Juicy Greek Lamb Meatballs Recipe
This Greek lamb meatballs recipe is easy and the meatballs turn out perfectly juicy every time. You can serve these lamb meatballs in so many ways – keep it simple and serve the lamb meatballs with tzatziki sauce, rice, and a simple tomato salad drizzled with olive oil or a dollop of Greek yogurt OR put a Mediterranean spread with a hummus platter or whipped lemon feta and air fryer pita chips. You could also add them to a Mezze platter for a hearty appetizer!
If you love a meatball, be sure to try my meatball sliders, Trader Joe’s curry meatballs, open-face meatball subs, or turkey and quinoa meatballs (perfect for tiny eaters!) next time.
Estimated reading time: 7 minutes
Table of Contents
What You’ll Love About Greek Lamb Meatballs
- Juicy meatballs loaded with flavor
- Versatile – so many ways to serve
- Perfect addition to a Mediterranean spread
- Made with simple ingredients
- Just 20 minutes prep time
- Just 35 minutes total time
Ingredients
While the meatballs with lamb ingredient list is a bit longer than normal, if you’ve got a decently stocked spice rack, you should have everything you need. You’ll need:
- Panko – These flaky breadcrumbs help keep the meatballs nice and juicy.
- Milk – Use the type of milk you have on-hand, preferably cow’s milk 2% or whole milk.
- Eggs – Use high quality eggs for best flavor.
- Onion – I recommend using red onion, but you could also use white or yellow onion.
- Mint – Fresh herbs are a must and gives the lamb meatball classic Mediterranean flavor.
- Garlic – Use fresh garlic for best flavor, or frozen garlic cubes for an easy shortcut.
- Spices – Sea salt, coriander, cumin, black pepper paprika.
- Lamb – Lamb gives these meatballs rich flavor, but if you can’t find it, you can use ground beef. You can also use a combination of lamb and beef in the meatballs.
How to Make Lamb Meatballs
These homemade meatballs come together in a few simple steps. Baked lamb meatballs are a little simpler, but pan-fried meatballs are a bit crisper and browner – it’s your choice!
- Mix panade. In a large mixing bowl, combine the bread crumbs and milk and let sit for 5 minutes. Stir mixture, it should be similar to a paste.
TIP: A panade is a paste made of milk and bread that helps keeping dishes like meatballs or meatloaf tender and juicy.
- Add seasonings and binders. Add eggs, onion, garlic, mint, salt, coriander, cumin, black pepper, and paprika to bread crumb mixture and stir to combine.
- Mix meatballs. Add lamb to bowl and mix with hands, just until incorporated, being careful to not over-mix. Form meatballs with a medium cookie scoop and slightly roll into a ball if necessary.
- Cook meatballs. You can either bake or pan-fry the meatballs, so the cook time will vary. To bake lamb meatballs, place on a baking sheet and bake for about 14-16 minutes, or until they reach an internal temperature. You can also pan fry the meatballs in batches over medium-high heat.
TIP: For crispy Greek lamb meatballs, pan-frying is the way to go, although it’s more work and more mess.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can lamb meatballs be pink?
Ground lamb should be cooked to an internal temperature of 160 degrees F. An instant read meat thermometer is a must for these Greek meatballs and any time you are cooking meat.
How long to fry lamb meatballs?
Frying the meatballs will take about 6-8 minutes to cook through. You’ll need to cook in batches, so the whole cooking time will be more than that.
Are lamb meatballs healthy?
Are lamb meatballs healthy? Depends what you think is “healthy!” Are lamb meatballs nutritious? Yes! They are a great source of protein along with plenty of flavor – which I think is a really important piece of health. Serve it with some carbohydrates, hummus, and some veggies and you’ve got a balanced meal.
Storage Instructions
Store meatballs in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 2-3 days.
How to reheat
Reheat gently in the microwave (unless you are my husband), in a 375 degree F oven, or in a hot skillet, just until warmed through.
Can you freeze ground lamb meatballs?
Yes, you can freeze these Greek style lamb meatballs in an airtight container (I love stasher bags!) in the freezer for 2-3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before reheating.
How to Serve Lamb Meatballs to the Whole Family
I get it, feeding kids can be tough! But following the Division of Responsibility and knowing your job and your child’s job makes it SO much more enjoyable. You’ll be able to feed your kids any meal, which will help ensure that they are eating a variety of nutritious foods – with plenty of play food sprinkled in. 😉
If you aren’t sure if your kids will like the meatballs, be sure to serve it along with a few sides you know they will eat. Maybe it’s air fryer pita chips and hummus, or maybe you need to do something like bread and butter and fruit.
All of my articles on feeding kids can be found here and if you want a FULL list of all of the videos I have with hacks, tips, scripts, and ideas for feeding kids, check out my instagram or tiktok page.
What to Serve with Greek Lamb Meatballs Recipe
To take these meatballs up a notch, squeeze with fresh lemon juice and top with some fresh dill. Then try a few of these sides for this lamb meatballs recipe:
- Air fryer pita chips
- Hummus
- Tzatziki
- Feta cheese or whipped feta spread
- Rice or pita bread wraps
- Mediterranean hummus toast
- Greek cucumber salad
More Easy Dinner Recipes
If you like this lamb meatball recipe, you might also like some of these other easy dinner recipes:
- Cheesy Ground Beef Quesadillas
- Lamb Tacos
- Meatball Sliders
- Ground Beef Kofta Recipe
- Air Fryer Italian Sausage
- Orecchiette with Sausage and Broccoli
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Greek-Style Ground Lamb Meatballs
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 32 meatballs 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: Mediterranean
Description
This Greek lamb meatballs recipe gives you FRESH and FLAVORFUL meatballs that are amazing served along Mediterranean classics like hummus and pita.
Ingredients
- 1 cup panko bread crumbs
- 1/2 cup milk
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup grated red onion
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh mint
- 4 cloves fresh garlic
- 2 tsp. sea salt
- 1/2 tsp. coriander
- 1/2 tsp. cumin
- 1/2 tsp. black pepper
- 1/4 tsp. Paprika
- 2 lbs. ground lamb
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, combine bread crumbs and milk. Let sit for at least 5 minutes and mash into a paste.
- Add eggs, onion, garlic, mint, salt, coriander, cumin, black pepper, and paprika to bread crumb mixture and whisk until incorporated.
- Add lamb to bowl and mix with hands, just until everything is incorporated so you don’t overwork the meat.
- OPTIONAL: Chill mixture for 30 minutes.
- Use a medium cookie scoop to scoop out 1-inch meatballs and put on a large sheet pan. (You can lightly roll into a round shape if desired, there is not a big difference in my testing.)
- Cook meatballs. You can pan fry or bake:
Bake: Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Bake for 14-16 minutes, until they reach an internal temperature of 160 degrees F. Broil at the end of cooking if you want to brown them a bit.Pan fry: Heat vegetable oil in large skillet over medium high heat. Add meatballs to skillet and cook, rolling around as you cook them to brown all edges for about 6-8 minutes, or until they reach an internal temperature of 160 degrees F. Cook in batches.
Notes
- Recipe yields about 32 1-inch meatballs, or about 6 servings, depending on appetites and what else you are serving them with. (Serving suggestions above.)
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Photo Credit: All photos in this post were take by Loren at Sweet Rustic Bakes
Follow the recipe. Fried the meatballs in a cask iron skillet and then held in a toaster over to finish cooking. Added just a little fresh cilantro to the mix and as a topper. AMAZING! Really nice flavor.
Thanks for sharing Woody, love the cilantro topper idea!
Loved it!
These are fantastic! Made them with your air fryer pita chips and everyone gobbled this meal up.
Perfect combo, Kristi!!!