Lemon and feta and fresh spinach and herbs all playing so nicely together.

Ground chicken is such a wonderful canvas for painting big bold flavors and that’s exactly what we’ve done on this Greek Meze platter.

Meze (or mezze) pronounced Meh-ZEH, simply means small plates or an assortment of finger foods and appetizers. Welcome to my happy place.

I could have paired these Greek Chicken Meatballs with a side of rice and it would have been a delicious meal.

But when I have the chance to make an assortment of dishes to be shared with my favorite people, I’m all in.

A nice Greek salad, tzatziki sauce, hummus, assorted olives, pita bread and Greek chicken meatballs make a flavorful Mediterranean inspired board.

How to Make the Meatballs

These meatballs are loaded with flavorful aromatics and come together so quickly.

Simply combine all ingredients except your chicken and mix well. Then add in the chicken and mix until just combined. Form into meatballs, I like these on the larger size – about 1 1/2-inches in diameter (15 meatballs). Then into the oven for 15 minutes at 400 degrees F.

Garlic & Herb Seasoning Blend Recipe

The Results

Greek Chicken Meatballs, inspired by my Greek Chicken Meatloaf, are super flavorful and juicy. They are a wonderfully healthy lunch or dinner option and they reheat beautifully.

If you’re interested in serving these as a Meze, consider pairing them with some of these options.

Greek Salad

Tzatziki Sauce

While I have attempted Homemade Pita Bread (no pockets but makes a tasty flatbread), I recently discovered this Gluten Free Pita Bread by BFree and it’s pretty tasty!

Hummus

Tabouleh & Coucous Salad

Pork Souvlaki

Lamb Gyro

Baked Shrimp {with Feta & Herbs}

That my friends concludes our March Meatball Madness!

For a look back at all the recipes shared over the past month check out Our Favorite Meatball Recipes {and a food truck fantasy}.

Don’t forget to follow us @LemonyThyme on Instagram, TikTok and Facebook!

All my best,
xo Libby

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Greek Chicken Meatballs {with Spinach & Feta}

Greek Chicken Meatballs are super flavorful and juicy. They are a wonderfully healthy lunch or dinner option and they reheat beautifully.

Course Entree or Appetizer

Cuisine Mediterranean

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Author Libby with Lemony Thyme

Ingredients

For the Meatballs

• 1 pound ground chicken
• 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
• 1/3 cup panko breadcrumbs (use Gluten Free for GF version)
• 1 large egg
• 1 cup fresh spinach rough chopped
• 1 scallion thinly sliced
• 1 Tablespoons fresh oregano (and/or parsley) chopped
• 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon fresh lemon zest
• 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon Garlic & Herb Seasoning Blend see recipe link in post
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

To Serve

• Greek Salad Recipe link in post
• Hummus Recipe link in post
• Tzatziki Sauce Recipe link in post
• Pita Bread
• Assorted Olives

Instructions

For the Meatballs

• Preheat oven to 400° F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper. Combine all ingredients except chicken and mix well. Add in ground chicken and mix just until combined. Form into 1 1/2-inch meatballs and place on prepared baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes until meatballs are firm to the touch.

To Serve

• Serve meatballs with Greek Salad, Hummus, Tzatziki Sauce, assorted olives and warm Pita Bread.

The post Greek Chicken Meatballs {and a Meze Platter} appeared first on Lemony Thyme.

With summer in full swing, it was time to recreate one of my most favorite Lemony Thyme comfort food recipes.

These burgers have all the fresh bright flavors that Greek food brings – lemon, fresh oregano, spinach, feta, aaahhhhh. They are super moist, easy to make and reheat beautifully.

You can easily double the recipe and have them for dinner tonight and lunch tomorrow! When reheated it’s quite possible that the flavors are even brighter.

I love to pair these burgers with Greek Style Potato Wedges to take everyday Burgers & Fries to a whole new level. You’ll absolutely love the combination! Make an easy lemon aioli to spread on your burger and dunk your fries into!

These juicy Greek Style Chicken Burgers are so full of flavor. The lemon and garlic are front and center and the fresh oregano shines through.

Does your family have a go-to burger recipe? We like to mix it up and experiment with new flavor combinations. I’d love for you to share some of your favorites in the comments below. Your feedback keeps the burger love grillin’!!

Don’t forget to follow us @LemonyThyme on Instagram, TikTok and Facebook!

All my best,
xo Libby

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Greek Chicken Burgers

These burgers are super moist with all the fresh bright flavors you love in Greek cooking.

Course Main Course

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Ingredients

• 1 lb. ground chicken
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup feta cheese crumbled
• 1/3 cup panko bread crumbs
• 1 1/2 cups fresh spinach leaves rough chopped
• 1 scallion thinly sliced
• 2 Tablespoon fresh oregano chopped
• 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic & herb seasoning or garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 Tbl olive oil for pan frying, more if needed
• 4 burger buns or lettuce wraps optional

Instructions

• Combine all ingredients in medium bowl, then form into four burger patties.
• Heat cast iron or heavy skillet over medium-high heat, add olive oil, then pan fry burgers 5-7 minutes per side until golden brown. Allow to rest 5 minutes before serving.

The post Juicy Greek Style Chicken Burgers appeared first on Lemony Thyme.

Sausage & Potato Soup with Spinach & Bacon could be the cousin of Olive Garden’s Zuppa Toscana.  That however, was not at all my motivation for making this new recipe.  Did I tell you the story of how we scored 30+ pounds of bacon and sausage??  Can you imagine the delight when this text message hit my phone.

We’re food bloggers.  We never turn down free food.  And we certainly don’t turn down bacon and sausage. The next day this cooler showed up outside my door.  We shoved and crammed every last package into our freezer and one pound at a time we’ve been working through this gold mine.

 Check out our Chili Gumbo that I made for Mardi Gras.  That used three packages of the Chicken Andouille.  It was delicious!!

The post Sausage & Potato Soup {with Spinach & Bacon} appeared first on Lemony Thyme.

For the most part, our pantry staples are pretty common.  We keep canned tomatoes and beans, dried pasta, boxed broths, baking supplies, etc.  However there are a couple of other unique items I like to keep on hand just in case.

Just in case a recipe for Greek Chicken & Eggplant Stew crosses my path.

I was skimming through the pages of some of my oldest cookbooks and that’s where I found the inspiration for this dish.  We always have boneless chicken breasts in the freezer and I had just purchased an eggplant with the intention of spiralizing it into noodles.  My just in case ingredients paired perfectly with this recipe, those being canned artichoke hearts and jarred mushrooms.

Greek Chicken & Eggplant Stew on it’s own is mild with a certain creaminess we’ll attribute to the eggplant.  When it came time to serve I opted for a little flavor punch.  That’s where the Citrus Herb Gremolata came into play.  Finely minced fresh oregano, lemony thyme, garlic and fresh spinach with lemon zest, toasted buttered panko breadcrumbs and a pinch of salt.  It was absolutely perfect with this dish.  Gremolata will find it’s way onto many future dishes.  Fresh herbs are our friends.

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Greek Chicken & Eggplant Stew {with Citrus Herb Gremolata}

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 1 hour hour 20 minutes minutes

Total Time 1 hour hour 30 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Author adapted from Treasury of Light Cooking

Ingredients

For the Chicken & Eggplant Stew…

• 1 1/2 lbs. boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 2 Tbl. flour
• 1 Tbl. olive oil
• 1 medium eggplant peeled & cubed (about 2 cups)
• 1 6- ounce jar mushrooms or 6-ounces sliced fresh mushrooms
• 1 medium onion diced
• 2 garlic cloves minced
• 1 tsp. dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp. dried basil
• 1/2 tsp. dried thyme
• 2 cups fat-free chicken broth
• 1/4 cup dry sherry
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. pepper
• 1 14- ounce artichoke hearts drained
• 4 ounces cooked pappardelle pasta

For Citrus Herb Gremolata…

• 1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
• 2 Tbl. butter melted
• 2 cups fresh spinach leaves finely chopped
• 1 Tbl. fresh oregano minced
• 1 Tbl. fresh lemony thyme minced
• zest of one lemon
• 2 garlic cloves minced
• pinch of salt to taste

Instructions

For Chicken & Eggplant Stew…

• Place chicken breasts between two sheets of plastic wrap; pound to an even thickness. Cut each breast in half. Lightly dust with flour.
• Heat olive oil in a heavy bottom pan or Dutch oven. Brown chicken pieces on each side. Remove. Add eggplant, mushrooms, onion, garlic and seasonings to pan; cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Return chicken to pan. Stir in chicken broth, sherry, salt & pepper. Simmer covered for about 1 hour or until chicken is done and juices run clear. Add in artichokes during last 20-minutes of cooking.
• Combine citrus herb gremolata ingredients. To serve, top hot cooked pappardelle pasta with stew. Generously sprinkle gremolata on top.

The post Greek Chicken & Eggplant Stew {with Citrus Herb Gremolata} appeared first on Lemony Thyme.

Have I got a great new soup recipe for you.  If you LOVE Italian Wedding Soup as much as we do, you’re going to adore this Lemon, Tortellini & Meatball Soup.

After enjoying Greek Whole Roasted Chicken seasoned with lemon, garlic & oregano it seemed only fitting to turn the yummy homemade chicken broth infused with those flavors into a Greek inspired soup aka Lemon, Tortellini & Meatball Soup.

This recipe builds in plenty of flavor infusion so don’t worry if you’re starting with plain chicken broth, the soup will be absolutely delicious.

To begin, make up a batch of chicken meatballs, seasoned with lemon zest, fresh rosemary and dried oregano.  Brown these off in batches in a Dutch oven, then reserve them to finish cooking in your glorious broth.

As with many of our favorite soup recipes, a classic mirepoix is a wonderful place to begin.  Once sautéed and tender, the broth is added along with additional seasonings, including fresh lemon juice and zest.  Just like a squeeze of fresh lime juice gives Mexican Chicken Soup it’s signature flavor, fresh lemon juice is paramount in this Lemon, Tortellini & Meatball Soup.

About 10 minutes before you are ready to serve, add the tortellini and meatballs to the pot and allow to simmer until cooked through.  For the best results, add the fresh spinach leaves just before serving along with a sprinkle of freshly grated Parmesan cheese and flat leaf parsley.  I shared Lemon, Tortellini & Meatball Soup today at lunch and my taste-testers gave the Mmmm Mmmm Good stamp of approval!

Tip:  If you are not going to eat all the soup at the first sitting, I recommend only adding enough tortellini for the portions you need.  OR do as I did, which was to add it all, but then remove the extra tortellini with a slotted spoon to refrigerate in a separate container.  This kept them from sucking up all the good broth and turning into mush.  I added them back into the soup pot when reheated for lunch.  Worked great.

The post Lemon, Tortellini & Meatball Soup appeared first on Lemony Thyme.

I am a huge fan of couscous and an even bigger fan of changing it up each time we make it.  For Mushroom, Spinach & Herb Couscous, I add diced fresh mushrooms, and sliced scallions to the cooking water, along with a tablespoon of olive oil, a teaspoon of fine chopped fresh lemony thyme, and about a 1/2 teaspoon of Mrs. Dash Garlic & Herb seasoning.

When the water comes to a boil, stir in the couscous, cover the pot and remove from the heat for 5 minutes.

Fluff the couscous with a fork and gently fold in a couple of handfuls of fresh spinach leaves.  Return the lid and allow the spinach to wilt for a few minutes before serving.  Add salt & pepper to taste.

Mushroom, Spinach & Herb Couscous you can be my sidekick any day!!

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Mushroom, Spinach & Herb Couscous

Course Side Dish

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes minutes

Total Time 15 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Author Libby with Lemony Thyme

Ingredients

• 1 cup couscous
• 3 oz. fresh mushrooms diced
• 2 scallions thinly sliced
• 1 tsp. fresh lemony thyme finely chopped
• 1 Tbl. olive oil
• 1/2 tsp. Mrs. Dash Garlic & Herb seasoning
• 2 handfuls fresh spinach leaves stems trimmed
• salt & pepper

Instructions

• In a medium sauce pan, add 1 1/4 cups water, mushrooms, scallions, thyme, olive oil, and Mrs. Dash seasoning and bring to a boil.
• Remove from heat, stir in couscous, cover and allow to rest for 5 minutes.
• Fluff couscous with a fork and gently stir in fresh spinach. Cover and allow spinach to wilt before serving, 3-4 minutes. Season with salt & pepper to taste.

The post Mushroom, Spinach & Herb Couscous appeared first on Lemony Thyme.