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I love a good Greek meatball recipe. Meatballs are called keftedes in Greece and they are a staple in my house for a quick, easy, and healthy dinner. Greek meatballs vary by region and family, but this is how I love to make my keftedes which I learned from only the best — my Greek mama and grandmother.
Why You’ll Love This Greek Meatball Recipe
- Quick: Make this Greek meatball recipe in only 25 minutes. Have a hearty, delicious meal on the table the whole family will love.
- Healthy: This protein-packed meal is good for you, and you can feel good about feeding it to your family. Find more recipes like this in my healthy Greek dinners guide.
- Versatile: Serve these meatballs in whatever way you wish, I love them on their own, with rice, with tzatziki drizzled on top, the options are endless.
Ingredients
Ground Beef – Of course, a classic meatball is made with lean ground beef, a good dose of protein that is incredibly versatile. However, if you’re not a red meat person, you can always use other ground meat like turkey or chicken. This recipe is great with ground lamb or pork too.
Mint – What really makes these Greek meatballs unique is the fresh mint. Fresh mint gives a pop of flavor that you’re unexpecting but pairs so well with the other spices and meat.
How to Make This Greek Meatball Recipe
- Mix together ground beef, grated onion, minced garlic, salt, pepper, egg, chopped mint and breadcrumbs. Once combined, form into meatballs using about 1 heaping tablespoon per meatball.
- Coat the bottom of a frying pan with olive oil and turn to medium heat
- Fry the meatballs in batches, stirring everything a few minutes until meatballs are cooked through, about 10-12 minutes
- Serve with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice and our best-ever tzatziki
Tips and Tricks
- If the meatballs are dry: Add a little liquid like some egg white or milk. Be careful though, only add a tiny bit at a time until you have the right consistency
- Don’t overmix: Don’t overmix the meatballs or they’ll become very tough
- Prep: You can totally prep these meatballs up to 24 hours in advance. Just keep them in the fridge until you’re ready to cook
Variations
- Meat: Sub the ground beef with ground lamb, pork, turkey, or chicken. My personal next favorite beef is lamb. Pairs so well with the garlic and mint.
- Serving: Serve as an appetizer with toothpicks for easy eating, or serve as a main course with a beautiful side salad, on top of rice, and drizzled with tzatziki
Best served with
- Maroulosalata aka my Mamas Salad
- Homemade Greek Salad
- Fluffy Greek Pita Bread Recipe
- Greek Cabbage Salad
How to Store Leftovers
Store meatballs in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.
Common Questions
Wet your hands before shaping the meatballs to avoid the meat sticking to you
You totally can. I suggest a good quality feta to really make these keftedes top notch
You betcha! You can totally freeze cooked meatballs. Freeze them on a baking tray first so they don’t all stick together when you add them to a bag.
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Ingredients
- 450 g (1 lb) lean ground beef
- 1 large yellow onion, grated
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- ¼ tsp pepper
- 1 egg
- 6 tbsp fresh chopped mint
- ½ cup breadcrumbs
- 1 lemon, cut into wedges
- olive oil for cooking
- tzatziki for serving, (use our tzatziki recipe!)
Variation: serve with whipped feta
- 1 ½ cups feta cheese
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tbsp brine from the feta (the liquid the feta comes in)
- zest of half a lemon
- 1 tbsp olive oil
Instructions
Start Cooking- Mix together ground beef, grated onion, minced garlic, salt, pepper, egg, chopped mint and breadcrumbs.
- Once combined, form into meatballs using about 1 1/2 – 2 tablespoon per meatball. (You’ll get about 22 meatballs).
- Coat the bottom of a frying pan with olive oil and turn to medium heat.
- Fry the meatballs in batches, stirring everything few minutes until meatballs are cooked through, about 10-12 minutes.
- Serve with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice and our best ever tzatziki.
Variation: serve with whipped feta
- Make the whipped feta by adding the feta cheese, feta brine, lemon juice, olive oil and lemon zest to a food processor and pulse until smooth and light. Set aside to make the meatballs.
- After you’ve made the whipped feta, follow the instructions above to make the Greek meatballs (keftedes). Once the meatballs are cooked, serve on top of the whipped feta with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice and fresh mint.
Notes
- Serve this recipe as an appetizer for 4 people, about 6 meatballs per person.
- Or, serve as a main dish with side dishes like:
Maria Koutsogiannia
Maria is the creator of FoodByMaria and your go-to Greek food expert for cozy, flavor-packed recipes. Inspired by her Mediterranean roots, she brings traditional Greek flavors, feel-good ingredients, and a whole lot of joy to everyday cooking.
27 people are discussing this recipe. Join in
Just finished making them they are juicy and delicious thank you
Thank you so much for the love, Regina!
These are delicious. They’re juicy, flavorful, and if you brown them correctly, develop a gorgeous crust on the outside with a nice, soft, juicy center. Absolutely will make again. We adapted the recipe for a bigger group too with 650 grams of meat in total and added more mint and breadcrumbs as a result and it worked perfectly. Definitely a household staple moving forward.
YES!! Lana!! This makes me so happy!!
Thank you for letting me in your group when I make my meatballs I had fresh parsley
Hello maria, when you use mint in this recipe, what kind of mint is it?? there is spearmint & peppermint etc. I have never used mint in a recipe before so I would not know what to use.
Fresh mint! Just regular mint from the grocery market!
I’ve tried these and can say they are delicious. Super flavorful and I love the texture. This recipe will form the base of any type of meatball I will make, thank you!
thanks karson!!
I made these for a small dinner party. I added some pork sausage meat. They were absolutely brilliant. We had some mixture left over and I cooked them two days later, they tasted even better. Delicious.
I love to hear this!! Thanks so much for the love, Suzanne!
These are so beyond yum! Made them to go with some pitas and they got absolutely demolished. Another winner!
Thank you so much for the love, Kayla!!!
These are so good! I love making these for parties or just a quick weeknight dinner. The use of mint is delicious, I usually throw some in the accompanying tzatziki as well.
YES!!! The best combo. Thanks for the love sweetie!
I tried this Keftedes recipe, and it was fantastic! Simple to follow, and the end result was delicious. The flavors were spot-on, and the whole family loved it. I couldn’t find breadcrumbs so I just mixed some toasted bread- it worked great (might even be useful if you don’t want to waste stale bread!). Definitely a five-star recipe worth keeping.
What a great hack hun! Genius and great for food waste!
I loved how quick and easy these were to prepare. The falvour and the texture of the meatballs are amazing. Definitely a recipe that will be made on repeat in our house 😁
Thank you so much hun!