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Deliciously flavorful gyro meatballs made paleo and Whole30-friendly! Perfect on their own or served with cauliflower rice, a paleo tzatziki, cauliflower tabbouleh, or cucumber-tomato salad, this dinner recipe is dairy-free, grain-free Mediterranean flavor at its finest!
🥙 What Makes This Recipe So Good
- There’s SO much flavor in such a simple recipe, it’s almost hard to believe it. I mean, tender meatballs, spiced perfectly to taste just like roasted gyro meat, with fresh dill and oregano and onion powder and garlic. Even with all the flavor, you still only need less than 10 ingredients to make the meatballs, which is pretty much a dream.
- Like our more-traditional gyro meatballs, these Whole30 gyro meatballs are oven-baked rather than pan-fried. This method keeps the meatballs light and tender, which I love. Just line the meatballs up on a sheet pan and in 15 minutes you’ll have delicious meatballs for appetizers, snacks, salads, or bowls.
- I prefer to use ground lamb for my gyro meatballs, but ground beef or ground pork would both work well. For even more flavor, try combining a half-pound ground lamb with a half-pound ground beef. SO, so good! Whichever you choose, these are a great way to get a boost of protein and fat in your day without loading up on carbs. Keto readers, this one’s for you, too!
👩🏼🍳 Chef’s Tips
- Be careful not to overwork the meatball mixture. Stir and mix just enough to combine the ingredients. Any more than that and you risk the meatballs being dense and tough.
- Whole30 gyro meatballs are great for meal prep! They keep well in the fridge, yes, but you can also freeze them for later. Prepare and cook them as written below. After baking, let them cool completely, then transfer them to a clean baking sheet or a large plate. Put them in the freezer for 30 minutes or so and once they’ve set up, transfer them to a freezer-safe airtight container. From there, they can be frozen up to 2 months!
Don’t Miss These Whole30 Recipes
- Whole30 Marry Me Chicken (Paleo, Dairy Free)
- Whole30 Meatloaf
- Cheeseburger Soup (Whole30, Paleo, Dairy-Free)
- Whole30 Creamy Garlic Chicken (Dairy Free, Paleo)
- Sweet Potato Rice
Whole30 Gyro Meatballs
A delicious, flavorful, Whole30 take on meatballs. Enjoy as-is or serve with cauliflower rice, paleo tzatziki, cucumber-tomato salad, or cauliflower tabbouleh.
meatballs
Equipment
- Oven
- large baking sheet
- Aluminum Foil or parchment paper
- neutral spray oil
- large mixing bowl
- scoop with release handle
Ingredients
For the Whole30 Gyro Meatballs
- 1 pound ground lamb or beef, or pork; lamb preferred
- ¼ cup finely minced onion
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 large egg
- ½ teaspoon oregano
- ¼ teaspoon fresh dill
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper more or less to taste
- ¾ teaspoon salt more or less to taste
Serving Suggestions (All Optional)
- cucumber-tomato salad see Notes for recipe
- paleo tzatziki made from this recipe
- steamed cauliflower rice with 1 squeeze lemon juice
- finely chopped fresh parsley
- finely chopped fresh dill
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425° Fahrenheit. Line baking sheet with aluminum foil or parchment paper. Lightly spritz aluminum foil or parchment paper with spray oil, then set baking sheet aside.
- Add ground meat of choice, onion, garlic, egg, oregano, dill, onion powder, black pepper, and salt to large mixing bowl. Using hands, gently combine all ingredients together until mixture is well-combined and ingredients are distributed throughout.
- Using scoop with release handle (see Notes for alternative), divide mixture into equally sized portions. Quickly and gently roll each scoop between palms of hands to form smooth, round meatball, then place meatball on lined baking sheet. Repeat until entire mixture has been formed into meatballs. Mixture should yield 14 to 20 meatballs depending on size of scoop.
- Place filled baking sheet in preheated oven. Bake meatballs 10 minutes, then check doneness. Continue baking 3 to 5 minutes more, checking doneness often. Remove baking sheet from oven when meatballs are nicely browned and cooked through, and internal meat thermometer reads 155°F when inserted into center of meatballs. See Notes.
- Set meatballs aside to rest approximately 5 minutes. After resting, serve meatballs warm with desired sides and condiments.
- Scoop with Release Handle: 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, take the entire mixture and 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.
- 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.
For the Cucumber-Tomato Salad
Ingredients- 1 cup tomatoes (diced, halved, or chopped)
- 1 cup diced cucumber (sweated)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ teaspoon salt (more or less to taste)
- Add all ingredients to a small bowl and stir to combine. Taste and add more salt if needed.
Approximate Information for One Serving
Serving Size: 1meatballCalories: 69calProtein: 4gFat: 6gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0.001gCholesterol: 26mgSodium: 104mgPotassium: 60mgTotal Carbs: 0.5gFiber: 0.1gSugar: 0.1gVitamin A: 15IUVitamin C: 0.3mgCalcium: 8mgIron: 0.4mg
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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