Greek Baked Meatballs: Soutzoukakia

Name: Greek Baked Meatballs: Soutzoukakia
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 1 h
Total time: 1 h 20 min
Yield: 16 pieces (serves up to 8 people)
Cuisine: Greek
Ingredients: 2 slice whole wheat bread (toast-size), toasted to a medium-brown (or use Gluten Free bread if you need); 1/4 to 1/3 cup 60 ml milk or water; 1.5 lb/680.389 g lean ground beef; 1 small yellow onion, chopped; 3 garlic cloves, minced; 2 medium eggs; 1 tsp/2.36 g ground cumin; 1/2 tsp/1.3 g ground cinnamon; 1/2 tsp/0.6 g dried oregano; 1/2 cup/17 g chopped fresh parsley; Salt and pepper; Drizzle Early Harvest Greek extra virgin olive oil; Early Harvest Greek extra virgin olive oil; 1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped; 2 garlic cloves, minced; 1/2 cup/118.294 ml dry red wine; 30 oz/850.486 g canned tomato sauce (that's 2 15-oz cans of sauce); 1 bay leaf; 3/4 tsp/1.77 g ground cumin; 1/2 tsp/1.3 g cinnamon; 1/2 tsp 2 g sugar; Salt and Pepper

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If you haven’t tried Greek baked meatballs in red sauce, you are in for a treat! These are known as Soutzoukakia or Izmir Kofte, and they are the BEST! Flavor-packed meatballs with loads of aromatics, fresh parsley, and a special blend of spices including ground cumin, baked in a special red sauce! Plus, one secret ingredient makes these Greek meatballs extra juicy!

These can be prepared in advance. Be sure to read through for tips and what else to serve along!

Soutzoukakia! Say it with me, sou-tzou-kakia! Or you can call these Izmir Kofte (meatballs). Izmir, Turkey is actually where these delicious meatballs originated, making their way to Greece sometime in the 20th century.

Soutzoukakia are delicious football-shaped meatballs made from a special meat mixture with onions, garlic, fresh herbs, and a unique spice combination, the star of which is cumin! There’s not a ton of cumin in the mixture, but its warm and distinctive flavor with bitter, lemony undertones provides a great earthy base here. Adding to the flavor is the epic red sauce the meatballs are baked in.

Oh man…so good!

Secret Ingredient

These baked meatballs are extra tender and juicy thanks to a secret ingredient included in the meat mixture. READY FOR IT? Toasted whole wheat bread that’s been soaked in milk. This is a trick I learned from Yiayia Helen, and it’s one I always use when I make these keftedes or these Lebanese-style meatballs.

If you need to, use gluten free bread like this kind, but do NOT skip this part!

How to Make Soutzoukakia: Greek Baked Meatballs

1. We use lean ground beef in the meat mixture (a combination of beef and pork is fine as well). Add in the rest of the ingredients including toasted bread, onions, garlic, spices, eggs, and fresh parsley.

2. Knead knead knead until you have well-combined meat mixture. Cover and chill in fridge for now.

3- Make the EPIC red sauce for the Greek meat balls. Starting with a little extra virgin olive oil, onions and garlic. Then adding in a little red wine, tomato sauce and spices. Let this goodness simmer for a few minutes.

4. Form meat mixture into elongated meatballs (football-shaped) and place in a lightly oiled baking dish

5- Pour the epic sauce on top. And bake in 400 degrees F until meatballs are cooked through (about 40-45 minutes or so). Tip, check part-way through, if needed add a little water.

Turn this into a Greek feast!

These meatballs are great over Lebanese rice or plain orzo. But you can turn this dinner into a feast by adding a side of Greek Salad, Greek Green Beans or Briam!

More Tips for these Baked Meatballs

What kind of meat to use? Here we use lean ground beef, but you can use equal portions of beef and pork. You can also try mixing in ground turkey, if you like.
Prepare-Ahead: If you want to get a head start on this recipe, you can make the sauce one night in advance. You can also mix the meat mixture one night in advance of cooking; store in the fridge in a glass container with a tight lid. When ready to cook, warm up the sauce and follow recipe instructions from there.
Leftovers: these Greek meatballs should keep well for 3 or so nights in the fridge. Store in tight-lid glass containers. You can also freeze leftovers; thaw out in the fridge overnight. Heat leftovers in a medium-heated oven, add more liquid to your pan and cover until warmed through.

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