Greek Turkey Meatballs and Lemon Orzo Salad

Need a quick and easy dinner or meal prep friendly lunch that will keep you on track to meet your protein goals? Try this tasty Greek inspired dish.

Recipe inspired by My Protein Pantry.

Ingredients:
Greek Turkey Meatballs
1 lb lean ground turkey (I used 93% lean)
1 tbsp olive oil
1 large egg
1/2 cup plain bread crumbs
1/4 cup red onion (finely minced)
2 cloves garlic (minced)
1 tbsp fresh dill (or 1 tsp dried dill)
1 tbsp fresh oregano (or 1 tsp dried oregano)
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
olive oil cooking spray (can use any cooking spray)

Orzo Salad
1/2 cup dry orzo
3/4 cherry tomatoes (quartered)
3/4 cup cucumber (diced)
1/4 cup red onion
1 cup chickpeas (I used canned, drained, and rinsed)
1/4 cup crumbled feta
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp dijon mustard
2 tsp honey
1 clove garlic
1 tbsp fresh dill (or 1 tsp dried dill)
1/4 tsp salt
1 tbsp olive oil

Instructions:
Greek Turkey Meatballs
1. Preheat oven to 400F. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray with cooking spray.
2. Add turkey meatball ingredients to a mixing bowl and stir together until combined.
3. Form meatballs and place on baking sheet. Makes about 20 meatballs.
4. Bake for 15 minutes until golden brown and juices are clear (165F internal temp).

Orzo Salad
1. Cook the orzo according to package instructions. Drain and rinse with cold water.
2. Add the orzo, tomatoes, cucumber, red onion, chickpeas, and feta into a large bowl.
3. Make the lemon vinaigrette in a separate small bowl. Whisk together the lemon juice, dijon mustard, honey, garlic, salt, and pepper. Add the vinaigrette onto your salad and stir. Can serve immediately with your meatballs, or place it in the fridge.

Meal prep instructions:
This recipe makes about 20 meatballs, so you can divide the meatballs evenly into 4 meal prep containers (5 meatballs in each container). The orzo salad makes 4 servings so you can divide it evenly into the 4 meal prep containers.

Storage and re-heating:
The meatballs and orzo salad can be stored in the fridge up to 4 days. The meatballs can be stored in a ziplock bag or freezer safe container for up to 3 months. To reheat, preheat oven to 350F and bake for 15 minutes. I don’t recommend freezing and reheating the salad. The texture does not stay the same.

Nutrition Information:
Makes 4 servings.
Amount per serving:
Calories: 450 kcal, Protein: 32g, Carbs: 33g, Fat: 20g, Fiber: 5g, Sodium: 598mg, Calcium: 87mg

Pro tip:
If you need to reduce sodium, you can omit the added salt and look for reduced-sodium canned chickpeas or cook dried chickpeas. Be sure to drain and rinse canned chickpeas as this reduces the amount of sodium.