The Easy, Flavor-Packed Lamb Meatballs I’m Cooking From Now Through Easter

I’m a lamb lover. It might have something to do with my being half Greek, but it more so has to do with lamb’s rich, faintly gamey flavor that I find way more nuanced and exciting than beef or pork. While I love to roast a whole lamb leg over an open fire, or sear up some lollipop chops, one of my favorite ways to enjoy lamb is ground, heavily spiced, and rolled and seared into flavor-packed meatballs. Lamb meatballs are nothing new, many cultures have an affinity for ground lamb, just look at keftedes, Moroccan meatball tagines, or Kofte. Ground lamb is a no-brainer for meatballs; it’s rich and higher in fat than most other ground meats, guaranteeing meatballs that remain tender and flavorful when cooked. 

This recipe, developed by our Birmingham-based test kitchen colleague Renu Dhar developed, features lamb meatballs flavored with fragrant spices, onion, and fresh herbs, set in a cooling swoosh of a yogurt-feta sauce. They retain a beautiful mahogany charred crust while still being spoon-tender inside, and whether served with a simple side salad or stuffed into a pita pocket, they are a great, filling meal. Sound fancy? Not really. 

Start with a Fresh Bread Panade

As noted above, ground lamb’s high fat content helps ensure rich, tender meatballs. The other primary way to ensure supremely tender meatballs is with a panade. A panade is a mixture of bread and liquid (often milk or water) that keeps meatballs (and really any ground-meat mixture) moist and tender, while also preventing them from falling apart. In his easy weeknight meatballs recipe, Serious Eats’ editorial director Daniel Gritzer talks about how meatball recipes fall into two general camps: those made with a panade of soaked fresh bread vs. dried breadcrumbs. His years of meatball-making experience have convinced him that fresh-bread panades produce the most moist and tender meatballs.

Renu’s testing for this recipe aligns with Daniel’s experience, finding that a fresh bread panade was superior to one made with dried breadcrumbs. When she made the recipe with dried breadcrumbs, the result were denser, drier meatballs.

To help the fresh bread break down more easily into a cohesive paste, you only need to briefly soak it in milk first before mixing in the remaining seasonings and meat.

Adding Maximum Flavor

We wanted meatballs with tons of flavor, so we went with a more-is-more approach here. The flavor profile for these meatballs is inspired by Greek keftedes. They’re packed with warm spices like cumin, coriander, granulated garlic, and red pepper flakes, and get a hit of fresh bright flavor from a few tablespoons of yogurt (which also helps bind the balls), fresh herbs, and freshly grated onion. 

Mixing the Meat

For tender, not tough baked goods, it’s crucial not to over-work batters and doughs, and it’s just as important not to get overzealous when preparing a meatball mixture. Be sure to blend the ingredients only until just combined, handling the meat as little as possible to achieve a homogenous mixture. Mixing beyond this point will push the meatballs more and more towards an extra-springy sausage texture—bouncy, but not as tender.

To do so, Renu recommends combining all the seasonings with the softened bread panade first before folding in the ground lamb. This will help distribute the aromatics and seasonings evenly throughout the meat mixture without overworking it, avoiding denser, tougher meatballs.

Cooking the Meatballs

Ever heard the expression “there’s more than one way to cook a meatball”? Probably not, but it’s true! Meatballs can be cooked myriad ways; simmered, baked, grilled, pan-fried. They’re forgiving little spheres and there’s really no wrong way to cook them, it just depends on your preferred result.

Here we wanted meatballs with a tender, juicy center encased in a crisp, deep-golden outer shell. To achieve this, a two-step cooking process is the solution: First sear, then bake the meatballs. This will work best with a cast iron or carbon steel skillet, as both will retain heat well while baking; a stainless-steel skillet will also work well.

A tangy, creamy yogurt-and-feta sauce packed with fresh mint and dill is the perfect complement for these rich meatballs. For an attractive presentation, we recommend swooshing a big dollop of the sauce across each serving plate, then topping with the meatballs, preserving their crackly crust.

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