Calorie-Conscious Soutzoukakia

Calorie-Conscious Soutzoukakia

Greek-Style Meatballs in Tomato Sauce

This is another delicious meatball recipe that I use frequently both for On-Protocol weeks on The Balanced Burn, or for everyday eating! They pack a ton of flavour, and just two meatballs gives you 35 grams of relatively lean protein.

These are great alongside some sheet-pan roasted veggies or steamed veggies, particularly if you use a little dried dill to add flavour to the veg. Some mashed cauliflower makes another great accompaniment, or when you’re not On-Protocol, roasted or mashed potatoes, rice pilaf or whatever your favourite starchy side is. Because these are best served warm, with the sauce, they don’t (in my opinion) necessarily go well with salad, but you may feel differently!

Having made these a few times with different ground meats, I actually prefer this recipe using extra lean ground turkey (rather than beef), because the texture seems to come out better. Could be that I was overcooking them when I made them with beef, but that will take some further experimentation to really nail down. Of course, for a more indulgent (and very Greek!) variation, you could try making these with ground lamb… 😉

Equipment

  • Large casserole or roasting dish (I use a 13x10 inch roasting pan that is about 1-1/2 inches deep) - large enough to arrange the meatballs in a single layer.

Ingredients (makes 16 portions)

For the meatballs:

  • 3 pounds / 1,5 kg extra lean ground turkey or chicken

  • 2-1/4 tsp sea salt

  • 2/3 cup minced yellow onion (or 2 tsp onion powder)

  • 8 garlic cloves, minced (or 2 tsp garlic powder)

  • 2 tsp ground cumin

  • 1-1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper

  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon

  • 1 tsp dried oregano

  • 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

  • 5 TBSP dried parsley

For the sauce:

  • 2/3 cup minced yellow onion (or 2 tsp onion powder)

  • 4 garlic cloves, minced (or 1 tsp garlic powder)

  • 2 TBSP red wine vinegar

  • 1 can (796 ml / 28 oz) crushed tomatoes

  • 1 can (796 ml / 28 oz) diced tomatoes

  • 1 bay leaf

  • 3/4 teaspoon ground cumin

  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

  • Sea salt & fresh ground black pepper (to taste)

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F / 190 degrees C.

  2. Combine all meatball ingredients in a large mixing bowl, mixing thoroughly by hand to ensure even distribution of the seasoning throughout the meat

  3. Use a slightly-rounded, packed 1/3 cup measure to divide the mixture into 16 equal portions, shaping as desired (either into round meatballs, or for a more traditional style make them more oblong / football shaped), placing each portion into your casserole / roasting pan in a single layer.

  4. Combine all the sauce ingredients (aside from the bay leaf), mixing well, then pour over / around the meatballs in the pan. Nestle the bay leaf down into the sauce as well, then cover the pan with foil and place on a baking sheet in case it bubbles over.

  5. Bake the meatballs for 25 minutes, then uncover, turn them over in the sauce, then re-cover and bake for another 20-25 minutes or until done.

  6. Remove from the oven, remove the meatballs from the pan, remove the bay leaf and puree the sauce (either in a saucepan or bowl with an immersion blender, or in a blender).

  7. Transfer the meatballs to a serving dish with some of the sauce, and reserve the remaining sauce on the side to top up people’s servings as needed.

Nutritional Info

For the full recipe:

  • Calories: ~2590 kcal

  • Protein:

    • ~280g (1120 kcal)

    • 43% of total calories

  • Fat:

    • ~110g (990 kcal)

    • 38% of total calories

  • Total Carbohydrates: ~160g

    • Fiber: ~40g

    • Net Carbohydrates: ~120g (480 kcal) → 18% of total calories

Per Serving (2 meatballs = 1 of 8 portions):

  • Calories: ~324 kcal

  • Protein:

    • ~35g (~140 kcal)

    • 43% of total calories

    • Equivalent to 1 to 1.5 palm-sized portions (1 palm ≈ 20–30g)

  • Fat:

    • ~13.8g (~124 kcal)

    • 38% of total calories

    • Equivalent to 1 thumb-sized portion (1 thumb ≈ 10–15g)

  • Alcohol: None

  • Total Carbohydrates: ~20g

    • Fiber: ~5g

      • 20% of daily intake for women under 50

      • 16% for men under 50

      • 23% for women over 50

      • 18% for men over 50

    • Net Carbohydrates: ~15g (~60 kcal) → 18% of total calories

      • Equivalent to 0.75 cupped-palm portions (1 cupped palm ≈ 20–30g)

  • Fist-Sized Portions of Non-Starchy Vegetables:

    • ~0.5 portions per serving (2 meatballs)

This nutritional analysis is an estimate only, based on available knowledge regarding the nutritional content of the individual ingredients. Nutritional content of foods is HIGHLY variable, so you should always base your dietary intake on whether it meets your needs and progresses you towards your goals rather than any theoretical numbers on paper.

Notes and Options

  • This recipe can also be prepared using extra lean ground beef, but be very careful not to overcook them as they can dry out. Rather than 45-50 minutes total cooking time, I’d aim for more like 35 minutes.

  • If you want to amp up the protein content of your serving AND add a bit of cheesy goodness, bake / broil your individual portion of two meatballs and sauce with 1/2 cup fat free cottage cheese. Adds 17 grams of protein and no additional fat. 😉 (If you can find them, of course fat-free feta cheese crumbles would be the bomb with this Greek-style dish. A 1/2 cup of these is about 14 grams of protein and 0 fat.)