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All the savory flavor of a gyro in a tender and juicy meatball! Perfect for stuffing into pita or enjoying over rice with tzatziki, these gyro meatballs are versatile and easy to make.
🧅 What Makes This Recipe So Good
- I’m a HUGE fan of gyros, and I loved these meatballs from my gyro bowls recipe so much that I felt they deserved their own post. They’re so simple but they’ve got so much flavor – lamb (or beef or pork), garlic, feta, Greek seasoning. They’re absolutely delicious.
- Meatballs are always a great meal prep option, and gyro meatballs are no different. They’re easy to make in a big batch, they store and reheat well, and they’re versatile enough that you can enjoy them different ways each day. Nothing worse than making a week’s worth of lunches that you’re sick of on day 1, right?!
- To turn these into Greek meatball gyros, I like to use 3-4 meatballs on top of a warm pita, then top them with thinly sliced red onion, my tomato cucumber salad, and a drizzle of tzatziki. Finish it up with a few more feta crumbles, then wrap the gyro in parchment paper to hold everything together.
👩🏼🍳 Chef’s Tips
- Don’t overwork the meatball mixture. Over-mixing can leave you with tough, dense meatballs. Instead, stop as soon as you’ve got all the ingredients fully combined and well distributed, and be gentle when you form the meatballs.
- The number of meatballs you get from this recipe depends entirely on the size of the meatballs you make! As it’s written, you should get anywhere from 14 to 20 meatballs from one batch. Again, depending on their size, 1 serving could consist of 3-5 meatballs.
- When the gyro meatballs are fully cooked, they should be nicely browned on the outside. Don’t go by just their looks, though. Use an internal meat thermometer, especially if this is your first time baking ground lamb or ground pork, to make sure they’re not over- or under-cooked. The food safe internal temperature for all three of these ground meats is 160° Fahrenheit. I recommend taking them out of the oven before that, though, once they reach 155°F. The residual heat will continue cooking them as they rest on the sheet pan, so they’ll come up to temp before you serve them. Resting also helps lock in moisture, ensuring they’ll stay juicy and moist.
🥩 More Recipes for Ground Beef, Pork, or Lamb
- Whole30 Gyro Meatballs
- Low Carb Chili
- Garlic Bread Casserole
- Wonton Egg Drop Soup
- Easy Taco Pie Recipe
- Keto Meatballs and Tomato Sauce
- Indian Meatballs Recipe with Creamy Sauce (Whole30, Paleo)
- Philly Cheesesteak Casserole
- Gluten Free Meatloaf
Gyro Meatballs
Savory, juicy, and utterly delicious, these gyro meatballs are perfect in pitas or over rice with tzatziki.
meatballs
Equipment
- large baking sheet
- Aluminum Foil or parchment paper
- neutral-flavored cooking spray
- large mixing bowl
- small cookie scoop with release handle optional, see Notes for alternative
- internal meat thermometer
Ingredients
For the Gyro Meatballs
- 1 pound ground lamb or lean ground beef, or ground pork
- ¼ cup minced white onion
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 large egg
- ½ cup finely crumbled feta cheese
- 1 teaspoon Greek seasoning
- ½ teaspoon salt more or less to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425° Fahrenheit. Line large baking sheet with aluminum foil (or parchment paper) and spray foil (or paper) lightly with cooking spray. Set baking sheet aside.
- Add 1 pound ground lamb, ¼ cup minced white onion, 3 cloves garlic, 1 large egg, ½ cup finely crumbled feta cheese, 1 teaspoon Greek seasoning, and ½ teaspoon salt to large mixing bowl. Mix ingredients together with hands until ingredients are fully incorporated and mixture is uniformly blended.
- Use small cookie scoop to portion mixture into meatballs. Quickly roll each scoop between palms of hands to shape into smooth balls, then place meatball on prepared baking sheet. Repeat until entire mixture has been formed into approximately 14 to 20 meatballs.
- Place filled baking sheet in preheated oven. Bake meatballs 8 minutes, then check doneness with internal meat thermometer. Continue baking meatballs, checking doneness every 2 minutes, until meatballs reach 155° Fahrenheit internally.
- Carefully remove baking sheet from oven and set aside. Let meatballs rest on baking sheet 5 minutes, then serve with desired sides.
- Number of Meatballs: The number of meatballs this recipe yields will depend on the size of the cookie scoop you use and how large the meatballs you form are. You should get 14-20 meatballs out of this recipe as-written.
- Cookie Scoop: If you don’t have a cookie scoop or anything with a release handle, that’s totally fine. To keep your meatballs uniform and equally sized, press the entire mixture evenly into the mixing bowl, then use a wooden spoon to divide it into 4 equal sections. From there, remove each section from the bowl and divide each section into 5 equal meatballs.
- Ground Meat: You can combine ½ pound ground lamb with ½ pound ground beef to add a little more flavor or cut costs.
- Meat Temperatures: The meatballs will keep cooking a little as they rest on the sheet pan, so we recommend you take them out of the oven just before they hit their target temperature. For ground lamb, ground beef, and ground pork, the recommended food-safe temperature is 160°F. Take the meatballs out of the oven when they reach 155°F.
Approximate Information for One Serving
Serving Size: 1 meatball (out of 20)Calories: 79calProtein: 5gFat: 6gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0.001gCholesterol: 29mgSodium: 118mgPotassium: 62mgTotal Carbs: 1gFiber: 0.1gSugar: 0.1gNet Carbs: 1gVitamin A: 31IUVitamin C: 0.3mgCalcium: 26mgIron: 0.5mg
Nutrition Disclaimers
Number of total servings shown is approximate. Actual number of servings will depend on your preferred portion sizes.
Nutritional values shown are general guidelines and reflect information for 1 serving using the ingredients listed, not including any optional ingredients. Actual macros may vary slightly depending on specific brands and types of ingredients used.
To determine the weight of one serving, prepare the recipe as instructed. Weigh the finished recipe, then divide the weight of the finished recipe (not including the weight of the container the food is in) by the desired number of servings. Result will be the weight of one serving.
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