Greek Meatballs and Pasta Salad — made for the perfect Mediterranean-inspired meal that was ready in 30 minutes!
In an effort to broaden our diet and keep my taste buds on the edge of their seats, I actually branched out from our usual/go-to meal of roasted potatoes and asparagus with either chicken, salmon or ground beef to try something NEW!! Tyler practically didn’t know what to do when he got home and saw I was making something else!
Basically the three requirements for any meal I make are:
- EASY. Most nights, I don’t want multiple steps and processes to walk through. I mean, I GET that this can make it a meaningful process and part of your day to enjoy and embrace, but sometimes I’m just not in the mood for it. Removing any barrier I can!
- SIMPLE. Okay, this probably goes hand in hand with easy, but I also really appreciate meals that are simple! This goes for the process itself, as well as the ingredients needed. An overwhelming, long list of ingredients, half of which are speciality that aren’t already in my pantry is a quick turn off for me.
- NUTRIENT DENSE. This can mean a lot of different things to many different people, but to me I’m looking for a heavy dose of veggies, paired with some protein, healthy fats and minimally processed carbs.
This recipe for Greek Meatballs and Pasta Salad checks off all THREE of those requirements! While the ingredient list looks pretty long (longer than my usual), it’s mostly pantry staples or simple ingredients that I can easily locate at the grocery store.
The meatballs are made with a mix of ground beef and pork, but you could use whatever protein you prefer — ground turkey, chicken or even lamb would be some other options! We also used Banza chickpea pasta for the noodles in the pasta salad for a higher protein, higher fiber and gluten-free option, but again, use what you have or what YOU enjoy!
Greek Meatballs and Pasta Salad
Ingredients
Meatballs
- 1 lb grass-fed ground beef
- 1/2 lb pastured ground pork
- 2 tbsp chopped parsley
- 1 tbsp almond flour or panko bread crumbs
- 1 egg
- 2 cloves minced garlic
- 2 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp onion powder
- Sea salt and ground pepper, to taste
Pasta Salad
- 1 box pasta of choice I used Banza chickpea pasta
- 1 cup organic cherry tomatoes, halved
- 1 small English cucumber, halved then sliced
- 1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced
- 1/2 cup marinated artichoke hearts, chopped
- 1/3 cup kalamata olives, pitted and halved
Greek Dressing
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 3 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 1-2 tbsp lemon juice (or from one lemon)
- 2 tsp dried oregano
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- Sea salt and ground pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Combine all meatball ingredients together in a bowl and use hands to mix together before forming into small meatballs (this made ~24 for moe). Line up on baking sheet and transfer to oven to bake for 20 minutes, or until fully cooked.
- While meatballs bake, prepare pasta salad. Bring a pot of water to a boil over high heat then cook pasta according to package. Drain and rinse under cold water.
- Wash and chop all veggies and add to a large mixing bowl with cooked pasta. Add all dressing ingredients together in a small jar and stir to combine, then pour over veggies and pasta, tossing to coat.
- Serve pasta salad with meatballs and optional hummus. Enjoy!
