Italian Style Lamb Meatball Recipe

Monday, April 25, 2011



Mom loved lamb. We would go to one of her favorite restaurants called Joe's,  when I was a kid in Upstate NY, The East side of Utica, that made fabulous grilled lamb chops and they would be piled so high on the plate I just couldn't believe the meat we would get for around $15.00.There must have been 35 chops on that plate. Amazing taste.

I just love the mediteranean flavors. I love leg of lamb and make that for many holidays. This is an inbetween treat for me. We wanted something to snack on and loving lamb as we all do in this house, I decided lets toss in a few spices with the lamb that we love so much and make them like meatballs. I was really surprised how much we all loved them.


Oh and how great they smell while they were frying...the aroma made my mouth water for them, and of course since I didn't wait for them to cool off, I now have a blister on the roof of my mouth, I hate when I do that!!! Too impatient to wait.



Once the spices and bread are mixed all together,  just shape and fry.


I grow all my herbs right in the front of my house all in separate pots, the mints are my favorite, I grow several flavors, this is regular mint, I even love the smell it leaves on my hands after picked....





1/2 teaspoon each cayenne pepper,black pepper, garlic powder

1 teaspoon oregano, parsley, minced garlic, salt, rosemary and allspice

2 tablespoons chopped mint

2 tablespoons tomato paste

1 egg

3/4 cup Italian flavored bread crumbs

1 lb ground lamb

olive oil to fry in


Mix raw ground lamb meat with spices, egg, bread crumbs add tomato paste mix together well.

Shape into rounds or patties and fry in a small amount of olive oil till cooked through and nicely browned. Serve with mint jelly or even cucumber sauce. You can also put these in traditional pasta sauce in place of meatballs....

20 comments

  1. I have never had lamb meatball ;-) My husband loves all kinds of ground meat dishes..I should get some ground lamb to try.

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  2. now that is just funny, I mean and do not take it the wrong way Claudia, but that just sounds so like me.... making meatballs to snack on in between meals and then popping one in my mouth right out of the frying pan because I know how good they will be- ouch!
    Hope your Easter holiday was a blessed one and you had a day or two off to enjoy...

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  3. Thank you for being a lamb lover. As you know, not everyone is. These make me very hungry. A question: when I get to the comments on your blog there is text overlapping that makes part of it hard to read. I've not experienced that with other blogs. Any ideas?

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  4. I'm so bad about snarfing things before they've had a proper chance to cool down. Sigh. My mouth is a cave of calluses. Love these meatballs and I'm so envious that you can use your own herbs!

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  5. I've never made lamb meatballs, but I've always loved the idea!! I think the mint is a great addition, always classic with lamb :)

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  6. I had an uncle who used lamb, veal, an beef in his meatballs so I can imagine how awesome these taste! I'm trying mint this year. I heard spearmint was easiest to grow... Fingers crossed.

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  7. these look so tasty! I've had lamb meatballs in a few different dishes - usually mediterranean or middle-eastern, so this is different.

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  8. Oh my goodness, these look incredible! That's my kind of meatball, and I know my husband would love them too! Thanks for sharing! I'm so happy to have found your blog and am looking forward to exploring your recipes. :) - Georgia

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  9. I have a weakness when it comes to meatballs...and I'd love to try your lamb version! YUM!

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  10. These look so yummy! I love meatballs and I love lamb so a lamb meatball has to be the best!

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  11. Those look like some fabulous meatballs. I love lamb in meatballs and those look great :)

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  12. You spice these perfectly! My mother also loves lamb - remember when ti was affordable? These meatballs should grace all tables.3

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  13. These look gorgeous. I'm not a huge fan of lamb myself but would be willing try one of these!

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  14. Your meatballs look delectable Claudia! I do the same thing all the time and wonder how they do it on cooking shows without burning themselves.

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  15. Hmm.. I could smell it.. We love this in our house.. such a treat it is..

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  16. That's funny, I live right next door in New Hartford but never heard of Joe's. I'll have to look it up. :) Being Armenian, I love lamb, but the guys in the family apparently soaked up all the meat and potatoes Irish genes cuz they won't go for it. Don't get to make it often. I was surprised to eat at John Besh's Restaurant August in New Orleans one time and ordered some sort of Mediterranean platter. It had lamb meatballs, but didn't mention that anywhere. So many people are adverse to eating lamb, veal, etc. I was surprised they weren't listed as lamb. Yours look delish!! :)

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  17. I love meatballs, never made them with lamb before but yours look so good! Thanks for the recipe!

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  18. Oh your mom would love these beauties...Wow, such flavor! And I love that you grow your own herbs, they are so delightful fresh :)

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