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Greek Meatballs with Tzatziki Sauce are a delicious dinner or appetizer! Loaded with flavorful spices, lemon zest and feta cheese. They’re sure to please anyone who loves Greek food!
If you love these Greek meatballs, then you have to try my popular Greek meatballs and orzo skillet recipe!
This post has been updated since it was originally published on 4/15/2016.
Why you’ll love them
Baked in the oven – These Greek meatballs are baked on a sheet pan in the oven rather than fried in oil in a skillet. You don’t have to worry about oil splattering and if you line your baking sheet with parchment paper or foil, there won’t be any cleanup.
Freezable – Meatballs freeze beautifully. I often make a double batch and stick half of them in the freezer to pull out on a night when I don’t have time to cook or if you meal prep.
Serve as an appetizer or dinner – Greek meatballs also called keftedes, are a delicious appetizer that can be served with the tzatziki sauce as part of a mezze platter for entertaining or you can serve them with this Greek orzo salad as a main dish for dinner.
What is tzatziki?
Tzatziki is a dip or sauce that is found in Southern Europe and the Middle East cuisines. It’s made of strained yogurt (or Greek yogurt), cucumbers, garlic, salt, olive oil, sometimes lemon juice, and herbs such as dill, mint, or parsley.
The ingredients
- Ground beef – Lean ground beef works great for the meatballs. Alternatively you could use ground turkey, chicken, or lamb.
- Panko – I generally use panko as a binder in my meatballs, but you can use breadcrumbs if you prefer.
- Onion – White, yellow, or red onion can be used. I like to grate the onion so you don’t bite into any big chunks.
- Garlic – Grate the garlic on a microplane zester or finely mince it.
- Flat leaf parsley – If you can’t find fresh parsley substitute with a teaspoon of dried.
- Lemon – Adds a bright fresh flavor to the meatballs and tzatziki. Be sure to zest the lemon before juicing it.
- Egg – Acts as a binder for the meatballs.
- Oregano, coriander, cumin, cinnamon – The spice blend for the meatballs.
- Feta – If possible, buy a block of feta and crumble it yourself for the best flavor.
- Cucumber – English or Persian cucumbers are recommended for the the tzatziki.
- Greek yogurt – Plain Greek yogurt is the base of the tzatziki sauce.
- Fresh dill – If you can’t find fresh dill substitute with 1/2 – 1 teaspoon dried dill depending on your tastes.
- Garlic powder – Personally I don’t like raw garlic so I use garlic powder in the tzatziki. If you want to use fresh use a 1/2 teaspoon grated or minced.
How to make Greek meatballs
Preheat the oven to 450° F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or foil for easy cleanup. If using foil, spray it with cooking oil so the meatballs don’t stick to it.
Combine all of the meatball ingredients in a large bowl and use your hands to mix everything together. Be careful not to over mix or the meatballs will be tough.
Use a cookie scoop or tablespoon to scoop out the meat mixture. Roll them into balls and place them on the prepared baking sheet. Spray the tops of the meatballs with cooking oil or brush them with olive oil.
You should have between 20-24 meatballs depending on how big you make them. Bake the meatballs for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown and cooked through.
How to make tzatziki sauce
Shred the cucumber on a box grater with the largest holes. Place the shredded cucumber into a clean dish towel or several paper towels. Gather up the towel and squeeze out as much of the liquid as you can from the cucumber.
In a bowl combine all of the ingredients for the tzatziki and stir them together. Taste for seasoning and add more salt and pepper or lemon juice if needed. Refrigerate until the meatballs are ready to be served.
Greek meatballs FAQ
Yes. Ground turkey, chicken, or lamb can all be used in place of the ground beef. You can also use a 50/50 combination of beef and lamb if you’d like.
Lightly wet your hands with water or spray them with cooking oil to keep the meat mixture from sticking to your hands.
Use a cookie scoop or tablespoon to scoop out the meat mixture. This will ensure that they are the same size and bake evenly in the oven.
Plain whole milk or 2% Greek yogurt has the best flavor and consistency for tzatziki. The higher fat content gives it a richer flavor and thicker and creamier texture. You can of course use non-fat if you prefer.
More Meatball Recipes
- Skillet Enchilada Meatballs
- Turkey Meatballs in Roasted Red Pepper Sauce
- Chicken Parmesan Meatballs
- Sesame Chicken Meatball Bowls
- Asian Turkey Meatball Bowls
Did you make these Greek meatballs with tzatziki sauce? I’d love if you’d leave a recipe rating and review below.
Greek Meatballs with Tzatziki Sauce
Ingredients
Greek Meatballs
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 1/3 cup panko breadcrumbs or gluten-free breadcrumbs
- 1/4 cup chopped flat leaf parsley
- 3 tablespoons grated onion
- 1 clove garlic grated
- Zest of a lemon
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- Salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
- 2 ounces feta cheese crumbled
Tzatziki Sauce
- 1 cup shredded cucumber liquid squeezed out
- 1 1/2 cups plain Greek yogurt
- Juice of half a lemon
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill
- 1/2 teaspoon grated garlic or 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- Salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste I used 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450° F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or foil. Spray it with cooking oil.
- In a large bowl whisk together the panko, parsley, grated onion, garlic, lemon zest and juice, egg, spices, salt and pepper, and feta.
- Add the ground beef to the mixture and combine with your hands being careful not to over-work the meat mixture. Form approximately tablespoon sized meatballs.
- Place the meatballs on the prepared baking sheet and spray or brush the tops with olive oil. Place the baking sheet on the center rack of the oven and bake for approximately 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.
- Make the tzatziki sauce while the meatballs are baking by combining all of the ingredient in a medium sized bowl and stirring together until combined.
- Remove the meatballs from the oven and serve with the tzatziki sauce.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Hello these sound delicious can’t wait to make them. One question is there anything I can sub for the bread crumbs to make it more low carb friendly?
Hi Mandee. You can either omit the bread crumbs or you can sub in almond flour.
I will be making these for a work pot luck. I’m just wondering if you have any suggestions on how to keep them warm without drying them out? Warmer would work to keep warm but without a sauce I’m worried they’ll burn and/or dry out.
Hi Brandy. I think if you put them in a slow cooker and just have it on the warm setting (not low heat) they should be fine. Spray the inside with a little cooking spray just to ensure they don’t stick.
I love this recipe and have made them several times! sometimes I have used lamb and sometimes I have used beef, both ways are delicious! Always a hit and always delicious! But I have a question. I’m making them for a large dinner party tomorrow night and wanted to make them ahead today. Can I make them ahead today and refrigerate them to bake tomorrow when there is lemon juice in the recipe?
Hi Lela, Sorry I wasn’t able to get back to you yesterday. Since there’s only a couple tablespoons of lemon juice in the recipe it should be fine to make them in advance and bake off the next day. If you’re concerned you can always skip the juice and add extra lemon zest.
I just made these tonight and they were so delicious. I highly recommend this recipe!!!
Happy to hear you liked them Jill!
Oh
My
Goodness
I’ve never left a comment t on a recipe. This is the most amazing thing I’ve tasted in as long as I can remember.
Delicious delicious delicious. Please make these!!!!
Glad to hear you liked them Barbara! Thanks for trying the recipe.
I made these with lamb and left out the cumin, as I don’t care for it. I also used cilantro this time in place of parsley because I had some on hand. It was so delicious! This is going to be a regular in my cooking!
For some reason when I hear “Greek” meatballs I think “lamb”. So that’s what I used. I paid absolutely no attention to the ground beef in the recipe and carried on like it read ground lamb. As I reread the recipe after putting the ingredients together to make sure I didn’t leave out anything I then realized it was not lamb. Greatest recipe assumption I have ever made! DELICIOUS does not begin to describe how tasty and moist my meatballs were. I will continue with my “Greek” LAMB meatballs! ???????? Thanks for sharing!
I’m so glad you liked the meatballs Elizabeth and using lamb is definitely more traditional and a great alternative to beef. :-)
What can I serve with these meatballs for a dinner. Going to try them for the first time tonight. Any suggestions?
Hi Kim,
I usually serve mine with either this salad (you can skip the chickpeas if you don’t have time) https://reciperunner.com/greek-tomato-cucumber-salad-crispy-chickpeas/ or this tabbouleh salad https://reciperunner.com/tabbouleh-salad/. You could also do rice or cauliflower rice seasoned with dill, garlic and onion powder and a little lemon zest. Enjoy!
I just made these and they are amazing! So easy to make. Your recipe is now one of the recipes I will frequent often! Thank you so much for this!
I’m glad you liked them Susan and thank you for trying out the recipe!
Do you suppose this recipe would be as good if ground lamb were substituted for the beef?
Absolutely! Ground lamb would be a great substitute.
Have you tried freezing them?
Yes and they freeze great!