Baked Stuffed Yuca (Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free, Vegan option)
I like to think of Baked Stuffed Yuca as healthy stromboli – an Italian inspired gluten and grain-free yuca dough rolled around all “real food” nutritious ingredients! They can be made vegan by filling them with only veggies. I filled these with organic grass-fed beef, onions, fresh garlic, red peppers, heirloom tomatoes, spinach and herbs. These have all the nutrition of a full meal rolled into one impressive appetizer, side dish, or main dish! I love dipping these roll-ups in my favorite tomato sauce! YUM! The yuca makes a perfectly crispy, crunchy crust on the outside, while having a soft (almost cheese-like) consistency on the inside (yet these are dairy-free!) Baked Stuffed Yuca can be made ahead, refrigerated or frozen, then sliced and reheated when ready to serve. A true crowd pleaser!!
Let’s make Baked Stuffed Yuca!!!
Ingredients below make one Baked Stuffed Yuca loaf that can be cut into about 10 pieces.
*Full printable recipe below*
(Click any non-perishable pantry item below to order it online)
Ingredients for Yuca Dough:
-3/4 pound fresh or frozen yuca (I use frozen yuca)
-2 teaspoons avocado oil – divided (I use Chosen Foods 100% Pure Avocado Oil)
-1/2 teaspoon pink Himalayan salt – divided (Chosen for its high mineral content)
-1/2 teaspoon garlic powder – divided
-Optional – cage-free egg white – to use as an egg wash. Vegan option: Brush avocado oil on top of loaf just before placing it into oven.
*Make sure to have parchment paper on hand when making this recipe! Yuca dough is very sticky and requires a non-stick working and baking surface.
Ingredients for Filling:
-1 pound organic grass-fed beef (or ground turkey or chicken) *Omit for vegan option
-1 tablespoon avocado oil
-5 organic garlic cloves – minced
-1 organic red pepper – diced
-1 1/2 cups organic chopped tomatoes (I used heirloom cherry tomatoes, but any preferred tomato can be used.)
-2 cups organic frozen chopped spinach
-1 teaspoon pink Himalayan salt
-1 teaspoon organic dried parsley
-1 teaspoon organic dried basil
-1 teaspoon organic dried oregano
-1/4 teaspoon ground chili powder
-fresh ground pepper to taste
Instructions for Yuca Dough:
If using fresh yuca, it must first be peeled and cut into pieces before boiling. See my page: How to Peel Fresh Yuca
If using frozen yuca, it’s already peeled, cut, and ready to be boiled. There’s no need to even defrost it before boiling! Many find frozen yuca to be much more convenient. It’s typically found in the Goya frozen section at the supermarket.
Frozen Yuca
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Once boiling, place yuca in pot. Ensure yuca is fully covered by water. Return to a boil, then cook 15-20 minutes until fork tender. *Do not to overcook! Overcooking will result in mushy, difficult to work with yuca! While yuca is cooking, prepare filling as directed below.
Once fork tender, drain boiled yuca in colander and allow to cool. When cool enough to handle, cut each piece of yuca in half lengthwise (top to bottom) and remove the stick-like stem that runs through the center.
Cut boiled yuca into chunks before placing into food processor. (See picture below)
*Pulverizing yuca in small batches will avoid overheating the machine. Place 1 heaping cup yuca chunks, 1 teaspoon avocado oil, 1/4 teaspoon pink Himalayan salt, and 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder in food processor at a time.
I use a Vitamix which works very well because of its tamper (a tool used to push the food down onto the blade while it spins.) If using a different food processor, the machine may need to be paused a few times to scrape yuca off the wall of the bowl so that it blends completely.
Check out the Vitamix Blender by clicking here:
Yuca chunks literally transform into dough in under a minute! (maybe a bit longer if a Vitamix isn’t being used.) It’s truly exciting to witness the first time you do it! Check out my little video below!
Stages of yuca dough preparation – boiled, chunks, pulverized dough
Once dough forms, spoon it onto a large piece of parchment paper. Beware – dough can be very sticky! Parchment paper is a non-stick surface which is needed to easily work with this dough. If dough seems too sticky to work with, wrap it in parchment and place into freezer for 5-10 minutes. It’s a miraculous trick to decrease the stickiness!
Using a rolling pin, roll out dough between 2 pieces of parchment paper to about 1/4″ thickness.
Instructions for Filling:
-While the yuca is boiling, bring two frying pans to medium heat.
-In the first pan, brown the organic grass-fed beef (or other ground meat of choice) until no longer pink (about 7-10 minutes.) Omit for vegan option.
-In the second heated pan, place 1 tablespoon avocado oil, chopped organic onions and minced garlic cloves.
-Once onions begin to brown, add chopped red peppers and tomatoes. Cook 2-3 minutes.
-Add spinach, basil, oregano, parsley, chili powder, pink Himalayan salt, and pepper. Cover and saute for an additional 2-3 minutes until spinach becomes warm and wilted, and seasonings mingle.
Assembling Baked Stuffed Yuca
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Place rolled out yuca dough, with parchment paper underneath, on counter or cutting board.
Spoon sauteed vegetables onto rolled out yuca dough, leaving a 1″ edge at the top. This will prevent filling from overflowing upon rolling, and allow dough to seal closed.
Spoon browned, ground meat over vegetables.
Starting at the end where the filling comes right up to the edge, carefully peel the edges of the dough away from parchment paper and begin to tightly roll dough around vegetables and meat (like a jelly roll.) Lift parchment slightly to help guide you.
Once dough and fillings are fully rolled up, pinch dough at the seam and at each end to form a seal.
Place on parchment lined baking sheet.
Brush loaf with the white of an egg (or with avocado oil for vegan option) to create an egg wash. This creates a nice shine and browning effect once baked.
Sprinkle loaf with a pinch of pink Himalayan salt, garlic powder, chili powder, and dried basil.
Bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes. Flip and bake for an additional 10 minutes – until yuca crust is firm and slightly brown.
Note: Remove from oven and fully cool before cutting. This will ensure the pinwheel design will stay intact.
Baked stuffed yuca can be made ahead of time and kept in the refrigerator or freezer until ready to serve. Simply remove from refrigerator (defrost if in freezer,) slice, then bake slices at 350 degrees for 10 minutes, flip, then bake for an additional 5 minutes. SOOOOO GOOD!!!!
Serve as a fun and delicious appetizer!
Vegan Option – omit meat, brush with avocado oil instead of egg wash. These are scrumptious!!!
***
CLICK HERE TO SHOP
for Yuca Chips
and for pantry items & kitchen gadgets I personally use to make Crazy For Yuca recipes!
*By ordering recommended products through affiliate connections on our website we get a small percentage of the sale which helps to support the maintenance of Crazy For Yuca. There’s absolutely no additional charge to you. Thank you so much for supporting our efforts to bring you the latest yuca/cassava recipes!
***
***
I like to think of Baked Stuffed Yuca as healthy stromboli; a gluten and grain-free yuca dough rolled around all nutritious, "real food" ingredients! They can be made vegan by filling them with only the sautéed veggies. These were made with organic grass-fed beef, onions, garlic, red peppers, heirloom tomatoes, and spinach with lots of herbs. Baked Stuffed Yuca has all the nutrition of a full meal rolled into one impressive appetizer, side dish, or main entree! I love dipping these Italian-inspired roll-ups in my favorite tomato sauce! YUM! Make them ahead of time, refrigerate or freeze, then slice and reheat when ready to serve. A true crowd pleaser!!
- 3/4 pound fresh or frozen yuca
- 2 teaspoons avocado oil - divided
- 1/2 teaspoon pink Himalayan salt - divided
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder - divided
- Optional - egg white to brush over Baked Stuffed Yuca once it's rolled up and ready to be placed in oven. Creates a nice browning and shine to the loaf once baked. Vegan option: brush avocado oil on loaf.
- parchment paper
- 1 pound organic grass-fed beef, ground turkey, or chicken *Omit for vegan option
- 1 tablespoon avocado oil
- 5 organic garlic cloves - minced
- 1 red pepper - diced
- 1 1/2 cups organic chopped tomatoes
- 2 cups organic frozen chopped spinach
- 1 teaspoon pink Himalayan salt
- 1 teaspoon organic dried parsley
- 1 teaspoon organic dried basil
- 1 teaspoon organic dried oregano
- 1/4 teaspoon ground chili powder
- fresh ground pepper to taste
-
If using fresh yuca, it must first be peeled and cut into pieces before boiling. See my page: How to Peel Fresh Yuca
-
If using frozen yuca, it’s already peeled, cut, and ready to be boiled. There’s no need to even defrost it before boiling! Many find frozen yuca to be much more convenient.
-
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Once boiling, place yuca in pot. Ensure that the yuca is fully covered by water. Return to a boil then cook 15-20 minutes, until just fork tender. It's very important not to overcook, as this will result in mushy, difficult to work with yuca! Drain in a colander.
-
Once cool enough to handle, cut each piece of yuca in half lengthwise (top to bottom) and remove the stick-like stem that runs through the center.
-
Cut up boiled yuca into small chunks before placing it into food processor. *Pulverize yuca in small batches to avoid overheating the machine (about 1 - 1 1/2 cups chopped yuca at a time.) Yuca turns into dough in about 30-60 seconds.
-
I use a Vitamix which works very well because of its tamper (a tool used to push the food down onto the blade while it spins.) If using a different food processor you may need to stop a few times to scrape yuca off the wall of the bowl so that it blends completely.
-
Once dough forms, place onto a cutting board lined with parchment paper. *Note: dough can be very sticky. Parchment paper is a non-stick surface needed to easily work with this dough. If dough seems too sticky to work, place it into the freezer for 5-10 minutes. It's a miraculous trick to decrease the stickiness!
-
Using a rolling pin, roll out yuca dough between 2 pieces of parchment paper until about 1/4" thick.
-
While yuca is boiling, heat 2 frying pans. The first for browning the meat, and the second, along with 1 tablespoon avocado oil, to saute the vegetables.
-
Brown the organic grass-fed beef (or other meat of choice) for 7-10 minutes, until no longer pink.
-
In the second pan, add chopped organic onions and garlic. Saute for a minute or 2.
-
Once onions begin to brown, add chopped red peppers and tomatoes. Saute 2-3 minutes.
-
Add spinach, basil, oregano, parsley, salt, pepper, and chili powder and saute for another 2-3 minutes until spinach warms and wilts, and flavors mingle.
-
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
-
Place rolled out yuca dough, with parchment paper underneath, on counter or cutting board.
-
Spoon sauteed vegetables onto rolled out yuca dough, leaving a 1" edge at one end to prevent filling from overflowing, and allow dough to seal closed.
-
Spoon browned, ground meat over vegetables.
-
Starting at the end where the filling comes right up to the edge, carefully peel the edges of the dough away from parchment paper and begin to tightly roll dough around vegetables and meat (like a jelly roll.)
-
Once dough and fillings are fully rolled up, pinch dough at the seam and at each of the ends to form a seal.
-
Place loaf on parchment lined baking sheet.
-
Brush loaf with the white of an egg (or with avocado oil for vegan option) to create an egg wash.
-
Sprinkle loaf with a pinch each of pink Himalayan salt, garlic powder, chili powder, and dried basil.
-
Bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes. Flip and bake for an additional 10 minutes - until yuca crust is firm and slightly brown.
-
Remove from oven and fully cool before cutting. This will ensure the pinwheel design will stay intact.
-
Baked stuffed yuca can be made ahead of time and kept in the refrigerator or freezer until ready to serve. Simply remove from refrigerator, (defrost if in freezer) slice, then bake slices at 350 degrees for 10 minutes, flip, then bake for an additional 5 minutes. SOOOOO GOOD!!!!
A bit thank you to MIC Food for sending me their delicious Tio Jorge frozen yuca which I used to make this recipe!
Disclaimer– In Crazy for Yuca I write about my own personal health and diet journey. My experience and recipes are not to be considered expert advice or suggestive that anyone follow any particular diet protocol. Each person’s body and medical issues are individual and need to be evaluated by a medical professional. If you have any concerns due to your specific diagnoses, please consult your doctor before eating yuca.
