Greek Meatballs 

By Lidey Heuck

Published July 17, 2024

Greek Meatballs 
Christopher Testani for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.
Total Time
1¼ hours
Prep Time
15 minutes
Cook Time
30 minutes, plus at least 30 minutes’ chilling
Rating
5(1,062)
Comments
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These meatballs are inspired by keftedes, a traditional Greek meatball made with beef and sometimes pork or lamb and seasoned with a mix of herbs and spices. While variations of  keftedes abound, many include fresh bread crumbs, grated onion and tomato, along with lots of fresh mint and parsley. The tomato lends the meatballs a hint of sweetness and acidity, and also helps make them incredibly moist and tender. While not traditional, this recipe opts for panko instead of fresh bread crumbs, for ease. Rather than being softened with milk to form a panade, the bread crumbs go into the meatball mix on their own and soak up the flavorful juices from the onion and tomato. Serve these meatballs with homemade tzatziki, a simple salad and pita on the side, or in tomato sauce for a hearty, comforting dinner.

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Ingredients

Yield:About 30 meatballs (4 to 6 servings)
  • ½cup (lightly packed) grated red or yellow onion (from about ½ large onion)
  • 1medium tomato, grated (about 5 ounces)
  • 1pound lean ground beef
  • ½pound ground lamb or pork
  • ½cup panko bread crumbs 
  • 1large egg, lightly beaten
  • ⅓cup finely chopped fresh mint
  • ⅓cup finely chopped fresh parsley
  • 2large garlic cloves, grated or very finely minced
  • 1teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1teaspoon ground coriander
  • ½teaspoon ground cumin
  • Salt and pepper
  • ¼cup olive oil
  • Tzatziki, salad and pita (all optional), for serving
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)

454 calories; 34 grams fat; 11 grams saturated fat; 1 gram trans fat; 17 grams monounsaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 14 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams dietary fiber; 2 grams sugars; 23 grams protein; 453 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Place the grated onion and tomato in a fine-mesh sieve over the sink and stir a few times, pressing on the mixture to drain the excess liquid. (Some moisture should remain; do not squeeze in a dish towel.) Transfer the remaining onion and tomato to a large bowl.

  2. Step 2

    Add the beef, lamb, panko, egg, mint, parsley, garlic, oregano, coriander and cumin, plus 1½ teaspoons salt and ½ teaspoon pepper; mix gently but thoroughly.

  3. Step 3

    Using a 2 tablespoon-scoop or two spoons, form meatballs that are about 1½ inches wide. Place them on a plate, cover and chill for at least 30 minutes, and up to 24 hours, to allow the meatballs to firm up.

  4. Step 4

    In a large (12-inch) skillet, heat the oil over medium-high. When the oil is hot (it should sizzle immediately if you drop a bread crumb into the pan), fry the meatballs in 2 to 3 batches, flipping occasionally and lowering the heat as necessary to prevent them from getting too dark, until browned all over and just cooked through, 5 to 7 minutes.

  5. Step 5

    Transfer the cooked meatballs to a paper towel-lined plate, and serve hot or warm with any combination of tzatziki, salad and pita, if desired.

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Ratings

5 out of 5
1,062 user ratings
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Comments

Maggie Bee

About a year ago, I discovered that dried onion - I buy the big container in the spice aisle at Costco - can go into meatballs, hamburgers, meatloaf, or even my sourdough bread dough, all added dry, right in the beginning. It saves an incredible amount of time (and tears) to not have to grate or mince a raw onion, and works perfectly. I use roughly a third of the amount of dry for fresh.

carrie

Could these be cooked in the oven rather than pan frying?

Marla

How does one grate a tomato? I've never tried before.

Maddie

These were a major hit — all across the board! My husband said he could eat them all week, and my 4-year-old daughter claimed the meatballs were even better than rice. Which is her favorite food, and which I also served alongside. To save my recently cleaned stovetop, I opted to roast these in a convection oven at 450 for 20 mins instead of frying in oil. Served with Greek salad, naan, tzatziki and rice. So tasty!! 12/10 will make again.

Louisa

Just made this for dinner and it was met with rave reviews. I doubled the marinade because we doubled the Brussel sprouts, added a huge knob of freshly grated ginger and some red pepper flakes, and skipped the broiler because it didn’t really need it. While that was cooking, I made two servings of TJ’s organic brown rice. Then, I sliced some gigantic shallots, Serrano pepper with seeds and rough chopped cabbage and threw that in a hot skillet in a mix of olive oil and sesame oil and mixed the rice and cabbage for serving. The verdict is that this joins our rotating menu. My husband suggested throwing in some unsalte

Amy C

Great recipe! I did actually make it, almost as is! I learned from an Ottolenghi recipe that replacing some or all of the breadcrumbs with grated zucchini (about 2 scant cups shredded for 1 lb ground meat) results in a very moist and tender meatball. The grated tomato here is a similar idea-Since fresh tomatoes aren't very good at this time of year, I used shredded zucchini instead. I did include the breadcrumbs because the lamb and beef or pork are fattier than turkey/chicken.

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