Juicy low carb meatballs with all the great flavors of your favorite take out dish, Kung Pao. Plus it’s just fun to say Kung Pao! A delicious guest post by Mellissa of I Breathe, I’m Hungry.
For a second guest post while I am away, I enlisted the help of the beautiful and talented Mellissa Sevigny of I Breathe, I’m Hungry. Chances are you already know her blog well, but if you don’t…you should. She’s got fantastic recipes and I think I will dub her the Queen of Meatballs because she comes up with the most fantastic low carb meatball recipes. And she’s a sweetheart to boot. I am looking forward to meeting her at Blog Her Food in May!
When Carolyn emailed me about guest posting for her over here on All Day I Dream About Food, I was equal parts nervous and excited. Carolyn is the real deal, (you know this already or you wouldn’t be here) and I wanted to make sure that I could live up to her high standards!
What terrified me the most is that she would ask me to post a dessert recipe. Nobody, and I mean nobody, can hold a candle to Carolyn when it comes to creating crazy good low carb desserts! In fact, if we were on Iron Chef America and it was a low carb dessert challenge, I would happily be the soux chef to Carolyn’s superior dessert genius. And she would definitely win the whole shebang!
Now I’m not saying that I can’t bust out a decent cake when called for, but I tend to lean more toward the savory side of low carb over at I Breathe I’m Hungry.
That’s why Carolyn and I make a great team – I’m like the peanut butter to her jelly. The bacon to her chocolate. The cheese to her low carb cracker. The….well, you get the idea.
So when I sent her the email asking her what she had in mind, I was nervous to be sure. Imagine my relief her response suggested that I come up with a meatball recipe for you guys! Carolyn obviously took pity on me and gave me an easy assignment, because when it comes to making meatballs – I got this.
I don’t want to toot my own horn or anything (sure I do), but I know my way around a meatball! I love meatballs so much that I dedicated an entire day per week to them with my Meatball Monday series! I have over 30 meatball recipes posted so far, with plenty more on the way!
Now that I had my assignment, and a long list of meatball concepts to choose from, I agonized over which direction to go in! I finally decided to go Asian, because who doesn’t love Chinese takeout? I’ve already done the General Tso’s Meatball, the Pork Shumai Meatball, and the Chicken and Broccoli Meatball, so what to make over next?
After much deliberation, I decided to tackle the Kung Pao Meatball! Kung Pao is a spicy stir fry dish of Chinese origin, that is traditionally made with chicken, and contains peanuts or cashews.
I chose to make these meatballs with pork, because ground chicken can sometimes be dry in meatball format. I also used peanuts in my version, but you can easily substitute cashews if you have an allergy or a preference.
Finally, I would categorize these as mildly spicy as the recipe is written – if you want to turn up the heat you can increase the dried pepper flakes, or even use fresh hot chilis to really blow your socks off.
The final verdict? Easy to make, yet loaded with exciting flavors and texture, this is one of my best meatball creations to date – definitely my top favorite in the Asian category at least. I hope you’ll try them and let me know what you think!
A huge thanks to Carolyn for inviting me to guest post (and not asking me to make a dessert!) – it’s been an honor hanging out with you guys over here at All Day I Dream About Food! Feel free to join us over at I Breathe I’m Hungry anytime – where hopefully I’ll convince Carolyn to return the favor and guest post with an epic dessert recipe soon!
Want a truly different kind of of meatball? Check out this Wild Boar Meatball Taco Bowl with Quinoa. Use almond flour for the breadcrumbs and skip the quinoa, black beans, and corn!
Kung Pao Meatballs – Low Carb and Gluten-Free
Ingredients
For the meatballs:
- 1 lb ground pork, chicken or turkey
- 1/4 cup almond flour
- 1 egg
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp ground ginger powder
- 1 Tbsp gluten free soy sauce or tamari
- 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
- 2 Tbsp chopped scallions
- 2 Tbsp finely chopped peanuts or cashews
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 Tbsp light olive or coconut oil for frying
For the sauce:
- 1 Tbsp light olive or coconut oil
- 1 Tbsp thinly sliced ginger
- 1 clove garlic thinly sliced
- 2 Tbsp gluten free soy sauce or tamari
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 tsp white vinegar
- 2 Tbsp granulated sugar substitute (Swerve works well)
- 1 tsp red pepper flakes
- 1/4 tsp xanthan gum
- 3 Tbsp roughly chopped peanuts or cashews
- 1 scallion sliced
Instructions
For the Meatballs:
- Combine the ground pork, almond flour, egg, garlic powder, ginger, gluten free soy sauce, red pepper flakes, scallions, peanuts, and salt in a medium bowl. Mix thoroughly and form into 16 meatballs. Heat the 2 Tbsp oil in a nonstick pan and fry the meatballs about 3 minutes per side, or until cooked through. Remove the meatballs and set aside.
For the Sauce:
- Wipe out the nonstick pan you cooked the meatballs in and heat 1 Tbsp oil over medium high heat. Add the garlic and ginger and cook for about one minute or until fragrant. Reduce heat and add the water, gluten free soy sauce, vinegar, sweetener, xanthan gum, and red pepper flakes and whisk until xanthan gum is dissolved. Taste and adjust to your preference with salt, sweetener, or more red pepper flakes as desired. Add the peanuts, scallions, and meatballs back to the pan. Toss to coat and cook for about 2 minutes. If the mixture becomes too thick, you can add another tablespoon of water. Serve hot.
Kin says
Hello, I have a few questions. Can the meatballs be made ahead and reheated? Also can I substitute the peanuts with a different nut such as almonds or walnuts? I forgot to check if the recipe stated how many people can this recipe feed? Thank you.
Carolyn says
This is not my recipe, but I think you can freeze and yes to a different nut.
Rose says
All I can say is Kung POW! I loved it. I don’t usually make Chinese at home because I can’t get the flavors right. You absolutely did. It’s a keeper!
Jill says
I did not like the taste of the sauce at all I don’t like the sweeteners yucky taste & aftertaste I dipped my finger in like 10 times I guess I thought I would have a different result. HOWEVER on the other hand it was too hot in the house air is out so I made it into ? Cheese burgers. I doubled everything for the meat I used half venison & half pork (that is what I had in the house ground it myself ?) YUM the burgers were awesome so thank you for sharing!! Everyone has different taste buds
Mubeena Miller says
these were super yummy. Family asks for them often.
Chantelle says
These are SO tasty! I threw in too many chilli flakes and they were super spicy so I added some coconut cream which was delicious. Thanks!
AKATALCUL1 says
I made these last weekend with a home-ground blend of 80/20 chuck and spam! Ha! My kids (3 teenagers) were completely blown away.
Baron says
My neighbor gave me a bunch of Turkey Burger patties, he said they weren’t very good. I knew it was because he tried just cooking them plain like a beef burger. So I got four of the 1/4lb patties, defrosted them, mixed in the ingredients and whipped-up the meatballs which were excellent! The Turkey Kung Pao mixture was kind of ‘wet’ so they couldn’t be formed into meatballs but I discovered a heaping 1/8th cup measure was about right for each ‘meatball’ to drop onto the oiled pan. Made some Mock Fried Rice (made with cauliflower) to go with it. 10 out of 10 would cook and eat again.
Carolyn says
Great idea on the burgers!
Lisa says
Made these, but sadly, I made a mistake. Should have made a double batch! These were so good, I had to stop and save some for my husband as well. Usually I change recipes to suit my taste buds, but in this case, I won’t change a thing.
Tamitha says
These were outstanding. Thank you very much for the recipe!!
Erin @ The Spiffy Cookie says
Oh I have never heard of kung pao meatballs before but I love the two things independently so I bet I would together as well!
mellissa @ ibreatheimhungry says
They really do Erin – hope you like them!
Donna says
These look so good! Can you suggest a sub for the eggs and almond flour? Very difficult to be allergic to these two ingredients.
Thank you, Donna
mellissa @ ibreatheimhungry says
Sorry I didn’t get to this sooner Donna! You can simply omit the egg and almond flour – the meatballs will be a little more dense, but still very flavorful!
Candice says
These meatballs look great and flavorful!
mellissa @ ibreatheimhungry says
Thanks Candice – it’s not easy to make meatballs look pretty!
Robin says
I love Kung Pao and I’ve made some of your meatball recipes and was wanting just such a recipe. This will be dinner tonight!
mellissa @ ibreatheimhungry says
Hope you liked it Robin!
Eva@Whole Food Mom on a Budget says
My two favorite low carb bloggers! Thanks for the yummy recipe!
http://www.wholefoodmomonabudget.com
mellissa @ ibreatheimhungry says
Thanks so much Eva! I’m sure this won’t be the last time Carolyn and I collaborate!
charlotte says
these look like a remake of the best meatballs in the world!
Jocelyn (Grandbaby Cakes) says
These are everything meatballs should be. They look insanely flavorful!
Gretchen RS says
This looks like a great dish to serve to my family along with a veggie stir-fry. I am trying to avoid soy. Would substituting coconut aminos for the soy sauce work?
mellissa @ ibreatheimhungry says
Absolutely Gretchen! Hope your family enjoys them!!!
Georgia @ The Comfort of Cooking says
Holy scrumptiousness. I want a big batch of these for dinner! What a fabulous low-carb recipe. Thanks, Carolyn!