@hungryhappens Greek Soutzoukakia š¬š· without the š saucešš½these melt in your mouth #hungryhappens #greek #fyp #soutzoukakia #PrimeDayShowPJParty
ā¬ original sound ā Stella Drivas
This is my yiayiaās recipe that we have been lucky enough to enjoy for all these decades. You can make them with ground beef or turkey or chicken. I typically serve this with a simple green salad or a horiatiki greek salad with feta.
The secret to this recipe is the shape of the āmeat ballsā because they are larger than a ball but smaller than a patty. It really keeps the meat juicy and doesnāt dry them out. Also, very important here is the slow baking process. This is intricate in providing that tender texture that just melts in your mouth.
Traditionally this dish is prepared with tomato sauce but for me, this method is SO much better. You really get to enjoy the flavors and spices used here without the sauce taking center stage. I am and always will be loving these for the little kick the chili pepper flakes provide. Feel free to amp up the dose if you like them really spicy. I always try to keep it tame for the readers that are more conservative with that or may have children.
The olive oil and lemon marinade is the greatest sauce and pretty much the basis for most Greek recipes. And of course, if you are LEMON obsessed, you should add a second lemon to this recipe. We are middle-of-the-road Lemon Obsessed so this recipe does the trick for us.
For us, the most important aspect of this dish is dunking the meat and potatoes in the juices/marinade. You definitely want to pour it onto your food when consuming. Itās the BEST part of the whole meal. In Greece, we take some fresh bread and dunk it in the juices as well. Chefs Kiss.
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Baked Greek Meatballs and Potatoes (Soutzoukakia)
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4.94 from 33 votes
Servings: 4
Prep Time: 20 minutes mins
Cook Time: 1 hour hr
Total Time: 1 hour hr 20 minutes mins
Greek baked sausage shaped meatballs ā these melt in your mouth.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1 large lemon juiced
- 1/4 cup fresh chopped oregano
- 1.5 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
- 3 lbs gold potatoes peeled + cut into small chunks
- 1 lb ground pork
- 1 lb ground beef
- 2 eggs
- 1 small onion
- 1 bunch fresh mint
- 1 large clove garlic crushed
- 1 cup breadcrumbs
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tsp red wine vinegar
- 2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- 1/4 tsp chili pepper flakes
- Optional garnish: fresh oregano
Instructions
Preheat your oven to 450 F.
Whisk together the first 5 ingredients. Then toss 80% of this marinade with the potato chunks in a large bowl. Reserve the remaining 20% of the marinade.
For the onion and mint, chop in a food processor to get nice and small pieces ā you can also chop with a knife.
In a large bowl, using your hands, combine the ground meats, eggs, onion, mint, garlic, breadcrumbs, 3 tbs olive oil, red wine vinegar, salt, cumin and chili pepper flakes.Next, form large meatballs and then shape them into sausage oblongs.Place them in a 9Ć13ā baking dish spaced apart as best as possible. Then add the potatoes to the dish.
Now take the remaining marinade from before and drizzle it on the soutzoukakia tops.
Tightly cover the baking dish with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes.
After the 30 minutes, decrease the temperature of the oven to 425Ā° F. After 15 minutes, remove the dish from the oven and uncover. Place back in the oven for 15 more minutes.If they are not yet golden brown, pop on your broiler and broil for a few minutes.
Notes
Any ground meat works here.
- Dairy Free
- Meditrn
Add a comment
57 comments
- Alex
How would you do the tomato? Also Greek and lots of my side prefer lemon but have some relatives coming who prefer tomato and wonāt share their recipe. Would it be tomato paste?
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- Steph
Why are half the ingredients missing from the method??!! Iāve made it all up and ended up missing half the meatball ingredients out! Iām not happy
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- Leilani
You mention the first 5 ingredients then jump to onions and mint, and donāt say anything about what to combine with the meat. If youāre a novice cook, your recipe is not very instructional.
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- Ashley LG
This is bang-bang! We eat it often. Plenty of great juice/sauce
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- Stella
Hi Ashley, This is one of my momās OG recipes and I always get so happy when other people make it and love it! Thanks for the feedback!
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- Carolina
If you make this w/o the potatoes does the time/oven temp change?
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- Kelly
Your meatball recipe doesnāt say when to add the eggs, bread crumbs, garlic, olive oil, red wine vinegar, Iām guessing in with the meat, but it only says pepper flakesā¦..a bit confusedā¦.
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- Maria
I didnāt have oregano at home so I used dill instead and it came out delicious. I love the way meatballs were baked with potatoes. Easy clean up and how juicy ā”
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- Stella
Hi Maria, one of my familyās favorites! Happy you enjoyed it!
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- Hilster
Love this dish so much that I made it for a family dinner. Several people were complaining that I didnāt make enough for everyone to get a third helping. Oops!
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- Stella
ahahahaha a third helping! Thatās a cooks best compliment! Glad everyone enjoyed!
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- Nancy Gurfein
Can I use ground lamb instead of pork?
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- Stella
Hi Nancy, YES
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- Heidi
Absolutely delicious! I live in Greece and this recipe is as good as any taverna dish Iāve tried. I love it without the normal overbearing tomato sauce! Thank you so much!
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- Stella
Hi Heidi, glad you liked em! I feel the same way about the tomato sauce version! Thank you!
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- Ana
This was delicious and a big hit with the family. I used dried oregano and fresh basil instead of mint. it turned out great. Thank you for sharing!
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- Stella
Hi Ana, glad you enjoyed the Soutzoukakia! Thanks for taking the time to review it too!
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- Suzi
Wow, wow, wow ā this was amazing! This recipe has been on my list to make and Iām so glad I finally made it. So delicious and tender ā itās going to go into my regular rotation. Itās also the first recipe Iāve tried from you. Thank you!!!
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- Laurel
This was amazing! The potatoes were like lemony velvet, and the meat was so flavorful! I canāt wait to make it again!
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- Cat Pedersen
Made it exactly according to the recipe. And was absolutely delicious!!! Hard to stop eating. Absolutely no way it would fit in my 9X13 baking dish per recipe ā took 1 and 1/2 pans and still should have been spread out more.
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- Crissa Skarimbas
I often make Diane Kochilasā recipe with the tomato sauce. We donāt eat pork or red meat, I make hers with ground turkey, do you think that would work with this recipe?
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- Vassi Amos
perfect and š delicious
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10/10 highly recommend!!! I used what ground meat I had in the freezer which was deer and pork sausage. I used Cuban oregano from my garden. Everything else was the same. PHENOMENAL! Delicious! My picky kids LOVED IT! The meatballs were soft and fork tender. The potatoes were creamy. I mean, I canāt say enough how good this dish was. I served with steamed green beans.
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- Nicole
Can the meatballs be prepped the day before? Love this recipe š
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- Stella
Yes! and thank you for trying it!
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- Tee
Whatās the calories like approx?
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- Nora B
I made this for dinner tonight and it was absolutely delicious! We go to a greek restaurant that has a similar dish so I decided to give it a try. I used a mix of ground beef and pork and dried herbs instead of fresh. I also put some oregano into the meat mix as I love the flavor. I cut my potatoes too thick so I had toadd some cook time. I was worried it might make the meat dry out but it didnāt, they were as as mouth watering delicious as you described. It was a huge hit with my husband. I bookmarked it and will definitely make it again. Thanks for sharing your Yiayias recipe .
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- Stacey
I made this recipe for the first time this evening. Yummos!!! Definitely not going back to have Soutzoukakia with a tomato baste sauce. This recipe is definitely a winner.
Thankyou!- Reply
- S. Walker
My family LOVED this recipe! The sauce is addictively delicious, the meatballs are so tender, and the potatoes melt in your mouth. We absolutely devoured it, and the leftovers are even better the next day. Big win!
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- Lin Bogobowicz
This recipe is another family favorite. My husband & I cannot get enough of these meatballs! I use beef & lamb. The potatoes are delicious as wellā¦ I love the whole lemon-garlic-olive oil combination of flavors. So good. So yummy. So addictive.
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- Eva
Just made it! Love Greek cuisine and Iāve tried so many of your recipes x
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- Danielle
Do you think leftovers of this could be frozen?
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- Vicky
Very good. Fam liked it. Needed more lemon.
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- Lori
This is one of my most favorite recipes of all time. Absolutely delicious. So flavorful. I use 1lb of ground deer meat and 1lb of pork sausage. I also use Cuban oregano from my garden. Thanks for this amazing recipe!!!
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- Patricia McNamara
My whole family loves this so much! It turns out so great every time that I feel like a true Greek cook, ĻĪ±Ī½ ĻĪ·Ī½ Ī¼Ī¬Ī½Ī± Ī¼ĪæĻ Ī· ĻĪ· Ī³Ī¹Ī±Ī³Ī¹ĪæĻĪ»Ī± Ī¼ĪæĻ ! Thank you so much! ššš
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- Stella
Hi Patricia, LOVE this message! thank you for trying the recipe out and Iām glad it resonated with you and your family! Filakia polla!
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- Jane Enright
This is one of my favourite recipes! I wanted to check if itās possible to freeze these? thank you!
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- Mindel
Love this recipe. Made it a couple of times now. Itās easy and so delicious!!! Used dried oregano and mint though.
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- Ania
Wow, Iād say this is one of the most delicious dishes I have ever had let alone made. Thank you for the recipe!!
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- Emie
I halved the recipe since there are only two of us, and we still have enough for another meal. I did use a whole lemon and would even use more. I didnāt have fresh oregano so I used dried. The mint was the winner of the meal! I served it with sour cream but tzatziki would be perfect. Next time!
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- Stella
Hi Emie, sour cream sounds great too! Glad you both enjoyed the meal!
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- Aleksandra
I have been a Greek food fan since 20 years but have never tried to cook it myself. I have prepared this dish today and.. it was AMAZING! Even my picky 10 year old could not get enough of the meatballs and I must say, this is a HUGE achievement š Thank you for sharing this fantastic recipe!
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- Stella
Hi Aleksandra! Best comment right here! Glad you tried the recipe and your family enjoyed the dish!
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- Cath
Love the flavours! And was great to be able to use fresh oregano and mint from our garden. Am thinking that leftovers might taste good wrapped in a pita, along with tzatziki! Thanks for your recipes!
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- Stella
Hi Cath, love the idea wrapped in a pita and tzatziki!! Now i need to make them! lol
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- Angela
I think I made the meatballs too small, so they didnāt turn out juicy as expected. I ended up with 16 meatballs. How many should two pounds of meat make in this recipe? Iād love to make it again to see if I can improve!
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- Stella
Hi Angela, its okay, I recommend you try again. whatever is in the pictures of above is how many meatballs i made!
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- Anu Jacob
Fantastic flavors and super easy to make!!
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- Christina
This was incredible! So much flavor! I used ground beef and ground turkey. Also decided to use two glass pans instead of one.
Finished them with the broil at 3 mins. WOW!- Reply
- Ana G
I make this meal regularly for my family now. we donāt eat pork, so I replace it with ground chicken and itās delicious! Thank you!
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- Īnneliesse
Hi, could you please provide a metric for this one? Europe callingš
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- Inese BÄrziÅa
These were the most delicious meatballs I have ever made, so tender, thank you!
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- Lindsay
By far the best recipe Iāve ever cooked!! Itās become a staple in our house. I recently made it without the potatoes and made the hungry happens greek cabbage rice as the sideā¦ate it 4 nights in a row and never got tired of it! Canāt recommend those two recipes enough.
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- Gabrielle
I made this tonight and it was really good !! Nice that it can be prepped in one pan ahead of time then popped in the oven. I served the meatballs in warm pitas with homemade tzatziki , feta and a side of greek salad. Delish !
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- Jamie
My boyfriend is greek and I made these one night, and he said they were the best that he has had! I make them about once a week now.
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- Cynthia
I made this the other day, so delicious! The flavors are great. Also I used ground turkey instead and it turned out great, very tender.
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- Angelina
I adore these! I literally have to force myself to stop eating them. My favorite blend of meat for them is ground pork and ground chicken.
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