Keftedes: Baked Greek Meatballs

A Greek twist on the Italian classic, your family will love these flavor-packed gluten-free meatballs seasoned with oregano, allspice, and garlic.

Greek Meatballs Plated

I’m pretty certain my husband would eat anything in meatball form. I can’t say I blame him.

greek meatballs with rice and vermicell HR

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.

Vietnamese Fresh Rolls with BBQ Pork Meatballs - The Lemon Bowl

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.

Liz Cracking Egg
Making Meatballs

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.

Liz Grating Garlic
raw meatballs being placed on a cookie sheet

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.

Baked Greek Meatballs Recipe

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.

Greek Meatballs 19 WEB

Your fork is waiting.

greek meatballs with rice and vermicell

Keftedes: Baked Greek Meatballs

4.13 stars average
A Greek twist on the Italian classic, your family will love these flavor-packed meatballs seasoned with oregano, allspice and garlic.
PREP: 10 minutes
COOK: 25 minutes
TOTAL: 35 minutes
Pin
Servings: 4

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.)
    Easy Greek Meatballs

Notes

Serve with Lebanese Rice Pilaf if you wish. 

Nutrition

Serving: 4meatballsCalories: 204kcalCarbohydrates: 3.8gProtein: 35gFat: 5.3gSaturated Fat: 2.2gPolyunsaturated Fat: 3.1gTrans Fat: 0gCholesterol: 138mgSodium: 758mgFiber: 1.1gSugar: 0.9g

SHOW AND TELL ON INSTAGRAM!Show me your creation and rate it below! Mention @thelemonbowl or tag #thelemonbowl! I would LOVE to see!

72 thoughts on “Keftedes: Baked Greek Meatballs”

  1. 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?

  2. 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!!

  3. 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. :)

    1. 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!!

  4. 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!

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Your feedback is important to us. Rate what you thought of this.




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.