Easy Greek meatballs recipe, also known as Keftedes! Flavor-packed tender meatballs with a crispy crust and a lemony sauce. This recipe can serve a crowd as an appetizer, but see our serving suggestions for a Greek-style dinner bowl!
Keftedes, Kofte, or Kofta. Whatever the name, they all represent exquisite Eastern Mediterranean variations on meatballs. A mixture of ground meat infused with spices and flavors of whatever region they come from.
Formed into patties then baked as in this Turkish version. Grilled, kabob-style. Or pan-fried in extra virgin olive oil--then finished in a lemony sauce--as in today’s Greek meatballs.
This recipe is a very lose interpretation of Yiayia Helen’s Greek meatballs.
Helen and I met at a local Greek festival last year. A feisty grandma with a binder full of Greek recipes. Pages worn out and stained with olive oil. She had no problem sharing about her famous Greek meatballs. “I make for a minimum of 50 people at a time,” she announced as she pointed to the recipe.
Her keftedes meat mixture is flavored with fresh mint and spices like coriander, cumin, nutmeg and oregano. Yiayia Helen insisted on using Greek oregano, of course.
Tips for the best Greek meatballs
Every cook seems to have their own technique for creating the juiciest meatballs.
Helen’s trick? Add a bread-based paste (or mush) made by soaking day-old bread or pita into milk. You wring out the excess milk, then add the resulting piece of mushy bread into the keftedes mixture. This prevents bits of meat from binding to each other, keeping the patties tender.
And to achieve a crispy crust, it’s best to pan-fry the Greek meatballs in olive oil before adding the sauce.
Some versions of Greek keftedes call for red sauce, but I prefer this version with a lemony broth that's been thickened with egg yolk.
What to Serve with Greek Meatballs
This keftedes recipe makes about 32 meatballs. If you have a large crowd, you can simply serve load them up on a platter as an appetizer. But for dinner, I like to serve a few Greek meatballs in a bowl with pita bread, Greek salad, and Tzatziki sauce for dipping. Of course, you can simply make pita pocket sandwiches too.
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Koftedes Greek Meatballs
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 32 meatballs 1x
Description
All-star keftedes Greek meatballs recipe. Tender on the inside, crispy on the outside. Flavor-packed with fresh mint, spices and a lemony Greek sauce!
Ingredients
- 1 medium yellow onion, grated
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- Private Reserve Greek Extra Virgin Olive Oil (click here to purchase)
- 1 slice, day old bread, cubed and soaked in milk (you can use pita bread, if you like)
- 1 lb lean ground beef
- ½ lb ground lamb or pork
- 1 large egg PLUS 1 egg yolk, divided
- ¼ cup chopped fresh mint leaves
- 1 tbsp organic ground coriander
- 1 tsp dried oregano, preferably Greek oregano
- 1 tsp organic ground cumin
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
- Salt and pepper
- 3 lemons, zested and juiced
- Flour for dredging
- 1 ¼ cup chicken broth
To Serve
- 1 Greek salad recipe
- 1 Tzatziki Sauce Recipe
- Pita Bread
Instructions
- If serving in bowls as suggested in this post, first prepare the Greek salad according to this recipe (dress salad later, if you prefer) and Tzatziki sauce according to this recipe. Set aside or refrigerate for now.
- In a large skillet like this one, heat 2 tablespoon Private Reserve olive oil over medium heat. Add onions and garlic and cook until golden and translucent, stirring regularly. Transfer the onions and garlic mixture to a large mixing bowl to cool. Set skillet aside for later.
- Wring the excess milk out of the soaked bread. Add the bread to the mixing bowl.
- To the mixing bowl add the ground beef and lamb (or pork), 1 egg, fresh mint, spices, salt and pepper, and 1 tablespoon lemon zest. Mix by hand until until mixture is fully incorporated.
- Form the meat mixture into balls (each the size of a heaping tablespoon.) Roll meatballs into the flour to lightly coat and place them on a large tray for now.
- In the large skillet you used earlier, add ¼ cup Private Reserve olive oil. Heat over medium-high. Turn heat to medium and add the meatballs to cook (do this in batches if you need to.) Cook meatballs for 10 minutes or so, turning occasionally, until fully cooked and well-crusted on all sides.
- With a slotted spoon, remove meatballs from skillet onto paper towels to drain any excess fat. Meanwhile, carefully discard most of the cooking fat from skillet (best to dump into a tin can until cooled). Return skillet to stove-top over medium heat.
- Whisk the 1 egg yolk with the chicken broth and lemon juice. Add to cooking skillet with the remaining lemon zest, then add the meatballs back in. Cook over medium heat for another 5 minutes until the lemon sauce thickens.
- Serve hot in bowls with pita bread, Greek salad and Tzatziki sauce. Or serve in pita pockets as sandwiches, if you prefer.
Notes
- Recommended for This Recipe Our Private Reserve Greek Extra Virgin Olive Oil (from organically grown and processed Koroneiki olives!) And all-natural and organic ground coriander, ground cumin, and ground nutmeg.
- SAVE! Try our Ultimate Mediterranean Spice Bundle or create your own 6-Pack or 3-Pack of our all-natural or organic spices!
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 20 mins
- Category: Entree
- Cuisine: Greek
Keywords: Koftedes recipe, Greek meatballs recipe
Other Recipes to Try
Easy Greek Chicken and Potatoes Dinner
Stuffed Eggplant with Ground Beef and Bulgur
Rosanne Thomas says
Looking forward to making these! I have a ? about the lemon zest, the video shows all the zest goes into the meatball mixture and no zest in the sauce, however, the recipe description says only a tablespoon in the meat and the rest in the sauce. Which one should I do?? Thanks so much!
Suzy says
Hi, Rosanne. You'll want to put the zest both in the meatballs and in the sauce.
Lia says
You didn’t write what to do with the sautéed onion & garlic! Do they go in the meatball or the sauce??
Suzy says
They go in the meatballs. After they are sauteed, add them to the mixing bowl and allow to cool a bit before adding the other meatball ingredients.
Leisa says
I also threw in shallots, preserved lemon + used whole oats instead of bread - baked the meatballs instead of frying. Made a sauce of cherry tomatoes, olive oil + feta
SOOO YUMMY! Thx
★★★★★
Suzy says
Thanks for sharing your adaptations, Leisa!
Leslie McCormick says
Hi Suzy,
Can this be made without the pita bread in the mixture?
Suzy says
Hi, Leslie. I really recommend the pita or toasted bread here. It helps keep the meatballs tender.
Karen says
These look fantastic but I don't eat 4 legged animals. What do you think about using turkey and/or chicken?
Suzy says
Hi, Karen! I recently tried this with ground turkey. The flavor was different than the original recipe, but still quite delicious! If you give it a go, please stop back and let me know your thoughts!
steve stavrou says
Best Keftedes ever, Better than I have had in Greece, Greek restaurants or homemade. I used 50/50 lamb and beef. I agree with a previous review. I think the soaked bread was the key. I looked up recipes because mine were always dry. I definitely picked the right one .
★★★★★
Suzy says
Awesome!! Thanks, Steve!