Description
These Greek Turkey Meatball Lettuce Wraps offer a flavorful and healthy twist on classic meatballs. Ground turkey is seasoned with lemon, oregano, and cumin, baked to perfection, and served wrapped in crisp iceberg lettuce with a refreshing homemade tzatziki sauce, feta cheese, kalamata olives, hummus, and quinoa for a satisfying Mediterranean-inspired meal.
Ingredients
Scale
Meatballs
- 1/2 cup red onion (about 1/4 large onion), finely diced
- 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons feta cheese crumbles
- 1/3 cup plain breadcrumbs
- 1 large egg
- 1 pound ground turkey
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
Tzatziki Sauce
- 1/2 English cucumber, peeled, seeded, and finely diced
- 1/2 cup plain yogurt
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 2 teaspoons dried dill
Additional Ingredients
- 1 head of iceberg lettuce (or large leafed lettuce of choice)
- Cooked quinoa (amount as desired)
- Hummus (amount as desired)
- Feta cheese (for topping, amount as desired)
- Banana pepper rings (amount as desired)
- Kalamata olives (amount as desired)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven: Preheat your oven to 425º F (220º C) and lightly grease a sheet tray to prepare for baking the meatballs.
- Prepare aromatics: Finely dice the red onion and mince the garlic cloves ensuring they are ready for mixing into the meatball mixture.
- Mix meatball ingredients: In a large bowl, combine red onion, garlic, feta cheese crumbles, plain breadcrumbs, egg, ground turkey, lemon zest, lemon juice, ground cumin, and dried oregano. Use your clean hands to thoroughly mix all ingredients together until just combined.
- Form meatballs: Roll the meat mixture into evenly sized balls about 1 inch to 1¼ inches in diameter. Place the meatballs spaced evenly on the prepared sheet pan. You should have approximately 18 meatballs.
- Bake the meatballs: Place the tray in the preheated oven and bake for 29 to 31 minutes, or until the meatballs are cooked through and have a nice brown crust on the outside.
- Prepare cucumber: Peel the cucumber, slice it in half lengthwise and use a spoon to gently remove as many seeds as possible. Discard the seeds.
- Make tzatziki sauce: Dice the seedless cucumber finely and transfer it to a small bowl. Add plain yogurt, lemon juice, olive oil, and dried dill. Stir the mixture until well combined.
- Chill sauce: Place the tzatziki sauce in the refrigerator to chill until you are ready to serve.
- Assemble wraps: Once the meatballs are cooked, serve immediately. Use iceberg lettuce leaves to wrap the meatballs along with a dollop of tzatziki sauce, cooked quinoa, hummus, banana pepper rings, kalamata olives, and extra feta cheese as desired.
- Enjoy: Enjoy your fresh and healthy Greek Turkey Meatball Lettuce Wraps for a delightful Mediterranean meal!
Notes
- Keep meatballs evenly sized to ensure they cook uniformly.
- You can substitute ground turkey with ground chicken or lean beef if preferred.
- For a gluten-free version, replace breadcrumbs with gluten-free breadcrumbs or omit entirely.
- Make sure to remove cucumber seeds to prevent watery tzatziki.
- These wraps can be served warm or at room temperature.
- Feel free to customize fillings with your favorite Mediterranean ingredients like roasted red peppers or fresh herbs.
- Leftover meatballs can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
