Moroccan-Inspired Lamb Meatballs
These Moroccan-inspired Lamb Meatballs are quick to make but tender, delicious, and a fun way to diversify your dinner routine. Plenty of herbs add flavor to the beef-lamb mixture, which then bakes in the oven for hands-off convenience. Serve with couscous or rice, your favorite veggies, and fresh pita for bonus points.
Tender, Moroccan-Spiced Lamb Meatballs
These meatballs are a favorite that I’ve adapted, little by little, over the years from a lamb burger recipe I originally found in a Williams-Sonoma Weeknight cookbook. I love them for adding a little variety and extended Mediterranean flair to our weeknight meals. The sweet-and-savory combination of spices works well with ground lamb, and the result is a tasty base for the build-your-own-bowl type of dinner that is so flexible for family meals or for casual entertaining.
My default is to bake these meatballs, because it’s so hands-off and they turn out reliably tender and juicy. You can of course pan-fry or grill them, if you prefer. Either way, they pair perfectly with any similarly Mediterranean-inspired salad and grain. Think couscous, chickpeas, fresh veggies, and plenty of herbs. Pita and tzatziki are a must to complete the meal!
Moroccan Meatball Highlights
Quick and easy: After a quick chop of fresh herbs and onion, these meatballs come together fast and bake in the oven, so the end is all hands-off.
Versatile: You can stuff these into pitas for a little lamb meatball sandwich, serve in bowls loaded with veggies and whole grains, or meal prep for a satisfying lunch throughout the week.
Variety is the spice of life: These have accessible spices but the overall combination feels and tastes just a little different and elevated from your, say, your everyday Italian meatballs.
Ingredient & Substitution Notes
This is just an at-a-glance overview of the main things you will need. Find the complete list and amounts in the recipe card below.
- Ground lamb and lean ground beef. Using a mixture of 2 parts ground lamb to 1 part ground beef has delivered us the best results over time.
- Panko breadcrumbs. Lighter and flakier than traditional breadcrumbs, these make a great meatball base. Substitute regular breadcrumbs with confidence, however, if that’s what you have.
- Onion. Finely chopped yellow onion adds texture and flavor. This said, if your children will pick out each fleck — as mine sometimes do — and you don’t want to deal with that, mix in 1 and 1/2 teaspoons of onion powder instead.
- Fresh mint and fresh parsley. In my opinion, using a generous amount of these fresh herbs is a must.
- Egg and one extra egg white.
- Spices: cumin, kosher salt, ground cinnamon, cayenne pepper.
How To Make Lamb Meatballs with Moroccan Spices
I’ve included a few step-by-step photos here to make this recipe extra easy to follow at home. For the full printable recipe instructions and ingredient quantities, scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Mix together everything except the meat. Use a large bowl, and simply blend with a fork until well-combined.
Add meat and mix gently. Avoid overworking the mixture, which can lead to tougher meatballs. There will be some visible breadcrumbs, herbs, and of course the onion pieces, but overall the mixture will be even.
Portion out meatballs. Hands down, the fastest, easiest, and cleanest way to do this is with a cookie dough scoop. Roll them gently between damp hands for smooth meatballs, or just leave them if you’re unbothered by a rustic shape.
Bake. These take approximately 10 minutes in a 450°F. The high heat helps them to cook quickly and develop a tiny bit of a brown crust on top.
Pro Tip
The USDA recommends cooking all ground meats, including lamb and beef, to an internal temperature of 160°F. Using an instant read thermometer makes it fool-proof to know and remove the meatballs when they hit this mark, keeping them juicy and perfect but completely safe to eat.
Your meatballs are fully cooked and ready to serve as you like.
Tips & Tricks for Success
- Season generously. Lamb typically benefits from strong seasonings, so don’t shy away from using the full amounts listed in the recipe here, though it may seem like a lot.
- Be gentle when mixing the meatballs. Overworked meatballs are prone to become tough. The best technique I’ve found to avoid this? Using a fork to mix together all other meatball ingredients first, then adding the meat — in this case both the lamb and the beef. Hold the same fork upside down and use it to just gently pull the egg-breadcrumb mixture through the ground meat. Do not beat or whip the mixture aggressively. Just continue that “pull-through” motion several times until the mixture is relatively even.
- Use damp hands to shape meatballs. This prevents the meatball mixture from sticking as much to your fingers.
- For easy clean-up, line your pan with a silicone mat or parchment paper.
What To Serve With Lamb Meatballs
There are so many great salads you can pair with these meatballs. The photos in this post show the meatballs alongside couscous and a cucumber chickpea salad. You could also use a pearl couscous salad with tomato and cucumber or Moroccan couscous salad with peas to get a similar effect in one dish, or keep it simple with a Greek chickpea salad or white bean tomato cucumber combination.
In addition to pearl or regular couscous, orzo or rice makes a nice starch on the side. Homemade pita bread will of course take things to the next level. Tzatziki or hummus is a great finishing touch.
Storage & Reheating
Extra lamb meatballs will keep well tightly-covered in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. Reheat portions in the oven on low heat or in the microwave for 90-120 seconds, adding another 20-30 seconds if needed depending on the power of your microwave.
Related Recipes
- Greek Chicken Meatballs
- Za’atar-Spiced Lamb Meatballs
- Baked Turkey Meatballs
- Greek Shrimp Skewers
- Mediterranean Frittata
- Super Easy Slow Cooker BBQ Meatballs
Moroccan-Inspired Lamb Meatballs
Ingredients
For the Meatballs:
- 3/4 cup Panko breadcrumbs
- 1/4 cup minced fresh mint
- 1/4 cup minced fresh parsley
- 1/2 small yellow onion finely chopped
- 1 large whole egg plus 1 egg white
- 2 teaspoons cumin
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- pinch cayenne pepper
- 1 pound ground lamb
- 1/2 pound lean ground beef
For Serving:
- cucumber chickpea salad pearl couscous salad, etc.
- olives
- pita bread
- tzatziki
- fresh dill, parsley, or other herbs
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine the breadcrumbs, mint, parsley, onion, whole egg and extra egg white, cumin, salt, cinnamon, and cayenne. Use a fork to mix these together well.3/4 cup Panko breadcrumbs, 1/4 cup minced fresh mint, 1/4 cup minced fresh parsley, 1/2 small yellow onion, 1 large whole egg plus 1 egg white, 2 teaspoons cumin, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon, pinch cayenne pepper
- Add the ground lamb and ground beef. Continue using the fork to very gently pull the breadcrumb mixture through the meat, until it is pretty even. Try not to overwork.1 pound ground lamb, 1/2 pound lean ground beef
- Scoop the mixture into meatballs of about 1 and 1/2 Tablespoons each and arrange on the prepared baking sheet. You can roll them gently between your hands to smooth them out, or skip this step if you don’t mind a “rustic” shape.
- Bake the meatballs for 9-11 minutes, until golden brown and cooked through to an interior temperature of 160°F.
- When meatballs are cooked through, serve with greens, a salad, olives, couscous, pita, etc., as desired. Enjoy!
Notes
- If you prefer, you can certainly grill the meatballs or pan-fry in a drizzle of olive oil over medium-heat.
- This recipe yields 5-6 modest servings, assuming you pair the meatballs with a salad or veggies of some kind and couscous or another grain type of base.
- Nutritional information is automatically calculated based on individual meatballs and should be used only as an estimate.
Nutrition Estimate
This post was originally published on April 17, 2019, as a lamb burger recipe. It has been updated as a meatball recipe with extra seasonings and tips for ensuring the meatballs stay tender and juicy.
For the best results, I highly recommend reading the tips in the full blog post above. I am a real person who personally writes, tests, and photographs all of these recipes in my own kitchen, and I appreciate the time and energy that you put into feeding your family, too. These tips will help you enjoy the best results.
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An easy and delicious weeknight meal! I enjoy pairing meatballs with a variety of ingredients to make fun bowl dinners. In this case, these tender and well seasoned meatballs were served with pearl couscous, za’atar roasted chickpeas and tzatziki sauce for a fun Mediterranean-inspired dish. We will definitely make again!