Baked Greek Meatballs (Keftedes)

Baked Greek meatballs on a plate next to tzatziki sauce and red onions.

4.97 from 55 votes

Baked Greek Meatballs (Keftedes)

These Greek Meatballs (aka Keftedes) are made with ground beef and lamb or pork mixed with fresh garlic, feta cheese, other herbs and spices, then cooked to tender, savory perfection. They go perfectly with tangy tzatziki sauce, sliced red onions, tomatoes, and soft, grilled pita bread to create a meatball gyro sandwich or mezze platter for an easy dinner or party appetizer that is ready in under 30 minutes!

Prep Time15

Cook Time15

Total Time30

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: European

Servings: servings

Calories: 437kcal

Author: Amy Nash

Ingredients

Greek Feta Meatballs

½ lb. ground beef
½ lb. ground lamb or pork
¼ cup Panko breadcrumbs
2 Tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf Italian parsley
3 Tablespoons grated onion
2 cloves garlic minced
Zest of 1 lemon
1 egg
1 teaspoon oregano
½ teaspoon ground coriander
½ teaspoon cumin
½ teaspoon coarse kosher salt
¼ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
2 ounces crumbled feta cheese

For Serving

Soft pita bread
Sliced Roma tomatoes or grape tomatoes
Sliced red onion
Tzatziki sauce

Instructions

Meatball preparation

Preheat oven to 425°F. Line a baking sheet with foil or parchment paper and spray with cooking spray.
Combine all meatball ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Use your hands to gently mix everything together until the meat is uniformly combined with the other ingredients.
Use a small cookie scoop to portion out the meatballs or divide the mixture into 4 equal parts. From there, divide each portion of the meatball mixture into 5 meatballs so you end up with 20 equal-sized meatballs. Roll each meatball between your hands to shape it and then arrange them on the prepared baking sheet.
Bake in the preheated oven from 10-14 minutes, until they are nicely brown and cooked through.

For gyro sandwiches

To assemble gyros, warm the pitas on a grill or in the oven, just until soft.
Place a few slices of roma tomato and some sliced red onions onto each pita bread, then top with 4 or 5 meatballs. Add a couple dollops of tzatziki sauce and serve with Greek feta fries.

For a mezze platter

If you prefer to serve this as a more of a grazing board or appetizer like for a party, I like to arrange the meatballs in a pile on a large platter with a bowl of tzatziki sauce, warmed pita triangles, grape tomatoes, sliced red onion, and a brick of feta cheese drizzled with olive oil. You could also add kalamata olives or cucumber slices to your spread. Serve with toothpicks for spearing the meatballs.

Video

Notes

Storage: These will be good for 3-4 days in the fridge and make excellent leftovers the next day for lunch!
Freezing: You can freeze these Greek meatballs either before or after baking. If freezing before baking, I recommend freezing them spaced out on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper until they are hard, then transfer to a freezer-safe container for longer-term storage. Thaw before baking. If you want to freeze the meatballs AFTER baking, then just let them cool completely, freeze spread out in a single layer on a baking sheet, then transfer to a freezer-safe container for longer-term storage. You can reheat directly from frozen in the oven or air fryer in this case. To reheat, place the frozen meatballs on a baking sheet and bake at 300°F until warmed through, about 20-25 minutes.
Using ground lamb: Lamb is so a wonderfully rich and flavorful protein and is used more frequently in Greek food than in American food. I really recommend trying it at least once.
Don't overwork the meatball mixture: I always work the ingredients together with my hands, squishing it until the spices are evenly distributed. Just be careful not to work the meat and spices too hard by mashing them too much or too hard because you don't want to end up with tough meatballs.

Meatballs adapted from Recipe Runner.

Nutrition