Cumin Lamb Meatballs With Tahini Yogurt Dipping Sauce Recipe (2024)

Roasted them in cast iron skillet, turning them 2X and they were perfect. No messy, smokey broiler.

Loved the meatballs, hated the sauce. I ditched the sauce in favor of a simple tzatziki made by adding lemon juice and garlic to the yogurt that was left over, and served that with the meatballs, along with fresh pita and a simple Middle Eastern style salad. The lamb meatballs with tzatziki were so delicious even my 16 year old boy who doesn't care for lamb went back for seconds. Very quick and easy to make, too. These will become a staple of my go-to weeknight meals.

Loved the flavor. Following others’ suggestions I subbed mint for parsley and shallot for scallions, and baked in a 425 oven. The first time I made them they were a bit dry. The second time I added 1/2 cup panade (bread crumbs soaked in an equal amount of milk) and 1 egg. Same great flavor but so much moister!

I wish the NYTimes writers would mark ingredients that must be divided with a simple ",divided" to help those of us who are cooking quickly! Another suggestion is for an ingredient as key as the lemon juice to give a minimum amount rather than being so open ended, e.g. "1 Tbsp or more to taste," for those of us new to yogurt tahini sauces or whatever is to be created.

These are very good and easy but be forewarned- all your smoke alarms will go off and all your windows will have to be opened unless you have a restaurant quality exhaust fan. Very embarrassing to have the house filled with smoke as guests are arriving!

Baked on parchment paper for 19 minutes at 425. No smoke, little clean up mess. Excellent!

Thanks to the poster who warned about the smoke - I was glad I'd opened all the windows in advance. Delicious flavor and very easy to make. "Serves 2-4" - unless Jesus shows up with his loaves and fishes trick, it would be a pretty scanty serving for four people.

No smoke broiler method: I made these as instructed but instead of putting them on an oiled pan, I just put parchment paper on the pan and put the meatballs on that. That worked fine under the broiler. I was afraid it might catch fire or the meatballs might stick. But neither was a problem at all. (The meatballs put off enough liquid to avoid sticking.) Very slick method and easy clean-up.

Apparently, less smoke! See Kate's post. I used the broiler, but I have a feeling they might be juicier sautéed. Unless you snatch them out of the broiler at exactly the right moment, they can be a bit dry.

Followed advice to bake 425 11 min & they turned out perfectly cooked, no smoke. Added chopped cilantro & mint. Would up spices a bit. Sauce: I've made and don't care for tahini-yogurt sauce. We don't like raw garlic. So used empty chopper (previously used to chop garlic & spices) to mix yogurt lemon juice salt, did not add more garlic but got "essence" from previously chopped. Also added sumac to yogurt sauce & wish I'd thought to add to meatballs also.

I just made this with 3 changes:1. Used baking paper and no oil: in oven 20 min @ 4252. Added added 1/2 cup panade (bread crumbs soaked in an equal amount of milk) and 1 egg.3. Added more mint, cilantro with the parsley.These are the most moist, delicious and flavorful lamb 'balls' EVER. My husband & son demolished all but 8 of the double recipe. It's been 2 hours since dinner and my son just asked me if he could eat the leftovers now. :-)MMMMmmmm Good!

Liz dear, your "panade" was a complete revelation! Never heard of it before! I incorporated it into the recipe and the results were better than I had hoped -- miraculously moist but not mushy. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you! Brilliant contribution!

These were fabulous! I used ground cumin, as I did not have the cumin seeds. I also used mint instead of parsley, and they were absolutely wonderful. The blend of flavors was spot-on as to what I would expect to be served at my favorite Middle Eastern restaurant. It's exciting to know that I can make these gems at home. Add some rice on the side, or tuck a few inside pita bread with your favorite gyro toppings! Next time I'll try the sauce. I had tzatziki which was great as well.

Sauce was too garlicky for us. Use one clove. Otherwise delicious lamb meatballs. Served with couscous with toasted pine nuts and raisins.

Made May 21, 2015. Very nice. The tahini sauce was slightly different. I used 1/2 yoghurt and 1/8 cup tahini. I added 2 tsps minced garlic, a spritz of lemon juice and about 2 Tbspns of good olive oil. I also used minced garlic for the meatballs.

Although I following the recipe exactly, I baked at 425 rather than broiled the meatballs. They turned out perfect and I will make them again. The Tahini sauce was disappointing. The tahini seemed to be too fragile to stand up to the lemon and yogurt. The flavor of the Tahini was obscured. Perhaps the blend of ingredients should be 1/2 cup of tahini. Any ideas?

I broiled it and a small fire started in the top coil of my oven. I'll be baking it next time.

OMGosh these are good! Like others have stated, even my 11-year-old who “hates lamb” wanted more. Took previous posters advice and baked at 4:25 for 14 minutes until the internal temperature reached 145°. They were perfect. Cut back on the garlic in the sauce, loved it.

I doubled the recipe, served it over a bed of sauteed kale and it turned out really well. The meatballs themselves were perfection and the recipe was just as quick and easy as it made itself out to be. Highly recommend.A few small adjustments:Put a full lemon into the sauce, as well as 2-3 tablespoons of warm water since it was much too thick for my taste.

I navigated the comments. Making these simple adjustments provided a lovely, and pretty straightforward, dinner. Baked at meatballs at 425 on foil for 15 mins; made sauce with more lemon, less tahini; didn’t want to run to store for mint but will next time, just for fun. Yum.

Mint & shallots425 11 minutes

Sauce was dry and bland. Added brine from fresh feta, herbs (parsley and mint) and extra lemon juice. Added egg to the meatball mixture and replaced parsley with mint. Baked at 425 checking temperature every 5-10 min.

I followed advice and used mint instead of parsley. I cut back on the tahini, but would still modify more next time with more garlic and lemon, maybe skip the tahini, or serve with traditional hummus and yogurt sauces. My partner loved the meat balls. I thought they were too salty—over seasoned in general, but I always err on the side of more salt and spice, especially when it’s cumin! I will try them again. I roasted them in a toaster oven at 430 for 8 minutes. Turned at 5 min. Perfect.

I just made this with 3 changes:1. Used baking paper and no oil: in oven 20 min @ 4252. Added added 1/2 cup panade (bread crumbs soaked in an equal amount of milk) and 1 egg.3. Added more mint, cilantro with the parsley.These are the most moist, delicious and flavorful lamb 'balls' EVER. My husband & son demolished all but 8 of the double recipe. It's been 2 hours since dinner and my son just asked me if he could eat the leftovers now. :-)MMMMmmmm Good!

Loved the flavor. Following others’ suggestions I subbed mint for parsley and shallot for scallions, and baked in a 425 oven. The first time I made them they were a bit dry. The second time I added 1/2 cup panade (bread crumbs soaked in an equal amount of milk) and 1 egg. Same great flavor but so much moister!

Some nights I want easy...and delicious.This recipe is easy. But to make it delicious, you have do the investigative work that makes it no-longer-easy. Too many modifications and I still haven't nailed what I would call "delicious". Cook time and sauce are off. I'm great at following recipes, not working out the kinks. Too many kinks in this one!

Love this recipe! I always double the sauce and add more lemon. 7 minutes under my convection broiler and they are done. I’ve made them a little smaller and serve as appetizers.

Delicious! Thanks for all your notes and suggestions... I used all garlic paste and extra hot sauce in meat mixture, subbed cilantro for parsley and baked 11 mins at 425 on parchment lined pan. Perfect. Love yogurt tahini sauce but adjusted slightly based on other comments regarding it being bland...juice of whole lemon, sea salt and white pepper. Chopped cilantro as garnish. We raise lamb on our ranch, so this will become a regular.

Also used the suggestion to make these on parchment paper. Used a convection oven at 350 because the broiler on our oven is out :-(. 10 minutes on each side cooked them fully, possibly overcooked.

These meatballs are outstanding. I followed Andy and Christina’s suggestion to use parchment paper. Broiled for 8 minutes on high and they came out incredibly moist and evenly browned on all sides. We will he keeping this recipe in our permanent rotation.