Greek Feta Meatballs with Pistachio Mint Pesto (Keto, Paleo, Friendly)

I came about this recipe for Greek feta lamb meatballs quite by accident. We were leaving for San Francisco and I had some feta cheese and ground beef  that needed to be eaten. I threw together some meatballs. The all-beef meatballs were delicious with all that feta, and I knew my next batch would include some ground lamb and that mint pistachio pesto I made last month for a leg of lamb.

This is what being a food blogger is all about. I have over 1,000 recipes here at Spinach Tiger and yet new recipes come into my head all the time. Why haven’t I made Greek meatballs before?

It seems that ground meat has no end to being rediscovered. 

Can I talk to you a minute? Making these meatballs got me thinking about human nature.

Do you know how complex and interesting you are? I’m going out on a limb to say you want new experiences too, but you may not know it. You forget just how alive and fascinating you really are.

If you’re like me, you sit in the same chair at the dining room table, but that doesn’t mean we need to eat the same thing every Wednesday night. It’s in our nature to have adventure, to change things up and expand our world.  I like to do it with food!

While I keep a minimalist kitchen as far as ingredients, leaning towards Mediterranean. Olive oil, lemon, and fresh herbs fly into so many of my dishes, but even with these, there’s probably an infinite number of dishes for me to discover.  I don’t really have to step out of my wheel house to keep growing, and neither do you.

Why not make a decision that the “you” that wakes up tomorrow may be even more exciting and interesting than the “you” that woke up today. God is never finished with us, so why should we be.  I wrote more on us as “creators” in this post, and it gives us all something to think about.

I usually only make Italian meatballs, but why stop there? Greek Feta Lamb Meatballs will add a global flair to the table. Now I’m thinking Swedish meatballs, Korean meatballs.

If any of you have any interesting meatball recipes, please send them my way. 

Greek Feta Lamb meatballs with the pesto is simply an amazing bite of food.

Even meatballs can be more than meatballs. You can make them appetizer size and wow your guests or stuff them into pita bread for hearty sandwiches for the big eaters.

You can keep them keto friendly, which was my intention, because there’s lots of fat packed into them and no grains.

I love a good feta cheese as long as it’s all sheep’s cheese. I especially love it when it comes in a liquid brine. The salt and brine offer a very umami type experience. I made an amazing and unique dandelion pasta salad with feta here or feta olive salad here.

Feta and Pistachio Perfect for Lamb Meatballs

When the feta warms inside the meatballs, the flavors escalate.

The pistachio mint pesto simply adds another layer of flavor, texture and color and these are amazing!

Three More Ways You can Serve Greek Feta Lamb Meatballs

• You could make these cocktail size for a party. As soon as they come out of the oven, stick a skewer, top with pesto and serve. Your guests will applaud you.
• You could serve these between pita bread with arugula.
• Serve on top of a Greek Salad with more feta, tomatoes, Greek olives and instead of pesto, use this lemony vinaigrette. 

Greek Feta Meatballs with Lamb and Beef or All Beef

The first version was made with all beef, which was at least 15% fat. The fat is important for moisture. If you’re using a lean ground beef, soak with a little milk to tenderize the meat. Make sure you don’t pack your meatballs tight, which makes them tough.

The second version was made with half lamb and half ground grass fed beef. Grass fed is very lean and ground lamb is often tightly packed, so do add in some olive oil to bring some extra moisture, because these do not have any bread crumbs.

As far as flavoring, you can add some fresh rosemary or fresh or dried oregano, plus some red chili flakes.

The key to a good meatball is tenderness. I bake mine in the oven at 400 for 15-20 minutes.

Mint Pistachio Pesto

Last summer I made Pistachio Pesto which inspired me to make a mint version. This would also be amazing with any lamb dish, but try it on vegetables too. In this recipe I added a little butter (because I had made it too lemony). In the version for my leg of lamb, I kept it chunkier, less creamy.

NOTE: You can substitute blanched almonds for pistachios.

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There are never ending ways to make meatballs, and I’m hoping to bring you several new meatball recipes. Before today, my most interesting meatballs were the prosciutto meatballs with a savory blueberry pear shallot compote. 

This was the picture I put on Instagram, and many are waiting for the recipe. Don’t let them be the first to see our cooking. Please follow us at SpinachTiger.

More Meatball Recipes from Spinach Tiger

• Turkey Meatballs
• Veal Meatballs with Ricotta
• Homemade Italian Meatballs, Grain Free, Paleo
• Keto Meatball Sliders
• Ground Chicken Meatballs
• Meatball Soup (Italian Wedding Soup)
• Spaghetti and Meatballs
• Garden Tomato Sauce with Fresh Basil