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    Home » All Recipes

    Greek Meatballs (Keftedes) with Lemon Herb Butter Sauce

    April 16, 2023 | Jump to Recipe | Print Recipe

    16 shares
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    These savory Greek meatballs (Keftedes) are stuffed with feta cheese and baked with the bold, infused flavors of fresh herbs in a lemon butter sauce.

    I consider this dish a Mediterranean overhaul of sorts! The ingredients are light and bright and offer so many combinations of flavors and textures.

    The Keftedes are mouth watering and juicy, and with the authentic, deep flavors of herbs and spices loaded into your choice of ground meat. Anyone would be easily convinced hours were spent preparing this meal! I love that in actuality, you can easily throw this home-style recipe together in under an hour.

    Greek Meatballs (Keftedes) with Lemon Herb Butter Sauce

    What are Keftedes?

    In short, Keftedes are Greek meatballs. They are made in a variety of ways depending on the region in Greece, but always contain an excellent flavor combination of ground meat, spices, and a sauce of your choice. They can be served family-style, as appetizers, or the main dish.

    Greek Meatballs (Keftedes) with Lemon Herb Butter Sauce

    What type of ground meat can I use?

    For this particular recipe, I prefer the taste of ground beef. Keftedes are super versatile, so the choice of meat can be totally interchangeable and is ultimately up to your preferences.

    Keftedes can also be made with ground lamb or ground pork. If you're looking for a lighter version, try ground chicken/turkey. And if you're super adventurous, you could even try combining ground meats!

    Greek Meatballs (Keftedes) with Lemon Herb Butter Sauce

    Keftedes Bowl

    A love of feta definitely inspired this Keftedes bowl. Who doesn't agree that MORE feta makes everything better!? It really adds such a creamy richness and salty balance to the whole meal.

    So, not only are the Kedftedes stuffed with feta, but also crumbled on top to round out the dish (because, why not!).

    Serve the Keftedes over a bed of rice with tzatziki sauce, and then drizzle more of the lemon herb butter sauce on top to really liven up the taste! Finally, pair everything with warm pita bread or garlic herb naan bread, so that you can scoop up every last bite.

    While filming these shots, I was literally rushing as fast as I could because my mouth was watering. I wanted to eat them for dinner while they were still warm right out of the oven!

    Ingredients for Greek Meatballs (Keftedes): Ground beef, pepper, milk, oregano, granulated garlic, fresh garlic, panko bread crumbs, feta, parsley, egg, onion

    Ingredients for Greek Meatballs (Keftedes) with Lemon Herb Butter Sauce

    • ground beef
    • panko bread crumbs
    • egg (large)
    • milk
    • feta cheese
    • butter
    • onion (large)
    • lemon
    • garlic
    • granulated garlic
    • fresh parsley
    • oregano
    • sea salt flakes
    • ground pepper

    Cooking the Keftedes

    Keftedes can be baked, fried, or grilled. My recipe follows the standard method of baking them in the oven, with a nice broil at the end.

    These Keftedes meatballs are about 2-3 tablespoons in size. For evenly-sized meatballs, use a cookie scoop!

    If you are wanting to grill the meat, you can also make larger, somewhat flatter versions of the meatballs called Bifteki. Bifteki traditionally somewhat differs in preparation, shape, and size but this recipe can totally be adapted (bigger than Keftedes, but slightly smaller than a standard hamburger). Mold the patties in the palm of your hands to keep a nice rounded shape, and do not flatten or smash like a burger!

    Lemon Herb Butter Sauce

    This lemon herb butter sauce will make your tastebuds jump for joy. In a bowl, combine and stir melted butter with lemon juice, oregano, and garlic. Then, pour the sauce over top of the meatballs so that they are fully coated.

    For a luscious finish, drizzle a spoonful (or more) of the lemon herb butter sauce from the baking dish on top of the plated Keftedes.

    Lemon Herb Butter Sauce Ingredients for keftedes: Melted butter, lemon, oregano, and garlic

    What to do with Leftover Keftedes?

    Leftover Keftedes make excellent seconds! Reheat them with a little oil in a skillet or in the microwave. You can also improvise and incorporate them into a brand-new dish such as warming them up with a marinara sauce for spaghetti and meatballs!

    Often times I intentionally bake a double batch of these Keftedes to have extra to freeze and save. Since they are pre-cooked, I can easily thaw and reheat them any time I want a quick, delicious meal!

    Greek Meatballs (Keftedes) with Lemon Herb Butter Sauce

    Looking for more recipes?

    If you're looking to enjoy more delicious Greek-inspired recipes, check out some of these dishes below! They also include links for some of my favorite sauces.

    TURKEY MEATBALLS & TZATZIKI

    DOLMADES WITH AVGOLEMONO SAUCE

    GREEK CHICKEN MARINADE

    CRISPY FRIED ZUCCHINI WITH MARINARA

    Greek Meatballs (Keftedes) with Lemon Herb Butter Sauce

    Callie
    These savory Greek meatballs (Keftedes) are stuffed with feta cheese and baked with the bold, infused flavors of fresh herbs in a lemon butter sauce.
    5 from 7 votes
    Print Pin Save Saved! Email
    Prep Time 20 minutes mins
    Cook Time 30 minutes mins
    Total Time 50 minutes mins
    Course dinner, entree, Main Course
    Cuisine American, Greek
    Servings 24 meatballs

    Ingredients
      

    • 1½ lbs ground beef
    • 1 large egg
    • ½ cup milk
    • 1 cup panko bread crumbs
    • ½ large onion, finely diced
    • 2 cloves garlic
    • 1 teaspoon granulated garlic (this is optional, I just love garlic)
    • 2 tablespoon fresh parsley, finely diced
    • 2 teaspoon dried oregano
    • 2 teaspoon sea salt flakes
    • fresh ground pepper
    • 1 cup feta cheese, crumbled

    Lemon Herb Butter Sauce

    • 8 tablespoon butter. melted
    • ½ large lemon, juiced
    • 2 teaspoon fresh oregano use half this amount if you are using dried oregano*
    • ¾ teaspoon granulated garlic

    Instructions
     

    • Preheat oven to 375℉.
    • In a large bowl combine ground beef, egg, milk, panko bread crumbs, garlic, granulated garlic, fresh parsley, sea salt flakes, pepper, and dried oregano.
    • Once all the ingredients are well distributed add in the feta (I like adding this last to keep the crumbles from getting too blended so they are still somewhat chunky).
    • Roll out evenly sized portions of the meat mixture and place them in a glass baking dish or cast iron pan.
    • In a separate bowl, combine lemon juice, oregano, and garlic with melted butter. Stir and pour over the top of the meatballs. Brush or roll the meatballs in the butter sauce so that they are fully coated.
    • Bake for 30 minutes then switch to broil on high for 2-3 minutes to nicely brown the tops.
    • Serve with pita, MORE feta, tzatziki and rice.

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1meatball
    DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE?I wanna see! Tag @bingeworthybites on Instagram!
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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Celeste

      January 08, 2024 at 9:10 pm

      5 stars
      Just made these super-sized the other day for the family! So delicious, and we love eating them with tztaztiki!

    2. Callie

      January 08, 2024 at 11:23 pm

      Oh I love that! It's sooo good with tzatziki! ♥️

    5 from 7 votes (6 ratings without comment)

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    meet callie

    Hi, I’m Callie. Welcome to Binge Worthy Bites! Since my passions are food, photography, and bringing people together with delicious shared meals, Binge Worthy Bites came to life as a creative hub to share my favorite pictures + dishes with the world. What you’ll find here is a collection of recipes and tips that are sure to make your life a whole lot tastier. My site is dedicated to bringing you binge-worthy recipes that anyone can make, my hope is that each time you leave you’ll feel inspired to create. read more!

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