These aromatic and flavorful fried Greek meatballs with tzatziki sauce are flavored with garlic, fresh mint, and parsley. They have a perfectly crispy exterior with soft and tender insides! Serve with fresh pita, cucumber salad, and a sprinkling of feta for the perfect weeknight meal.
Teflon or cast-iron Skillet or Enamel-Coated Dutch Oven
Box Grater
mixing bowls
Measuring Cups
Measuring Spoons
Fine mesh sieve
Ingredients
Tzatziki Sauce
1English Cucumberhot house cucumbers or substitute 1 large standard cucumber
1tspKosher Saltfine, more or less to taste
1cupGreek Yogurtplain
1Lemon juicefreshly squeezed tastes best
1tbspmintfreshly chopped, spearmint
2tspGarlicminced
1/4tspGround Black Peppermore or less to taste
Greek Meatballs
20ozGround Beef(1.5 lbs), 85% lean ground beef or a combination of ground beef and lamb.
1cupBread CrumbsI use panko but plain bread crumbs are also fine here. Gluten-free can get a little gummy.
1/2cupMilkor water or beef stock
1cupOniongrated
4tspGarlicminced
2largeEggs
2tbspMintchopped
2tspDried Oregano
1tspKosher saltfine
1/2tspGround Black Pepper
1/4tspGround Cinnamongives a warm flavor to the meatballs
Olive Oil for the skillet
Instructions
Tzatziki Sauce
Peel the cucumber and cut it in half lengthwise. Remove seeds, if necessary. Usually, with an English cucumber, this is not needed. Shred into a bowl using the large holes of the box grater.
Transfer the cucumber to the wire mesh sieve and toss with the salt. Hang the sieve back over the bowl and allow it to drain for 30 minutes. The salt draws out excess moisture leaving the concentrated flavor of the cucumber. You can skip this step, however, this may result in tzatiki sauce that is runny from the excess water.
Once the allotted time has passed, squeeze the cucumbers with your hands or wrapped in a tea towel to remove any additional water and transfer them to a medium bowl. Add the Greek yogurt, lemon juice, mint, garlic paste, and ground black pepper. Mix well. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or up to 2 days for the flavors to meld.
Greek Meatballs
Combine the ingredients in a large mixing bowl. mix with your hands until combined and all the liquid as absorbed into the breadcrumbs.
Shape the meat mixture into 18 equal meatballs. Heat the oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium heat. Cook the meatballs until browned and cooked through, about 10 minutes. If working in small batches, you may opt to keep these warm in the oven while the other batches cook.
Drain the matballs on paper towels. Serve warm.
Notes
Storage tips
Store: For making meatballs ahead or storing leftovers, meatballs should be cooled completely and stored in an air-tight container or zip-top bag in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Reheat: To reheat meatballs, you can use the microwave, conventional oven, or air fryer.
Microwave, heat at 50% power in 30-second intervals until heated through.
Conventional Oven - Heat in a 325-degree F oven for 10 to 15 minutes or until heated through.
Air fryer - heat at 400 degrees F for 9 minutes or until heated through.
Freeze: After the meatballs are fully-cooked, be sure to allow them to cool completely. Flash freeze on a silicone or parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet until frozen through. Remove from sheet to a freezer-proof container or zip-top freezer bag for up to 3 months. Defrost and reheat as directed above.
Variations on Greek Meatballs [Keftedakia]
Greek Beef Meatballs- That's this recipe! For Greek beef meatballs follow the recipe below.
Greek Chicken Meatballs[or Greek Turkey Meatballs] - Replace the beef with an equal amount of ground chicken or turkey. Since chicken and turkey are naturally a little less flavorful than beef, you may find you need to add a little extra salt and spices to amp up the flavor. Do this by adding the seasonings and making a small meatball and cooking it off and tasting it. Adjust the seasonings as needed and repeat until you achieve your desired flavor.
Greek Lamb Meatballs - Replace the beef with an equal amount of ground lamb. Follow the rest of the instructions and ingredients as described.
Beef and Lamb Meatballs [Gyro Meatballs] - Replace half of the beef with an equal amount of ground lamb. Follow the rest of the instructions and ingredients as described.
Greek meatballs with feta - add 4 oz of crumbled feta to the meatball mixture and lightly mix it in (at the end). Proceed with the recipe as directed.
Gluten-Free Meatballs- For the meatballs, replace gluten-free panko with the regular panko breadcrumbs. The yogurt in tzatziki is naturally gluten-free but be sure to check your yogurt packaging to be sure.
Dairy-free Meatballs - For the meatballs, simply omit the milk and replace it with water or stock like beef, vegetable, or chicken.
Dairy-Free Tzatziki Sauce [Plant-based Tzatziki Sauce] - For dairy-free tzatziki sauce, start with a coconut milk-based vegan yogurt (not coconut flavored dairy-based yogurt) in equal amounts this recipe, and follow the instructions for the tzatziki sauce as described. If you cannot locate dairy-free vegan coconut milk yogurt, both Target and Whole Foods sell a plant-based, dairy-free tzatziki sauce that you could use for this recipe.
Egg-freeMeatballs- Eggs act as a binder in the meatballs holding them together while they cook. If you chose to omit the egg, the milk and breadcrumbs will still work well at helping the meat keep its shape. You may need to be a little careful while turning the meatballs to make sure they retain their shape.
VegetarianMeatballs - For a great base recipe, check out these vegetarian meatballs from Dishing out Healthy. I would then omit the Italian seasoning and add the Greek seasonings described below in the recipe below.
Other Serving Suggestions for Keftedakia
If you are looking for more ways to serve these greek meatballs, you can try any of these serving suggestions:
Greek meatballs with rice - buttered long-grain, white rice.
Greek meatballs in tomato sauce with white rice and toasted pine nuts
Greek meatball soup with lemon and orzo
Greek Meatballs with Rice Pilaf with toasted pine nuts.
Gyros wrap with hummus, cucumber salad, red onions, and kalamata olives. Top with tzatziki sauce and a crumbling of fresh feta for the perfect Greek street food.