Moroccan-Inspired Lamb Meatballs
Quick to make but tender, delicious, and a fun way to diversify your dinner routine with Mediterranean vibes. 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.
Servings: 32 meatballs
Calories: 59kcal
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
Calories: 59kcal | Carbohydrates: 1g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.02g | Cholesterol: 20mg | Sodium: 99mg | Potassium: 70mg | Fiber: 0.2g | Sugar: 0.2g | Vitamin A: 64IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 10mg | Iron: 1mg