Paleo Popcorn Meatballs
by Paleo Popcorn Meatballs, Asian style ! These Paleo Popcorn Meatballs are my latest meatball invention – perfect finger and party food for the holidays, game-day gatherings, or everyday indulgence !
Tips on making Paleo Popcorn Meatballs, Asian Style
Type of Meat
Use ground chicken thigh or at least 50% breast, and 50% thigh to keep the meatballs juicy.
If you can’t find ground chicken thigh, aside from grinding the meat yourself, mix ground chicken or turkey breast with veal, pork, or beef to add some good fat and moisture.
Flour/Starch choice
Sweet potatoes or arrowroot powder? Are they interchangeable?
Arrowroot powder gives the meatballs a bouncy texture when you bite into it whereas sweet potato starch powder gives a light and airy texture to the outer crust after pan frying.
If you can, use both types of flour separately – arrowroot for binding the ingredients and sweet potato for dusting. I found this combination makes the most juicy inside and crispy outside Paleo Popcorn meatballs.
Refrigeration
Refrigerate the meatballs 10-15 minutes before dusting as demonstrated in the 1-minute tutorial above.
Yes, it does add a bit to the total cooking time but the results are much much better. It will help the meatballs form better and reduce the need to add extra starch flour.
Make Ahead Method
Since these Paleo Popcorn Meatballs are perfect for parties, if you want to make them ahead and save time (so you can hang out with your guests), I’d recommend that you finish the entire cooking process, let the meatballs cool down, and then freeze them. Just reheat in the oven at 420 ℉ /216 ℃ for 10 minutes total (flip them after 5 minutes for even baking).
Dipping Sauce
To make these Paleo Popcorn Meatballs taste authentic, salt and white pepper will do the trick. I, however, always love a bit of East meets west, and these Paleo friendly ketchup, mustard, and bbq sauce will go superbly well too!
If you give this popcorn chicken meatballs a try, leave a comment below. I’d love to hear from you!
Paleo Popcorn Meatballs
Video
Ingredients
Meatballs:
- 1 lb ground chicken thigh
- 1 tsp fine sea salt
- 1/2 tsp white pepper powder
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp five spice powder
- 1/4 tsp ginger powder
- 3-4 tbsp shallots, finely chopped
- 1 1/2 tsp toasted sesame oil
- 1 tbsp arrowroot flour
- 2 tbsp coconut flour
Meatball dusting:
- 2 tbsp sweet potato flour
- 1 tbsp coconut flour
Other:
- 1/4 cup oil of your choice to pan fry the meatballs
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients listed under “meatballs”. Mix well.
- Dust a bit coconut flour over a large baking tray. Form 25 1-inch size meatballs. Refrigerate the meatballs for 10-15 minutes.
- Combine 2 tbsp sweet potato flour and 1 tbsp coconut flour. Lightly coat each meatball with the flour.
- Heat ¼ cup oil in a dutch oven or large frying pan. When hot, lower the heat to medium and pan fry the meatballs in separate batches until they are golden brown and cooked through. Drain over paper towel.
- Serve hot with fine sea salt and white pepper or your favorite dipping sauce !
Love these major crowd pleaser. Great for thanksgiving and all year round. We love how they taste and how they’re easy to make
Thank you! Ha! You’ve found an older recipe of mine. 🙂
Would potato starch/flour work for this recipe?
Yes it will !
Oh my gosh these look so flavor-packed and easy to make! Would be a perfect party appetizer!
Oh my goodness! That video was hilarious….and absolutely made me want to make those meatballs even more.
I love all meatballs and the flavor combination of these sound amazing! They look so juicy and delicious! Also- such a cute video! I love it!
Not only do these look beyond delicious but that video was so cool! I definitely want to try your method 🙂
Thanks so much, Michele. I absolutely love these Paleo Popcorn Meatballs too !
Man, I already want a dog really badly and now you tell me you can teach them to cook too? 🙂 These look so good!
Lol! Happy New Year, Michele !
I am going to have to make these for my kids. They will love them. Thanks for sharing!
Ha! I love your cooking assistant, and these meatballs look absolutely delicious.
Thanks so much Becky ! You are the best ! :))
I pinned these the other day and was wanting to make them so bad! They sound absolutely delicious 🙂
Thanks so much, Stacey ! These meatballs remind me of my favorite popcorn chicken but without the junk ! :))
Oooo my girls would love this! Anything to “dip”! Very fun – thank you!
Thank you, Renee ! Adult and Kiddo friendly Paleo Popcorn Meatballs ! :))
Oh my goodness these sound so good! Love that breaded goodness! I bet these would disappear fast in my home.
Thank you, Emily ! These Paleo popcorn meatballs are super uber yum. My husband and house guests love them. They taste great even after re-heating in the oven !