If you love lamb, then you’ll love these Easy Lamb Meatballs that come together quickly. I’ve paired the meatballs with a refreshing Caesar salad for a satisfying lunch or dinner!
The recipe and photos in this post were updated in August of 2019
I’d be willing to bet that you’ve never tried lamb meatballs paired with a Caesar salad. The first time I had this combo was at a Greek restaurant in Nashville called Taziki’s (spelled differently than tzatziki sauce).
They have the most amazing grilled lamb tenderloin Caesar salad, and because I love Caesar salad when it’s made from scratch, I had to recreate one at home!
Where to find ground lamb in the meat section
I had to change the type of lamb used for this recipe because I can’t find lamb tenderloin at my grocery store unless it’s the holidays. Plus lamb tenderloin can be quite expensive if you can only find an entire lamb shoulder. Ground lamb on the other hand costs about as much as grass-fed ground beef.
Ground lamb can typically be found next to the ground beef or ground turkey in the meat department.
What does ground lamb taste like?
Although this isn’t a completely accurate description, for me ground lamb is a cross between ground turkey and beef. It’s lighter than beef, but richer tasting than turkey. I don’t usually like gamey-flavored meat, but lamb is succulent when prepared properly.
If you’ve ever had lamb then you’ll know, yep that’s lamb, and that’s good!
How to make easy lamb meatballs
For this recipe I’ve simplified the ingredients so you can put this together as quickly as possible.
- Ground Lamb
- Ground Oregano
- Squeeze of lemon
- Chopped Garlic
- Olive Oil
- Salt & Pepper
Just mix the ingredients and form into meatballs. Heat a large skillet with olive oil over medium heat. Medium heat allows for a slower cooking process but will still get the outside caramelized without burning it while the inside cooks evenly and stays moist.
What’s in Caesar Dressing?
Caesar dressing is SO easy to make as you just need to whisk some ingredients together for a creamy dressing. You do need to chop garlic really finely to a paste, or you can use a garlic press (Amazon affiliate link!) which will make the garlic smooth.
And yes, anchovy paste is in this recipe. If you feel weird about that just know that if you’ve ever eaten a Caesar salad, you’ve had anchovies and didn’t know it. Anchovies melt into whatever you’re making and give it a salty bite.
They have an umami flavor to them, kind of like Worcestershire sauce, which is also in this recipe!
Caesar Dressing Ingredients:
- More Garlic, chopped finely into a paste
- Lemon
- Anchovy paste (a tube is great because you can put the top back on it to keep it fresh)
- A touch of mayo
- A dash of Worcestershire (did I spell that right?)
- Shredded Parmesan
- Stone ground or dijon mustard
- Olive oil
How to make garlic paste
Again, a garlic press is the easiest and fastest way to make garlic paste. You can also use the flat side of your knife to press down on the garlic clove to smash it, remove the skin, then chop finely with your knife. Once it’s chopped sprinkle with a tiny pinch of salt and take the flat side of your knife again and smush the garlic back and forth until it forms a smooth paste.
The last option is to smash it with a mortar and pestle to make a paste.
Serving the Easy Lamb Meatballs
Obviously there are lots of sides you can serve lamb meatballs with but give a Caesar salad a try! Just chop your lettuce, slice some tomatoes, top with more shredded or sliced parmesan, add the dressing, and squeeze a bit more lemon top.
More Caesar Salad Recipes
Healthy Chicken Caesar Salad Recipe
Are you ready to give this recipe a try? Let me know in the comments below if you make it!
Bon Appetit Ya’ll,
Leslie O.
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Easy Lamb Meatballs & Caesar Salad Recipe
Ingredients
For the Lamb Meatballs
- 1 pound ground lamb
- 1 clove garlic, plus more below in the dressing chopped
- squeeze of lemon
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1/2 tsp salt
- black pepper
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
For the Caesar Salad
- 2 heads romaine lettuce
- 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes sliced in half
For the Caesar Salad Dressing
- 3 Tbsp olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic finely chopped into a paste
- 1 tsp anchovy paste or 4 anchovies
- 1 1/2 Tbsp mayo
- 1/2 lemon juiced
- 1/2 tsp mustard
- dash of worcestershire sauce
- 2 Tbsp shredded parmesan plus more for topping on the salad
Instructions
- Preheat a large skillet to medium heat for a few minutes. Cooking the meatballs over moderate heat will allow them to cook more slowly without burning the outside and will keep the inside tender. Drizzle some olive oil into the pan.
- Mix all the ingredients for with the ground lamb together in a bowl (1 clove garlic, 1 tsp dried oregano, squeeze of lemon, 1 TBSP olive oil, 1/2 tsp salt, black pepper) until incorporated well.
- Place the in the skillets to cook 5-6 minutes on each side, flipping them when each section is caramelized. This process should take around 15 minutes or so, depending on the size of your meatballs.
- While the meatballs are cooking prepare the dressing in a large bowl.
- Chop the garlic really finely, or use a garlic press.
- Whisk all the ingredients for the dressing, except for the olive oi,l together. When the ingredients are combined, slowly drizzle in the olive oil, whisking the entire time until the dressing is emulsified (fully combined).
- Season with lots of cracked pepper and a touch of salt.
- Chop two heads of romaine lettuce in half on a diagonal, or into smaller pieces if you prefer.
- Toss the romaine with the dressing, top with the meatballs, cherry tomatoes, more shredded parmesan, and cracked pepper.
- Serve immediately.
This was delicious! I was out of mayo so I substituted with some plain Greek yogurt and added in half of an avocado. (I put the other half on my salad.) This is going into my summer recipe rotation. It was quick to put together and would be great with a variety of fresh veggies. Thanks for sharing!!
Woohoo!! Thanks Karen for trying this recipe. I’m so glad you loved it!
I am loving this take on a caesar salad, looks SO delicious and I rarely cook lamb so this easy recipe is one I can see myself making Xx
Thanks, Thalia! This lamb dish couldn’t be simpler, so it’s a great way recipe if you are looking for something other than chicken:)