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Greek Meatballs With Tzatziki Sauce Recipe

Katie Wells Avatar

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Wellness Mama » Blog » Recipes » Greek Meatballs With Tzatziki Sauce Recipe

When my husband and I first started dating (after walking across the country together… really), we had the chance to travel around Europe a little. While we were there, we tried as many new cuisines as we could. One of the best meals we had was at a delicious Greek restaurant in downtown Brussels. I’ve never been able to find Greek food that good since then, so I’ve been experimenting with recipes. These Greek meatballs are a result of those experiments.

Keftedes with Tzatziki (Greek Meatballs With Cucumber Sauce)

If you’re ever at a Greek restaurant or festival and see keftedes and tzatziki on the menu it’s talking about meatballs with a cucumber yogurt sauce. The meatballs have a subtle, herby flavor from fennel and mint and a little brightness from lemon.

The tzatziki is just plain delicious on everything. I made it for the first time to go with the meatballs, but it also makes an awesome veggie dip and salad dressing. I like to make it in a little food processor or with an immersion blender to make everything really smooth, but you can also just chop the garlic and cucumber finely and whisk everything together.

This meal is delicious any time of year, but we especially love it during the summer when cucumber, fennel, and mint are fresh and available at the farmers’ markets.

Make It Ahead!

The tzatziki can be used immediately after making it, but the flavors really become more pronounced if you refrigerate it for an hour or so before serving. Making ahead is always handy!

While you’re at it, the meatballs can be rolled into balls and refrigerated until cooking time too. I just put them on a baking sheet and put the whole sheet in the fridge. Sometimes I make a double batch and freeze some for another meal.

Usually, I serve the meatballs alongside Greek salad or tossed on a romaine salad with tomatoes and cucumber. And if I’m headed to a potluck, these Greek meatballs make an awesome appetizer. I stick them on skewers with grape tomatoes, chunks of cucumber, and cubes of feta. This baked feta recipe is also a delicious result of my travels.

If you’d like a bigger version, I also have a Greek meatloaf recipe with similar flavors. Maybe next time we have a Greek night I’ll try these baklava-inspired shortbread cookies for dessert.

Greek Meatballs Recipe

Delicious meatballs with fennel, mint, lemon, and garlic for a Greek flair.
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Total Time 55 minutes
Calories 130kcal
Author Katie Wells

Servings

8

Ingredients

Meatballs:

Tzatziki Sauce:

  • 1 cup greek yogurt
  • 1 clove garlic (minced)
  • 1 pinch salt
  • 1 tsp lemon juice
  • 1 cucumber (finely chopped)

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350°F.
  • In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients for the meatballs and mix with hands. Add any extra almond flour if needed to make thick enough to form into meat balls.
  • Form into 1 inch meatballs and place on an oiled baking sheet or in a large baking dish.
  • Bake in the oven for approximately 30-40 minutes or until cooked through.
  • While baking, whisk together the ingredients for the sauce or use an immersion blender to make it smooth.
  • Serve meatballs with the yogurt sauce.
  • Enjoy!

Nutrition

Nutrition Facts
Greek Meatballs Recipe
Amount Per Serving (4 meatballs)
Calories 130 Calories from Fat 36
% Daily Value*
Fat 4g6%
Saturated Fat 1g6%
Trans Fat 1g
Cholesterol 73mg24%
Sodium 353mg15%
Potassium 324mg9%
Carbohydrates 5g2%
Fiber 1g4%
Sugar 2g2%
Protein 19g38%
Vitamin A 108IU2%
Vitamin C 5mg6%
Calcium 57mg6%
Iron 1mg6%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Notes

Serve on toothpicks as an appetizer or on a salad with tomato, cucumber, feta, and tzatziki sauce as a dressing.

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Do you enjoy Greek food? What’s your favorite recipe? Share below!

These delicious Greek meatballs are made with hints of lemon, mint, fennel and onion for a fragrant, delicious and filling dish! Topped with homemade Tzatziki sauce.

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Katie Wells Avatar

About Katie Wells

Katie Wells, CTNC, MCHC, Founder of Wellness Mama and Co-founder of Wellnesse, has a background in research, journalism, and nutrition. As a mom of six, she turned to research and took health into her own hands to find answers to her health problems. WellnessMama.com is the culmination of her thousands of hours of research and all posts are medically reviewed and verified by the Wellness Mama research team. Katie is also the author of the bestselling books The Wellness Mama Cookbook and The Wellness Mama 5-Step Lifestyle Detox.

Comments

34 responses to “Greek Meatballs With Tzatziki Sauce Recipe”

    1. Wellness Mama Avatar

      Hm… well, usually we eat it without if we need to eat it dairy free. You could try a little homemade mayo, but it will have a decidedly different flavor.

    2. Kyriaki Avatar
      Kyriaki

      Hi Tonya.
      Try a similar sauce but no dairy. We call it “skordalia”.
      Ingredients: 2-3 medium size potatoes
      2-4 cloves of garlic (meshed) depending of your taste for garlic
      2-3 tbls olive oil
      2 tbls wine/white vinegar
      Boil potatoes and mesh as for mashed potatoes. Add other ingredients and stir with a
      fork (not mixer). Add salt to taste. Also if it is too bland, increase garlic and/or vinegar.
      Consistency should be like ketchup. If too thick add a little water you boiled potatoes.
      This sauce goes with fish and all meats and can be served as a dip.
      Kali orexi (good appitite)

  1. Ann Avatar

    I found the Greek meatballs to be decent – not my favorite but still ok. However, I absolutely LOVED the tzatziki sauce! Very tangy and perfect for summer. We kept the extra in a jar (there was lots!) and use it as salad dressing, or dip for veggies. Yum!

  2. Rachel Avatar

    I’m trying to make this recipe but the list of ingredients is not coming up, can you email it to me with the ingredients?

  3. Gloria Avatar

    What are the amounts of each ingredient for the meatballs? I just see the instructions. Thanks!

  4. Lora Avatar

    This sounds great and I can’t wait to try it! Does non-fat versus full-fat make a difference with the Greek yogurt?

  5. Lorw Avatar

    Sounds delicious and I can’t wait to try making these. Do you use non-fat Greek yogurt? Or does it work better with full-fat Greek yogurt? Thanks!

  6. zosia Avatar

    I really enjoy Greek cuisine, but am not able to have eggs.
    Could I use a “flax egg ” or “chia egg” isntead?
    What will the resul be like without eggs…?

    Thanks,
    Zosia

  7. Chris Avatar

    If you want them to be authentically Greek, they should be made from grass-fed lamb! Yum 🙂

  8. Brianne Avatar

    Penzey’s Spices makes a great Greek seasoning blend. I just got a new jar of it, so your recipe is inspiring me to make some meatballs! Thanks Katie.

  9. Karen Avatar

    These look yummy, but is that really enough fennel and mint to taste them?

  10. Michelle Avatar
    Michelle

    Dumb question – what size cucumber? I usually have long english cucumbers in the house – but that is A LOT of cucumber! Looking forward to trying this recipe – thanks!

  11. Kirsten Cleigh Avatar
    Kirsten Cleigh

    I made these into patties (cook faster) and used lamb and grass fed beef. I also used Fennel powder instead of fresh fennel. They were spectacular! I paired it with your greek dressing on a salad and put a spoonfull of the tzatziki on the patty. This is going to be one of my core recipes!

  12. Wellness Mama Avatar
    Wellness Mama

    any type of flour will sub, just adjust the amount to get the right consistency if you sub it.

    1. Dee Avatar

      What’s the right consistency? I have standard all-purpose flour, cake flour (I think), and bread flour in the house. I don’t want to buy another one and this recipe looks interesting.

    1. Wellness Mama Avatar
      Wellness Mama

      I served them as appetizers on toothpicks and also on Mediterranean salads with feta and cucumbers and tomatoes

  13. Kristina Greene Avatar
    Kristina Greene

    This sounds great!  I make turkey burgers  with some of the same ingredients, but not the fennel – which I love!    And 
    Tzatziki  so yummy.  Pinning to try soon.

  14. Anitra Sweet Avatar
    Anitra Sweet

    Wow! Sounds delish! We love greek food as well! Thanks for sharing.

3.79 from 23 votes (22 ratings without comment)

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