... And all things wellness!
Are you gluten, grain, and/or dairy-free but love lasagna??? This Cassava Flour Pasta Lasagna is the answer to your prayers! Layers of sautéed vegetables and organic, grass-fed meat in between layers of homemade cassava flour fresh pasta! Healthy, “real food” Italian at its best!!! I …
Have you ever tried Hamantaschen??? They’re the wonderful, triangle shaped pastries traditionally eaten on the Jewish holiday of Purim! Hamantaschen are named for Haman, the villain in the story of Purim. I thought it would be fun to make a gluten, grain, and dairy-free version …
I was inspired to make these Stuffed Cassava Balls from a chat I had with my Guyanese friend Anita, who grew up eating yuca/cassava in many exciting ways! She always gives me great authentic recipe ideas. Of course her idea of a recipe is telling me a list of ingredients with absolutely no measurements or proportions! It took me a few tries to perfect these, but they’re totally worth it! Slightly crispy on the outside, soft and bursting with flavor on the inside – YUM!!! Anita insists that these be dipped in hot sauce!
I chose to stuff my cassava balls with meat, but fill them with cheese, or fry them with no stuffing at all! This recipe is gluten and dairy-free, as well as grain-free, soy-free, nut-free, and egg-free. But trust me, they’re full of deliciousness!
These Stuffed Cassava Balls make a perfect appetizer for guests, side dish, or even a main meal served with a salad or vegetables!
If you have a traditional way to cook Cassava Balls, please share in the comments section below! Maybe you stuff them with something awesome, or have a special dipping sauce that my readers would enjoy! Yuca is incredibly versatile, and is a staple that’s enjoyed in all sorts of ways throughout Latin America, Africa, and Asia! It’s my mission to create a yuca-loving community, and spread the word in the United States. We’ve been left out of all the yuca excitement for way too long!!!
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Any required non-perishable ingredients can be quickly and easily purchased online by clicking the needed items below.
*Full Printable recipe below*
-1 1/2 pounds yuca (fresh or frozen can be used)
-1/3 cup Otto’s Cassava Flour
-6 organic garlic cloves – minced
-3 organic scallions – minced
-1 teaspoon salt (I use pink Himalayan salt because of its purity and high mineral content)
-1/4 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
-1 pound organic ground meat of choice. I used organic grass-fed beef. (Sautéed vegetables can also be used as filling)
-1 small organic onion – diced
-2 teaspoons Adobo Seasoning (I use Primal Palate Organic Adobo Seasoning)
–ChosenFoods 100% Pure Avocado Oil – for frying (Chosen because of its purity and high smoke point.)
-Bring a large pot of water to a boil.
-While water is boiling, peel fresh yuca and cut into a few pieces (if using frozen yuca, it’s already peeled and cut into a few large pieces. No need to even defrost it!)
If you need assistance peeling your fresh yuca, click: How to Peel Fresh Yuca for step by step directions, including pictures.
-Once water is boiling, add peeled, cut yuca to water and cook for 20 minutes, until fork tender. *Ensure yuca is fully covered by water throughout boiling.
*Do not over-boil or you will have very sticky, mushy yuca that will be difficult to work with!
-While yuca is cooking, brown ground organic meat and onion in a frying pan on medium heat, until meat is no longer pink and onion is translucent.
-Add 2 teaspoons Primal Palate Organic Adobo Seasoning to meat. Cover, reduce heat to low, and allow flavors to mingle for 3-5 minutes.
-Meanwhile, mince organic garlic cloves and scallions. (These will be added to the boiled yuca.)
-Once yuca is fork tender, drain water and allow to cool. Once cool enough to handle, transfer to a cutting board and remove the stick-like center that runs through the middle.
-Mash yuca by hand, or place into a food processor one cup at a time, along with garlic, scallions, pink Himalayan salt, and pepper. Pulverize for 1-2 minutes until fully blended into yuca mash. (*Placing too much yuca into a food processor at one time may overheat machine.)
-Before stuffing the cassava balls, allow yuca mash to fully cool. It can be put into the refrigerator for a few minutes, if needed.
–With moistened hands, place a spoonful of cooled yuca mash into the palm of your hand and flatten as much as possible. (*You will need to wet your hands in between the filling of each cassava ball. This is critical to prevent yuca dough from sticking to your hands!)
-Place a spoonful of cooked organic ground meat into the center of each flattened handful of yuca dough.
-Carefully form a ball by bringing the edges of yuca dough together around the meat. Additional yuca mash may be needed to fully cover meat.
-Roll each formed ball in Otto’s Cassava Flour, ensuring even coating all around.
-Heat avocado oil in a fryer, pot, or frying pan on medium high heat. (Note: Balls come out rounder if they’re fully submerged in the oil while frying. However, they can also be fried in a frying pan and flipped halfway through.)
-The oil is ready for frying when a drop of water placed into it creates a sizzle.
-Carefully place each ball into the boiling oil with a slotted metal spoon or spatula, ensuring not be touched by splattering oil.
-Fry until golden brown. This takes between 2-3 minutes. *Be sure to keep an eye on your Stuffed Cassava Balls during frying, as cooking time may vary.
-Once golden, remove with metal slotted utensil and place on a paper towel lined plate to absorb excess oil.
-Serve with your favorite hot sauce!
-Eat immediately, or refrigerate and reheat in the oven when desired.
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By ordering recommended products through our website we get a small commission which helps to support the maintenance of Crazy For Yuca. There’s absolutely no additional cost to you. All recommended products are ones that meet my own personal standard for high quality and clean eating that I use in my own kitchen. Thank you so much for supporting our efforts to bring you the latest yuca/cassava recipes!
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I was inspired to make these Stuffed Cassava Balls from a chat I had with my Guyanese friend Anita, who grew up eating yuca/cassava in many exciting ways! She always gives me great authentic recipe ideas! I chose to stuff these with meat, but many stuff them with cheese, or fry them with no stuffing at all. This gluten-free appetizer or side dish is slightly crispy on the outside, and soft and bursting with flavor on the inside!!! Anita insists these be dipped in hot sauce!
Bring a large pot of water to a boil.
While water is boiling, peel fresh yuca and cut into a few pieces. (If using frozen yuca, it’s already peeled and cut into a few large pieces. No need to even defrost it!)
Once water is boiling, add peeled, cut yuca to water and boil for 20 minutes, until fork tender. *Do not over-boil or you will have very sticky, mushy yuca that will be difficult to work with! *Ensure yuca is fully covered by water throughout boiling.
While yuca is boiling, brown ground organic meat and onion in a frying pan on medium heat, until meat is no longer pink and onion is translucent.
Add 2 teaspoons Primal Palate Organic Adobo Seasoning to meat. Cover, reduce heat to low, and allow flavors to mingle for 3-5 minutes.
Meanwhile, mince organic garlic cloves and scallions. (These will be added to the boiled yuca.)
Once yuca is fork tender, drain water and allow to cool. Once cool enough to handle, transfer to a cutting board and remove the stick-like center that runs through the middle.
Mash yuca by hand, or cut into chunks, then place into a food processor one cup at a time, along with the garlic, scallions, salt, and pepper. Blend for 1-2 minutes until fully combined into yuca mash. (*Placing too much yuca into food processor at once may overheat machine.)
Before stuffing the cassava balls, allow yuca mash to fully cool. It can be put into the refrigerator for a few minutes, if needed.
With moistened hands, place a spoonful of cooled yuca mash into the palm of your hand and flatten as much as possible. (*You will need to wet your hands in between the filling of each cassava ball. This is critical for preventing yuca dough from sticking to your hands!)
Place a spoonful of cooked organic ground meat into the center of each flattened handful of yuca dough.
Carefully form a ball by bringing the edges of yuca dough together. If needed, additional yuca can be added to ensure complete coverage of the meat.
Roll each formed ball into cassava flour, ensuring even coating all around.
Heat avocado oil in a fryer, pot, or frying pan on medium high heat. (Note: Balls come out rounder if they are fully submerged in oil while frying. However, they can also be fried in a frying pan and flipped halfway through.)
The oil is hot enough when a drop of water placed into it creates a sizzle.
Using a slotted metal spoon or spatula, carefully place each ball into the heated oil, ensuring to steer clear of splattering oil. Cook for 2-3 minutes, until golden brown.
*Be sure to keep an eye on your Stuffed Cassava Balls during frying, as cooking times may vary.
Once golden, remove with metal slotted utensil and place on a paper towel lined plate to absorb excess oil.
Serve with your favorite hot sauce for dipping!
Eat immediately, or refrigerate and reheat in oven when desired.
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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.
I can’t think of any better way to say Happy Chanukah than with Cassava Latkes!!! (Although they’re also the perfect appetizer or side dish any day of the year!) These latkes are crispy on the outside, and slightly chewy in the very center. DELICIOUS! These Cassava …
Looking for a scrumptious, fudgy, brownie recipe? Look no further! These Chocolate Chip Peppermint Brownies are not only AWESOME, they’re gluten, grain, dairy, and soy-free! The peppermint adds an extra holiday feel, but these can be made any time of year! Not a …
Nothing says Fall like the smell of apples and cinnamon! And there’s nothing cozier than snuggling up with a baked apple crumble on a chilly day! This Apple Cassava Crumble is so quick and easy to make! Perfect for your next brunch, snack, dessert for Thanksgiving (or any time!) It’s not only DELICIOUS, but healthy as well! (But we don’t have to tell anyone!) Made with fresh apples, pumpkin pie spice, a hint of coconut sugar, and cassava flour, this treat is not only gluten-free, but grain-free, paleo, nut-free, and refined-sugar free! So feel free to eat all you want!!!
I use Otto’s Cassava Flour to make this Apple Cassava Crumble, and for all my baking! It tastes great (truly indistinguishable from wheat flour,) is certified gluten-free, non-GMO and paleo, and is made by upholding the highest standards.
See: About Cassava (Yuca) Flour for more information about this incredible flour!
CLICK LINK BELOW TO ORDER YOUR OWN BAG OF OTTO’S CASSAVA FLOUR SO YOU CAN MAKE SCRUMPTIOUS GLUTEN-FREE, GRAIN-FREE Apple Cassava Crumble!
-5 organic apples – peeled, cored, and cut into chunks
-juice of 1 large organic lemon – 3 tablespoons
-2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice (I use Primal Palate Pumpkin Pie Spice.)
-1/4 teaspoon pink Himalayan salt
-1/2 cup Otto’s Cassava Flour
-1/4 cup coconut sugar
-2 teaspoons cinnamon (I use Primal Palate Pumpkin Pie Spice. Check out Primal Palate Seasonings below.)
-1/4 cup organic coconut oil – melted
-Optional: 1/4 cup Unsalted Dry Toasted Pecans (omit for nut-free option) I use Trader Joe’s brand.
Check out Primal Palate’s Pumpkin Pie Spice, Cinnamon, Apple Pie Spice, Gingersnap and other amazing seasonings and spice blends by clicking here.
Check out this Primal Palate Three Pack! A necessity for all your holiday baking!
-Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
-Peel, core, and cut apples into chunks.
-Place apple chunks in a bowl, then and add lemon juice, pumpkin pie spice, and pink Himalayan salt. Blend until apples are evenly coated.
-Place apple mixture into a baking dish (I used a 10″ round shallow CorningWare quiche pan.) Spread out evenly.
-In a separate bowl, add cassava flour, coconut sugar, cinnamon, and melted coconut oil. Mix until thoroughly blended and crumb-like.
-Sprinkle crumb mixture evenly over apples.
-Optional: Sprinkle with Unsalted Dry Toasted Pecans, if desired. I meant to add the pecans, but forgot to this time 🙁
-Place into preheated oven and bake at 425 degrees for 25-30 minutes, until apples become soft and everything starts bubbling.
-Serve and enjoy!!!
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*By ordering recommended products through 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. I only recommend products that I’ve personally tried, use in my own kitchen, and believe are high quality products. Thank you so much for supporting Crazy For Yuca’s efforts to bring you the latest yuca/cassava recipes!
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This Apple Cassava Crumble is not only healthy and delicious, but so quick and easy! It's great for brunch or as a dessert! Made with fresh apples, pumpkin pie spice, a hint of coconut sugar, and cassava flour, this treat is not only gluten-free, but grain-free, paleo, dairy-free, non-gmo, and refined-sugar free! But I promise, it's so scrumptious no one will suspect it's made of all good-for-you ingredients! It can be our little secret.
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Place apples chunks into a bowl.
Add lemon juice, pumpkin pie spice, and pink Himalayan salt. Blend until apples are evenly coated.
Place apple mixture into a baking dish (I used a shallow 10" round CorningWare dish.) Spread apples out evenly.
In a separate bowl, add cassava flour, coconut sugar, cinnamon, and melted coconut oil. Mix until thoroughly blended and crumb-like.
Sprinkle crumb mixture evenly over apples.
Place into preheated oven and bake for 25-30 until apples become soft and everything starts bubbling.
What can be easier than that!!!
Disclaimer– At 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.
There are endless ways to enjoy yuca/cassava, as it’s eaten in so many parts of the world in various different ways! Attieke is fermented, grated cassava. It’s a staple street food of the people who live along the Ivory Coast of West Africa. Attieke is …
Pasta made from cassava flour! Dreams really do come true!!! I couldn’t be more excited to add this homemade Cassava Flour Fresh Pasta to my yuca/cassava repertoire! I’ve been meaning to create a pasta recipe, but I’ve been too caught up in all my other …
Nothing says Fall like homemade pumpkin pie! Just because you’re gluten or dairy-free doesn’t mean you should miss out! These delicious, adorable Cassava Flour Pumpkin Tartlets rival any pumpkin pie out there! Made with Otto’s Cassava Flour, they’re not only gluten-free, but grain-free and paleo as well! Sprinkle with your favorite toppings to add even more fun! I love them topped with mini dairy-free chocolate chips and chopped pecans! Healthy and scrumptious!!!
-1 can organic pumpkin – BPA free (15 oz) (not pumpkin pie filling)
-1/2 cup organic coconut milk
-3 cage-free eggs
-1 teaspoon vanilla extract
-2 tablespoons pumpkin pie spice
-1/3 cup organic maple syrup
-pinch pink Himalayan salt
Optional toppings – chopped pecans and/or Enjoy Life Mini Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
*Inspiration for this pumpkin pie filling came from Downshiftology – Paleo Pumpkin Pie. I love Lisa’s choice of healthy, whole-food, gluten and dairy-free ingredients! I just tweaked the proportions a bit, then added my own toppings.
-1 1/2 cups Otto’s Cassava Flour
-3 tablespoons organic maple syrup
-1 cage-free egg (I use a duck egg since I’m sensitive to chicken eggs. Either works perfectly.)
-1/2 cup Spectrum Organic Vegetable Shortening
-1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum
-1/2 teaspoon baking soda
-1 teaspoon pink Himalayan salt (my preference because of its high mineral content.)
-1/2 cup filtered water
-mini muffin tins
-3 inch diameter, round cookie cutter (or cup/glass with a 3 inch diameter)
Blend all pumpkin pie ingredients together using an electric mixer including canned pumpkin, organic coconut milk, vanilla extract, maple syrup, pumpkin pie spice, and salt.
-In a large bowl, whisk cage-free egg. Add maple syrup and blend thoroughly.
-Add Otto’s Cassava Flour, xanthan gum, salt, baking soda, and Spectrum Organic Vegetable Shortening and water. Blend into a dough, first by mixing with a spoon and then using your hands to fully incorporate ingredients. (A stand mixer can also be used.)
-If dough is too dry, add additional water, 1 tablespoon at a time. If dough is too wet, add additional cassava flour, 1 tablespoon at a time.
-Roll out dough between 2 pieces of parchment paper to about 1/8 inch thickness.
-Using cookie cutter or cup, cut out 36 dough circles. Repeated rolling and collection of the scraps will be needed to attain the 36 dough circles.
-Preheat oven to 375 degrees
-Carefully fit dough circles inside muffin tins to create mini tart shells.
-Fill each mini tart shell with pumpkin filling.
-Optional: Sprinkle top of filled tartlet with chopped pecans, Enjoy Life Mini Chocolate Chips or both!!!
-Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes, until pumpkin filling sets and dough slightly browns.
Enjoy your Cassava Flour Pumpkin Tartlets plain!
With chopped pecans!
With Enjoy Life Mini Chocolate Chips (Dairy-free)
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Cassava Flour Pumpkin Tartlets with chopped pecans and Enjoy Life Mini Chocolate Chips!
My personal favorite – pecans and chocolate chips!!!
*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!
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What says Fall like homemade pumpkin pie! Just because you're gluten or dairy-free doesn't mean you should miss out! These delicious, adorable Cassava Flour Pumpkin Tartlets rival any pumpkin pie out there! Sprinkle with your favorite toppings. I love them topped with mini dairy-free chocolate chips and chopped pecans!
In a large bowl, whisk cage-free egg. Add maple syrup and blend thoroughly.
Add Otto's Cassava Flour, xanthan gum, salt, baking soda, and Spectrum Organic Vegetable Shortening and water. Blend into a dough, first by mixing with a spoon and then using your hands to fully incorporate ingredients. (A stand mixer can also be used.)
If dough is too dry, add additional water 1 tablespoon at a time. If dough is too wet, add additional cassava flour 1 tablespoon at a time.
Roll out dough on parchment paper to 1/8 inch thickness.
Using cookie cutter or cup, cut out 36 dough circles. Repeated rolling and collection of the scraps will be needed to attain the 36 dough circles.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees
Carefully fit circles inside muffin tins to create mini tart shells.
Fill each mini tart shell with pumpkin filling.
Optional: Sprinkle top of filled tartlet with chopped pecans, mini chocolate chips or both!!!
Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes, until pumpkin filling sets and dough slightly browns.
Enjoy your Cassava Flour Pumpkin Tartlets!
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.
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, …
These baguettes are AMAZING! You’d never guess they’re gluten-free! And they’re super simple to make! Perfectly crispy on the outside and soft and airy on the inside – just like good bread should be! I had to make it for myself after watching Jules Shepard …
Everything is awesome with chocolate – am I right??? These Chocolate SunButter Pinwheel Cookies are a variation of my Strawberry Almond Butter Pinwheel Cookies (which are great even without chocolate!) Not only is this variation gluten, grain, dairy, and soy-free, but can be made nut-free as well! These Pinwheel Cookies are made with Pascha Chocolate, a brand known for their high quality, allergen-free chocolate, and SunButter, which is simply sunflower seeds pulverized into a creamy spread. Rolled into a “pinwheel” design, then topped with roasted sunflower seeds (or nuts,) these cookies are not only scrumptious, they’re full of healthy, “real food” ingredients! Fun, delicious, and a gorgeous treat to serve for your next brunch, or as a dessert any time!
*Any nut butter can be used instead of SunButter if nuts are preferred and tolerated.
*Printer-friendly recipe below*
Click on any needed non-perishable ingredient listed below to order online:
Ingredients for cassava flour dough:
-1 1/2 cups Otto’s Cassava Flour
-2 tablespoons organic 100% maple syrup
-1 organic, cage-free egg (I use duck eggs since I’m sensitive to chicken eggs, but either can be used.)
-1/2 teaspoon baking soda (I use Bob’s Red Mill)
-1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum (I use Bob’s Red Mill.)
-1 teaspoon pink Himalayan salt
-1/2 cup Spectrum Organic Vegetable Shortening
-1/2 cup filtered water
It’s available in small specialty markets or online here.
Otto’s Naturals 100% Natural Cassava Flour Made from Yuca Root Bag, 2 Pound
Spectrum Organic Vegetable Shortening. Click picture below to check it out:
Ingredients for filling:
-1/2 cup Organic SunButter (a nut-free, creamy spread made from pulverized sunflower seeds.) *Almond or peanut butter can also be used if nuts are tolerated.
-1/4 cup sunflower seeds. (I use Trader Joe’s Roasted, Unsalted Sunflower Seeds.)
-1 teaspoon cinnamon – divided (I use Primal Palate Cinnamon.)
-1/2 cup melted chocolate. (I use Pascha Organic Dark Chocolate Baking Chips – either 55% cacao or 85% depending on the palate of my audience.) The higher the cacao, the less sweet the cookie. 55% is most typical of the sweetness of the average chocolate chip. Pascha chocolate chips even come in 100% cacao!
Topping ingredients:
-1 organic cage-free egg (for an egg wash.) Whisk, then brush over rolled-up cookies to give them a golden color when baked.
-1/4 cup sunflower seeds (I use Trader Joe’s Roasted, Unsalted Sunflower Seeds.)
-1/4 teaspoon cinnamon (I use Primal Palate Cinnamon.)
To make cassava flour dough: In a large bowl, blend Otto’s Cassava Flour, baking soda, xantham gum, and salt. In a second bowl, whisk egg, then add organic maple syrup and water. Combine contents of the two bowls. Add Spectrum Organic Vegetable Shortening and blend until a dough is formed. Once mixing with a spoon becomes too difficult, use hands to fully incorporate ingredients. (A stand mixer can also be used.)
Making dough into Pinwheel Cookies: Divide dough into 2 equal balls. Roll out each dough ball between 2 pieces of parchment paper to form the base of the Pinwheel Cookies.
Spread half of the Organic SunButter (1/4 cup) on top of each piece of rolled-out dough, leaving a 1/2 inch plain edge along one side. (This will prevent filling from overflowing over the top of the pastry when being rolled up.)
Place half of the melted chocolate (1/4 cup) directly on top of the Sunbutter for each of the two rolled-out pieces of dough.
Sprinkle each rolled-out dough with half of the cinnamon, and half the roasted sunflower seeds (or nuts.)
Starting with the end where the SunButter and chocolate were spread right up to the edge, tightly roll dough from one end to the other like a jelly roll. I find it helpful to lift parchment paper to guide the dough. *Make sure to roll up your pinwheel cookies before allowing the chocolate to dry and become stiff.
Ensure that pinwheel log is rolled-up as tight as possible (no air within the log.)
Wrap Chocolate SunButter Pinwheel Cookie logs tightly in either parchment or plastic wrap and place in freezer for one hour. (I prefer using the same parchment I just used to roll out dough. This prevents waste as well as provides a non-toxic wrap for my logs as compared to plastic wrap.) Placing Pinwheel logs into the freezer is needed to firm up ingredients so they will hold their shape during slicing into individual cookies. This will enable the creation of the pinwheel design. If sliced at room temperature, layers blend together during slicing. If frozen for longer than 1 hour, dough becomes brittle and crumby during slicing. If this occurs, simply leave log out on the counter for a few minutes before continuing to slice.
Remove logs from freezer, unwrap and place on cutting board. Use a sharp knife to slice each log into 12 Chocolate SunButter Pinwheel Cookies. Test readiness for slicing by starting at one end (since each end is unlikely to form a perfect pinwheel design.) It’s the proper temperature for slicing when a sharp knife easily slices through log without the dough crumbling or log losing its shape.
Place Pinwheel Cookies onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. (The same piece of parchment can be wiped clean and re-used.)
Whisk an egg and brush top of each cookie with egg wash. Sprinkle with cinnamon and top with sunflower seeds.
Lay each cookie down, pinwheel design facing up (and down) during baking.
Place in a preheated oven and bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes, until edges begin to brown.
Enjoy as a delectable dessert or as a pastry at your next brunch!
These Chocolate SunButter Pinwheel Cookies freeze well – to be honest my husband and I love eating them right out of the freezer – FROZEN!
By ordering recommended products through 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, and shipping is always free. Thank you so much for supporting our efforts to bring you the latest yuca/cassava recipes!
Everything is awesome with chocolate - am I right??? These Chocolate SunButter Pinwheel Cookies are a variation of my Strawberry Almond Butter Pinwheel Cookies (which are great even without chocolate!) Not only is this variation gluten, grain, dairy, and soy-free, but can be made nut-free as well! They're made with Pascha Chocolate, a brand known for their high quality, allergen-free chocolate, and SunButter, which is simply sunflower seeds pulverized into a creamy spread. (Any nut butter can also be used if nuts are tolerated.) Rolled into a "pinwheel" design, then topped with roasted sunflower seeds (or nuts,) these cookies are not only scrumptious, they're full of healthy, "real food" ingredients! Fun, delicious, and a gorgeous treat to serve for your next brunch, or as a dessert any time!
In a large bowl, blend Otto's Cassava Flour, baking soda, xanthan gum, and salt.
In a second bowl, whisk egg, then add organic maple syrup and water.
Combine contents of the two bowls, then add Spectrum Organic Vegetable Shortening. Blend until a dough is formed. (Once mixing with a spoon becomes too difficult, use hands to fully incorporate ingredients. A stand mixer can also be used.)
Divide dough into 2 equal balls. Roll out each dough ball between 2 pieces of parchment paper to form the base of the Pinwheel Cookies.
Spread half of the Organic SunButter (1/4 cup) on top of each piece of rolled-out dough, leaving a 1/2 inch plain edge along one side. (This will prevent filling from overflowing over the top of the pastry when being rolled up.)
Place half of the melted chocolate (1/4 cup) directly on top of the Sunbutter for each of the two rolled-out pieces of dough.
Sprinkle each rolled-out dough with half of the cinnamon, and half the roasted sunflower seeds (or nuts.)
Starting with the end where the SunButter and chocolate were spread right up to the edge, tightly roll dough from one end to the other like a jelly roll. I find it helpful to lift parchment paper to guide the dough.
Note: Make sure to roll up your pinwheel cookies before allowing the chocolate to dry and become stiff. Ensure that pinwheel log is rolled-up as tight as possible (no air within the log.)
Wrap Chocolate SunButter Pinwheel Cookie logs tightly in either parchment or plastic wrap and place in freezer for one hour.
Remove logs from freezer, unwrap and place on cutting board. Use a sharp knife to slice each log into 12 Chocolate SunButter Pinwheel Cookies. Test readiness for slicing by starting at one end (since each end is unlikely to form a perfect pinwheel design.) It's the proper temperature for slicing when a sharp knife easily slices through log without the dough crumbling or log losing its shape.
Place Pinwheel Cookies onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.
Whisk an egg and brush top of each cookie with egg wash. Sprinkle with cinnamon and top with sunflower seeds.
Lay each cookie down, pinwheel design facing up (and down) during baking.
Place in a preheated oven and bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes, until edges begin to brown.
Enjoy as a delectable dessert or as a pastry at your next brunch!
Disclaimer– At 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.
Creamy, whipped Yuca Mash! Simple, healthy, and made with all “real food” ingredients!!! What can be better than that? Oh, maybe that it’s Paleo, low glycemic, non-GMO, non-inflammatory, as well as Whole30 and autoimmune protocol approved!! Not sure what yuca is??? It’s a root vegetable, …
What do you get when you take cassava flour and a bunch of nuts and seeds? Delicious, nutritious Paleo Nut and Seed Bars!!!! These bars have just enough sweetness, without being overly sweet. Cassava flour is a low-glycemic, non-inflammatory starch, while nuts and seeds provide …
Bring the campfire home with Oven Baked S’mores Bars! These were created as a surprise birthday “cake” for my daughter who is gluten and dairy-free! She isn’t a fan of typical cake so I wanted to come up with something special. (Mission accomplished!!!) Years ago, my daughters both loved making a dessert called S’mores Brownies. It consisted of a brownie bottom with melted marshmallows on top. I took that inspiration and set out to make a delicious, grain-free, graham cracker-like cookie crust using Otto’s Cassava Flour and all “real food” ingredients. This delectable cookie crust is then topped with dark chocolate bars, then a jumble of mini marshmallows, chocolate chunks, and crumbled cookie crust! Once heated, the toasted marshmallows, melted chocolate, and cookie crust meld perfectly together! 😍 Total heaven!!! 🙌🏻
From the look on my daughter’s face while eating it, and the number of times she thanked me profusely for making this, I think I knocked it out of the ballpark on this one!!! The whole family devoured it! Total crowd pleaser!!! 😀😀😀
I served this Oven Baked S’mores hot (which was AMAZING!!!!) and was later surprised to see that it was also awesome cool. The marshmallows got all toasty, which made them a bit crispy on the outside and gooey on the inside! Mixed with the melted chocolate and soft cookie base, it was truly dessert perfection!!!
*Printer-friendly version below*
-3 cups Otto’s Cassava Flour
-4 organic, cage-free eggs (I use duck eggs, but chicken eggs can also be used)
-1 1/3 cup organic coconut oil – melted
-2 cups organic maple syrup
-4 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
-1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
-2 teaspoons xantham gum
-1 teaspoon pink Himalayan salt
–parchment paper (I prefer using parchment for toxin-free, non-stick baking, and easy clean up.)
Need Otto’s Cassava Flour? Click here to check it out!
-6 Trader Joe’s 72% Cacao Dark Chocolate Bars (They come in packs of 3 at store, or buy online in bulk here.)
-2 cups Dandies All Natural Mini Vanilla Marshmallows (Gluten-free, Vegan, Non-GMO, Kosher) Click here to order.
-1 cup Enjoy Life Semi -Sweet Mega Chunks (100% real chocolate, Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free, Non-GMO, Kosher, Nut-Free, Soy-Free) Click here to order. 
*Note: Most non-perishable ingredients for this recipe can be purchased online by clicking the pictures or ingredients listed above, or by clicking the shopping tab at the top of the page.
By ordering recommended products through links on our website we get a small commission 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!
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
In a large bowl, blend Otto’s Cassava Flour, pink Himalayan salt, cinnamon, and xantham gum.
In a second bowl, blend maple syrup, melted coconut oil, eggs, and vanilla.
Add wet ingredients to dry ingredient bowl and mix until fully combined. It should be the consistency of cookie dough.
Line a 9×11 inch baking pan with parchment paper. (This step is optional, but allows for easy clean up, as well as non-toxic, non-stick baking without the need to grease the pan.) Choose a baking pan that’s deep enough to hold the 3/4″ crust as well as the toppings which will be added after baking.
Spoon 3/4 of dough into parchment lined pan (reserving 1/4 of dough to make a second, thinner crust) and press down so dough forms an even cookie crust about 3/4″ thick.
Dough pressed to bottom of pan to form cookie crust – before baking
Bake at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes until edges become slightly brown and a fork stuck into center comes out clean.
Baked cassava flour cookie crust. Notice bottom crust thickness – about 3/4″
Take the reserved 1/4 of the dough and place it into same sized, parchment lined pan, creating a second cookie crust that’s about 1/4″ thick (about the thickness of a graham cracker.) This cookie crust will later be broken into chunks and spread on top of the thicker crust along with chocolate chucks and marshmallows. If 2 equal sized pans aren’t available, bake the first crust, remove from pan, then bake second crust in the same pan.
Bake second, thinner cookie crust at 375 degrees for 10-12 minutes.
Here I’m holding up the baked, thinner cookie crust to display thickness.
With baked bottom cookie crust on parchment inside the pan, break apart dark chocolate bars into pieces and spread them evenly over crust.
Break thinner crust into pieces.
Scatter mini marshmallows, Enjoy Life Mega Chunks, and cookie crust pieces all over bottom cookie crust and chocolate bar pieces.
Place back into oven and bake for about 10 minutes, until marshmallows slightly brown.
Remove from oven.
Eat immediately for an authentic melty, gooey S’mores experience, or allow to cool for more of a cookie bar/candy experience. Both options are scrumptious!!!!
Note: If needed, the cookie crusts can be made ahead and kept in the refrigerator for a few days until you’re ready to fully assemble and heat these Oven Baked S’mores Bars.
S’mores Cookie Bars just before going into the oven for the final bake!
Oven Baked S’mores – right out of the oven and ready to be cut into bars.
Close-up on the melted chocolate oozing out of the crevices! Truly irresistible!!!
Enjoy!!!
One last bite! (I’m literally drooling thinking back to this moment!)
For yuca snacks, pantry items, and kitchen gadgets I personally use to make Crazy For Yuca recipes in my own kitchen.
Bring the campfire home with Oven Baked S'mores Bars! This graham cracker-like cookie crust is made with Otto's Cassava Flour and all "real food" ingredients. This delectable cookie crust is then topped with dark chocolate bars, a jumble of mini marshmallows, chocolate chunks, and more crumbled cookie crust! Once heated, the toasted marshmallows, melted chocolate, and cookie crust combine perfectly, creating a scrumtious taste sensation! A real crowd pleaser!!!
Line a 9x11 inch baking pan with parchment paper. (This step is optional, but allows for easy clean up, and non-toxic, non-stick baking without the need to grease the pan.) Choose a baking pan that is deep enough to hold the 3/4" crust as well as the toppings which will be added later.
Spoon 3/4 of dough into parchment lined pan and press down so dough forms an even cookie crust about 3/4" thick. (I use my hands for this.)
Bake at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes until edges become slightly brown and a fork stuck into center comes out clean.
Take the reserved 1/4 of the dough and place it into same sized pan, creating a second cookie crust that's about 1/4" thick (about the thickness of a graham cracker.) This cookie crust will later be broken into chunks and spread on top of the thicker crust along with the chocolate and marshmallows. If 2 equal sized pans are not available, bake the first crust, remove from pan, then bake second crust in same pan.
Bake second, thinner cookie crust at 375 degrees for 10-12 minutes.
With the bottom cookie crust and parchment inside pan, break dark chocolate bars into pieces and spread them evenly over crust.
Break thinner crust into pieces and set aside.
Scatter mini marshmallows, Enjoy Life Mega Chunks, and cookie crust pieces all over bottom cookie crust and chocolate bar pieces.
Place back into oven and bake for about 10 minutes, until marshmallows slightly brown.
Remove from oven.
Eat immediately for an authentic melty, gooey S'mores experience, or allow to cool for more a cookie bar/candy experience!
Enjoy!!!
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.
Have you tried Yuca Chips yet??? If not, maybe this post will inspire you. They’re crispy, crunchy, and DELICIOUS! While my Perfect Yuca Chip recipe is AWESOME, you likely don’t have time to break out the mandolin every time you’d like a snack. And since …
Imagine a dreamy, creamy soup made of all healthy ingredients that can be thrown together in under 45 minutes! It’s hard to believe this vegan soup is also gluten and dairy-free! The yuca gives this soup its creamy consistency, as well as makes it …
If you’re a Nutella fan, but prefer a healthy version that’s free of dairy, refined sugar, soy, and processed inflammatory oils, this Chocolate Hazelnut Butter is for you! While the first ingredient of Nutella is sugar, with only 13% hazelnuts, the predominant ingredient in this Chocolate Hazelnut Butter is hazelnuts! I included a delicious sugar-free option (my personal favorite!) as well as an option to add a bit of non-refined sugar in case a little more sweetness is preferred.
Hazelnuts make an awesome tasting nut butter! I don’t understand why it’s not as popular as peanut butter? Just imagine the possibilities of how this Chocolate Hazelnut Butter can be used??? It can be drizzled over my cassava flour pancakes (Yuca-ta Try These Pancakes) or any dessert, used as a dip for apples, strawberries or other fruit, used as a filling for my Grain-Free Crepes, or spread on gluten-free bread (like my Flatbread) as a nutritious breakfast or snack! It’s a decadent, yet healthy treat you can feel good about serving to your family!
(*Full Printer-Friendly recipe below*)
Nutritious “real food” ingredients needed:
-1 16 oz bag raw hazelnuts (about 3 cups) or dry roasted hazelnuts (If using dry roasted hazelnuts, skip roasting and skin removing steps below.)
-2 tablespoons organic cacao powder (Cocoa powder could also be used, but it’s not as pure, or rich in fiber, antioxidants and other nutrients. Both are healthy and will make delicious Chocolate Hazelnut Butter!)
-1/4 cup organic coconut oil – melted
-1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
-Sweetener Options: – 1/4 cup organic coconut sugar or 1/8 teaspoon Pure Monk, a 100% organic, zero calorie sweetener that has no affect on blood sugar. (See more information on Pure Monk below.)
-pinch of pink Himalayan salt (Any salt can be used, but I prefer pink Himalayan because of its high mineral content.)
Instructions:
–If using raw hazelnuts, preheat oven to 400 degrees. Raw hazelnuts must first be roasted, after which skins can be easily removed.
-Roasting hazelnuts: Spread raw hazelnuts on a cookie sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes, until nuts start to brown and skins loosen. Allow to cool.
-Place cooled, roasted hazelnuts on a clean dish towel, gather ends together creating a sealed “bag”, then rub and roll nuts and towel together to remove nut skins. The more that gets removed, the creamier the texture of the nut butter, but it’s unnecessary (and nearly impossible) to remove 100% of skins.
-Place roasted, skinned hazelnuts in a food processor (I use a Vitamix, but any food processor can be used.) Process nuts for about 5 minutes, until they become the consistency of creamy nut butter. It may be necessary to stop every minute or 2 to scrape the sides to keep everything blending together.
Continue processing until your hazelnut butter resembles the picture on the right below.
-Add cacao powder, sweetener, vanilla, and salt, and continue blending for another minute until fully combined and smooth.
*I store mine in a sealed glass container in the fridge for up to 2 weeks (although it rarely lasts that long!)
There are an endless number of things that can be done with this decadent treat!
Chocolate Hazelnut Butter makes eating fruit a whole lot more fun!!!
Make Chocolate Hazelnut Butter Crepes using my Grain-Free Crepe recipe! It’s extra scrumptious with bananas!!! Roll them up or make triangles!
Chocolate Hazelnut Butter Crepe Pizza with strawberries, bananas, blueberries, shredded coconut, and pecan pieces! (Or whatever toppings you like!!!)
What would you like to do with your Chocolate Hazelnut Butter??? Send me pictures of your creations!!! Or post them on Instagram and tag @CrazyForYuca
***
Monk fruit, also known as lo han guo, is a melon grown in Southeast Asia. It has been used in Eastern medicine to treat ailments for centuries. Monk fruit sweetener is a natural extract of monk fruit, with a single serving containing zero calories. It’s highly recommended for weight loss and diabetics since it doesn’t impact blood sugar levels. Organic Pure Monk is almost 300 times sweetener than sugar! Very little goes a long way! The taste is different than sugar, and may take some getting used to. It’s FDA approved and considered safe for children and women who are pregnant or nursing.
Note: If you buy any brand of monk fruit sweetener other than Pure Monk, be sure to read the label carefully. Many call their sweeteners monk fruit, but blend them with other sweeteners to make the taste more similar in taste and sweetness to sugar. The added ingredients may add calories, decrease the relative sweetness, or change the health profile of the sweetener. Give pure monk fruit sweetener a try and let me know what you think. But trust me, use VERY little. More is not better in this case.
Check out Pure Monk by clicking the link below.
for pantry items and kitchen gadgets needed to make Chocolate Hazelnut Butter or other Crazy For Yuca recipes. I personally use all recommended products in my own kitchen!
All yuca/cassava snacks have been taste tested and approved by myself and my family! For a discussion of recommended yuca/cassava chips, see my post The Perfect Yuca Chip!
*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!
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If you're a Nutella fan, but prefer a healthy version that's free of dairy, refined sugar, soy, and processed inflammatory oils, this Chocolate Hazelnut Butter is for you! Just imagine the possibilities??? It can be drizzled over pancakes or any dessert, used as a dip for apples, strawberries or other fruit, used as a filling for my Grain-Free Crepes, spread on gluten-free bread (like my Flatbread) as a nutritious breakfast or snack... You name it! It's a decadent, yet healthy treat you can feel good about serving to your family.
If using raw hazelnuts, preheat oven to 400 degrees. Raw hazelnuts must first be roasted, after which skins can be easily removed. If dry roasted hazelnuts are being used, skip to step 4.
Spread raw hazelnuts on a cookie sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes until nuts start to brown and skins loosen. Allow to cool.
Place cooled, roasted hazelnuts on a clean dish towel, and gather ends together to create a sealed "bag." Rub and roll nuts and towel together to remove nut skins. The more that get removed, the creamier the texture of the hazelnut butter, but it's unnecessary (and nearly impossible) to remove 100% of skins.
Place roasted, skinned hazelnuts in a food processor (I use a Vitamix, but any food processor can be used.) Process nuts for about 5 minutes, until they become the consistency of nut butter. It may be necessary to stop every minute or 2 to scrape nut butter off the sides so everything blends together.
Add cacao powder, sweetener, vanilla, and salt, and continue blending for another minute until fully combined and smooth.
Have fun drizzling, dipping, and spreading your Chocolate Hazelnut Butter on anything desired!
I store mine in a sealed glass container in the fridge for up to 2 weeks (although it rarely lasts that long!)
***
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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.
What’s more fun than strawberry shortcake?… Strawberry Short-Crepe Cream on Top!!! This beautiful gluten, diary, and refined sugar-free dessert is made simply by layering Grain-Free Crepes, scrumptious homemade Strawberry Jam, organic fresh strawberries, and Coconut Cream! It’s the perfect dessert, brunch dish, or birthday cake …
Grain-Free Crepes are quick and easy to prepare, and lots of fun to eat! They can be filled with almost anything – whether sweet or savory! With a fruit filling, such as strawberry jam, they’re perfect for entertaining guests for brunch, or as a sweet …
This guilt-free lasagna has everything that makes lasagna yummy, yet no gluten, grain, or dairy to trigger many common food sensitivities. It’s even Paleo and Whole30 compliant! Who ever thought one could say that about lasagna??? While it may be a bit unconventional, this lasagna is so packed with natural flavor that you’ll never miss the cheese or noodles! The key to this recipe is the substitution of layers of rolled-out yuca (a.k.a. cassava) in place of noodles. This not only makes it more fun, it increases the nutritional value of the dish!
Yuca is a root vegetable with a low glycemic (GI of 46) and a significant amount of vitamin C, B vitamins, potassium, magnesium, and manganese. It’s a non-GMO, Paleo, Whole30 approved source of non-inflammatory carbohydrate that’s a significant source of resistant starch. This means it’s a prebiotic food that supports colon health by feeding probiotic bacteria in the colon. (This type of fiber is seriously lacking in the Standard American Diet.) See” Yuca Nutrition Facts for more info on the benefits of adding yuca/cassava to one’s diet.
This lasagna is not only healthy, it’s DELICIOUS!!! It exemplifies how yuca/cassava can be used to transform typical “gluten-full” dishes into fun and hearty gluten-free delicacies! Yuca truly is the chameleon of foods! Discover more about cooking and baking with yuca by clicking the links below and by checking out the recipe tab above!
See: Getting to Know Yuca/Cassava
See: Buying, Storing, Peeling and Cooking with Yuca
Vegan Option: Customize this lasagna by doubling the vegetables and including 2 layers of veggies in between layers of rolled-out yuca (instead of one layer of vegetables and a second of ground meat.)
Links to recommended pantry items can be found in the shopping tab above or by clicking on the ingredient listed below.
Ingredients for yuca layers (6-8 servings)
-1 1/2 pounds fresh or frozen yuca. (Fresh yuca must first be peeled. Frozen yuca is already peeled and cut into pieces. See picture above)
-3/4 teaspoon pink Himalayan salt -divided
-3/4 teaspoon garlic powder -divided
-1 1/2 teaspoons nutritional yeast -divided
-1 tablespoon avocado oil -divided – (I use Chosen Foods 100% Pure Avocado Oil)
-*parchment paper – (Parchment paper is key in working with yuca dough, as it’s very sticky.)
–Vitamix or other food processor
Ingredients for vegetable layer
-1 large organic onion – chopped
-1 organic leek – chopped
-2 organic zucchini – chopped
-1 organic red pepper – chopped
-1-2 cups organic broccoli – chopped
-1 6 oz bag organic spinach
-1 teaspoon pink Himalayan salt – or more if desired. (I use pink Himalayan salt for all cooking and baking because of its high mineral content.)
-1 teaspoon dried organic basil
-1 teaspoon dried organic oregano
-1 teaspoon dried organic parsley
-1/2 teaspoon dried organic marjoram
-black pepper – to taste
-1 tablespoon avocado oil
Ingredients for meat layer – (omit for Vegan option)
-1 pound ground organic grass-fed beef, chicken, or turkey
-1 cup organic tomato sauce – (I LOVE Organic Paesana Tomato and Basil Pasta Sauce!)
-a pinch of pink Himalayan salt or garlic powder may be desired – to taste
Instructions for Yuca Layers
-Bring a large pot of water to a boil.
-*If using fresh yuca it must be peeled and cut into 3 pieces before boiling. See: How to peel fresh yuca. Frozen yuca is already peeled and cut into pieces. *There is no need to defrost frozen yuca before boiling.
-Place peeled, cut fresh yuca or frozen yuca into pot of boiling water and boil for 15 minutes – until fork tender. *Do not over-cook or yuca will become mushy and very difficult to work with.
-Drain water immediately and allow to cool.
-Once cool enough to handle, cut each piece of yuca in half from top to bottom to remove stick-like stem that runs through the center.
-Cut into bite-sized chunks.
-To form each of 3 yuca layers, place 1 1/3 cups yuca chunks (1/3 of total) along with 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon nutritional yeast, and 1 teaspoon avocado oil into food processor (I use a Vitamix) and pulverize for 30-60 seconds until a dough is formed. *Do not place more than 1 1/3 cups yuca in food processor at a time or machine may overheat.
-Place each of 3 yuca dough balls on parchment paper. Using a rolling pin, roll out each yuca layer between 2 pieces of parchment. If yuca dough seems too sticky to work with, place into freezer for a few minutes before rolling out. See: Tips for Handling Sticky Dough
Instructions for Vegetable Layer
-Chop onion, leek, zucchini, red pepper and broccoli, and place into heated pan along with avocado oil, salt, basil, oregano, parsley, marjoram, and black pepper. Saute for 8-10 minutes until vegetables are soft.
Instructions for Meat Layer (Omit for Vegan option)
-Brown ground meat until no longer pink.
-Add 1 cup Organic Paesana Tomato & Basil Pasta Sauce (or tomato sauce of choice.)
Assembling Lasagna Layers (I use an oval baking dish about 8″ wide by 11″ long)
-Spoon tomato sauce to cover bottom of lasagna pan to prevent yuca layer from sticking to pan during cooking.
-Carefully lay one yuca layer over tomato sauce. *Yuca dough is very sticky. Either coat fingers with a gluten-free flour such as cassava, tapioca, or arrowroot while handling it, or place yuca layer along with bottom layer of parchment on top of sauce layer, then peel back parchment to transfer yuca layer to baking dish.
-Spoon meat layer evenly over yuca layer.
-Place a second yuca layer on top of meat layer.
-Spoon vegetable layer evenly over second yuca layer.
-Place third yuca layer on top of vegetable layer. Brush with a thin layer of avocado oil, and sprinkle with a touch of salt, garlic powder, and nutritional yeast.
-Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes. Broil for the last 3 minutes if browning is desired on top. Keep an eye on it during broiling to avoid burning.
Enjoy!!!
***
for ingredients to make Grain-Free Soft Pretzels, or to see recommended pantry items and kitchen gadgets I personally use to make other Crazy For Yuca recipes!
Check out the yuca/cassava snacks! – All personally taste tested and approved by myself and my family! For a detailed description of the recommended yuca/cassava chips, see my post The Perfect Yuca Chip!
By ordering recommended products through 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 cost to you. Thank you so much for supporting our efforts to bring you the latest yuca/cassava recipes!
This gluten-free, grain-free, dairy-free lasagna may be unconventional, but it's so packed with flavor that you'll never miss the cheese or noodles! Layers of rolled-out yuca (a.k.a. cassava) are used as a perfect substitute for pasta, while increasing the nutritional value of the dish! This lasagna is healthy, delicious, and exemplifies how yuca can be used to transform typical "gluten-full" dishes into fun and hearty gluten-free delicacies!
-Bring a large pot of water to a boil.
-*If using fresh yuca it must be peeled and cut into 3 pieces before boiling. See: How to peel fresh yuca. Frozen yuca is already peeled and cut into pieces.
-Place peeled, cut fresh yuca or frozen yuca into pot of boiling water and boil for 15 minutes until fork tender. There is no need to defrost frozen yuca before boiling. *Do not over-cook or yuca will become mushy and very difficult to work with.
-Drain water immediately and allow to cool.
-Once cool enough to handle, cut each piece of yuca in half from top to bottom to remove stick-like stem that runs through the center, then cut into chunks.
-To form each of 3 yuca layers, place 1 1/3 cups yuca chunks (1/3 of the total) along with 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon nutritional yeast, and 1 teaspoon avocado oil into food processor and pulverize for 30-60 seconds until a dough is formed. *Do not place more than 1 1/3 cups yuca in food processor at a time or it could overheat machine.
-Place each of 3 yuca dough balls on parchment paper. Using a rolling pin, roll out each yuca layer between 2 pieces of parchment. If yuca dough seems too sticky to work with, place into freezer for a few minutes before rolling out. See: Tips for Handling Sticky Dough
-Chop onion, leek, zucchini, red pepper, broccoli and place into heated pan along with 1 tablespoon avocado oil, basil, oregano, parsley, marjoram, and black pepper. Saute for 8-10 minutes until vegetables are soft.
-Brown ground meat in pan.
-Add 1 cup Organic Paesana Tomato Sauce (or tomato sauce of choice)
-Spoon tomato sauce to cover bottom of lasagna pan. This will prevent yuca layer from sticking to pan during cooking.
-Carefully lay one yuca layer over tomato sauce. *Yuca dough is very sticky. Either coat fingers with a gluten-free flour such as cassava, tapioca, or arrowroot flour while handling it, or place yuca layer along with bottom layer of parchment on top of sauce layer, then peel back parchment to transfer yuca layer to baking dish.
-Spoon meat layer evenly over yuca layer.
-Place a second yuca layer on top of meat layer.
-Spoon vegetable layer evenly over second yuca layer.
-Place third yuca layer on top of vegetable layer. Brush with a thin layer of avocado oil, and sprinkle with a touch of salt, garlic powder, and nutritional yeast.
-Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes. Broil for the last 3 minutes if browning yuca is desired. Keep an eye on it during broiling to avoid burning.
Enjoy!
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.
What’s a Southwestern Egg Roll? Think Chinese egg rolls, only the inside is a burst of spicy Southwestern flavored chicken and veggies! WHAT AN AMAZING IDEA!!! I only wish I thought of it! This recipe is courtesy of The Modern Cavegirl from Heart & Bones …
How do you like your Avocado Toast? Slathered in guacamole? With organic turkey bacon and tomatoes? With a sunny side up egg? – with a broken yolk dripping down your toast… No matter how they’re garnished, they are a truly special treat! Made on top …
Who doesn’t love a salty hot pretzel??? As a gluten-free eater I thought I’d never have one again, until now! These Grain-Free Soft Pretzels are THE REAL DEAL!!! They’re made with Otto’s Cassava Flour, so they’re naturally gluten and grain-free! With all “real” whole food ingredients, this is a snack that you can feel good about eating and serving to your family. This soft, chewy dough topped with coarse salt is indistinguishable from soft pretzels made from wheat! Never feel deprived again! Eat them plain, with your favorite mustard, or other dipping sauce. You’ll be happy you did!!!
This first thing you’ll need in order to make your Grain-Free Soft Pretzels is a bag of Otto’s Cassava Flour which you can purchase by clicking the link below.
See: Getting To Know Cassava (Yuca) Flour for more information about this incredibly versatile gluten-free, grain-free, non-GMO, Paleo, Whole30 approved, autoimmune protocol friendly flour!
***At Crazy For Yuca, my goal is to bring my followers the best gluten-free, dairy-free, “real” food recipes featuring yuca and cassava flour. (Yuca and cassava are the same thing.) Some of my posts are original CrazyForYuca recipes, and others are from other bloggers and recipe developers who are doing amazing things with yuca/cassava! (Because there’s no need to re-invent the wheel – am I right???) My goal is to become the place yuca lovers can go to find all the best yuca/cassava recipes!
I test out others’ recipes to ensure they’re awesome, tweak them to fit my eating style if needed, take my own step by step pictures while making them, and post along with my personal tips – giving full credit to the original recipe creator with a link to their post. If it isn’t my own recipe I cannot legally provide the full recipe in my post.
Heather did an incredible job of re-creating soft pretzels using cassava flour! I’ve had my eye on this recipe since I launched my site back in November and finally had time to make them. They will definitely be a staple in my house from now on! Thank you Heather!
After reading my post about them, check out her full recipe by clicking this link: “Paleo Soft Pretzels.” Heather also has an AIP version without the yeast which she calls “AIP Soft Pretzel Bites.”
Links to all non-perishable pantry items can be found in the shopping tab above or by clicking on the ingredient listed below.
Ingredients for pretzel dough:
-warm water
-extra virgin olive oil (I used avocado oil, as I do for most baking, because of its high smoke point. An oil’s smoke point is the temperature at which it breaks down, loses nutrients, changes flavor, and may produce free radicals that can be damaging to one’s health. (See: Dr. Axe’s article “Why Avocado Oil Got Rx Status in France.”)
–pure maple syrup (I used Hidden Springs Organic Maple Syrup.)
-cage-free egg (I used a duck egg since I’m sensitive to chicken eggs. Both work perfectly!)
–active dry yeast (I used one packet of Fleischmann’s Active Dry Yeast, which is gluten-free and kosher.)
-salt (I used pink Himalayan salt because of its additional mineral content compared to table salt.)
Ingredients for boiling pretzels:
-water
Ingredients for pretzel topping:
-egg yolk for egg wash – (Brush pretzels after boiling)
–coarse salt (I used Pereg Coarse Crystals Red Sea Salt – which isn’t actually red in color.)
Instructions:
The recipe involves making the pretzel dough, forming it into the desired number of pretzels (depending on how big you want them to be,) boiling them, brushing with an egg wash, topping with coarse salt, and then baking. (While it contains yeast, there’s no requirement to allow time for the dough to rise. I was curious if that was an omission, so I covered the dough and put it in a warm, dark place for an hour, but it didn’t rise. They came out great which just makes these even quicker to make!)
For Heather’s full instructions click here, Paleo Soft Pretzels.
Pretzel dough balls get rolled out into “snakes,” which are formed into pretzel shapes (or whatever shape is preferred!)
The pretzel shaped dough is brushed with an egg wash, and sprinkled with coarse salt.
It’s important to use coarse salt, as opposed to a finer grain of salt, if an authentic soft pretzel look and taste is desired. YUM!!!
Heather instructs to use egg yolk mixed with a little water for the egg wash. My pretzels came out a bit darker in color than I would have liked (but still deliciously tasty!) Next time I will try using either the whole egg or just the egg whites to get a lighter colored pretzel. (The color may have been darker because I use duck eggs.)
Serve plain, with mustard, or any dipping sauce of choice! Make them for yourself, or for your next party!!! They’re a real crowd-pleaser!
***
for ingredients to make Grain-Free Soft Pretzels, or to see recommended pantry items and kitchen gadgets I personally use to make other Crazy For Yuca recipes!
Check out the yuca/cassava snacks! – All personally taste tested and approved by myself and my family! For a detailed description of the recommended yuca/cassava chips, see my post The Perfect Yuca Chip!
By ordering recommended products through 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 cost to you. Thank you so much for supporting our efforts to bring you the latest yuca/cassava recipes!
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.
These Grain-Free Popovers are so light and airy! They’re fun to eat and really hit the spot when you’re craving some bread, but don’t want the grain! They’re especially delicious warm right out of the oven! While most of my Crazy For Yuca recipes are …
Nothing says Easter like decorated eggs! And nothing says “fun celebration” like hand pies!!! Did you love Pop-tarts as a kid? If the answer is “yes”, you’ll adore these Easter Egg Hand Pies – with a delectable flakey crust on the outside, and sweet fruit …
I call this recipe Mandel Bread / Biscotti because there’s little (if any) difference between these 2 cookies. I want everyone to feel free to enjoy them – no matter one’s heritage, or holiday celebrating. With both Passover and Easter coming within the next week, these will be an excellent addition to any holiday dessert table! While delicious on their own, they’re especially fun to dip into coffee or tea!
Both mandel bread and biscotti are traditionally twice-baked, once as a loaf and then again after being sliced. This is what makes them especially crunchy, as opposed to a more cakey cookie. Because the moisture is baked out of them, they can be made days ahead and retain their freshness, especially if kept in an airtight container at room temperature. (Unfortunately, I can’t report how long exactly this recipe will stay fresh since we gobble them up way too quickly!!!)
This recipe is kosher for Passover, as it’s grain and dairy-free, and doesn’t contain any leavening. It’s made of only a few simple, whole-food ingredients and no refined sugar. The main ingredient is cassava flour, which is a welcome change during the 8 days of Passover when EVERYTHING is made of matzo!
Cassava (a.k.a. yuca) is the incredibly versatile root vegetable that is the focus of this blog. Yuca/cassava is gluten-free, grain-free, nut-free, Vegan, Paleo, Whole30 approved, soy-free, and typically considered safe for those following an autoimmune protocol (AIP friendly.) (Note: this recipe is not nut-free, as almond flour and slivered almonds are added.)
Click link : Getting to Know Yuca (Cassava.)
Click link: Buying, Storing, Peeling, and Cooking Yuca (Cassava.)
Cassava flour is a whole-food flour made simply by drying and grinding the white flesh of peeled yuca/cassava root. With its neutral taste and similar consistency to wheat flour, it’s easily substituted for wheat flour (or matzo cake meal) in this recipe.
Click link: Getting to Know Cassava (Yuca) Flour
I use Otto’s Cassava Flour for all my baking. It can be found in specialty stores or online here by clicking the link below.
By ordering Otto’s Cassava Flour and other recommended products through our website we get a small commission which helps to support the maintenance of Crazy For Yuca. There’s absolutely no additional cost to you. All recommended products are ones that I personally use in my own kitchen. Thank you so much for supporting our efforts to bring you the latest yuca/cassava recipes!
These are incredibly simple to make and delicious to eat!
The word mandel means almond, and biscotti are traditionally made with nuts, so I chose Almond Mandel Bread / Biscotti as the basic version of this recipe. I’ve also included chocolate chip and cinnamon variations below. YUM!!! Feel free to play around with different extracts and add ins to create your own personal favorite.
Makes 16 pieces (About 5″ long x 3/4″ high)
Ingredients:
1 1/3 cup Otto’s Cassava Flour
2/3 cup almond flour
4 teaspoons potato starch
2/3 cup avocado oil
2 cage-free eggs
2/3 cup organic maple syrup
2 teaspoons almond extract
1/2 teaspoon pink Himalayan salt
1/2 cup slivered almonds
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl blend dry ingredients, including Otto’s Cassava Flour, almond flour, potato starch, and salt. In a second bowl blend wet ingredients, including avocado oil, egg, almond extract, and maple syrup. Combine contents of two bowls by adding wet ingredients to dry ingredient bowl. Blend thoroughly. Mix in slivered almonds.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Divide dough in half. With moistened hands, form 2 loaves on parchment lined baking sheet. To ensure even baking, make certain thickness of loaf is even throughout.
Place on middle rack of preheated oven (set to 350 degrees) and bake for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes. 
Using a spatula, carefully place each loaf onto a cutting board. Using a fine, sharp knife, slice into cookies. Carefully place cookies back on parchment lined baking sheet, cut-side down, and place back into oven for an additional 15 minutes to dry and lightly brown. (Check after 10 minutes to ensure cookies aren’t burning.)
Once edges brown, remove from oven and allow to cool.
Enjoy!!
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For the chocolate chip version, simply swap out the slivered almonds for dairy-free chocolate chips! I use Enjoy Life Dark Chocolate Morsels. or Pascha Organic Dark Chocolate Chips (55% or 85% cacao.) They’re both gluten, dairy, soy, and nut-free! Check them out by clicking link below!
Mini Enjoy Life Semi-Sweet Morsels can also be used.
For the cinnamon version, swap out the almond extract for vanilla extract and leave out the slivered almonds. Add 1 teaspoon cinnamon to batter, and sprinkle additional on top.
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I call this recipe Mandel Bread / Biscotti because there's little (if any) difference between these 2 cookies, and I want everyone to feel free to enjoy them - no matter their heritage, or holiday celebrating. They are Kosher for Passover, but would be an excellent addition to one's Easter dessert table as well! While delicious on their own, they're especially fun to dip into coffee or tea! These cookies are twice-baked, once as a loaf, then again after being sliced. This is what makes them especially crunchy. Since the moisture is baked out of them, they can be made days ahead and retain their freshness, especially if kept in an airtight container at room temperature. (I can't report exactly how long they stay fresh since we gobble them up too quickly to know!!!) The main ingredient is cassava flour, which is a welcome change during the 8 days of Passover when EVERYTHING is made out of matzo!
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a large bowl blend dry ingredients, including Otto's Cassava Flour, almond flour, potato starch, and salt.
In a second bowl blend wet ingredients, including avocado oil, egg, almond extract, and maple syrup.
Combine contents of two bowls by adding wet ingredients to dry ingredient bowl. Blend thoroughly.
Mix in slivered almonds.
Line a baking pan with parchment paper.
Divide dough in half and place each half on parchment lined baking sheet.
With moistened hands, form 2 loaves. To ensure even baking, make certain thickness of loaf is even throughout.
Place on middle rack of preheated oven and bake for 30 minutes.
Remove from oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes.
Using a spatula, carefully place each loaf onto a cutting board.
Using a fine, sharp knife, slice each loaf into approximately 8 cookies (loaf can easily crumble if not careful.)
Carefully return sliced cookies to parchment lined baking pan, repositioning them so they're cut-side down.
Place back into oven for an additional 15 minutes to dry and slightly brown. (Check after 10 minutes to make sure they aren't burning.) Once edges brown and cookies harden, remove from oven and allow to cool.
Enjoy!
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.
It’s time to plan your Passover menu! Why not decrease the grains this holiday with Grain-Free Cassava Flour Matzo Balls? They will be adored by your gluten-eating and gluten-free guests alike! (I had a little trouble stopping myself from eating them all before getting a …
While I usually incorporate yuca (a.k.a. cassava) into typical American food as a way to make gluten-free cooking more diverse and less restricting, today I’m excited to share a traditional recipe showing how yuca is eaten in another part of the world. This recipe for …
I’m making this banana bread as I type up this post, and the incredible aroma as it’s baking has taken over the house! I can’t wait for it to cool off so I can take my blog pictures and dig in!!! Whether made into muffins or loaves, this recipe is the perfect gluten-free, grain-free, nut-free, dairy-free, soy-free, healthy breakfast, snack, or dessert any time! They’re just sweet enough, without being overly sweet. This banana bread is my husband’s absolute favorite! I like to make a batch, then throw them in the freezer so they’re available any time.
Go Nuts with Gluten-Free Grain-Free Banana Bread / Muffins!
While this recipe is amazing without nuts, adding your favorite nut is a great way to boost the protein, Omega-3 fats, fiber, and minerals in your diet, all while enjoying a scrumptious piece of banana bread or muffin!
If you haven’t tried cassava flour yet, you’re missing out! (FYI – yuca and cassava are different names for the same root vegetable.) Cassava flour is a relatively new flour that has emerged in the gluten-free, Paleo, and autoimmune protocol worlds in recent years. It’s a whole-food, non-GMO flour made simply by drying and grinding the white flesh of the peeled yuca root. Since yuca has a low glycemic index of 46, it will not spike blood sugar the way many other gluten-free flours can. It’s therefore considered safe for diabetics.
It can be used in place of wheat flour in most recipes to create grain-free treats with all the goodness expected of wheat flour. It has a neutral taste and a texture similar to wheat flour (not grainy like some nut flours.) It’s finer than wheat flour; a bit like powdered sugar in that if mixed too vigorously it creates a “flour cloud” over the bowl. It’s dryer than wheat flour, so recipes often need a bit more liquid.
I use Otto’s Cassava Flour for all of my baking since it tastes great, is certified gluten-free, non-GMO and Paleo, and is made upholding the highest standards. See About Cassava (Yuca) Flour for more information.
By ordering Otto’s Cassava Flour through 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!
This recipe makes 20 muffins or 2 loaves
Ingredients:
-2 cups Otto’s Cassava Flour
-2 tablespoons organic coconut flour (I use NOW Foods Organic Coconut Flour.)
-1 teaspoon baking soda (I typically use Bob’s Red Mill baking soda because they mine their sodium bicarbonate directly from the ground in it’s natural state, while many other brands use a chemical reaction process (1.))
-¼ teaspoon pink Himalayan sea salt (I use pink Himilayan sea salt for all cooking and baking because of its high mineral content.)
-4 cage-free eggs – room temperature (I use duck eggs since I’m sensitive to chicken eggs. Both chicken and duck eggs work perfectly!)
-2 cups mashed, ripe organic bananas (About 4-5 bananas)
1 cup organic maple syrup -room temperature
-½ cup organic applesauce – no sugar added
-1/3 cup organic coconut oil – melted ( I use Nutiva Organic Coconut oil)
-1 tsp organic vanilla extract
–baking cups – If making muffins.
parchment paper – If making loaves
-Optional: Add pecans and/or walnuts – reserving some to sprinkle on top of muffin or loaf.
How nutty are you??
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a large bowl blend dry ingredients including Otto’s Cassava Flour, coconut flour, baking soda and pink Himalayan sea salt . In a second bowl, combine wet ingredients including eggs, mashed bananas, maple syrup, applesauce, coconut oil, and vanilla. Combine ingredients from the 2 bowls by adding wet ingredients to the dry, then stir just until moistened. (*Over-blending may cause your banana bread to be gummy.)
Optional – Add chopped pecans and/or walnuts, stirring just enough to blend.
Spoon batter into muffin tins lined with baking cups or into 2 loaf pans lined with parchment paper.
Optional: Sprinkle additional nuts on top for added crunch and a truly spectacular looking muffin or loaf!
For muffins: Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes, or until a fork inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean.
For loaves: Bake at 350 degrees for about 50 minutes.
Notes: These freeze well.
Gluten-Free Grain-Free Banana Bread
Gluten-Free Grain-Free Banana Muffins (With and Without Nuts)
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Whether made into muffins or loaves, this recipe is the perfect gluten-free, grain-free, nut-free, dairy-free, healthy breakfast, snack, or dessert any time! They're just sweet enough, without being overly sweet. Go nuts and add pecans and/or walnuts to boost the protein, Omega-3 fats, fiber, and minerals of this delicious treat! Make a batch, then throw them in the freezer so they're available any time.
In a large bowl mix together dry ingredients including Otto's Cassava Flour, coconut flour, baking soda and pink Himalayan sea salt until well combined.
In a second bowl combine eggs, mashed bananas, maple syrup, applesauce, coconut oil, and vanilla.
Place blended wet ingredients into dry ingredient bowl and stir just until moistened. (*Over-blending may cause your banana bread to be gummy.)
Spoon batter into muffin tins lined with baking cups or 2 loaf pans lined with parchment paper.
If desired, sprinkle additional nuts on top for added crunch and a truly spectacular looking muffin!
Bake muffins at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes, and loaves for 45-55 minutes, or until a fork inserted into the center comes out clean.
Notes: Freeze well. Defrost quickly at room temperature or in microwave for about 30 seconds.
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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.
Why should the gluten-free be denied scrumptious almond cookies from the Chinese restaurant? (After all, we already can’t have most Chinese food!) My daughter, who is gluten and dairy-free, had a hankering for almond cookies and asked me to create this recipe using cassava flour. …
This is no ordinary chocolate chip cookie! While it has chocolate chips, it also has dried cherries, cinnamon, and is made from naturally gluten-free cassava flour! They’re soft-baked, with a melt-in-your-mouth crumbly texture, and just enough maple syrup sweetness. These are my go-to cookie when …
Spend 5 minutes of prep time, then go about your day knowing this simple, delicious 4 ingredient crockpot chicken will be ready and waiting for you when you get home! Then boil up some yuca (because everything is better with yuca!) while chopping and sauteing your favorite vegetables. Then throw it all together into one pot. Within 30 minutes this perfectly healthy, mouthwatering stew is done! This is one of those recipes that makes it super easy and satisfying to eat well! It’s one of my go-to weeknight meals.
When I first began my gluten and dairy-free journey, my functional medicine doctor gave me a list of foods that were acceptable to eat and yuca was on the list. I had no idea what it was so I just ignored it. Who would have thought that 6 years later I’d consider this root vegetable to be the savior of a gluten-free diet, and create an entire blog around it! Without yuca, I unknowingly deprived myself of many wonderful dishes that would have made being gluten-free a lot easier. While this dish is perfectly yummy without the yuca (although not as hearty) take a moment to discover all the amazingness that is yuca by clicking the links below. You’ll be happy you did!!!
Getting To Know Yuca (Cassava)
Yuca (Cassava) Nutrition Facts
Buying, Storing, Peeling, and Cooking Yuca (Cassava)
If you don’t have yuca on hand, this dish can be made with cooked rice, quinoa, or potato (for a non-Paleo version.) I recommend buying a bag or 2 of frozen yuca and keeping it in your freezer so you’re prepared for any exciting recipe that comes along on Crazy For Yuca! Yuca (also known as cassava) is typically found in the frozen Goya section at many larger supermarkets. Frozen yuca takes about the same amount of time to cook as rice or quinoa (15 minutes in boiling water.) Fresh yuca takes a bit longer to prepare, since it must first be peeled. See: How to Peel Fresh Yuca.
Ingredients for Chile Lime Crockpot Chicken: (Full Printable Recipe Below)
-whole, raw organic chicken
-juice of 1 large organic lemon (3 tablespoons)
-1 tablespoon Trader Joe’s Chile Lime Seasoning Blend
-1 teaspoon Himalayan sea salt
-1 cup filtered water
Ingredients for Vegetables:
-3/4 lb fresh or frozen yuca (Half a bag Goya Frozen Yuca or 1 medium fresh, peeled yuca cut into 3-4 pieces.) Note: If using fresh yuca it must be peeled before boiling. See: How to Peel Fresh Yuca for instructions if needed.
-1 organic leek – diced (green part only for low FODMAP) (Or onion if FODMAPS are not a concern.)
-1 organic red pepper – diced
-3 organic carrots – sliced
-1 organic zucchini – diced
-8 oz organic rainbow chard – leaves torn/stems finely diced (or other green leafy vegetable of choice)
-1 tablespoon avocado oil
Note: Any vegetables can be used in this recipe, so feel free to use what you have on hand. I often also throw in broccoli, spinach, collard greens, or kale. It all depends on what’s in my fridge that day!
Let’s make Chile Lime Crockpot Chicken!
The key to this amazingly delicious meal is Trader Joe’s Chile Lime Seasoning Blend!
Start with a whole, organic chicken. Remove skin, wash, and place in crockpot. (I remove skin to decrease the fat, since I use the broth created during cooking as the sauce for this Chile Lime Crockpot Chicken and Vegetable Stew.)
Add 1 tablespoon Trader Joe’s Chile Lime Seasoning Blend, 1 teaspoon Himalayan sea salt, the juice of a large organic lemon (about 3 tablespoons,) and 1 cup filtered water to crockpot. (Water not yet added in picture below.)
Cover and cook, either on low for 8 hours or high for 4 hours, depending on your timing needs. That’s it! Go about your day knowing that your chicken will be ready when you need it in a few hours! (It’s fine if the chicken cooks longer on either of these settings. No need to rush home.)
Viola! Scrumptious, tender, juicy, fall-off-the-bone chicken, ready when you are!!!
(I apologize for the boo boo on the top chicken breast. My husband came by and pinched off a taste while the chicken was cooling without realizing I planned on making our dinner my next post!!! It really is hard to resist!)
Once ready, uncover crockpot and allow chicken to cool enough to be comfortably handled during deboning.
While chicken is cooling, bring a large saucepan of water to a boil. Add peeled, cut, fresh yuca, or frozen yuca (which is already peeled and cut into pieces) and return to a boil. Cook for 15 minutes until fork tender. Ensure that yuca is fully covered by water throughout cooking.
While yuca is boiling, chop vegetables.
A common question is whether or not to eat the stalks of rainbow chard. The answer is YES! They are chock full of dietary fiber, vitamins A and K, are an excellent source of iron, and have lots of beneficial polyphenols! These are antioxidants that have shown promise in preventing cancer, heart disease, diabetes, osteoporosis, and degenerative neurological conditions (1).
To prepare rainbow chard for cooking, remove leaves from stems, tear leaves into pieces, and finely dice stems. The stems need to be cooked a bit longer than the leaves.
Heat a saucepan with avocado oil to medium heat. Add chopped leeks (or onions), carrots, red peppers, zucchini, and diced rainbow chard stems and saute for 3-5 minutes. 
Once yuca is fork tender, immediately drain water from boiled yuca and allow to cool for a few minutes. (If boiled yuca is kept in the water it will quickly become mushy.)
Once yuca is cool enough to handle (about 5 minutes,) cut each piece in half lengthwise to remove stick-like stem that runs through the center. Cut into cubes. 
Pour broth from crockpot chicken into saucepan with sauteed vegetables and bring to a simmer. Add yuca cubes and rainbow chard leaves to the pan. Cover and reduce heat to low.
Debone chicken. Add 2 cups of cooked chicken to the pot. Cover and heat for an additional few minutes. 
Serve.
Save the rest of your Chile Lime Crockpot Chicken for tomorrow’s lunch or dinner!!! It can be used for any dish that calls for cooked chicken (like my Zesty Chicken Salad Dijonnaise!) It shreds easily or can be cut into chunks. I make 2-3 crockpot chickens per week, so there’s always chicken on hand to throw together a quick lunch or dinner. (This prevents reliance on unhealthy, processed cold cuts and greatly decreases the time needed to prepare a meal!) For lunch, I toss it into a salad or chicken salad (using my Zesty Dijonnaise Dressing (low FODMAP)), or onto a Cassava Flour Tortilla Wrap, or eat it with steamed vegetables (which takes only 5-8 minutes.) Convenience is key when it comes to maintaining a healthy lifestyle.
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All it takes is 5 minutes of prep time in the morning, and this delicious, gluten and dairy-free chicken will be ready and waiting when you get home. Then boil up some yuca while chopping your favorite vegetables, and within 30 minutes this perfectly healthy, mouthwatering dinner is done! Who says eating well needs to be hard or time-consuming?
Start with a whole, organic chicken. Remove skin, wash, and place into crockpot.
Add 1 tablespoon Trader Joe's Chile Lime Seasoning Blend, 1 teaspoon Himalayan sea salt, the juice of one organic lemon (3 tablespoons,) and 1 cup filtered water.
Cover crockpot and cook either on low for 8 hours or high for 4 hours.
Once cooked, remove cover and allow to cool.
Once cooled, debone.
While chicken is cooling, bring a large saucepan of water to a boil. Add yuca, return to a boil, and cook for 15 minutes until fork tender. Ensure that yuca is fully covered by water throughout cooking.
Meanwhile, chop leek (or onion), red pepper, carrots, and zucchini. Remove leaves from stems of rainbow chard. Tear leaves and finely dice stems.
Heat a saucepan to medium heat. Add avocado oil, chopped leeks, carrots, red peppers, zucchini, and diced rainbow chard stems. Saute for 3-5 minutes.
Once yuca is fork tender, immediately drain water and allow to cool for a few minutes.
Once cool enough to handle, cut each piece of yuca in half to remove stick-like stem that runs through the center. Cut into cubes.
Pour broth from crockpot into saucepan with sauteed vegetables, and bring to a simmer.
Add yuca cubes, rainbow chard leaves, and 2 cups of cooked deboned chicken to pan. Cover and heat for a few additional minutes until chard is wilted.
Serve.
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Comment below and let me know what you think of this dish!
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.
With this Paleo French Onion Soup topped with melted yuca dough, you won’t miss the cheese! This perfect pairing is deliciously gratifying in every way!!! Upon baking, the underside of the yuca gets soft and gooey, while the top browns just right! This Paleo variation …
Many panic when they find out they need to be gluten and/or dairy-free! I think one of the main reasons is fear of giving up their comfort foods. This Grain-Free Chicken Pot Pie recipe is true comfort food at its best! It’s proof positive that …
Valentine’s Day Cassava Flour Cake Pops
The time has come for the gluten-free and gluten-eating alike to enjoy cake pops together for all occasions!!! These pops are so incredible, no one will ever guess they’re gluten-free! Not to mention grain-free, dairy-free, soy-free, and nonGMO!!!
I must admit, I’m known for my cake pops! Making themed pops for holidays, special occasions, and gifts has been a little hobby of mine. I started making them years ago – (in my previous life) – before going gluten-free and eliminating processed food from my diet. I was still making them to bring to parties and other gatherings since they’re such a crowdpleaser, but I haven’t eaten them because they were full of crap!!! They were GORGEOUS, but I can’t think of anything less healthy to eat! I’d actually cringe a little when serving them, feeling like I was giving people poison wrapped up like a beautiful present!
Those days are over now that we have Gluten-free Cassava Flour Cake Pops!
I set out to make healthy cake pops using Otto’s Cassava Flour and all natural ingredients and decorations. I must admit, I’m VERY happy with the results! They might not be as brightly colored as my pops from the past made with chemically dyed toppings, but they taste WAY better and are made of all “real” food. What can be better than that? I can’t wait to share this recipe with you!
Here are my Holiday Cassava Flour Cake Pops.
(See below for decorating instructions for each of these pops.)
With these Gluten-Free Cassava Flour Cake Pops you can have all the fun with no guilt! (or at least very little.)
Many believe that making cake pops is difficult. While it is a bit time consuming, there’s nothing difficult about it.
-3/4 cup Otto’s Cassava Flour
-1/3 cup organic coconut oil
-1/2 cup organic maple syrup
-1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum
-pinch pink Himalayan salt (chosen because of its purity and high mineral content)
-1 cage-free egg
-1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
-2 cups melting chocolate (I use EnjoyLife Dark Chocolate Morsels or Pascha Dark Chocolate Chips – 55% Cacao. They are both gluten and dairy-free)
-1/4 cup Trader Joe’s Raw Almond Butter (or preferred nut butter)
-12 lollypop sticks
-cake pop stand or styrofoam to hold dipped pops
(*See full printable recipe below*)
In a large bowl, blend Otto’s Cassava Flour, xanthan gum and pink Himalayan salt. In a second bowl combine melted coconut oil, egg, maple syrup, and vanilla. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredient bowl and mix until fully combined.
Place batter into a small baking dish (about 7″ x 7″) lined with parchment paper (for easy clean up and toxin-free baking.) Any shaped baking dish can be used, since the cake will be crumbled after baking.
*The key is to use a baking dish that fits all the batter, with batter only about 1/2 – 3/4 inch deep. Cassava flour can be tricky to bake with in that the perimeter of cakes can cook faster than the middle, if the cake is too thick. This small, thin cake will bake quickly and evenly, without browning. Browned cake becomes too dry and doesn’t hold its shape well when rolled into balls. For best results, remove any browning after baking before moving to the next step.
Be sure not to over-bake. The cake should be baked for 15 minutes – just until a fork inserted into the middle comes out clean.
In a large bowl crumble cake, either with your hands or by raking with a fork, until it’s the consistency of coarse breadcrumbs.
This is the “glue” that holds the balls together so be sure all crumbs are coated evenly.
Divide dough into 12 balls, rolling each between your hands as you would to make a meatball (or use a cake pop former if you have one.) This dough is highly malleable, yet holds its shape well, so use your imagination and create whatever shapes you want! (Below there are 2 oddly shaped “balls” that I was originally going to make into Santa hats, but then decided to stick with balls for this post.)
Dip the tip of each cake pop stick into chocolate, then push it through the center of each cake ball until it’s about halfway through the circumference of ball.
Once all balls have sticks in them, place in freezer for 20 minutes while setting up for decorating. Pops can be made a day ahead, stored in the refrigerator overnight, then decorated the next day.
*Note: Overly frozen pops will contract in the freezer, then expand once thawed out. If pops are frozen for much longer than 20 minutes and then dipped into warm chocolate, they will eventually expand causing cracks in chocolate.
(I used Enjoy Life Dark Chocolate Morsels. They’re dairy, nut, and soy-free as well as non-GMO verified. Any preferred chocolate can be used. )
If using a microwave, heat chocolate in intervals of one minute or less to avoid burning. Stir in between each heating. A double boiler is the preferred method since there’s no risk of burning, and chocolate can be kept over a low heat or covered so it stays melted throughout decorating.
*Note: If using a double boiler, ensure that absolutely no water drips into chocolate, as this will seize the chocolate and destroy its smooth texture. Seized chocolate must be discarded.
Ensure that each pop is fully covered in chocolate, while allowing excess chocolate to drip back into pot. A thin coating of chocolate is preferred. Too much chocolate can drip down stick while drying, take too long to dry, or cause pop to become top heavy and fall off stick.
If adding topping such as nuts, dried fruit, coconut, mini chocolate chips, sprinkles, colored sugar, decorate immediately after dipping into chocolate, as chocolate begins to dry very quickly (within a minute or two.) I like to set up my toppings in separate little bowls so I can dip my pops, then place toppings on quickly and easily.
Once decorated, place each pop into a block of styrofoam (or cake pop holder if you have one) to dry undisturbed. I save large pieces of styrofoam that come as packaging to hold my drying cake pops. When creating decorative baskets and boxes for guests or gifts, I buy appropriate sized styrofoam shapes to fit inside whatever holder I’m using. These can be purchased at craft stores such as Michaels or at Dollar Tree (seasonal item, but each one is only 99 cents, so I stock up on varied sizes when I see them!) They’re typically used in floral arrangements to keep flowers in place.
For these Valentine’s Day cake pops I used a heart shaped cookie cutter so they would all be exactly the same size and shape. Since multiple layers of chocolate and colored icing was used, I allowed the first layer to dry fully before adding additional colors.
For the white icing: Blend one cup powdered sugar (sifted,) 1 teaspoon vanilla, and 1 tablespoon filtered water.
For the red icing: I added a few drops of Color Garden 100% Plant Based Red Food Color to the white icing. This food coloring is made of beet juice, turmeric, annatto, and less than 1% ethyl alcohol as a preservative. It’s the first natural food dye I’ve tried that gives a true red color!
In the picture below I’m covering a pop with Enjoy Life Semi-Sweet Mini Chocolate Chips – a true chocolate lovers dream pop!!!
Here’s the finished chocolate chip cake pop. YUMMY!!!
There are many natural options to use to decorate your cake pops beautifully!
This pop was rolled in Trader Joe’s Organic Unsweetened Coconut!
This pop is covered in Trader Joe’s Unsalted, Dry Toasted Pecan Pieces! (I LOVE pecans, but any chopped nut can be used.)
This cake pop was decorated with a combination of Enjoy Life Semi-Sweet Mini Chocolate Chips and chopped up Trader Joe’s Dry Roasted & Unsalted Pistachio Nutmeats! ……Oh yeah! That’s what I’m talking about!!!
I love the colors of this pop that was decorated with chopped Trader Joe’s Golden Berry Blend. It’s a combination of golden raisins, cherries, cranberries, & blueberries! Who says deliciously sweet, pretty colored cake pops have to include candy and sprinkles filled with chemical dyes??? I think this one looks like a bouquet of flowers!
If a little green and red are desired for your holiday cake pops, consider this sanding sugar made by TruColor. Colors are derived from fruits, vegetables, roots, seeds & minerals, without synthetic FD&C dyes or artificial preservatives! It’s still sugar, but if one wants to use a colored sugar, this one holds up to pretty high standards.
Creating a few character cake pops for holidays and special occasions adds extra fun to your assortment. How adorable are these guys???
The antlers of this Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer pop was made with Trader Joe’s (are we starting to see a pattern here? – lol) Gluten-free Pretzel Twists. I cut off one side of each pretzel using a very sharp, fine knife, moved gently back and forth over the pretzel in a sawing motion. (I only broke 4 while perfecting these two!!) The nose is a dried cranberry from my Trader Joe’s Golden Berry Blend. The eyes are two Enjoy Life Semi-Sweet Mini Chocolate chips placed on top of white icing. (See recipe for white icing in description of the making of the snowman pop below.)
The basic white icing used for this snowman was a combination of 1 cup powdered sugar (sifted,) 1 teaspoon vanilla, and 1 tablespoon of water. (That was what I used for the whites of Rudolph’s eyes as well.) The snowman’s eyes are Enjoy Life Semi-Sweet Mini Chocolate Chips. His nose is a slice of dried apricot. His mouth was drawn on using the melted dipping chocolate applied with a toothpick. His adorable hat was molded from a piece of a blueberry RXBAR (a protein bar made with dates, egg whites, almonds, cashews, blueberries, and natural blueberry flavor.) It has a consistency similar to a tootsie roll.
Have fun decorating your pops! One can decorate cake pops simply, or as elaborately as one’s creativity allows.
Cake pops can be presented in a variety of ways. They look great simply placed in a coffee mug!
Various sized boxes or baskets can be inexpensively purchased to display cake pops in decorative ways. Each of these boxes was bought at Dollar Tree for $1 each. You can’t beat that!!!
These pops look like a party simply laid out in a fan shape!
These pops look great displayed in this little holiday box! When giving cake pops as gifts, I wrap decorative boxes of all sizes in cellophane, and tie them with curly ribbon for a truly professional look!
I hope you enjoy your Gluten-Free Cassava Flour Cake Pops!!!
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If you have any questions, reach out to me through the comments sections below and I’ll be happy to help in any way I can.
May your holidays be filled with the warmth of family and friends, food that truly nourishes you, good health, and peace. Warm regards – Lauren from CrazyForYuca.com
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Nothing says fun like cake pops! They bring smiles and excitement to any dessert table! Finally, a cake pop that everyone can enjoy, whether gluten-free, dairy-free, or soy-free! They're so delicious, your guests will be shocked to know they're gluten-free!! (And you don't have to tell them!) These pops will be the talk of your holiday dinner or next party!
Preheat oven to 375 degrees
In a large bowl, mix Otto's Cassava Flour, xanthan gum and Himalayan sea salt.
In a second bowl blend maple syrup, melted coconut oil, egg, and vanilla.
Add wet ingredients to dry ingredient bowl and mix until fully combined.
Line a small baking pan with parchment paper. (This step is optional, but allows for easy clean up as well as non-stick baking without greasing baking pan.)
Choose a small baking pan that allows for a very thin cake (batter depth about 1/2 -3/4 inch.) This will allow cake to bake quickly and evenly throughout, without browning.
Bake for 15 minutes - just until a fork inserted into the middle of cake comes out clean. *Don't wait for browning to occur. If browning does occur, cut off browned parts before next step. Browned cake is too dry and will prevent pops from holding their shape once rolled into balls.
Allow to fully cool (about 15 minutes.)
In a large bowl, crumble the cake, either with your hands or by raking it with a fork, until it's the consistency of coarse breadcrumbs.
Add almond butter, mixing to ensure it's evenly blended throughout cake crumbs. (This is the glue that holds the pops together.)
Form 12 equal sized balls, rolling them with your hands the way you would a meatball. (A cake pop former can also be used if you have one, but isn't necessary.)
Place each formed cake ball on a parchment lined baking sheet or plate. (Wax paper can also be used.)
Melt a small amount of chocolate (about 1/4 cup) either in the microwave or in a double boiler. (If using microwave, heat for one minute, stir, heat for an additional minute, stir.... until fully melted. Heating for longer than a minute at a time can burn chocolate.)
Dip the tip of each cake pop stick into chocolate, then push it through the center of each cake ball until it's about halfway through the circumference of the ball.
Place the baking sheet with cake pops into the freezer for 20 minutes. (This allows pops to harden and adhere to the sticks so they won't fall off while being dipped in chocolate.) *Don't keep pops in freezer longer than 20 minutes. Pops that are too cold will contract, and later expand once they're dipped in warm chocolate, causing cracks in your pops. Pops can be kept in refrigerator overnight if decorating isn't being done on the same day. They can be dipped the next day without first putting them in freezer.
Melt chocolate in either the microwave (in intervals of no longer than 1 minute) or a double boiler (preferred method since there's no risk of burning, and chocolate can be kept over a low heat or covered so it stays melted throughout decorating.) *If using a double boiler, ensure absolutely no water drips into the chocolate, as this will seize the chocolate, destroying it's smooth texture. Seized chocolate must be discarded.
Dip each chilled pop into melted chocolate, tipping the bowl of chocolate and slowly rotating the pop to ensure full coverage. (Don't roll pops in chocolate, as this can place too much pressure on pop and cause it to fall off stick.)
Once pop is fully covered in chocolate, decorate immediately with chopped nuts, dried fruit, mini-chips, colored sugar, candy, etc. To make characters, additional embellishments can be adhered to pop with small dots of melted chocolate.
Place pops in cake pop stand or poke holes with pop into styrofoam block and allow to dry.
Display in any number of fun ways to serve to guests or to give as gifts.
Happy Holidays to you and your family from Lauren at CrazyForYuca!
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.
Being gluten-free doesn’t mean missing out on the fun of holiday cookie baking! With cassava flour, you can make scrumptious gluten-free, whole-food sugar cookies that taste just like those made from wheat flour! If you haven’t discovered cassava flour yet, these Cassava Flour Holiday Sugar …
Have you tried baking with cassava flour yet? If not, this is the perfect cookie recipe to get you started! Whether you’re gluten-free, or just want to eat less grain, these cassava flour Strawberry Almond Butter Pinwheel Cookies are fun to make and to eat! …
If you haven’t tried Otto’s Cassava Flour yet, what are you waiting for??
Cassava flour is a whole-food flour made simply by drying and grinding the white flesh of the peeled yuca/cassava root. (Yuca and cassava are different names for the same root vegetable.)
For baking that does not require rising, cassava flour can often replace wheat flour in a 1:1 ratio. For recipes requiring rising, a combination of cassava flour and other gluten-free flours can be used to obtain the desired result. It requires a little experimentation.
Cassava flour can be used to make cassava breads, tortillas, pizza crust, pie crust, cookies, brownies, cakes, muffins, pancakes, crackers, you name it!! All with no gluten – or even any grain!!! I don’t know about you, but that is REALLY exciting to me!!!
For those who are gluten-free like me, I’m sure you can relate when I say – How much almond flour can a person eat? I kept worrying that the next food sensitivity I was going to develop was a sensitivity to almonds since I seemed to make EVERYTHING out of them!
Cassava flour is a truly healthy alternative to wheat for those who are gluten intolerant or have an allergy to nuts. A further benefit is that it will not spike blood sugar the way many gluten-free flours can. It’s a wonderful choice for “gluten eating” people as well, as it’s a delicious, natural, unprocessed flour.
There are many reasons why I use Otto’s Cassava Flour. First – it tastes great! Many people find it indistinguishable from wheat flour! It has no fillers and is not enriched with anything. The only ingredients are cassava/yuca and water. It’s certified non-GMO, gluten-free, and Paleo. Many other cassava flours are made by peeling and then sun-drying the root. This allows fermentation which can create a sour tasting and musty smelling flour. Otto’s Cassava Flour is made in Brazil, (not Africa like some brands) where it’s peeled and baked according to their proprietary method – with no fermentation or opportunity for mold growth. As someone with autoimmune issues, avoiding mold is a top priority. Otto’s is the highest quality, cleanest tasting flour. If you tried a different brand of cassava flour and didn’t like the taste of your recipe, don’t give up before trying Otto’s. You won’t be sorry.
Otto’s Cassava Flour – Nutrition
Serving size: ¼ cup (32g)
| %DV | ||
| Calories | 110 | |
| Total Fat | 0 g | |
| Cholesterol | 0 g | |
| Sodium | 0 g | |
| Total Carbohydrate | 28 g | 10% |
| Dietary Fiber | 3 g | 11 % |
| Sugars | 0 g | |
| Protein | 3 g | 11% |
| Calcium | 32 mg | 2% |
| Potassium | 83 mg | 2% |
| Manganese | 11% |
Otto’s Cassava Flour can only be found in some specialty stores and online. Click link or picture below to purchase Otto’s Cassava Flour.
By ordering Otto’s Cassava Flour through 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!
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.
Not sure what to do with your Thanksgiving turkey leftovers? Sick of eating plain, dry turkey? This Turkey Bacon Yuca Salad will forever change your perception of leftover turkey. Think potato salad mixed with chicken salad – only way better!!! The addition of organic turkey …
If you haven’t tried yuca (a.k.a. cassava) yet, you are in for a treat! Yuca is in many ways similar to a potato in that it’s white, has a very mild taste, and takes on the flavor of the sauces and spices within which it …
This is not your typical, dry Thanksgiving turkey! This bird is moist and flavorful and is made a day ahead so it can soak up its juices overnight and free you up to enjoy your guests. It makes a scrumptious main meal and side dish all at the same time! Don’t just think of it on Thanksgiving though, this hearty meal is satisfying any time.
I actually still have the piece of note paper from over 20 years ago, where I frantically scribbled down my mom’s turkey recipe after hearing she was flying in on Thanksgiving Day, and I would have to make a turkey for the first time! The directions say: “1:30- Preheat oven. Sprinkle turkey with paprika and garlic powder. Put 1/2 inch of water at the bottom of roasting pan along with sliced onions, neck and giblets. 2:00- Put turkey in oven and tent with aluminum foil. 3:30- Baste and take off tent. 4:30- Take out of oven. Discard giblets. Scrape stuff off the bottom of roasting pan and put into saucepan with water for gravy.” This all seemed very intimidating at the time! The turkey came out looking good, but was kind of dry and tasteless. In my experience, that’s pretty much the way it is with most Thanksgiving turkeys. For years I’d try to enhance the taste by making gravy from a can or package that was full of artificial flavorings.
About 10 years ago, I searched my refrigerator and spice cabinet for anything that might add some new flavor to my boring, dry turkey, and decided to dump a bottle of Italian dressing over it. When it came out of the oven, I reluctantly tasted a tiny piece and was literally bowled over by how good it was! There was a much greater quantity of drippings than usual and it tasted fantastic! Nothing like the greasy, bland drippings I was used to creating. I decided to carve the turkey and soak the meat in the drippings overnight so not a single drop was wasted. WELL, when I served it the next day, I had never gotten so many compliments on anything I had ever cooked! Everyone kept saying how this was nothing like the typical, dry turkey they had come to expect on Thanksgiving. After making my turkey this way for years, the dressing I used stopped being made. Since I started to eat much healthier by that time, cutting out processed foods, I set out to make my own homemade turkey marinade.
I’ve come a long way in my healthy eating journey, and in learning to value putting organic, “real food” ingredients into my body. My turkey recipe has evolved right along with me. This Turkey With Yuca And Carrots is a recipe you can feel good about eating, and serving to guests. It’s super moist and delicious!
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I must warn you, while everyone loves this turkey, many hesitate to follow my recipe for their Thanksgiving turkey because it breaks from tradition in a number of ways. If you feel this way, feel free to make it any other day of the year.
The first break from Thanksgiving tradition is that this turkey gets cooked the day before it will be eaten, so it can marinate in its own juices overnight. – *The key to creating this moist, flavorful turkey! This is often a deal breaker for those who want to display their turkey in the center of the table and carve it in front of their guests. For me, the purpose of a holiday is to spend quality time with family, not fuss over dinner. I want healthy, delicious food that can be made ahead and enjoyed by everyone. If you share my philosophy, keep reading.
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This recipe is super simple.
-1 1/2 pounds yuca (can be fresh or frozen)
-6 organic multi-colored carrots – sliced
-1 large organic onion – chopped
-1 organic leek – chopped
-3 organic garlic cloves – minced
-3 cups filtered water
Note: If using fresh yuca, it must be peeled and boiled before it gets roasted with the rest of the vegetables in this recipe. See: How to Peel Fresh Yuca for step by step instructions. If using frozen yuca, it’s already peeled, cut into pieces, and ready to be boiled.
-Peel yuca, cut into 3 or 4 pieces, and boil for 15 minutes.
-While yuca is boiling, cut up onion, carrots, leek and garlic.
-Once yuca is boiled, cool, then remove stick-like stem that runs through the center.
-Chop yuca into cubes and place it with the other vegetables at the bottom of a roasting pan that’s covered with parchment paper. (This makes clean up a breeze!)
-Add filtered water
-organic turkey
–pink Himalayan salt (chosen because of it’s purity and high mineral content)
Marinade
-1 teaspoon Italian seasoning (I use Primal Palate Amore seasoning – Check out Primal Palate’s high quality, great tasting seasonings by clicking here.)
-1 teaspoon organic dry mustard
-1/2 teaspoon pink Himalayan salt
-1/2 cup red wine vinegar
-1/4 cup avocado oil
-1/4 teaspoon lemon pepper
-Remove the skin from the body of the turkey, leaving skin only on the legs and wings. (When I “tent” my turkey, these parts don’t tend to get full coverage so they need the skin as protection from getting over-cooked and dried out.)
* You may be bothered by the idea of removing the skin, since this is another break from traditional Thanksgiving turkey cooking. I find that the skin adds a significant amount of unwanted greasy fat to the drippings and prevents the marinade from fully incorporating into the turkey breast meat. As long as the turkey is tented during most of its roasting time, the skinless turkey will be perfectly protected. Plus, it will be carved and sitting in the drippings overnight, which will further moisten it. Another difference from traditional turkey roasting is that I suggest placing the turkey right onto the vegetables, not on a rack inside a roasting pan. (To be honest, I’ve never even owned a traditional roasting pan!) I find that the vegetables act as my rack, slightly elevating the turkey, with the meat and vegetables each adding flavor to one another.
-Wash the turkey thoroughly, pat dry and place on top of chopped vegetables (or on a rack inside roasting pan.)
-Season turkey with pink Himalayan salt and garlic powder.
-Blend Italian seasoning, dry mustard, pink Himalayan salt, lemon pepper, red wine vinegar and avocado oil. I like to put all marinade ingredients into a Mason jar and give it a good shake. Pour marinade over turkey and vegetables.
-Place turkey and vegetables into a preheated oven at 400 degrees for the first half hour – uncovered. Then decrease temperature to 325 and cover turkey, with either a cheesecloth or parchment paper “tent” or with roaster lid.)
*If using parchment paper, be very careful to secure parchment away from the stove coils.
*Note: Do not “tent” turkey with aluminum foil! This has been proven to be a very unhealthy practice. See Healthy Cooking Tip below for more information about the dangers of cooking with aluminum foil.
-Remove “tent” for the last 30 minutes of roasting to allow turkey to brown.
| Weight | Time | Temperature |
| 8-12 lbs | 2 ¾ – 4 hours | 325 degrees |
| 12-14 lbs | 3 – 3 ½ hours | 325 degrees |
| 14-18 lbs | 3 ¾ – 4 ¼ hours | 325 degrees |
-Turkey is done when a meat thermometer inserted into the breast or thigh registers 165 degrees and the juices run clear. If juices are still pink, it’s not yet ready. Once fully cooked, remove from oven and let sit for 30 minutes to cool before carving.
-Place turkey on a cutting board. Spoon cooked vegetables from baking dish into a bowl, leaving drippings in the pan. These veggies are so incredibly flavorful!
-Carve turkey and place sliced meat back into the roasting pan with the drippings/gravy (or into any preferred pan for it to sit overnight.) Cover and refrigerate overnight. If meat is not completely covered by juices, rotate meat after a few hours.
-The next day, reheat turkey and vegetables at 375 for 20-30 minutes until warm.
-Serve. This recipe makes a delicious turkey and a scrumptious side dish all at the same time!
Give it a try and leave a comment below. I’d love to know what you think!
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I know, you don’t want to hear that there’s something else you need to cut out of your life to stay healthy!!! You, and everyone you know, has been using aluminum foil for as long as you can remember. How can it be bad? Unfortunately, foil has been PROVEN to leach aluminum into food, with greater leaching in higher heat, with acidic solutions (like those involving tomatoes, lemon, and vinegar,) and with foods containing added spices. (1, 2) I don’t know about you, but that includes pretty much everything I cook!!! Aluminum foil is only considered safe for storage of cold food. The World Health Organization determined a safe daily limit of aluminum intake, but most people take in much more. This is likely the result of aluminum in antacids, vaccines, antiperspirants, drinking water, and the use of aluminum pans for cooking. Why should we care about aluminum exposure? The aluminum that is not excreted by the body interferes with the digestion of calcium, phosphorus, and fluoride, can result in osteoporosis, liver and kidney damage, and neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinsons. Aluminum has also been associated with colic, sleep disturbance, anemia, and speech problems. With all the exposure to aluminum that we can’t control in our environment, why knowingly expose ourselves to greater risk with the use of aluminum foil? Instead, use glass or ceramic cookware with lids or parchment paper. Parchment is a perfectly safe, non-toxic liner for baking. It has a non-stick surface, so no additional oil is needed to prevent food from sticking to the pan. Parchment paper is the mess-free, time-saving solution to healthy cooking and baking.
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This is not your typical, dry Thanksgiving turkey! This bird is moist and flavorful and is made a day ahead so it can soak up its juices overnight and free you up to enjoy your guests. It makes a scrumptious main meal and side dish all at the same time! Don't just think of it on Thanksgiving though, this hearty meal is satisfying any time.
*If using fresh yuca (cassava) it must first be peeled and boiled before adding it to the rest of the vegetables in this recipe. See About Yuca: How to Peel Fresh Yuca for step by step directions. Frozen yuca is already peeled, but must also first be boiled.
Bring a large saucepan of water to a boil. Add peeled fresh or frozen yuca, return to a boil and cook for 15 minutes until fork tender. Do not over-cook.
While yuca is boiling, chop onions, leeks, carrots, and garlic cloves. Place them on the bottom of roasting pan that is covered with parchment paper. (The parchment makes cleanup a breeze!)
Once yuca is fork tender, drain water and allow to cool.
Once cool enough to handle, place each piece of yuca on a cutting board and cut in half vertically and remove the stick-like stem that runs through the center.
Chop yuca into cubes and place in roasting pan with the other vegetables.
Pour filtered water over vegetables in pan.
Remove the skin from the body of the turkey, leaving skin only on the legs and wings.
Wash turkey thoroughly, pat dry, and place on top of the cut-up vegetables.
Pour 2 cups of filtered water directly into the pan with the vegetables.
Sprinkle pink Himalayan salt and garlic powder over turkey.
Blend ground mustard, Italian seasonings, salt, pepper, vinegar and oil. Pour directly over turkey and vegetables.
Place into a preheated oven set to 400 degrees for the first half hour.
Then decrease temperature to 325 and cover/tent the turkey either with the roaster lid, cheesecloth, or parchment paper (ensuring that paper is securely placed away from burner coils.)
Remove cover for the last 30 minutes of roasting to allow turkey to brown.
Turkey is ready when a meat thermometer inserted into the breast or thigh reads 165 degrees and the juices run clear.
When turkey is done, remove from oven and allow to sit 30 minutes before carving.
Move turkey to a cutting board and put cooked vegetables into a bowl for storage.
Carve turkey, placing sliced meat back into roasting pan with the drippings/gravy (or into any preferred pan for storage.) Cover and refrigerate overnight. If meat is not completely covered by juices, rotate meat after a few hours.
The next day, reheat turkey and vegetables at 375 for 20-30 minutes until warm.
Serve this delicious main meal and side dish!
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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.
If you’re anything like me, “Pop-Tarts” were a staple of your childhood. When I was little my mother would leave a box of them in a lower cabinet so my brother and I could get breakfast for ourselves on weekends, and she and my dad …
This simple-to-make dressing not only adds zip to any salad, but is a creamy vegetable dip, a sauce for meat, and a zesty mayonnaise literally bursting with mouth-watering flavor! And it’s dairy-free!!! I first created this Dijonnaise during a time when I was suffering from …
In my opinion, guacamole is the perfect condiment! It’s gluten and dairy-free, full of healthy fats, and is “whole food” at its best. Not to mention it’s creamy and delicious!
Guacamole makes chopped up veggies WAY more fun, and is a perfect pair with many yuca recipes including Yuca Empanadas (pictured above,) Taco Meat in a Cassava Flour Tortilla, Mexican Yuca Pizza, and Garlic Yuca Flatbread. (This pairing makes an amazing gluten-free avocado toast!!)
I’ve always enjoyed having guacamole made fresh at my table at fine Mexican restaurants. That’s where I learned how easy it is to make it at home in just 10 minutes!
I’ve had people tell me they don’t like guacamole, but for some reason they like this recipe. I think it’s because I don’t use cilantro. People tend to either LOVE or HATE cilantro. I’m a hater so I stay away from using it. I’ve been told one’s taste for cilantro is based on environmental exposure to it, yet new research is showing there may be an actual genetic component! Either way, this cilantro-less guacamole is sure to please.
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Simply choose ripe avocados (dark green in color and slightly soft when squeezed gently,) cut each in half, then scoop out flesh with a spoon. Place flesh in a bowl, and chop or mash avocado along with diced sweet onion and tomato, salt, garlic powder, and lemon juice. Mix until well blended. That’s all there is to it!
I like my guacamole chunky, but if smooth and creamy is your thing, just place all the ingredients into a food processor and blend for a few seconds until it reaches desired consistency. Enjoy!
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Comment below and let me know what you think of this guacamole. I look forward to your feedback!
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Healthy Eating Tip: Use Pink Himalayan Sea Salt instead of iodized table salt. Table salt is highly processed, which strips away most of its natural mineral content, leaving only sodium. It’s often then bleached, and iodine and anti-clumping agents are added. High quality Himalayan sea salt is said to be over 99% pure and contains at least 84 minerals and trace elements, including calcium, magnesium, potassium, copper and iron, in addition to sodium. Since Western diets are typically deplete of minerals, using Himalayan sea salt is an easy way to get the vital nutrients needed.
It only takes minutes to have fresh guacamole any time. This guacamole recipe will ruin you for store-bought varieties! It's fresh and creamy, with just the right amount of chunkiness. Enjoy it on Yuca Empanadas, Tacos with Cassava Tortilla Wraps, salads, Garlic Yuca Flatbread, or to jazz up your vegetable platter.
Cut each avocado in half, remove pit, then scoop out flesh with a spoon. Chop flesh into small cubes.
Place chopped avocado, tomatoes, onion, sea salt, and lemon juice in a large bowl. Mix to fully combine ingrdients with a spoon. Taste test and add additional sea salt if needed. This guacamole is chunky. If smooth guacamole is preferred, blend in a food processor for a minute or two until desired consistency is reached. Enjoy!
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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.
Whether right out of the pan or filled with your favorite toppings, these tortilla wraps are outstanding! While cooking up a batch I literally have to stop myself from eating them all before I finish making them. They’re sooooo yummy on their own… especially warm! …
If you’re looking for a crowd-pleaser you’ve found it! Young and old, as a meal, side dish or an appetizer for guests, these empanadas are a hit with everyone! (Whether the person is gluten-free or not!) They can also be made with beans for a …
“Yuca-ta” Try These Cassava Flour Pancakes got their name because no one can believe they’re made with anything other than wheat flour! The taste is truly indistinguishable! These pancakes have been taste tasted on my husband, my kids, and a bunch of their friends with rave reviews! They are light and fluffy and everything you want in a traditional pancake.
You may be thinking, “What’s the big deal about cassava flour? Aren’t there lots of gluten-free flours out there?”
While there are many gluten-free flours, few can be used in a 1:1 ratio with wheat flour or have so similar a taste and texture. For me, cassava’s low glycemic index (46) makes it a way better option because of my blood sugar instability. White rice flour and tapioca flour have a glycemic index of 89 and 85 respectively, which causes my blood sugar to spike. (To have a reference point – below 50 is considered low glycemic, 70 and above is considered high.) Immediately after eating pancakes or baked goods made with high glycemic flours, brain fog sets in, followed by a huge drop in energy level. I literally have trouble focusing on even the most basic things when I eat high glycemic foods. Flours such as rice and tapioca are also often highly processed (nowhere close to whole-grain!)
Nut-flours (like almond flour) are the other popular gluten-free alternative, but how many almonds can a person eat??!! I can’t make EVERYTHING out of almond flour – although I often did before finding cassava flour – which typically led to stomach aches. For those with nut allergies cassava flour is a perfect option.
The days of high glycemic or grainy nut-flour pancakes are over! With Otto’s Cassava Flour the perfect gluten-free pancake has finally arrived! These are even a great option for the gluten-eating community as well. Cassava flour is an unprocessed, grain-free, non-GMO, non-inflammatory, paleo, whole30 approved, whole-food flour that is much better for our health than wheat flour.
I use Otto’s Cassava Flour for all of my cooking and baking with delicious results!
Otto’s Cassava Flour is available in some specialty stores, and can be purchased online by clicking the link below!
Otto’s Naturals 100% Natural Cassava Flour Made from Yuca Root Bag, 2 Pound
Click here: Getting To Know Cassava (Yuca) Flour
By ordering Otto’s Cassava Flour through 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!
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Healthy Eating Tip: Decrease the sugar and give monk fruit sweetener a try! Monk fruit, also known as lo han guo, is a melon grown in Southeast Asia. It has been used in Eastern medicine to treat ailments for centuries. Monk fruit sweetener is a natural extract of monk fruit, with a single serving containing zero calories. It’s highly recommended for weight loss and for diabetics because it doesn’t impact blood sugar levels. Organic Pure Monk is almost 300 times sweetener than sugar. I recommend using only 1/8 tsp in this 8 pancake recipe! The taste is different than sugar, and may take some getting used to. It’s FDA approved and considered safe for children as well as women who are pregnant or nursing. Note: If you buy any brand of monk fruit sweetener other than Pure Monk, be sure to read the label carefully. Many call their sweeteners monk fruit, but blend them with other sweeteners to make the taste more similar in taste and sweetness to sugar. The added ingredients may add calories, decrease the relative sweetness, or change the health profile of the sweetener. Give monk fruit sweetener a try and let me know what you think. But trust me, use VERY little. More is not better in this case.
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*I use the exact same recipe to make my Cassava flour Waffles! See pics below where I top my waffles with baked apples with cinnamon and another with blueberry and strawberry compote. 🥰
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These pancakes are so delicious you can’t tell they aren’t made from wheat flour! Your family will never suspect they’re eating gluten-free!
In a large bowl, whisk eggs along with melted coconut oil, milk of choice, and vanilla until well combined.
Add cassava (yuca) flour, coconut flour, baking soda, salt, and sweetener. Blend until batter is smooth.
Heat a greased skillet over medium heat.
Spoon batter (divided) onto heated skillet to make 6 pancakes.
Once bubbles appear (after about 1 minute) flip and heat for an additional minute. Watch pancakes closely to avoid burning.
Eat immediately.
Serve by themselves, with syrup, or with sliced fruit such as strawberries, bananas or blueberries. Make them your own way. Enjoy!
Notes: These pancakes can be made ahead and stored in the refrigerator for up to a week or in the freezer for up to 6 months.
Monk fruit sweetener is a natural extract of monk fruit, with a single serving containing zero calories. It's highly recommended for weight loss and for diabetics because it doesn't impact blood sugar levels. Organic Pure Monk is almost 300 times sweetener than sugar. I recommend using only 1/8 tsp in this 8 pancake recipe! The taste is different than sugar (VERY sweet), and may take some getting used to. It's a great way to decrease one's sugar intake!
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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.
Come one, come all! The time has come! Whether you’re following a gluten-free, Paleo, Vegan, or Autoimmune Protocol, there is now a scrumptious flatbread that you can eat without guilt! Who could believe that delicious flatbread can be made simply by boiling some yuca, blending …
Making yuca fries is super easy! It’s a perfect recipe to try when first experimenting with yuca (a.k.a. cassava.) These fries are baked in the oven (not fried) so their fat content is low – yet their taste satisfaction is high!! They’re crispy on the …
