Lemon Turkey Greek Meatballs – Gluten and Gluten Free
These meatballs have evolved over time, looking for a summer light tasting meatball to accompany Greek meze style meals. Meze or mezze means small dishes and often include Hummus, Tzatziki, Olives, Souvlaki, and Grilled Haloumi cheese. Great as a meal, appetizer, or perfect for lunches.
A few tips for this recipe (although if you don't have these items it will still turn out). Tip #1: If possible use a microplane to zest the lemon, instead of a traditional zester. It will grab more of the top layer of the zest that contains the flavour giving oil, while leaving the white bitter part of the rind. Tip #2: Due to the ground turkey, these meatballs are very moist and can be difficult to form. If you have a cookie scoop at home, this works perfect for making the meatballs. If making for a meal I use a 2 Tbsp scoop and if I am making them for lunches or an appetizer I use a 1 Tbsp scoop.
Ingredients
Meatballs
- 1.3 lb. (500 gr) ground Turkey or chicken breast 0 CHO
- 2 TBSP (9 gr) Panko breadcrumbs (23 CHO/30 GRAMS)=6.89 CHO
- 1 Egg, beaten 0 CHO 0 CHO
- 1 TBSP Mayonaise 0 CHO
- 1 1/2 TBSP Fresh Oregano, chopped or ½ TBSP Dry Oregano 0 CHO
- ½ TBSP Lemon zest (approx. 1 Lemon or 3 grams) 0 CHO *note: weight is when using a microplane, if using a traditional zester the weight will be approx. 8g
- ½ tsp. Salt 0 CHO
- ¼ tsp. Pepper 0 CHO
Gluten Free Meatballs
- 1.3 lb. (500 gr) ground Turkey or chicken breast 0 CHO
- 1 TBSP (11 gr) Rice breadcrumbs (17 CHO/20 GRAMS)=9.35 CHO
- 1 Egg, beaten 0 CHO 0 CHO
- 1 TBSP Mayonaise 0 CHO
- 1 1/2 TBSP Fresh Oregano chopped or ½ TBSP Dry Oregano 0 CHO
- ½ TBSP Lemon zest (approx. 1 Lemon or 3 grams) 0 CHO *note: weight is when using a microplane, if using a traditional zester the weight will be approx. 8g
- ½ tsp. Salt 0 CHO
- ¼ tsp. Pepper 0 CHO
Instructions
Preheat oven to 400. Line a baking sheet with parchment.
Mix all ingredients.
Form into ball using a cookie scoop (1 Tbsp for small or 2 Tbsp for large) and place on the baking sheet. If you don't have a cookie scoop, thats ok they just won't be quite round.
- For the small 1 Tbsp sized meatballs, cook at 400 for 10 min. Then turn on the broiler and broil for 3 min.
For the larger 2 Tbsp sized meatballs, cook at 400 for 16 min. Then turn on the broiler and broil for 4 min.
Serve as part of a lunch, dinner, or meze platter with Tzatziki, Hummus, vegetables, pitas, Tortilla chips (Gluten Free), Greek Salad and anything else you can think of.
Recipe Notes
Carbohydrate Counts
Gluten:
Total CHO per batch = 6.89 CHO
0.016 CHO/g
Small Meatballs (1 Tbsp raw; avg. 10g cooked) = approx. 0.16CHO/meatball
Large Meatballs (2 Tbsp raw; avg. 25g cooked) = approx. 0.41CHO/meatball
*My 2 TBSP scoop measures on the larger size, hence why the 2 TBSP weight is slightly more than double the 1 TBSP*
Gluten Free:
Total CHO per batch = 9.35 CHO
0.022 CHO/g
Small Meatballs (1 Tbsp raw; avg. 10g cooked) = approx. 0.22CHO/meatball
Large Meatballs (2 Tbsp raw; avg. 25g cooked) = approx. 0.55CHO/meatball
*My 2 TBSP scoop measures on the larger size, hence why the 2 TBSP weight is slightly more than double the 1 TBSP*
