Saucy Greek Lemon Meatballs (Keftedes)
Saucy Greek Lemon Meatballs, also known as Keftedes, are a delightful Mediterranean dish featuring ground meat mixed with herbs, spices and lemon zest! These tender meatballs are served with a tangy lemon sauce, making them a wonderful appetizer of main course!
Why We Love This Greek Lemon Meatballs Recipe
This Saucy Greek Lemon Meatballs (Keftedes) recipe is a hybrid of Greek flavors. Traditional keftedes are typically served on a meze appetizer plate with yogurt sauce, or with a tomato-based sauce and pasta.
Another popular Greek dish called Youvarlakia (a thick silky lemon soup with meatballs) also served as inspiration for this recipe.
Although I like Youvarlakia, also called Giouvarlakia, I personally prefer less creamy lemon soup and more meatballs. That’s why I turned it into a one-pot main dish or appetizer, Saucy Greek Lemon Meatballs, with the focus of the flavor and texture of the meat.
Saucy Greek Lemon Meatballs (Keftedes) make a fabulous mid-week meal.
The lemon sauce is bold and vivacious, making these meatballs wonderful over pasta or rice. However, they are just as good as a lower carb meal with a big green salad on the side.
Ingredients You Need
- Ground Lamb or Ground Pork – Either option will work. This adds a deep, savory flavor to the meatballs.
- Ground Turkey – Or you can use ground chicken. This will balance out the deep flavors of the ground lamb or ground pork.
- Onion – Peeled and shaved for small pieces.
- Breadcrumbs – I like to use panko breadcrumbs in meatballs!
- Eggs – You will need eggs for the meatballs themselves and the silky sauce.
- Herbs – Add in freshly chopped mint and dill.
- Italian Seasoning – Or a combination of dried oregano, basil, rosemary, thyme and marjoram!
- Garlic Powder – For added flavor.
- Lemons – For the fresh lemon zest and fresh lemon juice!
- Olive Oil – To sauté the meatballs.
- Chicken Broth – For the sauce!
- Salt & Pepper – To taste.
How to Make Greek Keftedes
Place ground lamb and turkey in a large mixing bowl. Add the shaved onions, panko breadcrumbs, 2 eggs, chopped mint, chopped dill, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, zest of 3 lemons, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, and 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper. Mix well by hand until the mixture is very smooth.
Use a 3 tablespoon scoop to portion our 24 meatballs. Roll the balls to pack tightly.
Place a 14 inch sauté pan over medium heat. Add the oil. Once hot, add the meatballs to the skillet. Brown the meatballs for 10 minutes, turning them every minute to cook evenly.
Meanwhile, whisk 1/3 cup lemon juice, 4 egg yolks, chicken broth, and 1/2 teaspoon of salt together. Pour the mixture over the meatballs and simmer another 3-5 minutes to thicken the sauce. Shake the pan gently to stir the sauce as it simmers.
Once the sauce is thick, you can serve the meatballs and sauce warm and enjoy!
Tips & Tricks
- The trick to making perfectly moist and juicy meatballs is to mix all the ingredients by hand, until very well combined. Any pockets of unmixed ground meat in the meatballs, will create tough uneven sections in the meatballs. If you mix the meatballs thoroughly, the breadcrumbs, eggs, fresh herbs, and lemon zest offer a bright zesty flavor and a sumptuous delicate texture.
- For an extra tangy flavor, try serving these saucy Greek lemon meatballs with a garnish of crumbled feta cheese!
- When simmering the sauce, be sure to stir constantly! Since the sauce has egg yolks in it, stirring constantly will ensure a silky sauce. If the sauce is cooked too quickly and you aren’t stirring, it can scramble the eggs.
Serving Suggestions
Simmer these greek meatballs in the silky lemon sauce and you have a true thing of beauty on your hands! Try popping them into a pita bread with a little drizzle of tzatziki sauce or hummus.
If you prefer, you can serve your sauce Greek lemon meatballs as a lovely appetizer, or serve with some side dishes to make it a full meal! Here are some of my favorite things to serve with them:
- Basmati Rice
- Roasted Red Pepper Hummus
- Roasted Greek Lemon Potatoes
- Horiatiki Greek Salad
- Cucumber Dill Salad
Frequently Asked Questions
Keftedes are meatballs from Greece! Depending on the region, they are made with a different combination of spices and fillings. Generally, they are a meatball made with either ground pork or ground beef and fried lightly in olive oil.
The key to tender and moist Greek lemon meatballs is to balance out the amount of fat that is in the meat. You want some fat in order to keep them moist, but not so much that they become greasy. I recommend using a combination of ground turkey or chicken along with a fattier ground meat like pork or lamb. If you prefer, you could use ground beef that is 15% fat!
Store any leftover meatballs in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days! You can simply reheat them in the microwave. You can also freeze them for later, but the sauce will need to be remade fresh when you are ready to serve them!
Looking for More Meatballs Recipes? Be Sure to Also Try:
- Cheesy Enchilada Meatball Subs
- Slow Cooker Asian Meatballs
- Spiced Apple Swedish Meatballs
- Turkey Meatballs with Orange Glaze
- Crockpot Cocktail Meatballs
Check out our recipe card for Saucy Greek Lemon Meatballs (Keftedes) Recipe below!
Saucy Greek Lemon Meatballs (Keftedes)
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground lamb or pork
- 1 pound ground turkey
- 1 small onion, peeled and shaved
- 1 1/4 cup panko breadcrumbs
- 2 large eggs + 4 egg yolks, divided
- 1/2 cup chopped fresh mint leaves
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh dill
- 2 teaspoons dried Italian Seasoning
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 3 lemons, zested and juiced
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 1/4 cup chicken broth
- Salt and pepper
Instructions
- Place the ground lamb and turkey in a large mixing bowl. Add the shaved onions, panko breadcrumbs, 2 eggs, chopped mint, chopped dill, Italian Seasoning, garlic powder, zest of 3 lemons, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper. Mix well by hand until the mixture is very smooth.
- Use a 3-tablespoon scoop to portion out 24 meatballs. Roll the balls to pack tightly.
- Place a 14-inch saute pan over medium heat. Add the oil. Once hot, add the meatballs to the skillet. Brown the meatballs for 10 minutes, turning them every minute, to cook evenly.
- Meanwhile, whisk 1/3 cup lemon juice, 4 egg yolks, chicken broth, and 1/2 teaspoon salt together. Pour the mixture over the meatballs and simmer another 3-5 minutes to thick the sauce. Shake the pan gently to stir the sauce as it simmers. Serve warm.
Hi! I made your recipe tonight and it was wonderful. Working with what I had, I only used pork and dried dill. And I cut down the amounts based on what I had. Lovely. My partner ate his on noodles, I had mine on a bed of fresh spinach. Really lovely! I will absolutely make this again and I’m looking forward to adding ground lamb to the dish. As a make ahead/meal prep, one could easily make and sauté the wonderful little meatballs, chill or freeze them and then heat and simmer in that delicious lemon sauce. Very versatile. Thank you for such a lovely recipe.
This meatballs were so delicious, I thought when I was cooking them that they will be so sour , since the mixture of egg yolks, chicken broth and lemon juice was sour , they turned out to be very yummy even my picky kids loved them and voted to make them again, I will definitely make them again very soon
Yum! I’m going to make these this week. I might double the recipe and freeze some…do you think they’d freeze well?