Gluten-Free Wonton Soup (Soy-Free, AIP Paleo, Whole30)

Gluten-Free Wonton Soup keeps the best part of the classic — the savory filling — and skips the wrapper altogether. Instead of folding pork and shrimp into delicate dumplings, this version turns that same ginger-garlic filling into tender meatballs that simmer gently in a clear, nourishing broth with bok choy and scallions. A little tapioca starch keeps the meatballs light and springy, so you still get that signature wonton texture without any gluten, soy or fillers. It’s weeknight-friendly, deeply comforting, and tastes like takeout, just better for you.

How this recipe fits AIP, Paleo and Whole30

Traditional wonton soup relies on gluten wrappers, soy sauce, rice wine, cornstarch and often egg, which are all ingredients that don’t work for anti-inflammatory and elimination-style eating. This Gluten-Free Wonton Soup leaves all of that behind. There’s no gluten, no soy, no rice wine and no cornstarch, making it fully compatible with AIP, Paleo and Whole30.

For AIP Core and Paleo, simply skip the optional sesame oil, since seed oils are eliminated in those protocols. The rest of the recipe is built entirely around whole ingredients: ground pork, fresh ginger and garlic, scallions, tapioca starch and clean chicken broth.

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Add the white bulbs of the scallions to a food processor along with a whole peeled clove of garlic and a small knob of peeled ginger. Pulse to blend until the aromatics are finely chopped. Blending them in the food processor saves time and ensures you get an almost grated consistency that will allow the aromatics to evenly flavor the entire meatball.

In a large bowl, add the fish sauce, coconut aminos and salt to the chopped aromatics and whisk in the tapioca starch to make a slurry. The slurry of tapioca starch is going to act as a grain-free binder and will absorb a lot of the fat from the pork and moisture from the broth for bouncy, springy, tender meatballs. Work the slurry into the ground pork until it’s mixed well, and the tapioca slurry is fully and evenly combined. The mixture will look and feel a little sticky.

Then, roll the pork with your hands into approximately two dozen one-inch meatballs.  

You’ll find one of two varieties of bok choy at most grocery stores: baby bok choy and standard bok choy. They’re different vegetables — one isn’t the mature version of the other. That said, they mostly taste the same and they can be used interchangeably in this recipe.

Bring the chicken stock to a simmer on the stovetop and drop the meatballs in one by one, stirring regularly to keep them from sticking together. You’ll only need to cook them for a few minutes.

Then, wilt in chopped bok choy for another two minutes more. Here, I’m using a standard, large bok choy, so I’ve only chopped the leaves. I’ll keep the stems to use in a stir fry or slaw. If you can find baby bok choy, the stems will be more tender and will cook faster, so you can chop the leaves and thinly slice the stems. If you’re using sesame oil, add a teaspoon in right at the end.

Let the soup simmer until the bok choy is tender and the meatballs are cooked through. Finish with scallion greens and serve. This gluten-free wonton soup hits the table fast. Even with all the meatball rolling, you can get this one on the table faster than you would have called for takeout.

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Gluten-Free Wonton Soup (Soy-Free, AIP Paleo, Whole30)

5 from 1 vote

Gluten-free wonton soup made without wrappers, soy sauce or rice wine. Ginger-garlic pork meatballs are simmered in broth with bok choy. AIP, Paleo and Whole30.

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Total Time:25 minutes mins

Servings: 6 servings

Author: Christina Marche

Ingredients

• 6-8 cups chicken stock
• 1 head bok choy or 3 heads baby bok choy
• 4 scallions, root ends trimmed and white and green parts separated
• 1 garlic clove, peeled
• ½-inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled
• 2 tbsp tapioca starch
• 1 tbsp coconut aminos
• 1 tsp fish sauce
• 1 tsp Kosher salt
• 1 lb ground pork, 80/20 lean
• 1 tsp sesame oil, optional

Instructions

• Bring the chicken stock to a gentle simmer in a large pot while you prepare the vegetables and meatballs.
• If using baby bok choy, chop both the leaves and tender stems. If using mature bok choy, chop only the leafy green tops and reserve the thicker white stems for another use.
• Thinly slice the greens stems of the scallions and set aside.
• Add the garlic, ginger and white scallion bulbs to a food processor and pulse until finely chopped.
• Transfer to a bowl and whisk in the tapioca starch, coconut aminos, fish sauce and salt to form a slurry.
• Add the ground pork and mix until fully combined, then roll into approximately two dozen 1-inch meatballs.
• Carefully drop the meatballs into the simmering chicken stock and cook for 2 to 3 minutes.
• Wilt in the bok choy and add the sesame oil (if using).
• Simmer until the meatballs are cooked through and the greens are tender.
• Season to taste and serve topped with the reserved scallion greens.

Course: Soup

Cuisine: AIP, AIP Modified, Paleo, Whole30