A Greek twist on the Italian classic, your family will love these flavor-packed gluten-free meatballs seasoned with oregano, allspice, and garlic.
I’m pretty certain my husband would eat anything in meatball form. I can’t say I blame him.
There is just something about having a platter of meatballs for dinner that puts a smile on his face and I’m happy to oblige.
We typically go the Italian route with Beef and Ricotta and I’m a huge fan of Vietnamese BBQ Pork Meatballs but this time I decided to give them a Greek spin.
My husband’s favorite herb is oregano and I couldn’t resist adding a little allspice that I had on hand from creating my Lebanese All-Purpose Spice Blend.
How to cut down calories and fat in meatballs:
To cut down on calories and fat, I always bake my meatballs in a 350-degree oven for around 20 minutes or until browned on both sides.
Fat is not the enemy but I would much rather brown vermicelli in clarified butter (ghee) or drizzle the finished dish with extra virgin olive oil than waste hundreds of calories simply browning the meatballs.
Meat Options:
We used ground beef this time around because it was what we had on hand but feel free to use ground lamb, bison, or turkey. As an added bonus, these are naturally gluten-free.
Your fork is waiting.
📖 Recipe
Keftedes: Baked Greek Meatballs
Ingredients
- 20 ounces ground beef (or lamb, turkey, etc.)
- 1 large egg
- ¼ cup fresh parsley minced
- 2 cloves garlic grated
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 tablespoons parmesan cheese grated
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon cayenne optional
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F and line a baking sheet with foil. Spray foil with cooking spray and set aside.
- Place ground meat in the bottom of a medium bowl and add all remaining ingredients. Use your hands and mix together ingredients until everything is fully incorporated.
- Using a small cookie scoop, form mixture into evenly sized meatballs and bake for 20-25 minutes or until cooked through. (Makes 28-30 total meatballs.)
Chas Chirigotis
I grew up on my yiayias’ keftethes and salata patatas and augolemono soup….not italian…..greek, Greek. Greek…
Liz DellaCroce
Oh yes that sounds incredible!!
Liz P
Tried these last night using 85% lean ground turkey (and no cayenne) and they came out amazing! My cookie scoop produced 19 (!) meatballs, which was fine. My husband and I both loved them. I was shocked by how much flavor they had. Will definitely be making these again. Awesome to find things that work well with my husband’s Noom diet plan (he’s lost 70 lbs.!). Thank you!
Liz DellaCroce
I’m so glad you enjoyed them!!
Kathy
Speaking as a Greek I don’t think that I’ve ever seen cheese in keftethes, let alone parmesan cheese! But if you really want to add cheese may I suggest a Greek cheese? Crumbled feta or grated kasseri which melts nicely. I wouldn’t use Halloumi unless you mince it as it doesn’t melt or even soften much but it’s got great flavor. I’d also be sure to use Greek oregano as Mexican oregano has a bit of a different flavor that works best with Mexican dishes. Also, you’ve omitted fresh mint and that’s a given for keftethes. Nutmeg, cumin too. A bit of lemon zest really makes it nice. There are variations of Keftethes/Kofta all over the Middle East. Greeks like them plain with tzatziki sauce for dipping or bathed in a velvety avgolemono sauce. So those are my unsolicited tips for making them a bit more authentic. I hope that you don’t mind!
Liz DellaCroce
I love Greek oregano so much!
Anna Jurjevic
There is absolutely nothing greek about these meatballs other than the oregano. Parsley is added to the rice meatballs in tomato sauce that we as greeks enjoy but never keftedakia. And Parmesan cheese, cayenne and tomato paste are a definite no no in keftedakia. I wish people would not create recipes and call them Greek just because they added oregano or Feta. These might be tasty meatballs but there is nothing Greek about them
Liz DellaCroce
Hi Anna, I’m sorry these upset you. That said, if you haven’t tasted them, you should try them. They’re delicious!
Rebecca
Followed the recipe to the letter (using ground beef) and these just came out terribly dry and without much taste.
Liz DellaCroce
Hi Rebecca, I’m so sorry you didn’t enjoy these! I’m so surprised, they are a very popular recipe. Did you remember the egg? Did you add in the parsley? How about the salt and allspice? I’d love to help you make these a success next time!!
Kathy
Greeks will soak day old bread in milk or water for a few hours or overnight. Pita is great for this & about 6 oz should work. Squeeze out the liquid, tear into small pieces & add this to your meat mixture. I actually add everything to the wet, squeezed bread forming a kind of paste, THEN tear apart the flavored mix and add to the meat. Either way the soaked bread should solve your problem along with frying in a good olive oil instead of baking, which in itself is drying. Before frying dredge the meatballs in flour which helps seal in moisture & gives a bit of a crispy outside that contrasts nicely with the moist, tender inside. Hope this helps & good luck!
Liz DellaCroce
Great tips Kathy! Oopa!
Cali
I made these last year. FABULOUS! I have made them more than once since then.. I made them for a party. I came back to check something..and I saw you updated it this year. Why did you halve the ingredients?? I’m holding onto ” the original”..chuckle
Liz DellaCroce
Hey Cali! Not sure what you’re referring to? Regardless feel free to make it how you love it!!! :) ENJOY!
Dorothy Reinhold
I am loving the spices you chose! Totally agree about baking the meatballs. This is going to be a hit at my house.
Liz DellaCroce
I hope you love them!
Debi
What a fabulous appetizer these made at my party. I didn’t make any changes to the recipe & it was loved by everyone.
Liz DellaCroce
So glad you enjoyed!
susan | the wimpy vegetarian
My husband’s favorite is meatballs too! And I love that you included allspice in the mix!!
Liz DellaCroce
YES !! So good!
Lindsay Cotter
This needs to happen soon for dinner! Love the Greek flavors going on for these meatballs!
Cali Cote
I did love them. Will keep the recipe! I made minis..using ice cream scoop… small. I .DOUBLED the recipe for an event…since you said one batch made 30+. …the double recipe made FORTY. I needed more near 60. And I certainly didnt have time to make any more.. I was extremely disappointed there weren’t enough!! That’s the 3 stars. Five for taste.
Liz DellaCroce
SO glad to hear!!
Gabriela
Can you make this with ground turkey?
Liz DellaCroce
Absolutely!!
Gia
I have to comment!! Thse are not a “Greek twist on an italian classic”!! They are called keftedes. Not everything is Italian. Greek cuisine has been around for over 2000 years.. a bit of research and you would have know about keftedes.
Liz DellaCroce
Hi Gia, I’m very familiar with keftedes. In the Syrian cuisine we have kafta. I hope you enjoy the recipe!
Suzanne
I would like to serve these tonight as a main course – maybe over egg noodles/no skewers. Any suggestions as to how to go about it? Clarified butter is above my skill level. I do have a small any of left over tzatziki and feta on hand, but it still feels like I need something to moisten the noodles. Maybe a white wine butter sauce? Any ideas? Would I need to season the sauce and if so, how?
Liz DellaCroce
How about olive oil, garlic and salt for the pasta?
Yvonne
Also I missed picking up a small cookie scoop, hope using a tablespoon to scoop us meat will work.
Liz DellaCroce
Oh yes that will work fine!
Yvonne
Can i prepare ahead of time and bake the next day?
Liz DellaCroce
Absolutely! You can also freeze!
Jes
Finally – someone else who skewers meatballs! I think my next challenge will be to see if I can make a meatball burger…
Liz DellaCroce
I love anything on a skewer!
Kelley @ Chef Savvy
Yum Greek meatballs sound awesome! I love the idea of them being gluten free.
Liz DellaCroce
I hope you like them Kelley!
Sue Bunton
I made these the other night and my only regret is that I should have doubled the recipe!! The boys were looking for more!!
p.s. On another sort of funny note….the same day that I made the meatballs, I decided to make (again!) your black bean burgers to have on hand for lunch for the rest of the week. Well, they were cooling on the island on a platter and in a haste to run off to an activity, I forgot to put them in the refrigerator. Needless to say, Molly, our goldendoodle counter surfed and scarfed those bad boys down!!!! I was soooooo bummed!!! Bad Molly!!
Liz DellaCroce
Oh that is too funny!! Bad Molly is right!
Thalia @ butter and brioche
this is definitely something i will be making for lunch.. i love greek meatballs! i think i’ll add tzatziki and a pita with mine!
Liz DellaCroce
I hope you love them as much as we did!!
Maralyn Woods
This looks really good. I really appreciate that you included the nutritional information.
Liz DellaCroce
Thank you so much – enjoy!
Sophia @ NY Foodgasm
Ooooh I liked the idea of adding tomato paste! The spices are definitely what make it! Sooooooo good! YUM!
Liz DellaCroce
I hope you enjoy!!
Krista @ Joyful Healthy Eats
Greek anything rocks… pass the fork I’m ready to dig in!
Liz DellaCroce
Seriously! Greek food is the best!
Gaby
This is my kind of dinner! Craving those meatballs!
Liz DellaCroce
You and me both! Thanks Gaby!
Bri | Bites of Bri
We love meatballs and I totally agree with you on cooking them in the oven. The oven is so much easier and healthier! Thanks for posting, Liz. Happy to have a recipe using the fresh oregano from the garden. :)
Liz DellaCroce
So glad to help – enjoy!
Carolyn
I love this recipe! Your meatballs are so round, I have trouble keeping mine round once I cook them.
Liz DellaCroce
So funny – I never thought about that!! I do use an ice cream scooper – maybe that’s why?
Matt Robinson
It’s 9AM but nothing sounds better to me than these meatballs!
Liz DellaCroce
YES!! I love savory foods in the morning. ;)
Sue Bunton
Do you have a recipe on your site for the rice with vermicelli?
Sue Bunton
I am not sure I am that adventurous to try homemade ghee!! But I always have Trader Joe’s ghee on hand for your hushwee! By the way, the hushwee was a HUGE hit my family’s 4th of July gathering!! It was gone in minutes!! I should have doubled the recipe!!
Jo
Any advice on how to keep these warm without drying them out for a 4pm party that includes dinner?
Liz DellaCroce
How about a slow cooker?
Stephanie @ Girl Versus Dough
Oh hey there, meatball twin! ;) My husband is the same way — for whatever reason, if it’s in meatball form, he’ll go crazy for it. I’ll have to serve him up (and me, obvs :)) a big serving of these yummy meatballs next!
Liz DellaCroce
hahah I love that we are meatball twins!!!
Kim @ Hungry Healthy Girl
Love meatballs and love using bison! These look easy and delish!
Liz DellaCroce
I am such a bison fan!!!
Lauren @ Climbing Grier Mountain
These are my favorite kinds balls, yo!! Opa!
Liz DellaCroce
Opa is right!!! I want some saganaki now!
Anita at Hungry Couple
I completely agree with you about baking the meatballs and I’m with your husband on the dried oregano. Love. Yum. Pinning!
Liz DellaCroce
Thanks so much Anita!
Kathi @ Deliciously Yum!
I am certain we would be all over these meatballs. I made Greek kabobs the other day and we devoured them – I can only imagine what would happen to these :). So good!
Liz DellaCroce
Greek kabobs sound amazing!!!