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Recipe for keftethakia – Greek pork meatballs

Sebastien
Recipe for keftethakia – Greek pork meatballs

This is an old recipe from Stefan’s family for Greek keftethakia pork fried meat balls – one of the more well known Greek dishes (“kεφτεδάκια” in Greek).

Keftethakia are usually referred to as “keftethes”.  The word,  “keftethakia”, literally means a smaller version “keftethes” (“akia” at the end of a word in Greek means “small” in the plural).

Ingredients for keftethakia Greek meatballs

  • 500g pork mince (ideally veal if you can find it)
  • x2 tablespoons of wine vinegar
  • x3 tablespoons of ouzo (if have any to hand)
  • Plain flour to dust the balls
  • vegetable oil for frying
  • 1 egg (beaten)
  • 1 onion (chopped)
  • x2 large potatoes
  • bunch of parsley
  • bunch of mint
  • x1 tablespoon of fresh basil leaves
  • oregano (x1 teaspoon)
  • x4 slices of bread
  • salt and pepper
  • x2 tablespoons of ground cinnamon powder

How to make keftethakia Greek meatballs

1. Mix the meat in a bowl with the vinegar and the ouzo (if using). The alcohol in the ouzo gives the meatballs a fluffy texture.

2. Make a well in the middle, then add the chopped parsley, mint, oregano, salt, pepper and cinnamon.

3. Grate the onion and add to the mixture in the middle.

4. Peel the potatoes, then grate them into the mixture, including any liquid from the potato.

5. Remove the crusts from the bread, soak in water and squeeze dry with your hands, then add this to the mixture in the middle.

6. Lastly, beat the egg and add this to the mixture in the middle of the bowl.

7. Scrunch the mixture and mix it up well, then cover and put in fridge for 30 minutes for the ingredients to bind.

8. Retrieve the bowl and shape the mixture into balls either round or finger shaped. Dust them with flour to prevent them sticking to each other.

9. Pre-heat oil on a saucepan then reduce heat to medium.

10. Fry the meatballs until they take a brown colour – careful they do not turn black.

11. When removing each keftethaki meatball from the pan, place it on a plate covered with a kitchen towel to absorb  the excess oil from the frying.

Serve the keftethakia Greek meatballs with our recipe for tzatziki (Greek yoghurt/cucumber based dip).

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Sebastien

Sebastien is the co-founder, editor and author of nomadicboys.com. He is a tech geek, a total travel nerd and a food enthusiast. He spends the majority of his time planning Nomadic Boys' travels meticulously right down to the minute details. Sebastien has travelled to over 80 countries with his partner in crime and the love of his life, Stefan. He regularly shares his expertise of what it’s like travelling as a gay couple both on Nomadic Boys and on prominent publications ranging from Pink News, Matador, The San Francisco Chronicle, The Guardian and many more. Originally from France, Sebastien moved to London in the early 2000s where he pursued a career as a computer programmer for Thompson Reuters and Bloomberg. He subsequently left it all to explore his passion for travelling around the world with Stefan to hand, and thus Nomadic Boys was born.

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