In great anticipation and excitement for a sunny spring, we've been chatting about entertaining and parties a bit more than usual on The Kitchn lately. This past weekend instead of traditional Easter fare, we made meatballs at my house. Meatballs are so fitting for any party that I had to share them with you today.
This recipe came about as many do: in an effort to clean out the fridge before a little getaway. I'm heading back down to The Bay Area this weekend, and wanted to make sure we weren't leaving ingredients behind that would go bad. We had a bit of ground turkey in the refrigerator, some leftover feta and ricotta, and for some reason we always have ample Italian parsley. I remember reading about lentil meatballs on Sprouted Kitchen months back and have been dying to add lentils to my meatballs ever since. So, here we are: the Mediterranean Turkey Meatball was born.
Truthfully, while these meatballs are a perfect appetizer with the yogurt sauce, they'd be just as comfy soaking in a big pot of tomato sauce and eaten with pasta, or served with farro and greens for a more well-rounded meal. The salty olives, capers and feta balance out the creamy lentils and ricotta and the snap of the herbs. While they're certainly not traditional and you can't compare them to your Italian grandmother's, these are my new favorite meatball: hands down.

A few notes on the recipe: I never buy breadcrumbs in the store because they're expensive and so easy to make at home; use any bread you have laying around (even slightly stale bread) and toast it in the oven at 400°F. Then pulverize it in the food processor until, that's right, you've got bread crumbs. I find 4 to 5 slices of sandwich bread will equal about 2/3 cup breadcrumbs. And I realize it's spring and many of you may be growing herbs out in the garden or on your windowsills. If you prefer other herbs than what I've used in the dipping sauce, by all means substitute away! The point of the recipe was really to use and celebrate what we already had at home.
Mediterranean Turkey Meatballs with Herbed Yogurt Sauce
Makes twenty 2-inch meatballs
For the meatballs:
1 cup cooked lentils (black or green works well)
1/2 pound ground turkey
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
2/3 cup breadcrumbs
1/2 cup low-fat ricotta
1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
2 tablespoons red onion, minced
2 tablespoons chopped black olives
1 tablespoon capers
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tablespoons fresh Italian parsley, finely chopped, plus more for garnish
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon dried dill
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
For the herbed yogurt sauce:
1 cup Greek yogurt
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon fresh or dried chives
1 teaspoon fresh or dried dill, chopped
1 teaspoon lemon zest
Salt and pepper, to taste
In a food processor, quickly grind up the lentils until they become mush. Put them in a medium-sized mixing bowl. Add all of the remaining meatball ingredients to the bowl and mix well. I use my hands here, but if you're more comfortable, use a good sturdy mixing spoon. Let the mixture sit for 15 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 375°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or spray generously with non-stick spray. Form 2-inch balls and place on the baking sheet. The meatballs keep their shape nicely and don't spread much, so don't worry about giving them too much space.
Bake on the middle rack for 20 to 22 minutes until the meatballs are golden brown. Remove from the oven and cool slightly.
While the meatballs are baking, make the yogurt dipping sauce by simply whisking all of the ingredients together in a small bowl. Add salt and pepper to taste. Chill until ready to serve. Keep both meatballs and yogurt sauce covered and refrigerated; meatballs will keep for 3 to 4 days, yogurt dip will keep for 7 to 10 days.
Related: Totally Tender Meatballs in Tomato Sauce
(Images: Megan Gordon)
Mick Haigh Bowls fr...

Comments (6)
I've been meaning to make the Sprouted Kitchen lentil meatballs too, I've pinned it on Pinterest. I recently made tuna meatballs, which are also not exactly your grandmother's meatballs but they have become my favorite....will have to try these though!
this is a wonderful meatball recipe version- can't wait to try this soon!
wow crazy, i was looking for something new to make meatball-wise today. I already threw in my favorite Moroccan marinade, these look great tho will try them next
My vegetarian version has roasted butternut squash and black beans, and a spicy chipotle tamarind sauce for dipping.
These look delicious and I am sure they will freeze nicely as well. I am having a small get together here in a few weeks and wanted to try something different so this will fit the bill perfectly. Plus we have graduation plus open house coming up in May and I really need to have as much made in advance as I can. Thanks for sharing!
Made these last night and they came out awesome. I used some leftover cooked toor dal (I think that's split pigeon pea?) for the green lentils, and some different flavorings for the capers and olives (fresh cilantro, green chillies, and scallions). We had them on long potato rolls with tzatziki, quick pickled red onions, and tomatoes. Perfect. Thank you!