeout. I actually used real rice instead of cauliflower rice. Worked great! I just served it in the bowl alongside the cabbage and meatballs. The sticky sauce is SO good.
Thank you Melanie! So glad you all enjoyed it!!
I made this tonight and the whole family loved it! Will definitely make again. Thank you for sharing!
Awesome! Thank you Kate, I am so glad you loved it!!
Awesome, thank you Kate! So glad you all enjoyed it!!
Gonna make this tonight with turkey meatballs! Thank you 🙂
Hi- hope you enjoyed them, Terri!
Mary,
It was delicious, I gave a serving to my BFF and she enjoyed as well.
Thank you Terri!
Making it right now!! Do you use the sesame oil to sauté the onions and garlic in for the “fried” rice?
yes – correct! 🙂 Sorry for the delayed response. If you ever have a question you need an immediate answer for definitely message me on Instagram instead of here!
Can’t wait to try it! Can you sub coconut flour for almond flour in the meatballs?
Yes! Just do 1/3 the amount.