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This One-Pan Lamb Meatballs and Saffron Rice with Herby-Yogurt Sauce is a definite show stopper when it comes to spring entertaining.
Super flavorful meatballs are browned in a skillet and set aside. Next, you’ll start to make a bright saffron-infused rice, nestle the meatballs back into the skillet (with the rice) and let it all finish cooking in the same pan. While that’s cooking away, you can quickly whip up a delightful herby-yogurt sauce to serve with the meatballs. Layer it all up on a big family-style platter and topped with a pop of pomegranate seeds, all of your guests will devour!!
Whether you are celebrating Easter or just hosting a dinner party, this One-Pan Lamb Meatballs and Saffron Rice with Herby-Yogurt Sauce has that WOW factor with every bite. Try serving this up with a big side salad or roasted veggies for a complete meal!
Looking for more Lamb Recipes, here are some other great ones to try:
Easy Herb-Crusted Rack of Lamb
Pan-Seared Lamb Chops with Mint Chimichurri
One-Pan Lamb Meatballs and Saffron Rice with Herby-Yogurt Sauce
Ingredients
For the Lamb Meatballs:
- 1.5 pounds ground lamb
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 ½ tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp allspice
- 1 tsp ground turmeric
- 1 tsp paprika
- ½ tsp cumin
- 1 large egg
- 3 tbsp tapioca flour
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
For the Rice:
- ½ cup diced white onion
- 1 cup white basmati rice
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ tsp ground turmeric
- Pinch of saffron threads crumbled
- Zest of 1 small lemon
- 1 1/2 cups chicken broth
For the Herby-Yogurt:
- 1/2 cup plain greek yogurt
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice or ½ lemon
- ½ tsp kosher salt
- 2 tbsp finely chopped dill
- 2 tbsp finely chopped mint leaves
- 2 tbsp finely chopped cilantro leaves
To serve:
- 2 tbsp pomegranate seeds
- Fresh dill fronds for garnish
Instructions
Make the Meatballs:
- In a large bowl, combine the lamb, garlic, salt, pepper, allspice, turmeric, paprika, cumin, and egg. Using your hands, mix until the meat becomes almost a paste-like consistency. Add the tapioca and again, using your hands, continue to mix until well combined. The meat should still have a bit of a paste-like consistency, but should also hold it’s shape when forming into meatballs.
- Using damp hands, roll the into 1-inch meatballs (the damp hands help since the meat mixture is a little sticky).
- Heat the oil in a large, deep skillet over medium-high heat. When hot, add the meatballs to the skillet and brown on both sides, 2-3 minutes on each side. Transfer to a plate and set aside. When all of the meatballs are browned and set aside, discard the excess fat from the skillet but reserving at least 2 tablespoons to cook the rice.
Make the Rice:
- Reduce the heat to medium and add the onions to the skillet and cook, stirring, until softened, about 3 minutes. Add the rice and the salt and cook, stirring, toasting the rice in the skillet until fragrant, about 4 minutes. Add the turmeric, Saffron threads, and lemon zest and continue to cook, toasting the spices, about 2 more minutes.
- Pour in the broth and bring to a simmer. Once simmering, nestle the meatballs into the skillet and reduce heat to a light simmer (medium-low heat). Cover and cook until the rice is tender and the meatballs are cooked through, 20 minutes.
- Meanwhile, in a small bowl combine the greek yogurt, olive oil, lemon juice, salt, dill, mint and cilantro and stir until well combined. Set aside.
- When the meatballs and rice are ready to serve, Plate the rice and meatballs on a large platter. Sprinkle with the pomegranate seeds and garnish with the dill fronds and mint leaves. Serve with the herby-yogurt sauce and enjoy!!
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I’ll give this a try but don’t want to buy tapioca flour. What are a couple of good substitutes for tapioca flour?
You can sub in panko breadcrumbs!
We love these meatballs! But, I always mess up my rice on the stove. Never fails. Can I make the rice with all the ingredients in a rice cooker?
Love this!
Is there a way to make the meatballs without egg? My son has an egg allergy but loves meatballs.
You could try using greek yogurt as a binder in place of the egg! Start with 1 tablespoon then adjust as needed as you begin to form the meatballs. They might be a bit more fragile than the original recipe but should still work. Let us know how it goes!
Using the yogurt worked out perfectly! Held together and didn’t even notice the difference! This is one of my favorites recipes so far!
I have NEVER rated a recipe in my life, but this was so good, I couldn’t help myself. Other than adding a garlic clove to the yogurt sauce, I didn’t change a thing & it was DELICIOUS. Tons of flavor, fantastic texture from the pomegranate seeds (don’t skip them!) & perfect with an earthy Pinot from the Willamette Valley. As my son said, “Mom – this is definitely on the make a lot list!”
yay!! thank you so so much for leaving the review and comment, i appreciate it very much. So glad you loved it.
I’ve made this dish several times now and it gets better each time. The flavors are incredible (especially with the pomegranate seeds). Excellent recipe.
My husband made this for my birthday dinner last night!! We made it with spaghetti squash (with added spices). SOOOOOOO flavorful. The best lamb / meatball(!!) recipe I’ve ever had, & the sauce added such a fresh burst of (complimentary!!) flavor. We’ll make it with the saffron rice in the future! We were coming off of a 10 day detox program, so we are easing back into meat & grains! So we put the meatballs into the oven (375°) to finish cooking. Per your suggestion, we split the meat mixture in half, and froze one half. Our future selves are going to be SO thankful. I can’t wait :)))))).
Yay!!! i bet it was fabulous with the spaghetti squash! Love that idea.
Hi Alex! This looks festive and delicious! I’m planning on cooking this for Christmas. How many meatballs does this recipe make?
It makes A TON of meatballs!!!! It’s a great one for Xmas! I’d say it makes about 20ish meatballs!
simply incredible
Thank you so much!