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A Greek Bowl filled with Feta Stuffed Greek Meatballs, rice, Labneh Tzatziki, and sliced fresh cucumbers, tomatoes and onion. Fresh herbs are scatterred about the bowl.

Feta Stuffed Greek Meatballs

Juicy and tender, these flavour packed Greek flavoured meatballs get an extra boost from feta cheese stuffed in the middle. Serve these as part of a Mezes spread, or as a Mediterranean bowl or stuffed pita bread meal, with tzatziki, rice, fresh tomatoes, bell peppers, red onion and lemon.
Course Main Course
Cuisine Greek, Mediterranean
Keyword feta cheese, lemon, meatballs, mediterranean, mint
Prep Time 40 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Servings 32 meatballs

Ingredients

  • 454 g / 1 lb ground beef or lamb, see Notes
  • 454 g /1 lb ground pork or more beef
  • 4 medium shallots or 1 medium red onion grated or finely minced
  • 4 garlic cloves minced
  • 60 g / 1 cup freshly torn or panko breadcrumbs or use normal, but you will need to add more liquid.
  • 4 tbsp packed fresh finely chopped parsley
  • 3 tbsp packed fresh finely chopped mint
  • 2 tbsp packed fresh finely chopped dill, or fresh oregano
  • 3/4 tsp dried oregano or to taste
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon or more to taste
  • 3/4 tsp salt or to taste
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper or to taste
  • 1/2 tsp dried chili flakes, optional
  • 1 egg
  • 3 tbsp milk, or more if needed
  • 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 85 g / 3 oz feta cheese, cubed into 1/2 inch cubes. You will need about 32 cubes.

Instructions

Make the Mixture

  1. Mix the meat, shallots or onion, garlic, breadcrumbs, chopped herbs, and seasonings in a bowl with your hands till evenly combined. Do not overwork.

  2. In a small bowl whisk the egg, milk and olive oil together. Pour this over the meat mixture, and mix with your hands till just evenly combined. Do not overwork, or this can cause the mixture to turn tough when cooked.
  3. Take a small portion and form a patty. Heat oil in a small sauté pan over medium heat. Cook the patty till browned on both sides and cooked through. Once cool enough, eat and to see if you want to adjust any of the seasonings in the raw mixture. Do so now, before you go through the work of rolling them all up.

  4. Flatten the mixture in the bowl to create an even top. Use the side of your hand to divide the mixture into four equal quadrants. You should be able to get 8 meatballs per quadrant.

  5. Using damp or oiled hands, roll about 2 large tablespoons worth of the mixture into a ball. Press down on the ball to create a dent to drop one feta cube into. Wrap the meat mixture back over the cheese and roll to close and smooth out. Place onto a wax paper lined baking sheet. Repeat till all the mixture is used. You should be able to get 32 meatballs.

Freeze

  1. Place the baking sheet with the meatballs into the freezer. Once frozen, transfer to a freezer bag. Use within three to four months ideally. Any meatballs that you want to bake should be thawed and then stored in the fridge to keep firm till ready to bake off.

Bake

  1. Preheat the oven to 425F. Pour one to two tablespoons of olive oil on a baking sheet. Spread out the meatballs on the baking sheet, making sure they aren't touching. Brush or spray a little more oil on top of the meatballs.
  2. Bake on the centre rack till a lovely brown crust has formed, and the meatballs are cooked through, about 15-20 minutes or so. You don't need to worry about the meat in the centre being cooked through, there isn't any! The feta in the middle guarantees that these meatballs will not be overcooked, but rather will stay nice and juicy.

Serve

  1. Serve these on a platter with toothpicks, with Labneh Tzatziki, lemon wedges and sliced cucumbers and bell peppers.
  2. To serve these as part of a Mediterranean Bowl, serve with Lemon Rice, Tzatziki, cut up tomatoes, red and green peppers, red onions, and crumbled Feta Cheese. Always have some extra fresh herbs and lemon wedges handy.
  3. You can also take all of the above and fill warm pita breads for a great hand held meal.
  4. Expect to use between 4 and 5 per person, depending on how large you rolled them, and how hungry everyone is.
  5. Any leftovers can be stored in a sealed container in the fridge, and re-heated in a skillet set on medium low, in a toaster oven, or even the air fryer.

Recipe Notes

Feel free to use ground chicken instead of beef/pork, ideally chicken thigh meat for a juicy result. You will need to adjust the temperature to 400F.  Add 1 heaping teaspoon of sweet paprika to the olive oil before brushing the meatballs.  This will help the meatballs get some extra colour.
Feel free to serve these meatballs with a Greek Horiatiki Salad, using some of the salad dressing to drizzle over the baked meatballs.

Recipe inspired by one over at My Greek Dish, additional herbs and the feta are my own, as well baking over frying on the stove top.