Soutzoukakia is a deliciously simple dish of Greek meatballs baked in tomato sauce. It’s the ultimate comfort food and our family devours it! Traditionally these herb-filled, spiced football-shaped meatballs are served over a bed of rice but we wanted to lighten things up so we served ours alongside green beans sauteed with garlic. You could serve with brown rice, quinoa or cauliflower rice, any way you can’t go wrong because the meatballs shine on their own.

Making the Meatballs

We used ground beef in this recipe and it’s important when choosing the meat that you look for grass-fed beef. Add the ground beef to a large bowl and add in diced onion, minced garlic, breadcrumbs, fresh parsley, water, EVOO, cumin and salt and pepper. Then mix it by hand, cover, and place in the refrigerator for about an hour.  This will let the flavors meld together and make the mixture easy to form when you are ready.

Use your hands to shape the mixture into football-shaped balls. Some recipes then call for frying the meatballs but to make things healthier we baked them in the oven. Lightly oil the bottom of a baking dish and line the meatballs in the pan making sure to leave a little space in between them. Then cook in a preheated oven for about 10 minutes to start to brown the meatballs. Next comes the sauce…

Making the Sauce

Be careful because you want to drink this sauce on its own, it’s incredible! It starts with sauteing onion and garlic in olive oil. Then diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, and red wine are added.  The key to this sauce is the cumin which brings it all together and gives it an earthy taste. The longer this sauce simmers the better it becomes!

Putting it all together

After your sauce has simmered to deliciousness and your meatballs are browned its time to put it all together. Take the meatballs out of the oven and pour all of the tomato sauce mixture on top. Then add the pan back to the oven and cook for another 30-40 minutes or the meatballs are fully cooked through.

Now you’re craving meatballs right?!

Be sure to check out some of our other meatball recipes!

• TURKEY KEFTEDES
• GREEK LENTIL MEATBALLS
• YOUVRALAKIA (GREEK MEATBALL SOUP)

If you make this recipe share it on Instagram, post a photo on our Facebook page, or save it to Pinterest and tag #hearthealthygreek. Happy cooking!

Soutzoukaki (Greek Meatballs in Tomato Sauce)

Greek-style spiced meatballs covered in a delicious tomato sauce and baked in the oven. It’s a light yet hearty comforting dish traditionally served with rice but we paired ours with crisp green beans as a healthy alternative!

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Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 40 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr

Course Main Dish

Cuisine Greek

Servings 14 Meatballs

Calories 86 kcal

Ingredients

  

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Meatballs:

• 1 lb. lean grass fed ground beef
• 1 small onion
• ½ cup bread crumbs
• 2 cloves garlic
• ½ cup fresh parsley
• ½ cup water
• 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• ½ tsp cumin
• ¼ tsp salt
• ¼ tsp pepper

Sauce:

• 1 15 ounce can of diced tomatoes
• 1 8 ounce can tomato sauce
• 1 small onion
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 tsp olive oil
• ¼ tsp cumin
• ½ cup red wine
• 2 bay leaves
• 1/2 cup fresh parsley
• salt & pepper

Instructions

 

• To make the meatballs start by dicing one small onion and mincing 2 cloves of garlic.
• In a large bowl combine all of the meatball ingredients and knead together. Cover and refrigerate for about 1 hour.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Start the sauce by heating olive oil in a large pan over medium heat.
• Add the onions and saute for a few minutes.
• Stir in the garlic and cook for another minute.
• Add diced tomatoes, tomato sauce and red wine. Season with cumin, salt and pepper and add the whole bay leaves.
• Bring to a light boil and then reduce the heat and allow to simmer.
• Drizzle olive oil in the bottom of a 9×13 baking dish and remove the meat mixture from the refrigerator.
• Using your hands form the meatballs into about 14 egg-shaped balls.
• Space them out evenly in the baking dish and bake for about 10 minutes to brown.
• Remove from the oven and top the meatballs with the tomatoe sauce and return to the oven. Cook for 40 minutes or until the meatballs are fully cooked.
• Remove from the oven and top with additional parsley if desired.
• Serve immediately alongside your favorite vegetable, atop of cauliflower rice, brown rice or plant-based pasta.

Notes

This recipe can also be made on the stovetop using one pan. Start the cooking process by browning the meatballs and then set them aside and make the sauce using the same pan. Return the meatballs to the pan to finish cooking in the sauce. 

Nutrition

Calories: 86kcalCarbohydrates: 5gProtein: 8gFat: 3gSaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 20mgSodium: 96mgPotassium: 169mgFiber: 1gSugar: 1gVitamin A: 361IUVitamin C: 7mgCalcium: 20mgIron: 1mg

Keyword Beef, Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Garlic, Greek, Meatballs, Parsley, Soutzoukakia, Tomato Sauce, tomatoes

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