I had some chicken breasts I needed to use up, and I’ve always enjoyed jalapeño poppers. I created this recipe and immediately became smitten with it.
| Prep Time: | 25 mins |
| Cook Time: | 1 hr 30 mins |
| Total Time: | 1 hr 55 mins |
| Servings: | 4 |
Ingredients
- 1 eggplant, cubed
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
- ⅓ cup finely minced onion
- 1 pinch crushed red pepper flakes, or to taste
- 1 ½ cups chicken broth
- 1 cup marinara sauce
- ¼ cup plain dry bread crumbs
- 1 large egg
- 1 ½ tablespoons Greek yogurt
- ¼ cup finely minced onion
- 4 cloves garlic, finely minced
- 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 pound ground lamb
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
- Combine eggplant, olive oil, salt, and black pepper in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook and stir until eggplant begins to soften, about 5 minutes.
- Mix in 1/3 cup onion and red pepper flakes. Reduce heat to medium; cook and stir until onion is softened, about 4 minutes. Stir in broth and marinara sauce. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until sauce mixture has reduced by half, about 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, whisk together bread crumbs, egg, and Greek yogurt in a large bowl until bread crumbs absorb all the liquid, about 3 minutes. Mix in 1/4 cup onion, garlic, kosher salt, black pepper, cumin, cinnamon, and coriander until well combined. Crumble in lamb and sprinkle with cayenne pepper; mix well.
- Form lamb mixture into small meatballs and transfer to the prepared baking sheet.
- Bake in the preheated oven until browned but still pink inside, about 10 minutes.
- Remove meatballs from the oven and stir into simmering sauce. Simmer over low heat until sauce begins to thicken and meatballs are cooked through, 30 to 45 minutes. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center of a meatball should read 160 degrees F (72 degrees C).
- Garnish meatballs and sauce with mint to serve.
- You can add more stock or water to the sauce if it becomes dry while simmering.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 420 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 22 g |
| Cholesterol | 124 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 7 g |
| Protein | 25 g |
| Saturated Fat | 8 g |
| Sodium | 1284 mg |
| Sugars | 8 g |
| Fat | 26 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
Pretty much stuck to the recipe. Served it over rice, but skipped the mint. The end result was worth all the preparation effort. Well done, Chef!
I thought this recipe was delicious! The flavors were spicy but not overpowering and mild enough for my fussy husband. I served it over rice. The only change was to thicken the sauce with some arrowroot.
This recipe was perfect. No moderation was necessary. There is just enough kick with the red pepper flakes in the sauce and cayenne in the lamb balls to prevent it from being dull, and not overpowering the key ingredients. It is quick and easy to make. This may be meal offered the next time we have guests.
Absolutely delicious.
Easy to make and very tasty. Thank you Chef John!
I didn’t peel the eggplant and regretted it, you may want to peel yours. Overall was still very good but I’ve had other similar lamb meatball recipes I preferred.
Wow! Have never made a dish with ground lamb before, and since looking this gem up about a month ago, I’m on my third time (this time I smartened up and made a double recipe)! Fantastic flavors and taste combos, fit for company yet pretty easy!
This was absolutely delicious. I followed the recipe to the letter. I’ve never really been a fan of lamb but had a pound of ground lamb on hand and found this recipe. This will become part of the regular rotation. The spices in this recipe work so well together and really give you a nice change from a regular dish of meatballs and sauce.
My family and I really enjoyed this dish. The flavors are unusual but very good. Served over couscous with yogurt cucumbers side dish.
This was FANTASTIC!!! My whole family loved this. The only change I made was double the red sauce and chicken broth so I could pour over quinoa. I will for sure make this many more times!
These meatballs were YUMMY! I used baking potatoes instead of eggplant because (1) I had potatoes and didn’t want to make a trip to the grocery store and (2) I have at least one family member who prefers not to eat eggplant. I didn’t have marinara sauce, so I substituted a pasta sauce from the pantry. I grated my onions instead of chopping them. And I think this was a good idea, as (1) I got more juice from them, more flavor, (2) I have a family member who does not care for the texture of onions and (3) I’ve rediscovered my grater in recent weeks after months (years?) of not having used it.
This was so so good! I used ground chicken and didn’t have Greek yogurt so used sour cream instead. I also added feta cheese into the meatball mixture. Def making this again. It smelled so good cooking too.
Delicious and easy to make, I made it exactly as written and it was perfect
Made as written. Flavors were great, but there wasn’t much sauce. I will probably make again, but will increase ingredients to get more sauce. We love lamb, too.
Great dish, a lot of work but worth it. I served it over plain cous cous and it was nice
I loved this recipe. Very Flavorful and delicious. I made a note to this recipe for myself to half the amount of cinnamon. It was a little overpowering. Excellent otherwise.
This was just OK for me. Didn’t love it and will not make again. Will try the other lamb meatballs from this site. Followed the recipe but not a keeper for me.
Wow, this recipe was amazing! Like most people, I read and read and read the reviews and decided the best thing for me was to follow the recipe exactly before making any changes. And boy was this delicious. Yes, it takes time but I knew before I started as I read the directions. Hubby LOVED the dish just as much as I did and requested the next time I make it to add more eggplant as it was that yummy! The only slight modification was I added 3 shakes of the red pepper flakes to the sauce instead of 2 (which would have been a pinch). Served it with Quinoa and that added a nice nuttiness. Going to surprise my family and make it for them the next time they visit! Thanks Chef John!
Awesome dish. All the family ate it. We put it over cavitappi. I added a couple garlic cloves to the sauce. Didn’t use as much red pepper flakes or cayenne as some family has reaction to things that are too spicy. Still tasted great. Will make again
Awesome dish. All the family ate it. We put it over cavitappi. I added a couple garlic cloves to the sauce. Didn’t use as much red pepper flakes or cayenne as some family has reaction to things that are too spicy. Still tasted great. Will make again
I have didn’t have marinara so I used some Ragu pasta sauce, and I also didn’t have fresh mint so I used fresh cilantro. I also didn’t have eggplant and this dish still came out delicious!!! Thanks again ChefJohn!