Recipe Overview
Why you’ll love it: These Greek turkey meatballs are gluten-free and perfect for meal prep, but they’re also great for parties. Pair them with tzatziki sauce and you’re good to go!
How long it takes: 10 minutes to prep, 15 minutes to bake
Equipment you’ll need: mixing bowl, grater, sheet pan, oven
Servings: 4
One of my biggest struggles with eating healthfully is getting enough lean protein throughout the day. I’ve found that having turkey meatballs, chicken breasts, or turkey burgers prepped and ready to eat is a huge help in keeping me full and energized throughout the week.
I love making my healthy chicken salad, for example. Then at lunch time, all I do is add a scoop to a bed of greens and chow down. It doesn’t always have to be meat either; we love this chickpea salad for a nice alternative.
These Greek meatballs are my new favorite. Paired with store-bought or homemade tzatziki, they’re perfect just as they are. Greek meatballs are also great stuffed in a wrap or a pita for a handheld lunch or tossed on top of a salad if you’re looking to get in your greens. With 215 calories and 30 grams of protein per serving, I’d call that a lunchtime win.
Greek-Style Turkey Meatballs
There is so much flavor in these Greek meatballs, thanks to feta cheese, dill, oregano, and red onion. As a bonus, don’t the flecks of red onion look pretty?
Cooking Tip
Use a microplane or a cheese grater to grate your onions for meatballs. It’s fast and makes smaller pieces which helps them cook in the short time it takes to cook a meatball. Raw onions in meatballs…not my thing.Another note about these Greek meatballs: I use extra lean ground turkey breast (99/1). Because of the lean meat and its tendency to dry out, I add a bit of olive oil. The bonus is that the olive oil adds great flavor. If you use ground turkey with a higher fat ratio, like 93/7 or 85/15, you can probably omit the olive oil.
These tools are super helpful when you’re making this recipe (and many others!): I use a 1.5 tablespoon scoop (also called #40) to form the meatballs (so much easier!) and an instant read meat thermometer (this one is my ABSOLUTE favorite) to determine when the meatballs are fully cooked.
Greek meatballs can be made ahead, and stored either baked or unbaked, in the fridge or in the freezer.
Baked: Refrigerate cooked meatballs for up to 4 days, wrapped well. Freeze in freezer container or bag for up to 6 months.
Unbaked: Refrigerate raw meatballs for up to one day, bake as directed. To freeze, place on baking sheet or tray in freezer for 2 hours or until firm. Place the frozen meatballs in a freezer container or bag, and store for up to 6 months. Bake as directed (no need to thaw), adding a few minutes to baking time.
More Meatball Recipes
- Classic homemade meatballs (beef/pork blend)
- Baked turkey meatballs (perfect for spaghetti or a meatball sub sandwich)
- Air fryer meatballs
- Looking for a vegetarian meatball? Try eggplant meatballs!
- Instant Pot spaghetti and meatballs (turkey meatballs)
- Crockpot meatballs with cherry bourbon sauce
- Turkey meatballs with chipotle honey glaze
Greek Turkey Meatballs
Ingredients
- 1 lb. (16 oz.) extra lean ground turkey breast (see note)
- ¼ cup grated red onion
- ½ cup crumbled feta cheese (reduced fat works fine, don’t use fat-free)
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper (more if desired)
- ¼ teaspoon dried dill weed
- 1 tablespoon olive oil (omit if using less lean cuts of ground turkey)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to broil (high). Position oven rack 4 to 5 inches from broiler.
- Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl. I recommend using your hands so you don’t overmix.1 lb. (16 oz.) extra lean ground turkey breast, ¼ cup grated red onion, ½ cup crumbled feta cheese, 1 teaspoon dried oregano, ½ teaspoon kosher salt, ½ teaspoon garlic powder, ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper, ¼ teaspoon dried dill weed, 1 tablespoon olive oil
- Use a 1.5 tablespoon scoop (or eyeball it) to roll meat mixture into about 20 meatballs.
- Spray a large foil-lined rimmed baking sheet lightly with oil or cooking spray. Place meatballs on baking sheet. Broil until meatballs reach internal temperature of 165°F, 8 to 10 minutes.
- Serve with homemade tzatziki, a creamy cucumber yogurt sauce. The meatballs can be eaten plain, on a salad, or tucked into pita bread.
Notes
- Ground turkey: If desired, use regular ground turkey (93/7 or 85/15)). Omit olive oil. Ground chicken can be substituted, if desired.
- Herbs: Fresh oregano may be substituted for dried. Use 2 to 3 teaspoons. Fresh parsley can be substituted or added.
- Make ahead/storage:
- Cooked: Refrigerate cooked meatballs for up to 4 days, wrapped well. Freeze in freezer container or bag for up to 6 months.
- Raw: Refrigerate raw meatballs for up to one day, bake as directed. To freeze, place on baking sheet or tray in freezer for 2 hours or until firm. Place the frozen meatballs in a freezer container or bag, and store for up to 6 months. Bake as directed (no need to thaw), adding a few minutes to baking time.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Wondering if ground pork would work in place of turkey as it’s already thawed. Thanks!
I haven’t tested it that way, but let me know if you give it a try! Would love to hear how it works.