Mediterranean Meatballs with Feta and Olives
Mediterranean Meatballs with Feta and Olives is a delicious meal featuring savory meatballs in a tangy tomato sauce. Great with pasta or potatoes.
Some of the links in this article may be affiliate links. If you click on a link and make a purchase, there will be no extra cost to you, but I will get a small commission, which helps keep this blog running. All opinions remain my own.
I’ve discussed my family’s love for meatballs before. I truly don’t think my kids would ever get tired of eating them. I though, prefer a little variety. So while plain meatballs with tomato sauce is fine, I like to experiment with different types of meatballs.
I’ve already posted several meatball recipes, and today I’m adding another: Mediterranean Meatballs with Feta and Olives. I made these meatballs with a mixture of ground beef and ground turkey and lots of Mediterranean flavors like feta cheese and kalamata olives.
While these meatballs can be served with pasta, cooked grains, or roasted potatoes, I highly recommend serving them with Greek Lemon Potatoes. The flavor combination of the savory meatballs and the bright citrus from the potatoes is perfection.
How to Make Mediterranean Meatballs with Feta and Olives
Like making most meatballs, this recipe is a bit of a process. That’s why I’ve included a variety of make-ahead instructions in the recipe. If you’re unlikely to have the time to complete the whole recipe at once, you can make the meatballs, make and brown the meatballs, or make the recipe almost completely ahead of time and simply simmer the meatballs in the sauce just before serving. See complete instructions in the “Make-Ahead Instructions” portion of the recipe.
This recipe starts with the meatballs. Stir the ingredients together in a large bowl (use your hands or a large spoon) just until combined. Measure out small portions of the meat mixture and roll into balls between your palms. Repeat this until all of the meat is used up.
Heat some oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Place the meatballs into the skillet in a single layer (you may need to brown the meatballs in 2 batches depending on the size of your skillet). Cook the meatballs until browned on the bottom, then turn. Repeat this process until all of the meatballs are browned on all sides, reducing the heat if needed if the meatballs are browning too quickly.
Transfer the meatballs from the skillet to a large plate and set them aside for now. Add the minced onion and salt to the skillet and cook until soft. Stir the tomato paste, garlic, oregano, and red pepper flakes and cook until fragrant. Deglaze the pan by slowly pouring in some water and scraping any browned bits from the bottom of the skillet with a large spoon.
Add the tomato puree and olives to the skillet and bring to a simmer. Add the meatballs and any accumulated juices from the plate back into the skillet. Nestle the meatballs into the sauce and simmer for 5-10 minutes until the meatballs are cooked through and the sauce is thickened. Remove the skillet from heat and stir in the parsley. Sprinkle with crumbled feta and serve with pasta, cooked grains, roasted potatoes, or Greek Lemon Potatoes.
Mediterranean Meatballs with Feta and Olives Ingredients
- Lean or extra lean ground beef
- Ground turkey – I like to use a mixture of ground turkey and ground beef to make many types of meatballs. However, you could use other mixtures of ground meats (eg. all ground beef, ground beef and pork, ground beef and lamb).
- Panko – Make sure to use gluten-free panko or bread crumbs to make these meatballs gluten-free
- Large egg
- Crumbled feta cheese – You will be using feta cheese both in the meatballs and sprinkled over the sauced meatballs just before serving.
- Chopped parsley – You will be using parsley both in the meatballs and in the tomato sauce, as well as sprinkled over the finished meatballs as a garnish.
- Tomato paste – You will be using tomato paste both in the meatballs and in the tomato sauce.
- Garlic – You will be using garlic both in the meatballs and in the tomato sauce.
- Kosher salt or MSG-salt – You will be using salt in both the meatballs and in the tomato sauce.
- Red pepper flakes – You will be using red pepper flakes in both the meatballs and in the tomato sauce. Note that the amount of red pepper flakes in this recipe does not make this dish overly spicy. If you like spicy, feel free to increase the amount slightly.
- Olive oil – or use any neutral-flavored cooking oil to brown the meatballs.
- Medium yellow onion
- Dried oregano – If you want to use fresh oregano instead of dried, increase the amount by a factor of 3 (eg. use 1 Tablespoon of minced fresh oregano instead of 1 teaspoon of dried oregano).
- Water – I used water to deglaze the pan after browning the meatballs. Use whatever water you normally drink. Cold tap water is fine.
- Tomato puree – Tomato puree is often found in cans or bottles in the aisle with other canned tomato products. The package size of tomato puree can vary. You don’t need to be too precise with this recipe, as long as it’s within about 4oz above or below (~120mL) of 24oz (eg 20-28oz or 591-828mL). Don’t confuse tomato puree with tomato sauce as they are not the same thing. If you can’t find tomato puree, use crushed tomatoes instead.
- Coarsely chopped pitted Kalamata olives – Purchasing kalamata olives that are already pitted will save you a whole lot of time and prep-work.
Want more meatball recipes?
Mediterranean Meatballs with Feta and Olives Nutrition Notes
The nutrition information in the recipe below is for one serving of meatballs if you divide the recipe into 8 portions. If your serving is larger (or smaller) than this, the nutrition information will vary accordingly. The nutrition information doesn’t include whatever you’re serving with the meatballs (eg. pasta or potatoes).
To make these meatballs gluten-free, replace the panko with gluten-free panko or gluten-free breadcrumbs.
Mediterranean Meatballs with Feta and Olives
Equipment
Ingredients
Instructions
- Using your hands or a large spoon, mix together 1 pound lean or extra lean ground beef, 1 pound ground turkey, 1 cup panko, 1 large egg, 1/2 cup (75 g) crumbled feta cheese, 3 Tablespoons chopped parsley, 2 Tablespoons tomato paste, the minced garlic, 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, and 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes. Mix only until the ingredients are well-distributed – don't overmix.
- Scoop the meatball mixture into 2 Tablespoon to 1/4 cup portions (depending on how large you like your meatballs), and roll the mixture between your palms to form a ball. Repeat this process until all of the meat is used up.
- Heat 1 Tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the meatballs to the skillet and cook until browned on one side. (Depending on the size of your skillet and your meatballs, you may have to brown them in two batches). Turn all of the meatballs and cook until browned on that side. Repeat the turning process until the meatballs are browned on all sides. Reduce the heat to medium if at any time the meatballs are browning too quickly or burning.
- Move the meatballs onto a plate and set aside for now. Leave any remaining oil in the skillet.
- Reduce the heat to medium and add the minced onions and 1 teaspoon kosher salt to the skillet. Cook the onions until soft, about 2-3 minutes. Stir in 2 Tablespoons tomato paste, the minced garlic, 1 teaspoon dried oregano, and 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes, and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Slowly pour 2-4 Tablespoons water into the pan, scraping up any browned bits stuck to the pan while pouring. Once you have the pan deglazed, stop adding water.
- Stir in 24 ounces tomato puree and 1/2 cup coarsely chopped pitted Kalamata olives and bring to a simmer, about 2-3 minutes.
- Stir in the meatballs and any accumulated juices from the plate. Nestle the meatballs into the tomato sauce, and simmer for about 5-10 minutes, until the meatballs are cooked through and the tomato sauce has thickened slightly.
- Remove the skillet from the heat and stir in 2 Tablespoons chopped parsley. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese, and up to another Tablespoon of chopped parsley if desired. Serve with pasta, cooked grains, or roasted potatoes and salad to make a complete meal.
- You can make this recipe ahead of time to a few different degrees:Least Made-Ahead: Complete the meatball portion of the recipe through step 2. Keep the rolled meatballs covered in the fridge until ready to proceed with the recipe.More Made-Ahead: Complete the meatball portion of the recipe through step 4. Keep the cooked meatballs in the fridge until you're ready to proceed with the sauce portion of the recipe (note that this method may require you to simmer the meatballs in the sauce a little longer to ensure they're fully warmed/cooked thorugh).Most Made-Ahead: Complete the all of the steps in the meatball portion of the recipe and through step 3 of the sauce portion. Place both the sauce and the cooked meatballs in the fridge until ready to complete the recipe. When you're ready to make dinner, heat the sauce in the skillet or in a saucepan over medium heat until it reaches a simmer. Add the meatballs and simmer for 10-15 minutes until fully cooked/heated through.
Nutrition
Notes
Tried this recipe?
Please Consider Leaving a Review!More Dinner Recipes
