Hello friends! Today we’re making something super easy and just marvelous in taste- Moroccan Meatballs!! In my experience, meatballs go wrong in one of three ways. 1) underseasoned, 2) dry, or 3) under or overcooked. This recipe will help you get them fool proof.
Moroccan meatballs are BIG on flavor! Let’s begin there. Start by chopping a large bunch of parsley and a large bunch of cilantro. If you don’t have one or the other, not a big deal, but I love fresh herbs! Next, shred one onion, and squeeze out the liquid using a cheese cloth, fine mesh strainer, or paper towels so that the meatball doesn’t fall apart with too much water. (I’d recommend goggles for the onion shredding part! It will make you cry!) Mince 2 cloves of garlic too. More flavor is better for Moroccan meatballs!
For moroccan meatballs, I love to use ground lamb, which is classic, but you could go with ground pork or beef, and even combine different types of meat to get different flavor. Start by placing 2 pounds of ground meat into a large bowl and then add the garlic, onion, parsley and cilantro. After this, add in literally every herb powder in the pantry-almost. Cumin, ginger, coriander, smoked paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, cinnamon, allspice, cayenne, salt and pepper all work great. Can you think of anything else? Add it! It will likely be great! Then add one egg, 1/4 cup panko crumbs or any bread crumbs you have on hand, and 1/4 cup ketchup to balance these flavors with sweetness and add moisture.
Next, I recommend getting your hands dirty by mixing all the spices into the meat with your hands. To me, this is the most efficient way to incorporate everything-just remove your rings first!
Roll the meat into balls-I made these extra large. In my experience meatballs stay more moist on the inside if they are a bit larger.
I chose to put these on a fry pan in some vegetable oil and to brown up each side first. This also helps to develop flavor and lock the moisture in. You can skip this step and go straight to the oven if you prefer for ease. After both sides are brown, pop them in the oven at 375F for 20 minutes.
After 20 minutes, you can check if your Moroccan meatballs are cooked inside with a meat thermometer, or just cut one open to see if it’s cooked through. A meat thermometer should read 160F or above. Super easy!!
Lastly whip up some tzatziki sauce: yogurt, shredded cucumber, dill, lemon, garlic, salt and pepper to taste. Yummm.
Pile your meatballs onto a pita with tzatziki and a little side salad of lettuce, cucumber and tomatoes. It’s unbelievable! Enjoy!
If you’d like ideas for other flavorful ground meat recipes, I highly recommend checking out Egg Roll in a Bowl too.
Marvelous Moroccan Meatballs
Ingredients
Lamb Meatballs
- 2 lb ground lamb
- 1 onion
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 bunch cilantro chopped
- 1 bunch parsley chopped
- 1.5 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1.5 tsp ground coriander toasted brings out flavor
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp ginger
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tbsp onion powder
- 1 tbsp garlic powder
- 1 pinch cayenne pepper
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup ketchup
- 1/4 cup panko bread crumbs any bread crumb will work
Tzatziki
- 3 cups nonfat plain yogurt
- 3 mini cucumbers, shredded
- juice of 1 lemon
- 1 tbsp dry dill ok to use fresh if you have it
- 1 clove garlic minced
Side salad
- 4 leaves lettuce, chopped
- 2 tomatoes, chopped
- 2 mini cucumbers, chopped
Pita
- 4-8 Pita breads
Instructions
- Combine the lamb and all the meatball ingredients in a large bowl and mix together.
- Saute on vegetable oil on a stove top over medium high heat for 3 minutes on each side or until browning.
- Place meatballs on a baking sheet lined with foil and into a preheated oven at 375F for 20 minutes or until temp of inside of meatball is 160F.
- While meatballs are cooking, prepare tzatziki by combining all tzatziki ingredients in a separate bowl.
- Prepare side salad by chopping lettuce, tomates, cucumber.
- After the meatballs are cooked, let them rest for 10 minutes before eating.
- Assemble cooked meatballs, tzatziki and side salad in a pita, and enjoy!
Notes
- If you are missing any of the spices, it's ok to leave some out. The flavors will likely still be great.
- Consider frying a small meatball patty before cooking the entire batch to taste for seasoning, etc. the salt/pepper and other spices can be adjusted to your taste.