These Keftedes (Greek Meatballs) are crispy on the outside and super juicy within! Made with lean turkey mince, red onion, feta, wholemeal breadcrumbs, mint and oregano. Serve as appetiser or mezze spread with tzatziki and Greek salad or turn into a meal. These healthy meatballs are perfect for Slimming World!
Prep Time10 minutesmins
Cook Time12 minutesmins
Total Time22 minutesmins
Course: Appetizer / Party food, Main Course
Cuisine: Greek
Keyword: Greek meatballs, Keftedes, Slimming World Meatballs, Turkey Meatballs
750g/ 1.65 lbs lean turkey minceor use ground beef, pork or lamb
90g/ 1 cup fresh breadcrumbs(2 slices of bread or prepared breadcrumbs)
1egg
1red onion, minced
100g/ 3.5oz feta (about 2/3 cup), finely crumbled
16mint leaves, chopped
1tbspfinely chopped parsley
2tspgarlic powder
1tspsalt
1/2tspdried oregano
2tbsprapeseed or light olive oilto fry
Instructions
To pan fry
Put your mince into a large bowl and add the breadcrumbs, onion, egg, crumbled feta cheese, herbs, garlic powder and salt.
Use a wooden spoon to roughly combine everything together then use your hands to mix well for a few minutes. If you have time cover the bowl and pop in the fridge for 30 minutes. It will make it easier to roll the meatballs.
Roll the meatballs with slightly damp hands – they should be about the size of a ping pong ball (1.57” | 4cm). This recipe makes 35 meatballs.
Heat the oil in a large skillet or frying pan and fry in batches over medium heat. The meatballs will need 5-6 minutes per side until they are nicely browned on all sides and cooked all the way through. Do not crowd the pan as the temperature will drop and they will take longer to cook. Place the cooked meatballs on a plate lined with paper towel as you cook the batches.
Bake in the oven
Spread the meatballs on a baking tray covered with greaseproof paper and spray with a little cooking oil (such Fry Light).
Bake in a 180C (350F) preheated oven for about 20 minutes, flipping over half way through.
• With tabbouleh – perfect for office lunches or picnics
Freezing Instructions
To freeze meatballs raw: Place on a tray lined with greaseproof paper, spaced slightly apart. Put the tray in the freezer for a few hours until the meatballs are solid. Pop the frozen meatballs in an airtight container or freezer bags and use within a month. Thaw overnight in the fridge (in a single layer) then cook. To freeze cooked meatballs: Cool the cooked meatballs then pop them in freezer bags labeled with the date. Use within three months. Thaw overnight in the fridge and then heat until completely hot all the way through, or add them to pasta sauce.
Slimming World Meatballs
Feta cheese is part of your Healthy Extras (a) and wholemeal bread is a Healthy Extra (b). All other ingredients are free so I think we can call these SYN FREE if fried using low calorie cooking spray or baked in the oven.
Please note I am not affiliated in any way with Slimming World. Syn values are based on the Slimming World online calculator.
Nutritional information is always approximate, and will depend on quality of ingredients and serving sizes.