Soutzoukakia (Greek Baked Meatballs in Tomato Sauce)

4.86 from 7 votes

Soutzoukakia (Greek Baked Meatballs in Tomato Sauce)

Soutzoukakia is a classic recipe that's full of flavor. Juicy meatballs cooked in a flavorful rich tomato sauce makes the perfect recipe. Follow along for all my tips and tricks to make the juiciest Greek meatballs!

Prep Time10

Cook Time1

Total Time1 10

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Greek, Mediterranean

Servings: servings

Author: Shadi HasanzadeNemati

Ingredients

Meatballs

3 slices Bread whole wheat or white
1/2 cup water room temperature
1 lb ground beef
4 cloves garlic minced
1 onion chopped
1 large egg
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
3 tbsp all purpose flour
2 tbsp olive oil

Tomato sauce

2 tbsp olive oil
1 can diced tomatoes 15 oz
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp cinnamon
2 cups water

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Place the bread in a large bowl and add the water. Let it soak for a few minutes and then discard any excess water. Add in the ground beef, onion, egg, garlic, cumin, salt and pepper. Mix well and make sure all the ingredients are well combined.
Wet your hands and form the mixture into football shaped meatballs. You will have 8 to 12 meatballs. Roll the meatballs in all purpose flour and set them aside.
Heat the olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Sear the meatballs in the pan for about 5 minutes until they're golden on all sides. They don't need to be cooked all the way through.
To make the tomato sauce, heat the olive oil in the same pan over medium heat. Once it's shimmery (but not smoking), add in the diced tomatoes, tomato paste, salt, pepper, cinnamon and water. Bring it to a simmer, cover and cook and let it cook for 20-30 minutes so the flavors are combined and the sauce thickens a bit.
Add the seared meatballs to the sauce and let it cook on medium low for about 30 minutes.
If baking in the oven, place the meatballs in an oven safe dish and pour the sauce over the meatballs. Bake at 400 degrees F for 30 minutes. Check after 20 minutes to make sure the sauce hasn't thickened or dried too much. If needed, add 1/2 cup water.
Serve with white rice.

Video

Notes

You can use ground beef or lamb or a mix of both for this recipe.
Store the leftovers in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 3 days.
To freeze these Greek baked meatballs, let the dish cool completely and then store in a freezer safe container and freeze for up to 3 months. To reheat, let the meatballs thaw in the fridge overnight or thaw in the microwave.
If you're making this dish in summer and tomatoes are in season, use fresh tomatoes instead of canned. Otherwise make sure to use high quality canned tomatoes.
For a gluten free option you can use gluten free bread.

Nutrition