Meatballs (Κεφτέδες)

The best Greek meatballs, or keftedes. They are crispy on the outside because they are fried, and juicy on the inside. They are bursting with flavour and make a great meze or appetizer. All you need are a few simple ingredients.

My Greek parents, to this day, grind their own meat and use it to make all sorts of wonderful Greek recipes, including these keftedes. They also make amazing Soutzoukakia and Biftekia. They use ground meat as well to make the amazing Greek meat sauce for pasta (Makaronia me kima) and of course the Greek classics of Pastitsio and Moussaka.

My parents often serve these meatballs or keftedes (κεφτέδες) as meze (appetizers) or as part of a buffet dinner. Occasionally they will be an easy lunch or supper,  served with a batch of homemade French fries and some feta cheese.  So good!  The only problem with these meatballs is that they are so small, and so delicious, if you are not careful you can end up eating about 45 of them without even realizing it (not that anyone is counting of course).

Why this recipe is awesome

It’s hard to know exactly what makes these meatballs so delicious, but I have a few ideas.  These bite sized morsels are made with a mixture of two types of meat, are perfectly spiced, and because they are fried you end up with a meatball which is crispy on the outside but soft and juicy on the inside.  Meatball perfection.

With these balls, size really does matter (you couldn’t possibly have thought that I could resist going there?).  My parents make their meatballs quite small, about an inch in diameter.  I think that this gives the perfect crispy outside to juicy inside ratio.  It also makes them very easy to eat as a meze or appetizer.  However, if you prefer your balls bigger (that’s the last of it, promise), that’s okay too.  Big or small, the most important thing is to make sure that your meatballs are all the same size, so that they cook evenly.  There is really nothing worse than uneven balls (okay…now I’m done!).

Key ingredients

You will see that the ingredients used to make these meatballs is pretty basic. Nothing too complicated, and certainly nothing that you would have a hard time finding in any grocery store.

Ground pork I love to use ground pork in my meatball mixture, the way that my parents do, because of the flavour and texture that it provides.

Ground veal offers a great flavour. I use lean veal when I purchase it already ground.

Yellow onion, grated I grate the yellow onion using a box grater because I don’t want large pieces of onion in my meatballs, but I want the flavour. Grating the onion also offers some moisture, which is great.

Egg The egg is essential to bind all of the ingredients together.

Garlic I finely mince the onion so that I have the onion flavour, without chunks of garlic in my meatballs. You can also use a micro planer to grate the garlic.

Red wine vinegar adds a bit of acidity and helps to keep the meat tender.

Oregano I can’t make Greek meatballs without adding dry oregano. I love the fragrance and flavour!

Olive oil A bit of olive oil in the mix also contributes to the wonderful texture of these meatballs.

Breadcrumbs I use plain breadcrumbs to help in binding everything together.

Mint (Optional) Sometimes I add fresh mint, and sometimes I don’t. It really depends on my mood.

Salt & pepper Basic seasonings that add so much to any dish.

Vegetable oil I fry my meatballs in vegetable oil because of the high smoke point, the neutral flavour, and the availability.

How to make it

Making keftedes is really easy. The longest part is rolling them up, but even that is pretty easy.

Step 1
Combine the pork and veal in a large bowl. Mix well and then add in all the other ingredients (except the vegetable oil which will be used for frying) and allow the mixture to rest for 10 minutes.

Step 2
Form meatballs so that they are all equally sized and approximately 1 inch in diameter.

Step 3
Pour enough vegetable oil into a deep frying pan so that it is 1/2 inch deep. Heat the vegetable oil over medium heat. Fry the meatballs, gently turning them over so that all sides get cooked evenly.  Total cooking time will be approximately 10-15 minutes per batch (do not overcrowd your pan).

Step 4
Carefully remove the cooked meatballs from the oil and drain them on a plate lined with paper towel.  Repeat cooking process with your next batch of meatballs.

Recipe substitutions

You can decide to use only one type of meat for these keftedes. Also, if you would rather not use ground veal, you can use ground beef.

Instead of plain breadcrumbs you can use seasoned breadcrumbs.

Helpful hints

My parents grind their own meat (they are THAT awesome) ensuring that their ground pork and veal come from good cuts of meat.  They tend to use pork tenderloin and veal front.   If you don’t have your own meat grinder (like maybe 99.9% of us), you can always ask your butcher to freshly grind your meat.

So, my parents own a meat grinder but not a thermometer to measure the temperature of the oil used for frying.  Sorry.  Therefore, the best way to explain how you would know if your oil is hot enough (and not too hot) is to sacrifice one meatball.  Your oil is ready when that meatball starts to sizzle gently.  If it sizzles too vigorously, your oil is likely too hot and your meatball will overcook on the outside and be undercooked on the inside.  That makes for a bad, sad meatball.

In order to keep my meatballs all the same size I sometimes portion out the meat using a mini ice cream scooper. This is not necessary to do (you can eyeball it) but I do find that it makes the job easier.

Recipe variations

Baked not fried

If you would rather not fry your meatballs you can certainly pop them into the oven.  I would suggest that about 15 minutes in a 350 degree Fahrenheit oven would do the trick. If you do decide to go the less tasty healthier route, just break one of your oven baked balls open to check if it is done (there should not be any pink inside).

Storing and freezing

If you are using fresh meat (that is, meat that has not previously been frozen), you can prepare your meatballs, set them on a baking sheet and freeze them.  Once frozen, put them into a freezer bag.  When you are ready to cook them, simply lay them once again in a single layer on a baking sheet and let them defrost in the refrigerator.

You can also freeze fully cooked keftedes. To serve, allow them to thaw and then warm through in the oven, or even the microwave.

Cooked keftedes will keep in your refrigerator for 3 – 4 days.

How to serve keftedes

I like to serve my Greek meatballs with some lemon (they are so good with freshly squeezed lemon on them). I also try to have some Tzatziki available because they are so good dunked into the garlic yogourt dip. They are equally good served with some Tyrokafteri or spicy feta dip.

Related recipes

If you love these Greek meatballs, I think you will also love these other mezes that include meat.

Mini meat pies with filo The crispy phyllo triangles are filled with ground meat, and aromatics.

Easy pan-fried pork medallions The small size of these pork medallions makes them the perfect few-bite addition to any meze table.

Pork with leeks Cut into bite-sized pieces, this pork and leek dish is amazing to serve as a meze.

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Thanks for sharing!