This easy Greek Lamb Meatball Traybake is a delicious new way to enjoy meatballs. Succulent Greek lamb meatballs baked with peppers and potatoes in a zesty oregano dressing and then sprinkled with feta and mint before serving. Great for serving up to a hungry family with a few delicious sides.
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If you are unsure how to cook lamb - you need to try this lamb traybake! Big flavours, but SO simple. I am a big fan of anything that all gets mixed together in one tray and goes into the oven and cooks for the same length of time. The meatballs do need to be browned first, but it's honestly worth it for that crispy outside.
Meatballs always go down well in our house, but instead of the regular meatballs in a tomato sauce, we like making these Greek meatballs with crispy vegetables. It's easy to adapt, great for batch cooking and an easy way to introduce new flavours to kids if they are new to lamb.
Most families struggle to find meals that everyone will eat and this is a family favourite in our house. Comforting meatballs and potatoes and some added vegetables for a nutrient boost. This is a great meal to batch cook and then store in the freezer for a great weeknight dinner.
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Ingredients and Substitutions
A full ingredients list, along with US Customary and Metric measurements, can be found in the recipe card at the end of this post.
- Lamb - This is the star of the dish. We have used lamb mince and it makes really moist and flavour packed meatballs.
- Garlic - Just a little crushed garlic adds lots of flavour to the lamb meatballs. You can save time and use crushed garlic from a jar,
- Mint - This adds so much freshness and just add to the Green flavours. If you don't like mint, then you could swap it for parsley or dill. We recommend using fresh herbs rather than dried.
- Egg - This is what helps to bind the meatballs.
- Breadcrumbs - This also helps to bind the meatballs. We used wholewheat breadcrumbs, but you could swap them for panko, which would give the meatballs some crunch.
- Potatoes - This dish has everything in it, including the sides. We cut potatoes into wedges and baked them with the meatballs to get them nice and crispy.
- Vegetables - Peppers, onions, courgette and tomatoes. Any quick cooking vegetables work.
- Oil - We used a really good quality Greek olive oil, to keep with the Greek vibe of this dish. Try to use the best quality olive oil you can, as you will be able to taste the difference.
- Seasoning - To give these meatballs the Greek flavour, we added dried oregano and garlic granules to the vegetables. You could add dried thyme too.
Lamb Meatball Traybake Variations
Meatballs - Beef and pork will both work well, or you could use your favourite vegetarian meatballs. To make the meatballs themselves taste different, play around with the spice mix. Why not try a Mexican seasoning?
Vegetables - We added peppers, courgettes (zucchini) and tomatoes. But you could also use mushrooms, aubergine (eggplant), asparagus, cauliflower, broccoli and carrots. It's a great way to use up what you have.
Protein - For an extra protein boost, you can stir in some cooked chickpeas to the pan.
How To Make a Lamb Traybake
Prep: Preheat your oven to 200°C/180°C(fan)/400°F/Gas 6.
- Step 1: In a large mixing bowl, add the lamb, garlic and chopped mint.
- Step 2: Add the breadcrumbs, egg, oil, lemon juice and zest, salt and pepper.
- Step 3: Mix well.
- Step 4: Roll into 18 meatballs and set aside.
- Step 5: Heat a little oil in a pan and brown the meatballs for 3-4 minutes. Cook in batches if your frying pan isn't big enough as they need space to get crispy.
- Step 6: In a separate large bowl, add all the ingredients for the vegetables and mix well.
- Step 7: Pour the vegetable mixture into a large baking tray and then place the meatballs in any gaps.
- Step 8: Put into the oven for 40 minutes, stirring the vegetables and turning the meatballs over half way through. You might need to remove the meatballs to give the veg a good mix and then add the meatballs back.
- Step 9: Sprinkle the feta and mint on top before serving with tzatziki and pita breads.
What to Serve with a Lamb Meatball Traybake
This dish has everything in it already. It has the meatballs, potatoes and vegetables all in one pan. However, if you wanted to serve this up to a few people, then some extra side dishes is a good idea. Don't forget to sprinkle the whole dish with some feta and fresh mint.
We like serving it with our Easy Homemade Flatbreads, Tzatziki and Hummus. Tahini Dressing is also really good drizzled over the finished dish as well.
Meal Prep and Storage
Store: If you have leftovers of this, then you can store it in an air tight container in the fridge for up to 2 days. This is also a great option for meal prep.
Freeze: You can freeze this dish in portions, but the meatballs can get a little dry once reheated. Therefore, we would suggest that this dish is eaten straight after cooking.
Reheat: Add a little oil to a pan and then add the meatballs and vegetables until heated through.
Dannii's Top Tips
- You could make this with beef or pork if you don't have/like lamb.
- Make sure your meatballs aren't too big, as they will fall apart when frying.
- Change up the flavours by using different seasonings. Put a Mexican twist on things by mixing some Mexican spice into the meatballs.
- Use this dish as an opportunity to use up any leftover vegetables. Add some broccoli or cauliflower in, as it gets nice and crispy when roasting.
- Make sure your potatoes are cut into quite small wedges otherwise they will still be hard after the cooking time.
- You also want to make sure that the quicker cooking veg it quite chunky so it doesn't burn.
- A little drizzle of chilli sauce before serving add a nice bit of heat to this dish.
Frequently Asked Questions
You can make all the meatballs up, and have all the vegetables pre-chopped, and then keep them in the fridge until you are ready to mix together in a dish and put them in the oven.
You don't have to, and you could just put them in the oven at the same time as the vegetables, but you would need to add about 15 minutes extra cooking time. But we would recommend browning them first as it adds lots of flavour and a nice crispy texture.
Yes, by all means save yourself some time and use ready made meatballs. Try to buy the best quality ones you can, as they are the star flavour in this meatball traybake.
You need to make sure that you are using a big enough pan for all the ingredients and that everything can lots of space and is in a single layer. If it is all piled on top of each other, then it will steam rather than roast. You want the potato wedges and vegetables to get nice and crispy.
The cooked internal temperature of the lamb meatballs is 70°C/580°F. The best way to check this is to use a meat thermometer.
More Tray Bake Recipes
If you've tried this lamb meatball recipe, let us know how you got on in the comments below.
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Recipe
Lamb Meatball Traybake
Ingredients
For the meatballs:
- 500 g (1 lb) of Lean lamb mince
- 0.5 Lemon - (juice and zest only)
- 2 Garlic clove - crushed
- 10 g (0.25 cups) of Fresh mint - chopped
- 1 pinch of Sea salt
- 1 pinch of Ground black pepper
- 0.5 Egg - whisked
- 50 g (0.5 cups) of Breadcrumbs
- 1 tablespoon of Olive oil
For the vegetables:
- 500 g (8.75 oz) of Charlotte potatoes - cut into wedges
- 2 Bell peppers - cut into chunks
- 1 Red onion - cut into chunks
- 1 Courgette (zucchini) - sliced
- 10 Cherry tomatoes
- 2 tablespoon of Olive oil
- 0.5 Lemon - (juice and zest)
- 1 tablespoon of Garlic granules
- 2 tablespoon of Dried oregano
- 1 pinch of Sea salt
- 1 pinch of Ground black pepper
For serving:
- 80 g (0.5 cups) of Feta - crumbled
- 45 g (1 cups) of Fresh mint - finely chopped
- Tzatziki
- Pitta breads
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 200°C/180°C(fan)/400°F/Gas 6.
- Put 500 g of Lean lamb mince, juice of 0.5 Lemon, 2 Garlic clove, 10 g of Fresh mint, 1 pinch of Sea salt, 0.5 Egg and 50 g of Breadcrumbs into a bowl and mix well with your hands.
- Roll in to 18 meatballs.
- Heat 1 tbsp of Olive oil in a pan and brown the meatballs for 3-4 minutes.
- In a separate large bowl, add 500 g of Charlotte potatoes, 2 Bell peppers, 1 Red onion, 1 Courgette (zucchini), 10 Cherry tomatoes, 2 tbsp of Olive oil, 0.5 Lemon, 1 tbsp of Garlic granules, 2 tbsp of Dried oregano. and 1 pinch of Sea salt and mix well.
- Pour the vegetable mixture into a large baking tray and then place the meatballs in any gaps.
- Put into the oven for 40 minutes, stirring the vegetables and turning the meatballs over half way through.
- Sprinkle 80 g of Feta and 45 g of Fresh mint on top before serving with Tzatziki and Pitta breads.
Recipe Tips
- You could make this with beef or pork if you don't have/like lamb.
- Make sure your meatballs aren't too big, as they will fall apart when frying.
- Change up the flavours by using different seasonings. Put a Mexican twist on things by mixing some Mexican spice in to the meatballs.
- Use this dish as an opportunity to use up any leftover vegetables. Add some broccoli or cauliflower in, as it gets nice and crispy when roasting.
- Make sure your potatoes are cut in to quite small wedges otherwise they will still be hard after the cooking time.
- You also want to make sure that the quicker cooking veg it quite chunky so it doesn't burn.
- A little drizzle of chilli sauce before serving add a nice bit of heat to this dish.
Nutritional Information
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The nutritional information provided is approximate and is calculated using online tools. Information can vary depending on various factors, but we have endeavoured to be as accurate as possible.
As all appliances vary, cooking times are a guide. Please note that by changing the serving size, the cooking time may also need to be altered.
Claire says
Rather than cook the meatballs in the frypan - I just gave a light spray of olive oil and cooked them in the oven with the veg. This recipe was nice, and the leftovers made great office lunch in a wrap the next day.