Can I use a meat other than lamb?

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

What can I use other than feta?

Use mozzarella or cheddar - just something that melts nicely. You could also use a mix of cheeses - I always like throwing in some blue cheese!

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, steamed 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.

Greek Lamb and Feta Meatball Tray Bake

Name: Greek Lamb and Feta Meatball Tray Bake
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 50 min
Cuisine: greek
Ingredients: 14oz/400g ground lamb mince; 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); ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon; ½ teaspoon nutmeg; 1 teaspoon smoked paprika; 1 teaspoon salt; 3.5oz/100g feta, crumbled; Black pepper; 2 x 14oz/400g cans chopped tomatoes; 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced; ¼ cup Kalamata olives, chopped; ¼ cup sundried tomatoes, finely chopped; 1 teaspoon salt; 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper; 1 tablespoon olive oil; 3.5oz/100g feta; 1 lemon, zested; 1 tablespoon flat-leaf parsley leaves; 1 tablespoon mint leaves; 1 tablespoon dukkah

Description

Five minutes of prep and one tray. It doesn’t get much easier than this meatball bake, loaded with Greek-style flavours. 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 on hand.

Ingredients

Scale

For the meatballs –

14oz/400g ground lamb mince
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)
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon salt
3.5oz/100g feta, crumbled
Black pepper

For the sauce –

2 x 14oz/400g cans chopped tomatoes
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
¼ cup Kalamata olives, chopped
¼ cup sundried tomatoes, finely chopped
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon 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 390F/200C fan and getting an oven-proof dish ready. Add the canned tomatoes, sliced garlic cloves, chopped olives, chopped sundried tomatoes, salt and a good grind of black pepper to the oven-proof dish. Give the sauce a mix to combine.
Mix the meatballs. Combine the ground lamb mince, crushed garlic cloves, grated or diced onion, chopped mint, ground cinnamon, nutmeg, paprika, salt and feta in a large mixing bowl. The easiest way to do this is to go in with your (clean) hands and kind of squeeze the mixture together so you’re making sure everything is being mixed properly.
Shape the meatballs and bake. Scoop up a heaped tablespoon of the meatball mixture into your hands, and roll it into a ball. Place into the tomato sauce in the roasting dish, then repeat with the rest of the meatballs. You should get 12 large meatballs from the mixture. Try to keep the meatballs on one layer if possible so that they cook evenly, can brown and get a lovely crispy crust going at the end. Drizzle over the olive oil, then pop into the oven for 30 minutes, until the sauce is bubbling and the meatballs are starting to 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

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.

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: 40
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

Keywords: easy traybakes, meatball bake