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 meatballs recipes (like my famous ginger chicken meatballs). 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 meatballs 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 Abra’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.
Everything you’ll need to make these Greek turkey meatballs
This recipe is truly one of the best sheet pan meals. Herby Greek turkey meatballs 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 meatballs: you’ll need some lean ground turkey, an egg & breadcrumbs for binding, red onion, fresh herbs like parsley and mint, dried oregano, and plenty of salt & pepper.
- For the veggies: the meatballs 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 butter or olive oil, salt & pepper.
More delicious ways to serve these meatballs
I love the combo of the lemon orzo and feta sauce with these healthy Greek turkey meatballs, 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!
Can I make the gluten free?
Sure! Feel free to add 2-3 tablespoons of coconut flour to the meatball mixture instead of the breadcrumbs, or simply use gluten free breadcrumbs.
You can then serve the meatballs with quinoa or rice instead of orzo, or simply enjoy them with the sauce.
Tip for forming your meatballs
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 meatballs to prevent the mixture from sticking. So easy!
Make these baked Greek turkey meatballs ahead of time
There are two easy ways that you can actually make these Greek turkey meatballs ahead of time and cook them up when you’re ready!
- From cooked: mix and form the meatballs, then bake them as directed or cook them in a skillet. 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 meatballs, then place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Tightly cover the meatballs with plastic wrap and put them in the fridge until you are ready to cook them. You can prep these meatballs 1-2 days ahead of time. Once ready to cook, simply follow the recipe as written.
How to freeze these meatballs for later
- Cook first, then freeze: place your cooked Greek turkey meatballs 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 meatballs & peppers thaw in the refrigerator for a few hours or overnight. When they’re almost done thawing you can make the orzo and sauce. Finally, heat the meatballs 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 meatballs before cooking them! Form your meatballs as instructed, place them on a baking sheet, and put them in the freezer for 1-2 hours. This is called a flash freeze. Then, transfer your frozen meatballs 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 hours or overnight and then cook them as directed in the recipe.
Recommended tools
Check out all of my kitchen essentials here!
More meatball recipes you’ll love
- Sweet & Spicy Sesame Chicken Meatball Bowls
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- Firecracker Chicken Meatballs with Cilantro Coconut Pineapple Rice
- One Pan Ginger Chicken Meatballs with Peanut Sauce
- One Pan Enchilada Zucchini Turkey Meatballs and Rice
Get even more dinner recipes here!
I hope you love these delicious Greek turkey meatballs with orzo and feta sauce! If you make them be sure to leave a comment and a rating so I know how you liked them. Enjoy, xo!
Ambitious Kitchen
Cookbook
125 Ridiculously Good For You, Sometimes Indulgent, and Absolutely Never Boring Recipes for Every Meal of the Day
Greek Turkey Meatballs with Lemon Orzo & Creamy Feta Yogurt Sauce
Ingredients
- For the feta yogurt sauce:
- ½ cup plain greek yogurt
- ½ cup feta crumbles
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- Freshly ground salt and black pepper, to taste
- 1-3 teaspoons water to thin sauce so you can drizzle it over meatballs
- For the meatballs:
- 1 pound lean ground chicken or turkey (around 93% lean is best)
- 1 egg
- ½ cup breadcrumbs
- ¼ cup finely diced red onion (from about 1/4th large red onion)
- 3 cloves garlic, minced (or sub ½ teaspoon garlic powder)
- 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
- 3 tablespoons chopped fresh mint
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- For the veggies:
- 1 red bell pepper, julienned
- 1 orange bell pepper, julienned
- 1 red onion, sliced
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- Freshly ground salt and pepper
- For the lemon orzo:
- 1 ⅓ cup orzo pasta (8 ounces)
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- Juice from ½ lemon (about 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice)
- 1-2 tablespoons butter (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, scraping 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 teaspoons 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, breadcrumbs, diced red onion, garlic, parsley, mint, oregano, salt and pepper; use clean hands to form into 16 golf ball sized meatballs. Set aside.
- Tip for forming meatballs: 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 tablespoon olive oil and freshly ground salt and pepper. Toss together then add veggies to the prepared pan and spread out evenly. Next nestle the meatballs in between the veggies. Bake for 17-23 minutes or until a meat thermometer reads 165 degrees F.
- While the meatballs 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 pot, then stir in the lemon zest, lemon juice, butter (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 meatballs (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
Nutrition
Recipe by: Monique Volz // Ambitious Kitchen | Photography by: Eat Love Eats
This post was originally published on June 6th, 2022, and republished on August 23rd, 2023.
136 comments
This recipe sounds amazing and I cannot wait to try it but…I am not a big fan of mint. Any chance I could substitute fresh dill in place of the mint? Thoughts?
Hi, Elizabeth! Yes absolutely, dill would be incredible, or you can use some more parsley in its place. So excited for you to try this one! 🙂
I can’t wait to try this recipe! I’m a huge fan of your recipes. I make many of them often!
Question: I’m DF – any suggestions on a good sauce to sub for the one in this recipe? I’ll make the sauce as is for my hubby.
Thanks!
I used a Simple Truth plant-based tzatziki sauce I got from Fred Meyer and it was great! The sauce is made from good, whole foods too, rather than the stuff that’s in most vegan cheese substitutes.
Thanks so much for all the comments! So excited for you to try this one. I think my creamy tahini sauce would be FAB on here 🙂
Another incredible meatball recipe! I used ground turkey for the meatballs with coconut flour to keep them gluten free, and I used dried parsley and mint because that’s what I had…and honestly I was too impatient to wait to make this. 😂 I also used jasmine white rice instead of orzo to stay GF. I’m primarily dairy free so tried this with a plant-based tzatziki sauce I have which was delicious, but I definitely want to splurge and make the feta sauce next time because I think it will be even better!
I saw your post in the FB group and it looked AMAZING!! So, so happy you loved it, Melissa. Thanks for the review!
Incredible!!! Love the lemony orzo with Greek meatballs and roasted veggies. A meal I felt great after eating and super proud to serve to my family. Hubby raves about this one. 100 percent will be part of our regular rotation. Monique you are a recipe genius!
Aw YAY!! I’m so happy you both loved it, Meghan! Thanks so much for the sweet review 🥰
This recipe was easy to make and quite good! Not heavy, which is perfect for summer and I loved that I could use herbs from the garden. I used half a block of seasoned feta instead of crumbles as it’s what I had left over, and a yellow and orange bell pepper instead. The time estimated to prepare is accurate and 19 minutes in the oven was perfect for cooking the meatballs.
Thanks so much for the review, Lauren! I’m so glad you loved it 🙂
Oh wow. I made these last night for dinner and they were perfection. Tender herby meatballs, lightly charred peppers, buttery citrusy orzo – everything works so well together. I love roasted peppers, so next time I’d probably double them or add another roasted veg like broccoli. I went with 2 TB of butter for the orzo and highly recommend it. So good!
SO glad you tried and loved these, Melanie!! Good call to add extra veg next time and to add the 2 tbsp. butter — yum 🙂
Super delicious and perfect for summer!
So good! The feta sauce was the star. Subbed banza pasta due to my celiac husband but followed the recipe besides that sub. Would make again!
Isn’t that sauce incredible?! So happy you loved it!! And great call to use Banza 🙂
Soooooooo good! We added cucumber and radish on top for some crunch. The flavor of the meatballs is amazing and the sauce pairs perfectly. I can’t wait to make this again!
Love those toppings! SO happy they came out great. Thanks for the review, Grace ❤️
Love, love, love this recipe! Super easy, barely any work to make. I made the meatballs from grass fed beef (family of athletes that needed the iron, omega3 and B12) and they were great! The fam loved them so much that I didn’t have leftovers which was kind of a bummer. I was looking forward to having them for lunch the next day.
So glad you all loved this recipe, Anne! Thank you! Sounds like you need to double it next time to have plenty of leftovers ☺️
This dish was delicious! I loved being able to bake the meatballs on the same pan as the veggies. This dish is so flavorful, a must try!
Oh my goodness!! This recipe is amazing 🤩 Made it with some friends and enjoyed on the back porch. Perfect summer meal 💕
OBSESSED with how delicious and satisfying this recipe. I made this for my mother in law and my husband and they both said they could easily eat this meal every week, and I couldn’t agree more.
These meatballs were delicious! I loved every part of it- the meatballs, the veggies, the orzo, and the feta sauce all came together to make a delicious meal!
These are the most flavourful meatballs! I especially love the fresh mint in them, Super easy to put together and dinner is ready in about 30 minutes. Even my picky teenagers gobbled them up. Will definitely make again and will do a double batch next time. Thank you for a fabulous recipe!
I’m so glad you all loved them!! So excited for you to enjoy them again ☺️
Really really great recipe. My favorite thing was the mint in the meatball mixture. I love this blog because i’m always trying new things. Would definitely recommend making! Super easy and delicious 🙂
Aw thank you so much, Quinn! So happy you’re here 🥰
Made the recipe as is and it was delicious. May sub zucchinni in for half of the peppers next time as they are hard to digest for us in such a large quantity.
Happy you enjoyed it! And that’s a great idea 🙂
Best recipe I’ve made in a long time. Very good 👏
Absolutely delicious. Loved by my whole family. The feta sauce made the dish. Definitely be making this again. Thanks for the recipe.
This was so yummy! I couldn’t believe how light and fluffy the meatballs were–and they had so much flavor! And the sauce–I could eat that on its own!
Loved this. So ridiculously easy and the the flavors were spot on. It’s going to be in our regular rotation
So glad it was a hit! One of our new fav dinners, too 🙂
I have made this 4 times and i thought i finally needed to add a 5 star review! Like all your recipes (every one I’ve made has been a hit) this was super easy, beyond delicious, and healthy! The most recent time i made it, i also added a little feta to the meatballs after being inspired by your goat cheese meatballs. Thanks for another great staple for us!
Aw thank you so much!! Thrilled to hear you’re loving this one. SUCH a good idea to add feta directly into the meatballs 🙂
This took a minute to make for sure, but so worth it. I tripled the recipe because I had a 3lb package of ground turkey, so we have plenty left over to freeze. Delicious!
So glad it was worth it! And such a great idea to make a big batch and freeze the leftovers!
Huge hit in our house! I chop all the veggies ahead of time and make the sauce the night before for quicker prep time during the work week. I used ground beef because my husband prefers that to turkey or chicken, and it still came out great. This is now in our regular rotation. Mom, Dad, and toddler approved!
Great idea to prep part of it ahead of time! SO happy the whole fam loves it 🙂
I wish I could give this recipe 10 stars. It is DELICIOUS! The mint and parsley combo in the meatballs is *chefs kiss.* This is on my list of top AK recipes. I’ve eaten it 5 days in a row and can’t get enough! Husband loves it too!
Aw thank you, Rebecca!! I know you’ve tried a lot of my recipes, so I’m thrilled to hear that this one’s up there! ❤️
Fantastic recipe! I can always count on Ambitious Kitchen for amazing flavor and recipes that teach me to use ingredients in a new way. I never need to modify the recipes on this site because every one I have tried is delicious. The meatballs were so yummy! The lemon profile in the orzo mixed with the sweetness of the bell peppers and red onions and to top it off with feta sauce and fresh herbs…a home run in my house! Thank you 🙂
Aw thank you SO much, Grace! I’m so happy you’re here!! Glad you loved this one 🙂
Another AK winner. Loved how all the flavors came together. Didn’t make any modifications, it’s perfect
SO glad you loved this one, Mary!!
SO yummy!!!! I will make this over and over again for my family. They all loved it. I didn’t have feta so I made a simple tzatziki sauce which worked perfectly!
I’m so glad you all loved it, Grace! Thank you!
SO good! I didn’t have mint leaves so I left it out of the meatballs and it was still so delicious. Loved the creamy feta sauce. Will definitely be making this again
The best dinner! So glad you are loving this recipe 🙂
Holy smokes!!!!!!! So good! Meatballs are so tender and flavorful! Even my 6 yo is scraping her plate! Thanks so much!!
LOVE this ❤️ So glad this recipe is a hit for the whole fam!
I’ve made more recipes from this website than I can count and I think this has to be one of my top three! Fresh and delicious. I love lemon flavored everything so this was right up my alley. The only thing I would change is to double the veggies next time!
The Greek Meatballs are heavenly. This dish was a wonderful surprise.
Yay! I am glad to hear you are enjoying this recipe 🙂
This recipe is so delicious! We give the kids the orzo and meatballs and enjoy having the extra sauce and veggies to ourselves. 10/10 would recommend.
Sounds good, too many ingredients for me…!
This was soooooo delicious! I thought it was going to be more labor intensive than it actually was, which I loved! Prepped the sauce and meatballs ahead of time, a few hours before dinner and it make it so easy. I used Trader Joe’s meatless turkey ground and it was so perfect. Loved the acidity and brine and brightness of this recipe. I didn’t have mint so I just omitted. I did add kale to the dish, massaged it in the Greek yogurt sauce and it was just what the dish was missing. Will be a repeat!!
Sounds delicious! SO glad you are loving this recipe and it is a hit ❤️
Different flavors than we normally make, and we loved it. Will make again!
Yay! I am excited to hear you are all loving this recipe 🙂
One of my fave dishes to make. Everyone love this! I usually add a bit more feta and lemon juice to the sauce, as I like the tanginess those two ingredients bring. In a pinch, I’ve also thinned down store bought tzatziki to use as a drizzle. And lemon and butter on orzo – where have you been all my life?!
Omg yes this sounds amazing!! Glad this recipe is a hit ❤️
This was delicious and super easy to make!
These were easy to make and delicious. The sauce took them over the top!
YUM! Im so glad you’re loving this recipe and it turns out great ❤️
This one was a sleeper and a big hit. I have lots of mediterranean meatball recipes and this one was great! Used chicken and used lots of black pepper in the orzo as suggested. The peppers and the sauce really make it. I’ll double it next time and freeze some meatballs. Only change made was a little dill in the sauce.
Sounds perfect! I am so glad you are loving this recipe 🙂
Yum! Made this for dinner! Had to use dried herbs and swapped the mint for dill bc that is what I had on hand. The dressing is SO good! I saved the extra for a veggie dipping sauce for my kiddos or for me as a salad dressing. This one will be in our regular rotation.
Perfect! This is one of our go-to’s, too 🙂 Such a great dinner!
We made this last night and it was AMAZING! I made the turkey version for myself, and made it exactly as written but with Beyond ground ‘meat’ for my veg husband. The Beyond meat version was amazing too! Just wanted to let any other vegetarians know. Next time, I think I’ll prep the orzo and sauce ahead of time to make for a fast weeknight dinner 🙂 Thanks so much for this great recipe!
Easily one of the best recipes I’ve made, and will definitely make again! My partner and I made a few modifications. First, we seared the meatballs in a cast iron skillet before putting them into the oven. For the orzo, i sautéed mushrooms in the cast iron in some olive oil and added the cooked orzo to this skillet. In addition to what’s listed, I seasoned with garlic powder and onion powder which REALLY leveled it up. For the sauce, I added finely chopped parsley, more olive oil and more feta than called for. I found this gave the sauce more depth in the flavor. AMAZING recipe thank you so much for sharing!!!
These sounds absolutely DELICIOUS 😍 I am so glad you’re loving this recipe and it turned out great for you both! Thanks so much for your review ❤️
Absolutely 👍🏻 incredible! My whole family loved it!!’
Im SO GLAD to hear that, thank you!!
As Greek as i am i didn’t know about this Greek Recipe, I will try it for sure! Thank you
TURKEY MEATBALLS WERE DRY AS A BONE. I THINK 1/2 CUP BREAD CRUMBS MAY HAVE BEEN THE PROBLEM. THE FLAVOR WAS GOOD IF YOU COULD GET PAST THE GOLF BALLS!
So sorry to hear that these were dry for you. Did you change anything about the recipe?
What an amazing meal! I subbed fresh dill for mint and loved the flavors.
Delicious and flavorful! The whole family loved it
I am SO glad this recipe is a hit for the whole family. 🙂
Very fresh and flavorful, just what we needed for a family dinner after a trip to Italy!
Ah yay! I am so glad this recipe is a hit for you whole family, Caitlin!
Great recipe, made as written.
What a hit! I made the meatballs with GF bread crumbs, extra parsley instead of mint and served with rice, roasted veggies, chickpeas, and tomatoes. My MiL and SIL want the recipe lol. The meatballs are tasty on their own and the sauce just kicks it up a notch. This meal will be on rotation in our house.
Ah yay!! I am so glad you’re loving this recipe and it turned out great for you!!
Absolutely delicious – planning to make this a regular in our meal rotation!
Yay! Glad you found this recipe and it is a hit 🙂
This was a delicious dish. Really good flavors. A little time consuming this first time but easily see how I could make meatballs and sauce ahead, prep veggie and likely much simpler to put together next time. I will definitely make this again….and again!!
Yay! Happy to hear you gave this recipe a try and it turned out great for you, Margaret ❤️🙂
So good! My new favorite recipe. I realized my feta cheese was sadly expired so I made the sauce without the feta and it was still amazing! Definitely making this again
Delicious! Glad you loved this recipe and it turned out great for you ❤️
Such a perfect weeknight meal!! Was so easy to make and my one year old LOVED it.
Excellent – glad you’re loving this recipe and it’s a hit for your little one too!
Wow! Delicious. Never used mint before. Loved it. Made it with rice…will be in our rotation! Thank you
I’m so happy you enjoyed it, Kris! Thanks for commenting 🙂
These came out amazing! I love having a different meatball recipe to go to when I want meatballs, but don’t want red sauce/Italian ones. The sauce is drinkable too lol
Absolutely! We’re obsessed with the sauce, too!
This was amazingly good! We couldn’t stop eating it!!!!
So obsessed with this recipe! When I’m feeling lazy I leave the meatballs as ground meat but still use all the seasonings Monique wrote (minus the binder ingredients). I make this every month, its a huge hit with guests too!
Perfect! Such a great dinner 🙂
This recipe is absolutely delicious. Easy fit for my meal prep too.
Absolutely! Glad you enjoyed 🙂
I’ve made just the meatballs several times with ground chicken. Some poultry meatball recipes are overloaded with herbs & spices, but these are just right.
So glad you love them!
Made exactly how is and my whole family loved it! My husband requested it again soon and we just finished 20 minutes ago haha
Amazing! Glad it was a hit 🙂
This is one of my family’s favorite AK recipes! The meatballs are incredibly flavorful but the SAUCE is what brings it all together. I could literally drink it. With a little weekend prep, this is the perfect weeknight recipe!
The best!! So glad you all love it, too!
Love this Greek meatball recipe. It’s packed with fresh flavors and is one of my go to weeknight meals especially in the summer.
One of my favs, too! Glad you love it 🙂
super delicious !
Glad you enjoyed!
Made these meatballs tonight for dinner and they were a huge hit! Super tasty and really easy to throw together, we will be making these again!
So happy to hear that!
This was so easy to make, and loaded with flavour. I will definitely make this again!
One of my all-time favs!
This was so easy, flavorful and satisfying!!! Absolutely loved this dish (:
So happy to hear that!
This was absolutely delicious and super easy!! The meatballs stayed very moist too!
One of our fav dinners!
Flavours work really well together. I substituted the orzo with Quinoa. So tasty!
Perfect! Glad you enjoyed!
This was delicious! Mint and parsley are two of the first things ready to eat from our garden in Spring. Perfect timing to try this recipe. I served it over rice. Will definitely make this again.
Amazing! The fresh herbs make this extra delicious.
So good!!! We have this almost weekly it’s so healthy and delicious 🩷🩷
Amazing! Such a great dinner!
SO delicious and so comforting. For the feta/Greek Yogurt dressing, I used a little extra feta and did not add water so the dressing was more like a dip than a sauce. Will absolutely add these to my dinner rotation!
Perfect! Glad you enjoyed!
This recipe is so DELICIOUS!! My whole family looks forward to this recipe! It makes enough for leftovers and honestly they are so good the next day! I love the yogurt sauce! Wow this is such a delicious meal! It could be ann easy weeknight mix up or a great dinner to serve guests!
You have to try it! Super easy and always comes out perfect even when I add a bit more (or less) of an ingredient depending on what I have on hand!
Another amazing recipe by ambitious kitchen! Love it!
Absolutely! One of our all-time favs, too 🙂 Glad you all love it!
This is one of my favorite recipes ever! My husband and 1.5 year old love it too. I’ve been making it for years, and it’s been good every single time (and good left over too). Cant wait for more recipes in your new cookbook!
I’m so glad! Our team loves this one SO much 🙂 Hope you find new favorite recipes in the cookbook, too — thanks so much for your support!
Made this for supper tonight. I loved it. There were great instructions for freezing the meatballs before or after cooking. I froze my meatballs before cooking. I thought the recipe was clear and easy to follow. It dish was really good as written. I didn’t change a thing. Thanks for sharing this recipe.
Perfect! So glad you enjoyed!