Can I use meat other than beef?

Yes! You could use lamb, chicken, pork, turkey or a plant-based alternative here (or a mixture - beef and lamb are great together).

What can I use other than feta?

Go for your favorite cheese - mozzarella or a sharp cheddar works great - as does Gruyere, Boursin or even chunks of halloumi.

What can I serve the meatballs with?

They're great served on top of creamy, super smooth hummus with soft garlic flatbreads on the side, or you could go for garlic butter potatoes , orzo, buttery golden sunshine rice, a chopped salad, steamed greens, piled into soft bread rolls or with a piece of focaccia to soak up the sauce.

Can I make this in advance?

This is a great one to make ahead! It'll last for 5 days in an airtight container in the fridge and can be used in many different ways throughout the week. And if you want to prepare it in advance to cook later, assemble the bake in the dish up to a day in advance and store it in the fridge, covered in foil. Then just pop into the oven to bake when you're ready.

I don't like olives - can I use something else?

This dish is SUPER customisable based on what you have to hand. Skip the olives if you're not a fan, or use more sundried tomatoes.

One Pan Baked Mediterranean Meatballs with Feta

Name: One Pan Baked Mediterranean Meatballs
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 40 min
Cuisine: greek
Ingredients: 1lb/500g ground beef; ½ cup mint leaves, finely chopped; 2 garlic cloves, crushed; 1 small onion, very finely diced or grated (white, yellow or red is fine, as is a shallot); 1 teaspoon ground cumin; 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon; ½ teaspoon nutmeg; 1 teaspoon smoked paprika; 1.5 teaspoons salt; 3.5oz/100g feta, crumbled; 1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs; 1 egg; Black pepper; 2 x 14oz/400g cans chopped tomatoes; 2 garlic cloves, crushed; 1/3 cup Kalamata olives, chopped; 1/3 cup sundried tomatoes, finely chopped; 1 teaspoon salt; 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper; 2 tablespoons olive oil; 3.5oz/100g feta; 1 lemon, zested; 1 tablespoon flat-leaf parsley leaves; 1 tablespoon mint leaves; 1 tablespoon dukkah

Description

Ten minutes of prep and one dish. It doesn’t get much easier than this meatball bake, loaded with Mediterranean flavors. Mix a quick sauce, form your meatballs, pop them into the sauce and throw in the oven. It’s perfect for busy weeknights and is easily adaptable based on what you have to hand.

Ingredients

Scale

For the meatballs –

1lb/500g ground beef
½ cup mint leaves, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 small onion, very finely diced or grated (white, yellow or red is fine, as is a shallot)
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1.5 teaspoons salt
3.5oz/100g feta, crumbled
1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
1 egg
Black pepper

For the sauce –

2 x 14oz/400g cans chopped tomatoes
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1/3 cup Kalamata olives, chopped
1/3 cup sundried tomatoes, finely chopped
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
3.5oz/100g feta

To serve –

1 lemon, zested
1 tablespoon flat-leaf parsley leaves
1 tablespoon mint leaves
1 tablespoon dukkah

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Instructions

Combine the sauce ingredients. Start by heating your oven to 400F/200C fan and preparing an oven-proof dish, or skillet. Add the canned tomatoes, garlic, olives, sundried tomatoes, salt, 1 tablespoon of olive oil and a good grind of black pepper to the dish. Give the sauce a mix to combine.
Mix the meatballs. Add the ground beef, crushed garlic cloves, grated or diced onion, chopped mint, ground cinnamon, cumin, nutmeg, paprika, salt, panko breadcrumbs, egg and feta to a large mixing bowl. Mix to evenly disperse the ingredients through the ground beef. The easiest way to do this is to go in with your (clean) hands and kind of squeeze the mixture together. But you can use a spatula or spoon too.
Shape the meatballs and bake. Scoop a heaped tablespoon of the meatball mixture into your hands, and roll it into a ball. Place directly into the tomato sauce in the dish, then repeat with the rest of the meatballs. You should get (roughly) 18 meatballs from the mixture. Try to keep the meatballs on one layer if possible so that they cook evenly, and get a lovely crispy crust going at the end. Drizzle over another tablespoon of olive oil, then pop into the oven for 20 minutes, until the sauce is bubbling and the meatballs are brown.
Add the feta. Carefully remove the dish from the oven, crumble the feta all over, then pop it back into the oven for another 10 minutes until the feta is oozy and charred and the meatballs look golden brown. You can pop the dish under the grill (broiler) for a couple of minutes if you like a super charred top. Remove from the oven.
Garnish and serve. Scatter over the lemon zest, mint leaves, parsley leaves and the dukkah, then serve.

Notes

HOW TO MAKE BUTTERY SUNSHINE RICE: Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a high-sided pot or pan you have a lid for, then add 1 teaspoon each of ground turmeric and cumin and cook for a few minutes. Add 1.5 cups of long-grain rice, stir, then add 2.5 cups of hot chicken stock, 1/2 teaspoon of salt and a grind of black pepper. Bring to a boil, then turn the heat right down, pop the lid on and leave to cook for 15 minutes. After this, remove the pot from the heat but keep the lid on for another 10 minutes to finish cooking.

INGREDIENT NOTES: You can play around with the ingredients in this one – I love adding a can of chickpeas (garbanzos), butter beans or white beans to the sauce for a protein hit and to bulk it out. You can skip the olives if you don’t like them, or switch out the feta for halloumi, mozzarella or cheddar.

SERVING SUGGESTIONS: I love serving the meatballs piled on top of creamy, super smooth hummus with soft garlic flatbreads on the side, with garlic butter potatoes, orzo, steamed rice, a chopped salad, steamed greens or even piled into soft bread rolls. A drizzle of tahini yogurt sauce or green tahini is great too.

STORAGE SUGGESTIONS: This is a great dish for meal prep. It’ll last for 5 days in an airtight container in the fridge, and as mentioned above, you can use it in lots of different ways throughout the week. It also scales easily.

PREP AHEAD: If you want to get ahead, assemble the bake in the dish up to a day in advance and store it in the fridge, covered in foil. Then just pop into the oven to bake when you’re ready.

Prep Time: 10
Cook Time: 30
Category: weeknight
Method: oven
Cuisine: greek

Nutrition

Serving Size: 350g
Calories: 549
Sugar: 4.4g
Fat: 42.2g
Saturated Fat: 13.5g
Carbohydrates: 7.6g
Fiber: 1.6g
Protein: 36.3g
Cholesterol: 135mg