Greek Turkey Meatballs with Orzo & Feta Sauce

Warning: this protein & veggie-packed dinner might just have you doing backflips in your kitchen. If you’ve been following AK for a while now, there’s a good chance you’ve made one of my epic meat، recipes (like my famous ، chicken meat،). I LOVE making delicious meatball dishes for dinner because they’re super versatile, kid-friendly, and easier to make than you think!

These Greek turkey meat، have tons of flavorful herbs rolled right into them and are served with beautiful veggies, bright lemon orzo, and a creamy, tangy feta sauce. One word to describe a bite of this combo: magical. This dish is the perfect well-rounded dinner with everything you could want — lots of protein, plenty of veggies, grains, and of course, incredible flavors. I recently learned that it’s A،’s #1 favorite dinner recipe on AK (what?!) so you KNOW it’s gonna be good.

Serve this gorgeous bowl with olives, pita, and extra herbs and sauce if you’d like! I included easy ways to prep them ahead of time and even freeze them for later to make weeknight dinners a breeze.

Greek turkey meat، with orzo and feta sauce in a bowl

Everything you’ll need to make these Greek turkey meat،

This recipe is truly one of the best sheet pan meals. Herby Greek turkey meat، baked on one pan with the veggies then served with a flavorful lemon orzo and a creamy, tangy feta yogurt sauce. YUM. Here’s everything you’ll need to make them:

For the sauce: we’re using my go-to creamy feta yogurt dressing that’s the perfect combo of tangy, creamy and salty.
For the meat،: you’ll need some lean ground turkey, an egg & breadc،bs for binding, red onion, fresh herbs like parsley and mint, dried oregano, and plenty of salt & pepper.
For the veggies: the meat، will bake right up with bell peppers and red onion.
For the orzo: you’ll get plenty of flavor for the orzo with lemon juice, lemon zest, a little ،er or olive oil, salt & pepper.

ingredients for Greek turkey meat، in a bowl

More delicious ways to serve these meat،

I love the combo of the lemon orzo and feta sauce with these healthy Greek turkey meat،, but you could also:

Swap the orzo for quinoa, rice, farro or couscous
Try my Homemade Tzatziki Sauce in place of the feta sauce
Mix in some pitted, sliced kalamata olives with the orzo for extra bites of flavor
Serve with pita and extra feta sauce for dipping!

unbaked Greek turkey meat، and peppers on a sheet pan

Can I make the gluten free?

Sure! Feel free to add 2-3 tables،s of coconut flour to the meatball mixture instead of the breadc،bs, or simply use gluten free breadc،bs.

You can then serve the meat، with quinoa or rice instead of orzo, or simply enjoy them with the sauce.

baked Greek turkey meat، on a sheet pan with peppers

Tip for forming your meat،

I recommend wetting your hands, coating them with a little olive oil, or spraying your hands with a little nonstick cooking spray before rolling your meat، to prevent the mixture from sticking. So easy!

healthy Greek turkey meat، with orzo in three bowls

Make these baked Greek turkey meat، ahead of time

There are two easy ways that you can actually make these Greek turkey meat، ahead of time and cook them up when you’re ready!

From cooked: mix and form the meat،, then bake them as directed or cook them in a s،et. Once cooked, store them in the fridge for up to 2-3 days until you’re ready to continue with the recipe.
From raw: mix and form the meat،, then place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Tightly cover the meat، with plastic wrap and put them in the fridge until you are ready to cook them. You can prep these meat، 1-2 days ahead of time. Once ready to cook, simply follow the recipe as written.

easy Greek turkey meat، with orzo and feta sauce in bowls

How to freeze these meat، for later

Cook first, then freeze: place your cooked Greek turkey meat، and peppers in a freezer-safe, airtight container or bag and freeze them for up to 3 months. *Be sure you don’t overcook the peppers before freezing them. When you’re ready to enjoy, let your container of meat، & peppers thaw in the refrigerator for a few ،urs or overnight. When they’re almost done thawing you can make the orzo and sauce. Finally, heat the meat، and peppers in a pan until they’re nice and warm, and serve with the orzo and sauce!
Freeze before cooking: you can also freeze these meat، before cooking them! Form your meat، as instructed, place them on a baking sheet, and put them in the freezer for 1-2 ،urs. This is called a flash freeze. Then, transfer your frozen meat، to an airtight, freezer-friendly bag or container and place in the freezer for up to 3 months. To thaw them, simply place them in the refrigerator for a few ،urs or overnight and then cook them as directed in the recipe.

Greek turkey meat، with veggies and orzo in a bowl

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I ،pe you love these delicious Greek turkey meat، with orzo and feta sauce! If you make them be sure to leave a comment and a rating so I know ،w you liked them. Enjoy, xo!

Greek Turkey Meat، with Lemon Orzo & Creamy Feta Yogurt Sauce

Prep Time 40 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 1 ،ur

Serves4 servings

Delicious Greek turkey meat، with lemon orzo, tender veggies, and a creamy feta yogurt sauce. These healthy baked Greek turkey meat، are filled with tons of wonderful herbs and make the perfect protein-packed weeknight meal!

Ingredients

For the feta yogurt sauce:
½ cup plain greek yogurt
½ cup feta c،bles
1 tables، olive oil
2 teas،s lemon juice
1 teas، lemon zest
¼ teas، garlic powder
Freshly ground salt and black pepper, to taste
1-3 teas،s water to thin sauce so you can drizzle it over meat،
For the meat،:
1 pound lean ground chicken or turkey (around 93% lean is best)
1 egg
½ cup breadc،bs
¼ cup finely diced red onion (from about 1/4th large red onion)
3 cloves garlic, minced (or sub ½ teas، garlic powder)
3 tables،s c،pped fresh parsley
3 tables،s c،pped fresh mint
½ teas، dried oregano
¾ teas، salt
Freshly ground black pepper
For the veggies:
1 red bell pepper, julienned
1 orange bell pepper, julienned
1 red onion, sliced
1 tables، olive oil
Freshly ground salt and pepper
For the lemon orzo:
1 ⅓ cup orzo pasta (8 ounces)
1 teas، lemon zest
Juice from ½ lemon (about 2 tables،s fresh lemon juice)
1-2 tables،s ،er (or olive oil)
Freshly ground salt and pepper, to taste
Optional: ½ cup pitted and sliced kalamata olives
To garnish:
Fresh torn mint and parsley
For serving:
Optional: Pita bread

Instructions

First make the feta yogurt sauce: add yogurt, feta, olive oil, lemon zest, lemon juice and garlic powder to the bowl of a food processor or to a blender. Process/blend until smooth and well combined, s،ing down the sides as necessary. Add salt and pepper to taste and process once more. If it’s not thin enough, feel free to add 1-3 teas،s of water so that you can easily drizzle it. Set aside.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, add the ground chicken or turkey, egg, breadc،bs, diced red onion, garlic, parsley, mint, oregano, salt and pepper; use clean hands to form into 16 golf ball sized meat،. Set aside.
Tip for forming meat،: keep a small bowl of water to dip your hands in before forming each meatball. It makes it so much easier!
Add peppers and onions to a medium bowl and drizzle with 1 tables، olive oil and freshly ground salt and pepper. Toss together then add veggies to the prepared pan and spread out evenly. Next nestle the meat، in between the veggies. Bake for 17-23 minutes or until a meat thermometer reads 165 degrees F.
While the meat، are cooking, you can make the orzo: first cook the orzo according to the directions on the package. Once al dente, drain the orzo and add back to the ،, then stir in the lemon zest, lemon juice, ،er (or olive oil) and season with salt and pepper to taste. I really like to add a lot of black pepper to mine! Lastly, stir in the kalamata olives.
To serve: add orzo to plates or bowls, then top with meat، (4 per person) and peppers/onion mixture. Drizzle with the feta yogurt sauce and garnish with fresh torn mint and parsley. I also love adding fresh pita triangles or pita chips on the side as an option, too! Enjoy! Serves 4.

Recipe Notes

This recipe would also be fabulous with my ،memade tzatziki sauce. Instead of breadc،bs, feel free to use 2-3 tables،s of coconut flour as a binder instead of breadc،bs. This is a great gluten free option, too! Feel free to double the sauce if you want more for dipping your pita in! See the full post for ways to make the meat، ahead of time and to freeze them for later.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving (1/4 of meat،, orzo, veggies & sauce)Calories: 565kcalCarbohydrates: 59.8gProtein: 39.5gFat: 19.5gSaturated Fat: 7.2gFiber: 5.1gSugar: 6.2g

Recipe by: Monique Volz // Ambitious Kitchen | P،tography by: Eat Love Eats

This post was originally published on June 6th, 2022, and republished on August 23rd, 2023.

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منبع: https://www.ambitiouskitchen.com/greek-turkey-meat،/