This recipe for one pot Greek meatballs with lemon dill rice includes savory Greek spiced beef meatballs, creamy Arborio rice and vegetables, all cooked together in a single pot!
Meatballs are great on their own, but they’re even better combined with rice, herbs and fresh veggies. This is a meal that the whole family will enjoy. Serve as is or with a salad on the side!
My girls’ favorite meal right now is spaghetti and meatballs, it’s only of the only dinners I can make where I know all three are guaranteed to eat it. That being said, there’s only so often you can eat the same thing without getting tired of it, you know what I mean? The kids love it but my husband and I would prefer more variety. I decided to take their beloved meatballs and turn them into something a little different to see how it would go over. I made this one pot Greek meatballs with lemon dill rice and crossed my fingers for success.
Much to my delight, everyone in my family declared this recipe to be a winner and it’s now become part of our regular menu rotation! It’s the perfect warm winter dinner for a cold day.
How do you make Greek meatballs?
This recipe starts with a simple beef meatball that’s flavored with lemon, garlic and oregano. The greek meatballs are browned, combined with chicken broth and Arborio rice, then the whole pot goes into the oven to bake. I added some zucchini and cherry tomatoes towards the end of the baking time and finished the dish off with some fresh lemon and dill.
I prefer to use Village Harvest Arborio rice in my cooking. Their Arborio rice is “superfino” grade which is the highest quality available and it comes directly from Italy. The rice is perfect in this recipe because when combined with the chicken broth it bakes up to a creamy consistency. Village Harvest rice and grain products are great choices for staying on track with healthier eating choices as all of their products are natural and unprocessed, which is something I always look for when I’m feeding my family. Their products are also full of antioxidants, fiber and vitamins, more attributes that are important to me.
I prefer to use an 85-90% lean ground beef for this recipe. If you go any leaner the meatballs may get dry and if you do a higher fat content it might make the final dish greasy. If you don’t have dill on hand other great herb choices would be parsley or even fresh oregano.
I love that this greek meatball with lemon dill rice recipe is mostly hands off. The only real preparation time is rolling and browning the meatballs, once it’s in the oven you’re free to do other things. And who can argue with only having one pot to clean at the end?
More meatball recipes
- Cheesy Meatball Bake
- Teriyaki Meatballs
- Meatball and Farro Soup
- Mexican Meatball Soup
- Buffalo Turkey Meatballs
Greek Meatballs Video
Greek Meatballs with Lemon Dill Rice
Ingredients
- For the meatballs:
- 1 1/4 pounds ground beef (90% lean is best for this recipe)
- 1/4 cup breadcrumbs
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
- 1 clove of garlic minced
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 1/2 cups Village Harvest Arborio Rice
- 3 1/2 cups chicken broth
- kosher salt and pepper to taste
- 2 zucchini quartered lengthwise and cut into 1/2 inch thick slices
- 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes halved
- 1/4 cup fresh dill minced
- 1 tablespoon of lemon juice
Instructions
- For the meatballs: Combine all of the meatball ingredients along with 1 tablespoon of water in a bowl. Mix until thoroughly combined. Shape the meat mixture into balls that are 2-3 inches in diameter.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over high heat. Place the meatballs in the pan and cook for 3-4 minutes on each side or until browned.
- Pour the chicken broth and rice into the pan, along with 1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper. Bring the mixture to a boil, cover the pan and place it in the oven.
- Bake for 25 minutes or until the rice has absorbed all the liquid.
- Place the zucchini into the pan, cover and return to the oven for an additional 5 minutes or until zucchini has cooked through.
- Remove the pan from the oven. Stir the lemon juice and dill into the rice and place the cherry tomatoes on top. Serve immediately.
Celeste says
How would I make the meatballs by themselves?! Would I just follow the instructions, but reduce the baking time? How much time in the oven?
Sara says
I’d bake for about 10-12 minutes!
Celeste says
Thanks! Will the meatballs dry out without having the broth and rice in there? Should I add a small amount of liquid or oil to the pan before putting it in the oven?
Carol Duncan says
We enjoyed this. Next time I might add some feta towards the end.
Linda says
Do you use lemon zest or lemon juice?
Sara says
The recipe calls for lemon zest in the meatballs, lemon juice in the rice.
Holly says
Just made this again tonight at the request of my super picky 8 year old. He even helped make it. I love that it’s tasty as well as healthy.
Alicia Figurski says
This is on the top our family’s list of FAVORITE dinners! Even my pickiest eater loves this recipe. Thank you for sharing.
Cindy says
I love that a complete meal was in this pan. My family really enjoyed this recipe.
Frances Hong says
Can I prepare the rice in a rice cooker and just put the meatballs in the oven separately?
Sara says
That should be fine but you’ll want to reduce the bake time!
Tara says
But when you cook it all in one pan the rice gets infused by the meatballs and it is crazy good! And less clean up! Thanks Dinner at the zoo for another great recipe.
Susan says
Made it, ate it, loved it….thank you for the recipe!
Rins says
I just wanted to say that I have made this recipe over a dozen times and everyone loves it. It’s my husband’s favorite meal! I always make as much as will fit in the pan so he can have leftovers later. It reheats really well.
I don’t have an oven-safe pan, so I have always just cooked it all the way through on the stovetop. Sometimes it takes a little longer and sometimes the rice gets overdone on the bottom because it doesn’t heat as evenly as it would in the oven. It’s also hard to find fresh dill here so I add dry dill when I first put the rice and broth in, to give the flavors time to come through.
Thanks so much for this recipe. My husband thanks you, too! 🙂
Jaclyn Kennedy says
Is the serving size a cup?
Sara says
It’s 1 1/2 cups
Annie says
Could I make this in a dutch oven vs a skillet? I have no oven safe skillets at the moment!
Julie says
Our family loves this recipe! It’s super easy and tasty. We do use 1/2 ground lamb and 1/2 ground beef or vension for the meatballs. Wonderful dish for a crowd. Gluten free too!
Jess says
Used long grain brown rice and even with ten extra min there was still liquid. However we served with a slotted spoon so the liquid drained and it was delicious!
Jacinthe says
Made that last night
I followed the recipe as is but add some crumble feta cheese on top before serving
Excellent!
Michelle says
Just made this it was delicious! I bought some tzatziki sauce to go with it!
Heather says
This was great! I think the only addition I would want if we made it again would be a little drizzle of tzatziki sauce!
Nicole says
Do you think I could prepare this up to the point of putting it in the oven and then bring it to someone and let them finish the cooking? I’m trying to find something to take to a friend who just had a baby and I was trying to stay away from the traditional casseroles as I know she’ll be getting tons of them. I was thinking if I prepared it through step 4, put it in a disposable aluminum pan and brought it to her, she could finish cooking it when she was ready to eat. Do you think that would work or would the rice get mushy?
Sara says
Honestly I would just cook it all the way through and then have her reheat it when she’s ready to eat! She can reheat single servings in the microwave or cover the foil pan and bake at 325 until warmed through.
Shari Wynne says
Partial cooking of meat is unsafe as bacteria will begin to grow. As has been mentioned already just cook it and let her reheat it. It does reheat very well even a couple of days later.
Shari Wynne says
I’m a chef at a school and added this to the menu. EVERYONE loved it! I used whole grain basmati rice and it worked well. Very well seasoned and delicious.
Kira Bell says
I am made this tonight but with Italian meatballs, I had made and froze. Instead of dill, I used Italian herbs and olive oil. I also added some fresh chopped spinach. Served with crusty bread and it is a winner!! Husband loved it!
Sara says
Sounds amazing, glad you enjoyed it!