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.
VIDEO TUTORIALSHelen 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
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Prep Time: 15 mins - Cook Time: 20 mins
- Total Time: 35 minutes
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Yield: 32 meatballs
Print Recipe
Pin RecipeIngredients
- 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
- 1/2 lb ground lamb or pork
- 1 large egg PLUS 1 egg yolk, divided
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh mint leaves
- 1 tbsp organic ground coriander
- 1 tsp dried oregano, preferably Greek oregano
- 1 tsp organic ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
- Salt and pepper
- 3 lemons, zested and juiced
- Flour for dredging
- 1 1/4 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 tbsp 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 tbsp 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 1/4 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!
Other Recipes to Try
Easy Greek Chicken and Potatoes Dinner
Stuffed Eggplant with Ground Beef and Bulgur
Colleen says
My kids (aged 4 and 8) LOVED these meatballs! I used very lean ground turkey and I think the milk-soaked bread was the key to keeping them super moist. I also baked them in the oven (18 min @350 degrees) instead of frying them. I still made the lemony sauce and it was a hit as well!
★★★★★
Suzy Karadsheh says
Awesome, Colleen! Love this variation. Yes, the milk-soaked bread is key!
Moira Draper says
YUMMPSY!!!
Suzy Karadsheh says
Yay! Awesome
Bianca says
That was delicious! And I’m very picky when it come to Mediterranean food! Kids loved it as well. The lemon zest makes this dish completel!
★★★★★
Suzy Karadsheh says
Yay! So glad everyone enjoyed it!
Kathleen says
Loved this recipe! Flavor is amazing. 3 lemons was a lot for me as my lemons were large. I think about 1/4 cup suited my taste. I love how your recipes use fresh ingredients but I will admit I took a short cut with the garlic paste and bought it already made. Thank you for your wonderful recipes!
★★★★★
Suzy Karadsheh says
Kathleen, so glad to hear it! And definitely love that you adapted the recipe to suit your needs 🙂
Elaine Tsai says
These meatballs are stellar! I love the deep flavors. I didn’t change a thing! I made your avocado salad to go with it. Excellent and thank you for the recipes.
★★★★★
Natalie says
I wanted to try to make these for a party but was hoping to grill them as to free up my kitchen, have you tried that? Also, is the pan sauce to finish them a must? I will have dipping sauces, but as I want to grill I was thinking I would omit finishing them with the egg, lemon sauce, but not if that will take too much away from the flavor. Any thoughts?
Suzy Karadsheh says
Hi Natalie, sure…you can probably skewer the meat on wooden skewers and grill outdoors. Here is another version (different spices) that uses the grill. It’ll be a good guide for you: https://www.themediterraneandish.com/kofta-kebab-recipe/
Leilani says
I love your site! I grew up on Mediterranean food, but moved from home, and now I have to make it myself. I’m just wondering if you’ve ever tried this recipe using ground chicken or turkey. If yes, please let me know if you made any adjustments to the recipe.
Suzy Karadsheh says
Hi Leilani! Thanks for stopping in! Glad to have you here. I haven’t tried it with ground chicken or turkey, but I know it’ll work great with either option. You may like to mix ground chicken or ground turkey with a bit of beef for texture and consistency.
Chrissie says
I know I’ve reviewed this before, but I just had to drop another note. Ran short on time this evening (busy working on a term paper!), so mixed up the meat mix and put it in an oiled 9″x13″ pan and baked it at 375 for about half an hour. Made the lemon sauce in a separate pot, on the stove; it was an AWESOME meatloaf!!! Not a traditional presentation, but made a busy night’s prep SO fast; and that lemon sauce on your Lebanese rice is just so doggone good!
★★★★★
Suzy Karadsheh says
Chrissie, thank you for sharing! I love to hear how you’ve adapted this recipe to fit your needs!
Judy says
My son has a life threatening allergy to cow’s milk. Would using an almond or cashew milk work with this recipe?
Suzy Karadsheh says
Hi Judy. YES! you can use unsweetened nut milk of your choice. The milk here is not an essential ingredient.
Kristy says
Wow! For some reason all the steps caught me off guard but this is a fantastic meal…lots of flavor and worth the effort to make this all fresh from scratch! Will certainly make it again
★★★★★
Suzy Karadsheh says
Awesome, Kristy! So glad you enjoyed it!
Tia says
I made this recipe last night for my family and it was delish! I used left over pita bread for the meatballs and it worked out great. They were very flavorful and tender. Thanks so much for sharing! I am very excited to try more recipes. I have been looking for healthy, flavorful recipes and your website is wonderful.
★★★★★
Suzy Karadsheh says
Tia, welcome to The Mediterranean Dish! I am so excited to hear you tried the Keftedes! And I look forward to hearing more from you when you try other recipes!!!
~Chrissie says
These were *wonderful!* So tender, and so full of flavor. I forgot to add the fresh mint to the meat mixture, so I added it to the lemony sauce; absolutely paired brilliantly! I doubled the sauce and served these over your Lebanese rice. Both my husband and my father-in-law are debating whether or not they now prefer these to Italian meatballs! I think they’re leaning towards these! 🙂 Keep those great recipes coming, Suzy!
★★★★★
Suzy Karadsheh says
Awesome! Thanks for trying it, Chrissie!
Sandra Tatsuno says
Thank you, Suzy! Prepping now! Can’t wati to post what I know will be a stellar review! Making your Greeks salad, too, and look forward to trying your other recipes as well. Have a lovely day!
Sandra Tatsuno says
Making these today! Have been making the Lebanese version of these (kofta) for years, such flavor, but love the lemony/saucy twist this Greek version brings! Just a question. If using pita bread, should I use a whole slice? Whenever a recipe requires 1-2 slices day old bread soaked in milk, they rarely mention the type of bread to use (sandwich, artisan?), how thick a slice, etc. Afraid a whole slice of pita might be too much, volume wise! Thanks for the recipe! Can’t wait for dinner!
Suzy Karadsheh says
Hi Sandra. Middle Eastern kofta is certainly a favorite, lots of flavor! I hope you’ll enjoy this one as well. The day-old bread we use is just a slice of toast. You can use about 1/4 loaf of pita bread. Enjoy
Rita says
I don’t like frying so I baked the meatballs in 425 oven.
Drained the pan part of the way and let them crisp up.
Very tasty!
Suzy Karadsheh says
Rita, thanks for sharing! Love your take on this recipe.
Rachel @ Baked by Rachel says
I haven’t had breakfast yet and am totally craving these! They look fantastic!
Suzy Karadsheh says
Lol! These are good! I’d eat them any time of the day 🙂
Meliann says
Mmmhhh…looks so GOOD! I love Greek food! 🙂
Suzy Karadsheh says
Yay! I hope you give these a try!
Sandi says
I really wish I wasn’t so hungry when I saw this post…these look so good.
Suzy Karadsheh says
Haha! These are so tasty and simple to make. Hope you’ll give them a try!
[email protected] says
Great tips for making meatballs! I love anything Greek inspired!
Jenn says
Sounds so flavorful – love the spice combo. And that sauce sounds incredible. Gorgeous photos too!
Suzy Karadsheh says
The spices make such a difference! Thanks for stopping in, Jenn!
Kristina @ Love & Zest says
These look and sound tasty! I wish these were in front of me!
★★★★★
Nichole says
Wow, these sound amazing! I love Greek food, but I don’t make it often. These are on my list to try now! Especially loving that lemony sauce!
★★★★★
Suzy Karadsheh says
If you love Greek food, then I hope you’ll try these meatballs!