I make bowls for dinner during the week like nobody’s business. I’ve talked about this before on my Chili Garlic Shrimp Bowl recipe, but they are great for customizing and generally a healthy option!
I start off this recipe by making my own tzatziki sauce. This is a Greek yogurt and cucumber sauce that is so good! I don’t put a dressing on this bowl, I just use the tzatziki. You won’t need any additional dressing once you taste all the flavorful toppings! It starts with grating an English Cucumber.
Once it’s grated, you squeeze all the excess moisture out over a strainer in the sink. Cucumber has a lot of water so you want to squeeze a lot of it out so that the tzatziki is the right consistency, saucey and not soupy.
Once I mix this up, I store it in the refrigerator to let the flavors marinate until I’m ready to assemble the bowls and serve.
Next up is the meatballs. I just throw everything in a large bowl and mix it with my hands. You need to get a little aggressive here in order to distribute the ingredients evenly.
I put my meatballs on parchment paper for baking, but feel free to use aluminum foil + baking spray, whatever you have on hand. I shape them into large golf ball sized meatballs.
While they are baking, I prepare any rice that I want to put in the bowl and prepare my toppings. You can totally customize this recipe, but my favorite toppings are roasted red peppers, pickled red onions, feta cheese, spinach, cherry tomatoes, and cucumber. If you’re an olive fan, that would be a great topping! Or maybe you prefer hummus to tzatziki – feel free to create them how you’d like. I’ve also seen people bake chickpeas to make them crispy and seasoned, then add them to a salad like this.
Greek Lamb Meatball Bowls
Ingredients
For the Tzatziki Sauce:
- 1 english cucumber, grated (about 2 cups)
- 1 cup plain greek yogurt, full fat
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tsp white wine vinegar
- 1 tbsp fresh dill, chopped
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1 tbsp olive oil
For the Lamb Meatballs:
- 1 lb ground lamb
- 1/2 cup red onion, finely chopped
- 1/4 cup chopped spinach
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
- 2 tsp oregano
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- zest from 1/2 a lemon
Toppings (customizeable)
- roasted red peppers
- halved cherry tomatoes
- sliced cucumber
- feta cheese
- sliced red onion
- baby spinach
- cooked white or brown rice
Instructions
- Make the tzatziki first by grating the cucumber and squeezing out the excess moisture over a strainer in the sink. Combine all ingredients in a bowl, stir and taste to adjust seasonings. Store in the fridge until needed.
- Next, preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Combine all meatball ingredients in a large bowl and mix with your hands till everything is thoroughly distributed. Roll into golf ball sized meatballs and put on a parchment lined baking sheet.
- Bake the meatballs for 20 minutes. While the meatballs are baking, prepare any bowl ingredients you'd like to add to your bowl such as rice, red onion, tomatoes, olives, cucumber, roasted red peppers, etc.
- Once the meatballs are done, assemble each bowl with a spinach base, meatballs, toppings, and tzatziki.
