Lamb is one of the most distinct meats for me, flavor wise, and love to get my hands on it when I can. Of course it’s expensive, so it’s a once in a while type of love affair.
Today, we’re going to make some Moroccan Meatballs – the flavors of the Mediterranean paired with the fresh mint, cilantro, and thyme that are all so prevalent in Moroccan cooking. If you’ve had lamb at a Mediterranean or even middle eastern restaurant, you’ll know exactly what this tastes like. It tastes just like they’d make it – authentic, clean flavors, and marry well with one another. The mint, cumin, thyme, and oregano all play off of each other as you take a bite and enjoy the flavors.
The yogurt sauce is very thick, just what you’d expect if you used real Greek yogurt. Cumin and lemon create an aromatic flavor that bursts through the rich and deep flavors of the lamb – giving you a perfect appetizer or a perfect dinner with a salad on the side. Feel free to combine the runoff fat from the meatballs into the sauce. It tints the sauce a slightly yellow color, but it adds so many more fats and packs on to the flavor that runs through the entire dish.
Make sure you check out my newest released cookbook: Keto-fied! Comfort Foods Made Low Carb. This is how I keep the website running, pay for the food bills, and generally help me out with my finances. I know you’ll enjoy it!
What’s your favorite Moroccan recipe? Let me know in the comments below!
Yields 18 Low Carb Moroccan Meatballs with Faux Yogurt Sauce
The Preparation
Low Carb Moroccan Meatballs:
- 16 ounces ground lamb
- 1 tablespoon fresh mint, chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh cilantro, chopped
- 2 teaspoons fresh thyme
- 1 teaspoon fresh garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1/4 teaspoon paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/4 teaspoon curry powder
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Faux Yogurt Sauce:
- 1/2 cup coconut cream
- 2 tablespoons coconut water
- 1 1/4 teaspoons cumin
- 1 tablespoon fresh cilantro, chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh mint, chopped
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
The Execution
1. Preheat oven to 350F. Finely chop 1 tbsp. fresh mint, 1 tbsp. fresh cilantro, and 2 tsp. Fresh Thyme.
2. Break up the ground lamb, then add the chopped spices plus 1 tsp. Minced Garlic, 1 tsp. Ground Coriander, 1 tsp. Kosher Salt, 1 tsp. Ground Cumin, 1/2 tsp. Onion Powder, 1/2 tsp. Allspice, 1/4 tsp. Paprika, 1/4 tsp. Oregano, 1/4 tsp. Curry Powder and 1/4 tsp. Freshly Ground Black Pepper.
3. Mix together the mixture well so that all of the spices are evenly distributed.
4. Roll the meat into 15-18 meatballs. You can alternatively make larger meatballs if you want to make this an entree. Put the meatballs in the oven for 15-18 minutes or until the center is no longer pink.
5. While meatballs are baking, measure out 1/2 cup coconut cream from the top of a can of coconut milk.
6. Add 2 tbsp. coconut water from underneath the cream in the can. Then, add 1 1/4 tsp. Cumin, 1 tbsp. Finely Chopped Cilantro, 1 tbsp. Finely Chopped Mint.
7. Mix the sauce well, then zest 1/2 lemon and add 1 tsp. lemon juice. Mix well.
8. Let the meatballs cool for a moment before serving. Optional: Add runoff fats from the meatballs into the sauce and mix well.
9. Serve with faux yogurt sauce on the side!
This makes a total of 4 servings of Low Carb Moroccan Meatballs. Each serving comes out to be 431 calories, 37.5g fats, 2.9g net carbs, and 20.4g protein.
| NUTRITION | CALORIES | FAT | CARBS | FIBER | NET CARBS | PROTEIN |
| 16 ounce ground lamb | 1279 | 106.2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 75.1 |
| 1 tablespoon fresh mint | 1 | 0 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0 | 0.1 |
| 1 tablespoon fresh cilantro | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 teaspoon fresh thyme | 2 | 0 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.1 |
| 1 teaspoon fresh garlic | 4 | 0 | 0.9 | 0.1 | 0.9 | 0.2 |
| 1 teaspoon ground coriander | 5 | 0.3 | 1 | 0.7 | 0.2 | 0.2 |
| 1 teaspoon kosher salt | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1 teaspoon cumin | 8 | 0.5 | 0.9 | 0.2 | 0.7 | 0.4 |
| 1/2 teaspoon onion powder | 4 | 0 | 0.9 | 0.2 | 0.8 | 0.1 |
| 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice | 3 | 0.1 | 0.7 | 0.2 | 0.5 | 0.1 |
| 1/4 teaspoon paprika | 2 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.1 |
| 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano | 1 | 0 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0 |
| 1/4 teaspoon curry powder | 2 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0 | 0.1 |
| 1/4 teaspoon black pepper | 1 | 0 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.1 |
| 1/2 cup coconut cream | 396 | 42 | 8.4 | 2.6 | 5.8 | 4.3 |
| 2 tablespoon coconut water | 6 | 0.1 | 1.1 | 0.3 | 0.8 | 0.2 |
| 1 1/4 teaspoon cumin | 10 | 0.6 | 1.1 | 0.3 | 0.9 | 0.5 |
| 1 tablespoon fresh cilantro | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1 tablespoon fresh mint | 1 | 0 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0 | 0.1 |
| 1 teaspoon lemon zest | 1 | 0 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0 |
| 1 teaspoon lemon juice | 1 | 0 | 0.3 | 0 | 0.3 | 0 |
| 1/4 teaspoon salt | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Totals | 1725 | 150 | 17.6 | 6.1 | 11.4 | 81.6 |
| Per Serving (/4) | 431 | 37.5 | 4.4 | 1.5 | 2.9 | 20.4 |

Low Carb Moroccan Meatballs
Ingredients
Low Carb Moroccan Meatballs
- 16 ounce ground lamb
- 1 tablespoon fresh mint chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh cilantro chopped
- 2 teaspoon fresh thyme
- 1 teaspoon fresh garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon ground allspice
- ¼ teaspoon paprika
- ¼ teaspoon dried oregano
- ¼ teaspoon curry powder
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
Faux Yogurt Sauce
- ½ cup coconut cream
- 2 tablespoon coconut water
- 1 ¼ teaspoon cumin
- 1 tablespoon fresh cilantro chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh mint chopped
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F. Finely chop fresh mint, fresh cilantro, and fresh thyme.
- Break up the ground lamb, then add the chopped spices plus minced garlic, ground Coriander, salt, ground cumin, onion powder, allspice, paprika, oregano, curry powder, and black pepper.
- Mix together the mixture well, so that all of the spices are evenly distributed.
- Roll the meat into meatballs. You can alternatively make larger meatballs, if you want to make this an entree. Put the meatballs in the oven for 15-18 minutes or until the center is no longer pink.
- While meatballs are baking, measure out coconut cream from the top of a can of coconut milk.
- Add coconut water from underneath the cream in the can. Then, add cumin, finely chopped cilantro, and the finely chopped mint.
- Mix the sauce well, then zest the lemon and add lemon juice. Mix well.
- Let the meatballs cool for a moment before serving. Optional: Add runoff fats from the meatballs into the sauce and mix well.
- Serve with faux yogurt sauce on the side!



















How did I miss this? I am totally addicted to Moroccan flavors, and just blended my own Moroccan spice mix this weekend. These sound great, but I would add diced preserved lemons to the meat blend. They are easy to make, relatively easy to buy at gourmet grocery stores, and I found a recipe on line to make “quick preserved lemons” that was actually a pretty good substitute. They add a salty/sour note that is indescribable but wonderful. You only use the rind – use a teaspoon to scrape out the guts and scrape off the pith.
I get ground lamb at the Farmer’s Market, so this will have to wait until next weekend. Thanks for giving me something to look forward to.
I’ll have to look into the preserved lemons, it sounds pretty awesome! Hope you enjoy this one on the weekend!
I made this recipe last night because I absolutely love lamb but found the meat to be just ever so slightly on the bland side and a little dry. Next time I’m going to try the preserved lemon idea and maybe cook just a little less longer. All in all, though, I enjoyed the dish and will definitely make it again, with these minor modifications.
Leah, it may depend on what type of lamb you have (how fatty the ground lamb is) that will affect the cook times. But I’m glad you enjoyed it – the preserved lemon sounds great – if you do try it, definitely report back!
Great looking recipe! I am always on the hunt for appetizer recipes, and we love lamb and Morrocan flavors – these are perfect. Pinned!
Sounds great Kristi – hope you enjoy them 🙂
Made the meatballs — delicious! The ‘faux yogurt’? Not so good. Sour cream would be a better base and even has fewer net carbs. I’ll make it using sour cream next time and see how it comes out.
Just made these again and used sour cream for the faux yogurt base. It came out AMAZING! Huge improvement in both texture and flavor.
Nice! Thank you. 🙂
Do the macros per serving include one-quarter of the sauce? I love ruledme recipes!
Not the summarized/written one. There are 2 different nutrition tables at the bottom. One is for the meatballs, one is for the sauce. You likely won’t use 1/4 of the sauce, but you can find the nutrition info at the bottom of the recipe for estimates!