The Best Lamb Meatballs

Three lamb meatballs on yogurt, garnished with pomegranate seeds, herbs and pita pieces in a yellow plate. At the back another plate with meatballs.

Our lamb meatballs have a deep, delicious flavor, thanks to grated tomato and eggplant. Served with yogurt, pita, and pomegranate seeds, they are a staple for a go-to weeknight meal.

Course Main Course

Cuisine Greek, Mediterannean

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 30

Resting time 1

Servings

Calories 680kcal

Author by Jenny Skrapaliori Graves

Ingredients

1.3 lb ground lamb
⅔ cup panko or breadcrumbs
1 egg
1 eggplant small to medium size, grated
1 tomato medium size, grated
1 onion
1 lemon zested
3 tablespoons spearmint leaves roughly chopped, plus more for serving
½ cup all-purpose flour
½ cup extra virgin olive oil total
sea salt
freshly ground pepper

For serving

⅓ cup pomegranate seeds
1 cup Greek yogurt preferably full fat
pita bread toasted

Instructions

Prep the eggplant, tomato, onion and garlic

Remove the stems and cut the eggplant into large cubes. Add a few cubes to a food processor and grate the eggplant, but do not puree it. Let it keep its texture.
Transfer to a bowl and continue with the rest of the eggplant.
Repeat the same process with the tomato. Transfer the grated tomato to a different bowl.
Quarter the onion and add it to the food processor with the garlic cloves. Pulse to grate.

Mix

In a mixing bowl, add the ground lamb, ⅔ of a cup of grated eggplant, ⅔ of a cup of grated tomato, the grated onion, and garlic. Add the panko, half of the olive oil, egg, and chopped spearmint. Mix with a clean hand or a spoon until all ingredients are well mixed, but the mixture is still fluffy. Don't over-mix.
Time permitted: refrigerate the meatball mixture covered for an hour and up to 24 hours.
Shape the mixture into medium size meatballs.
Add half a cup of flour to a plate and roll the meatballs. Shake each meatball between your hands to remove excess.
Add the remaining olive oil to a frying pan over medium-high heat.
When the oil is hot, add the meatballs in batches and cook until browned on all sides, slightly crisp, and cooked through about 10 to 15 minutes.
Transfer meatballs to paper towels or a wire rack to drain extra oil.

Serve

Spread two full tablespoons of Greek yogurt on a plate. Add three to four meatballs on top. Scatter a tablespoon of pomegranate seeds and spearmint leaves on top.
Serve with lemon wedges and pita bread to go around the table.

Notes

If you find the lamb flavor to be too gamey, you may use half-ground lamb and half-ground beef.
A version of this recipe calls for slightly sauteing the eggplant and tomato with the onion and garlic, in the olive oil for a few minutes. It deepens the flavor even more and adds sweetness to the meatballs. If you do this step, don't add olive oil to the meatball mix. I prefer using the vegetables raw in the meatballs because when fried, the veggies only partially cook and are even more nutritious.

The nutritional analysis is only an estimate based on available ingredients and the recipe’s preparation.

Nutrition