• Home
  • About me
  • WORK WITH ME
  • Recipes
  • PRIVACY POLICY

Supergolden Bakes

Sweet, savoury and everything in between

You are here: Home / Greek Food / Soutzoukakia – Greek meatballs in rich tomato sauce

Soutzoukakia – Greek meatballs in rich tomato sauce

April 20, 2017 by Lucy Parissi 9 Comments

330shares
Jump to Recipe

Soutzoukakia – Greek meatballs in rich tomato sauce spiced with cumin and cinnamon. Perfect as meze for sharing or a main meal.

Love meatballs? Check out my Swedish Meatballs 🙂

Soutzoukakia – Greek meatballs in rich tomato sauce with cinnamon and cumin

I have been daydreaming about holidays in Greece of late. Maybe it’s the sunnier weather, or the fact that I haven’t had a proper holiday in ages, but suddenly all I can think of is lazy afternoons spent in the sun and of all the amazing food.

All this nostalgia had to go somewhere, so I made some soutzoukakia – Greek meatballs in rich tomato sauce. If you have ever tasted soutzoukakia in Greece you are almost guaranteed to have fond memories – it’s a deceptively simple dish that packs a lot of flavour despite the few ingredients.

Soutzoukakia – Greek meatballs in rich tomato sauce

A lot of the flavour can be attributed to the ground cumin and cinnamon that are used to spice the meatball sauce and to the garlic which is also plentiful. In fact this recipe is quite rich and I prefer to eat it as meze rather than a main meal.

It is great for sharing with some pitta bread to dip into the rich sauce (and wipe the plates clean). But you can also serve it as a main meal with rice, mash or even homemade fries.

I remember joyfully dipping those into the sauce when I was growing up in Greece. So, until that next holiday, I may have to recreate a few more sunny dishes and daydream some more…

Soutzoukakia: delicious beef meatballs in rich tomato sauce spiced with cumin and cinnamon. Perfect for sharing as meze or as a main meal.

HAVE YOU MADE MY GREEK MEATBALLS?

Post a photo on my Facebook page, share it on Instagram, or save it to Pinterest with the tag #supergoldenbakes. I can’t wait to see your take on it!

MORE GREEK RECIPES TO TRY

  • Slow cooker Greek lamb kleftiko with potatoes
  • Kokinisto – Greek Beef stew in tomato sauce
  • Greek orzo pasta salad with tomatoes and feta
  • Sheet pan Greek bifteki with potatoes
Soutzoukakia: delicious beef meatballs in rich tomato sauce spiced with cumin and cinnamon. Perfect for sharing as meze or as a main meal.

Soutzoukakia – Greek meatballs in rich tomato sauce

Lucy Parissi | Supergolden Bakes
Soutzoukakia: delicious beef meatballs in rich tomato sauce spiced with cumin and cinnamon. Perfect for sharing as meze or as a main meal.
4.6 from 5 votes
Print Rate
Course: Meatballs
Cuisine: Greek
Keyword: Greek meatballs, Meatballs, Soutzoukakia
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Servings: 4 servings
Calories: 662kcal

Ingredients

  • 450 g | 1 lbs minced beef
  • 100 g | 3 1/2oz stale bread cubed
  • 120 ml | 1/2 cup red wine
  • 1 large egg
  • 2 shallots peeled and finely diced
  • 2 large garlic cloves minced
  • 1/2 tsp ground cumin
  • 1/2 onion granules optional
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp dried oregano
  • 1/2 tsp dried thyme
  • 3 tbsp flour
  • 3 tbsp light olive oil to fry
  • fresh thyme to garnish

For the tomato sauc

  • 3 tbsp light olive oil
  • 1 red onion peeled and finely diced
  • 2 cloves garlic minced
  • red wine see method
  • 400 g | 14oz tin tomatoes in tomato sauce
  • 80 ml | 1/3 cup water
  • 1 tbsp sugar
  • 1 tsp red wine vinegar
  • 2 cinnamon sticks
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • salt and freshly ground pepper

Instructions

  • Soak the bread cubes in the wine. Leave to stand for a few minutes then squeeze dry and put the bread in a large bowl, reserving the wine to use in the sauce.
  • Add the mince, egg, shallots, garlic, cumin, onion granules, salt and herbs in the bowl with the bread and mix together thoroughly.
  • Form the meatballs with slightly wet hands – about the size of a walnut. You can form them into little balls or rugby ball shapes.
  • Put the flour on a large plate and roll the meatbals in it to coat. Roll them in your hands again to remove excess flour.
  • Heat the oil in a large frying pan and then fry the meatballs, in batches in necessary, until browned on all sides. Use two tablespoons to gently flip the meatballs over – they can be a little delicate.
  • Remove from the pan, set aside on a plate and clean the pan to use for the sauce.
  • Heat the oil for the sauce and then cook the onion and garlic over low heat for 10 minutes.
  • Add the cumin and cinnamon sticks.
  • Add the reserved red wine and increase the heat until it is boiling.
  • Blitz the tomatoes in a blender for a smoother sauce (or you can also use passata) and add to the pan together with the water, sugar and vinegar.
  • Simmer for 15 minutes then add the meatballs to the sauce and simmer for a further 20-30 minutes until cooked through. Add a splash of water if the pan gets too dry.
  • Serve garnished with fresh thyme, with steamed rice, mash or fries as a main or with pitta bread as a meze.

Nutritional Info

Calories: 662kcal | Carbohydrates: 32g | Protein: 26g | Fat: 46g | Saturated Fat: 12g | Cholesterol: 121mg | Sodium: 528mg | Potassium: 681mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin A: 175IU | Vitamin C: 13.3mg | Calcium: 130mg | Iron: 5.8mg
Tried this recipe?Mention @supergolden88 or tag #supergoldenbakes!

 

Filed Under: Beef, Greek Food, Lunch, Dinner and Side Dishes Tagged With: meatballs

« Super-easy raspberry and white chocolate muffins
Pegu Club cocktail »

Never Miss A Post!

Subscribe to get the all the latest tasty goodness delivered to your inbox!

Comments

  1. Chloe says

    September 27, 2019 at 12:52 am

    5 stars
    Thank you so much for this recipe! Made it tonight and we all loved it!

    Reply
  2. CJ says

    May 2, 2019 at 4:23 pm

    4 stars
    Nice – I added stock and did it with lamb and no breadcrumbs… worked just as well

    Reply
  3. Ren says

    April 28, 2017 at 10:10 am

    Desperately craving these. Lucy! They look delicious.

    Reply
    • Lucy Parissi says

      April 28, 2017 at 4:51 pm

      They are a must! I think polenta would also go really well with them.

      Reply
  4. Dorothy at Shockingly Delicious says

    April 26, 2017 at 1:19 am

    That sauce looks and sound rich and delicious!

    Reply
  5. Kristina @ Love & Zest says

    April 26, 2017 at 1:01 am

    These look absolutely amazing. Thanks for sharing.

    Reply
  6. Dahn says

    April 25, 2017 at 11:28 pm

    These sound utterly delicious and they have ME dreaming of taking a holiday in Greece.

    Reply
  7. Debra C. says

    April 25, 2017 at 11:15 pm

    Pure comfort food right! I would love a bowlful of these amazing meatballs – the combination of spices isn’t a combo that I’ve tried before, I can only imagine how delicious these would be and how amazing the house would smell!!

    Reply
  8. Amy says

    April 25, 2017 at 10:13 pm

    These meatballs sound wonderful. I love the combo of cinnamon and cumin together and the tomato sauce sounds so delicious and inviting. Can’t wait to try it!

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




HEY, NICE TO MEET YOU!

Picture of Lucy ParissiHi, I am Lucy Parissi, the recipe developer, food  photographer and author behind Supergolden Bakes. If you are looking for easy sweet and savoury recipes that are packed with flavour you have come to the right place!  READ MORE

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Tumblr
  • Twitter

Bake Yourself Happy!

More Posts from this Category

As Seen In…

Collage of brand logos, including Cosmopolitan, BuzzFeed, Chowhound, MSN, Elle, and Redbook
This site uses cookies: Find out more.