KEFTEDES SAGANAKI: GREEK STYLE MEATBALLS IN A TOMATO & FETA SAUCE

My version of Greek-style meatballs in a homemade tomato and feta sauce is versatile and comes together in no time.

Keftedes are traditional Greek style meatballs, but this dish isn’t traditional. It’s my version of meatballs with tomato sauce. It serves as the main dish to so many great sides that you’ll never get tired of eating it. The sauce is homemade with creamy feta and is so delicious.

I start with the tomato sauce so it can simmer, thicken, and build flavor while I cook the meatballs.

Let’s go over the ingredients:

• olive oil
• small onion finely chopped
• 3 garlic cloves
• Canned crushed tomatoes
• water
• dried crushed oregano
• sugar
• crushed red pepper flakes
• feta cheese, cubed or crumbled
• Salt
• freshly ground pepper
• Optional garnishes: finely sliced scallions, finely chopped parsley, or rosemary

Purchase your kitchen essentials using my affiliate links to support my work without costing you anything extra. Thank you!

Tips for the tomato sauce

Use crushed canned tomatoes if you have them, but you can use any type of canned tomato. Just put the tomatoes in the blender to puree before using them. I do it this way because I like a really smooth sauce, but if you like your sauce to be more rustic and chunky, you can use diced tomatoes as they are.

For the garlic, I toss whole cloves in with the onions. When the onions are soft and golden, I use the back of my wooden spoon to crush the garlic cloves into the onions. You could also use a garlic press or minced garlic if you prefer.

After your sauce is combined, bring it to a boil and reduce to medium-low. Cook until thick and reduced… just enough time to cook your meatballs.

The meatballs

• 1-pound lean ground beef or lamb
• medium onion
• garlic clove
• bread crumbs, unseasoned
• whole milk
• 1 egg
• grated parmesan cheese
• chopped parsley
• dried crushed oregano
• salt
• black pepper
• crushed red pepper flakes
• Oil for frying

Keftedes are pretty easy to make. I posted the recipe a while back and I’ll link it here. The recipes are pretty much the same, except the recipe I’ve linked includes a bell pepper. If you’d like to add that to these meatballs, feel free to do so.

Using a food processor to start the meatballs makes things so easy. I put the onion, garlic, and parsley in to make everything really small. You don’t want big chunks of onion or garlic in your meatballs!

Whisk the milk and egg together, and then combine it with all of the other ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Mix well with clean hands until combined. Using your hands is the best way to get your meatball mixture combined well.

Can you prep meatballs ahead of time?

To save the prepping step on busy weeknights, make your meatball mixture on the weekend. Cover the meatball mixture with plastic wrap and refrigerate up to overnight. It will allow all of the flavors to really come together. Pull the mixture out of the refrigerator just before you’re ready to roll the meatballs.

Form them into round golf ball-sized pieces. You can use a scoop to make sure they are all the exact same size or you can just eyeball it. They don’t have to be perfect. Choose the size that you like or that goes best with the sides your making. The golf ball size meatballs are great for a main course, but you may want them smaller if you are using them on top of pasta.

Frying the meatballs… or grill? roast?

 I like to use a cast iron pan to fry my meatballs since it retains heat very well.

Fry the meatballs in batches of about 8 meatballs each time. They take 6-10 minutes to cook depending on their size. As soon as they turn a dark golden brown, remove them from the oil with a slotted spoon and allow them to drain on a plate covered with paper towels.

If you don’t want to fry the meatballs, cook them on the grill or even roast them in the oven. To roast them, place the meatballs on a baking tray and bake in the oven at 450 °F (230 °C) for 5-6 minutes on each side or until golden brown. They don’t have to cook all the way through since they will continue to cook in the sauce. Just get a nice brown color around them.

Putting your Greek-style meatballs in tomato and feta sauce together

When all of your meatballs are done, put them into the tomato sauce and warm through.

Crumble the feta on top and place under the broiler for a few minutes until the cheese softens and chars a bit. Keep a close eye on it to prevent the meatballs from burning.

Garnish your keftedes saganaki with herbs or sliced scallions and serve with rosemary bread and salad, or with mashed potatoes, pasta, or rice. It’s so versatile that you can make it your favorite way or try something new another night. 

Like it saucier?

This dish is fabulous with lots of sauce. Just add another can of pureed tomatoes and follow the instructions, cooking the sauce in a pot until slightly thickened. Taste and adjust the seasoning as needed. If making a larger batch in a pot, you can skip the broiler step and just allow the feta cheese to soften from the heat of the sauce.

Continue to Content

KEFTEDES SAGANAKI: GREEK STYLE MEATBALLS IN A TOMATO & FETA SAUCE

Yield: 6

My version of Greek-style meatballs in a homemade tomato and feta sauce is versatile and comes together in no time.

Print

Ingredients

For the meatballs:

• 1-pound lean ground beef or lamb
• 1 medium onion, quartered
• 1 whole garlic clove
• ¾ cup bread crumbs, unseasoned
• ½ cup whole milk
• 1 large egg
• ¼ cup grated parmesan cheese
• ¼ cup chopped parsley, or more
• 1 teaspoon dried crushed oregano
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper, or to taste
• Pinch crushed red pepper flakes
• Oil for frying

For the sauce:

• ¼ cup olive oil
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 3 garlic cloves
• 14.5 ounces canned tomatoes, pureed (double this if more sauce is desired)
• 1 cup water
• 1 teaspoon dried crushed oregano
• ½ teaspoon sugar
• Pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 cup feta cheese, cubed or crumbled
• Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Optional Garnish:

• finely sliced scallions, finely chopped parsley, or rosemary

Instructions

1. Serve with my Rosemary Bread
2. Begin by making the meatballs.
3. Place the garlic in the food processor and pulse until minced. Add the onion and pulse until very finely chopped.
4. Add the parsley and pulse until finely chopped and combined with the onion and garlic.
5. Whisk the milk and egg together.
6. Combine the ground beef, onion, garlic, bread crumbs, parmesan and all of the ingredients in a large mixing bowl.
7. Mix well with your clean hands until combined.
8. Cover the mixture with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least one hour up to overnight if you can. This allows all of the flavors to really come together. I have made these in a hurry without refrigerating the mixture and it comes out very good.
9. Form the meatballs into round golf ball sized pieces.
10. Heat oil in a frying pan. I like to use a cast iron pan since it retains heat very well.
11. Fry the meatballs in batches of about 8 meatballs each time. They take 6-10 minutes to cook depending on their size. As soon as they turn a dark golden brown, remove them from the oil with a slotted spoon and allow them to drain on a plate covered with paper towels.
12. To prepare the sauce, combine the garlic, onion, and oil in a sauce pan or pot and cook over medium low heat about 15 minutes or until soft and golden. Crush the garlic with a wooden spoon.
13. Add the canned tomatoes, salt, pepper, sugar, water, and oregano. Bring to a boil and reduce to medium low. Cook until thick and reduced. About 15-20 minutes.
14. Add the meatballs and warm through.
15. Crumble the feta on top and place under the broiler for a few minutes until the cheese softens and chars a bit. Keep a close eye on it to prevent the meatballs from burning.
16. Garnish with herbs or sliced scallions and serve with rosemary bread and salad or with mashed potatoes, pasta, or rice.

Notes

This dish is fabulous with lots of sauce. Just add another can of pureed tomatoes and follow the instructions, cooking the sauce (in a pot) until slightly thickened. Taste and adjust the seasoning as needed. If making a larger batch in a pot, you can skip the broiler step and just allow the feta cheese to soften from the heat of the sauce.

You may cook the meatballs on the barbeque grill or roast in the oven if you don’t want to fry them. To roast them, place the meatballs on a baking tray and bake in the oven at 450 °F, 230 °C for 5-6 minutes on each side or until golden brown. They do not have to cook all the way through since they will continue to cook in the sauce. Just get a nice brown color around them.