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Keftedes - Greek meatballs

These meatballs have delicious flavors from the herbs and are wonderfully moist inside. Plus they are versatile in how you serve them, too.

Prep Time
20 mins
Cook Time
20 mins
rest time (approx)
30 mins
Total Time
35 mins
Servings: 4 or
Calories: 422 kcal
Course: Main Course , Appetizer
Cuisine: Greek

Ingredients

  • 2 oz bread (2oz is approx 2 slices, either with soft crust or hard crust removed)
  • ½ cup milk
  • ½ red onion
  • 1 clove garlic small
  • ½ lb ground beef beef mince
  • ½ lb ground pork pork mince
  • 1 tablespoon mint (fresh, finely chopped amount)
  • 1 tablespoon parsley (fresh, finely chopped amount)
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil virgin or extra virgin
  • ½ tablespoon red wine vinegar
  • ¼ teaspoon salt approx
  • ¼ teaspoon pepper approx
  • ¼ cup flour approx
  • oil for frying (olive oil/vegetable/canola as you prefer or a mixture)

Instructions

    Cup of Yum
  1. Place the bread in a bowl, slightly broken up, and pour over the milk. Leave it to soak a few minutes while you prepare other ingredients.
  2. Grate the red onion and mince or finely grate the garlic. Finley chop the mint and parsley.
  3. Place the beef, pork, onion, garlic, mint, parsley, oregano, olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper in a bowl. Squeeze out the milk from the bread with your hands (don't go overboard, just have it pretty well drained) and add the bread to the bowl with everything else.
  4. Mix everything together so that it is well combined - it's best to do this at least partly with your hands as you need to break up the meats and bread so they mix properly. Cover the bowl and refrigerate for around 30 minutes to allow the flavors to mingle.
  5. Prepare a small plate with flour on it for rolling and have a baking sheet or plate to put the meatballs on. Take roughly tablespoonfuls of the mixture and roll in your hands to form a ball. Roll it in the flour to coat on all sides then shake off excess flour and place on the baking sheet/plate. Repeat with the rest of the mixture (you should get around 24).
  6. Warm a skillet/frying pan over a medium-high heat with a shallow layer of oil in it - you can use olive oil, canola or vegetable oil as you prefer or a mixture. You can use a large skillet to cook more at once or smaller if you prefer to not have to work as quick in turning them all etc.
  7. Add some of the meatballs to the skillet with space between them so you don't overcrowd the skillet. Increase the heat a little if needed as the meatballs will reduce the heat and you want the oil to stay hot. Cook the meatballs around 2-3 minutes on each side and turn at least 2 or 3 times so that they are nicely browned and slightly crisp all over. A good sign that they are ready to turn is they should move without being stuck to the pan.
  8. Once they are browned all over and cooked through, remove from the pan, draining with a slotted spoon or with spoon tilted to side, then drain the meatballs on kitchen paper to remove any excess oil. Repeat with the rest of the meatballs. Best served warm but also work at room temperature.

Notes

  • You can use a large or small skillet/frying pan to cook these - I prefer small-medium as I find it easier to keep an eye on them as they cook and you don't have too many cold meatballs reducing the temperature of the oil as you cook. But it does mean you need to cook more batches.
  • Whichever size skillet you use, keep a shallow layer of oil in the pan at all times to ensure the meatballs cook. And keep an eye on the heat - you want the oil to sizzle so it's hot enough to brown the meatballs but not so hot it burns them. 
  • I haven't included an egg in the ingredients even though it is typical as I didn't find we needed it the last few times I made these. If you prefer to include one to make it a little 'stickier', use a half egg or 1 egg at most for this quantity.

Nutrition Information

Calories 422kcal (21%) Carbohydrates 18g (6%) Protein 23g (46%) Fat 28g (43%) Saturated Fat 10g (50%) Trans Fat 1g Cholesterol 84mg (28%) Sodium 303mg (13%) Potassium 427mg (12%) Fiber 1g (4%) Sugar 3g (6%) Vitamin A 200IU (4%) Vitamin C 3mg (3%) Calcium 78mg (8%) Iron 3mg (17%)

Nutrition Facts

Serving: 4or

Amount Per Serving

Calories 422

% Daily Value*

Calories 422kcal 21%
Carbohydrates 18g 6%
Protein 23g 46%
Fat 28g 43%
Saturated Fat 10g 50%
Trans Fat 1g 50%
Cholesterol 84mg 28%
Sodium 303mg 13%
Potassium 427mg 9%
Fiber 1g 4%
Sugar 3g 6%
Vitamin A 200IU 4%
Vitamin C 3mg 3%
Calcium 78mg 8%
Iron 3mg 17%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.