Spanikopita Chicken Meatballs with Spicy Cucumber and Yogurt Sauce

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This was a real crowd pleaser!!! I didn't have the grill seasoning, so I added extra garlic and some dried oregano. It was truly "delish"! I cooked the meatballs in a cast iron skillet then transferred it to the oven...the outside of the meatballs had a lovely crust on them, though it did increase the cooking time.
I didn't have the fresh dill for the yogurt sauce, so I added dried oregano & a tablespoon of tahini... it was really tasty!!!
I will definitely make this again, in fact I'm thinking of making a large batch and freezing them...

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I was expecting a little bit more flavor from the meatballs but the sauce definitely helped. I fried them in olive oil instead of baking them and they turned out yummy. My boyfriend and his family loved them! I would maybe make this again but maybe add something more to the meatballs for more flavor. Ultimately, this dish was a success! [:

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I used fresh spinich and lamb instead of chicken Plus added some mint since I had a bunch growing outside. Totally forgot the spices but it really didn't make much difference with the sauce. I bought greek yogurt sauce to save time and my market does it so well. Enjoy!

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These are outstanding! Made a single batch & will have to make another tomorrow for a party we're headed to. Hubby keeps sneaking 'em. After reading the comments, decided to go with the traditional tsatsiki recipe I found. Yummo! This will definitely be a new favorite! Thanks Rachel ;-

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My extended family absolutely loved these. I browned the meatballs before baking them and they were perfect. For those hung up about the Paula Deen/Rachael Ray comparison ruffle, I think its a generational thing. I'm in my late 60's and love almost every Paula Deen and Ina Garten recipe. When my daughters and grandchildren come over twice a week, I usually cook a Rachel Ray or Neely's recipe because the kids are more attuned to them. For Thanksgiving or gatherings with my friends, I cook Paula Deen, Tyler Florence, Alton Brown and Ina Garten. For intergenerational events I cook Rachel Ray, Sunny Anderson, Bobby Flay and the Neely's. We like all the recipes, but tend to prefer ones that come from a cook of our generation. And the other important thing to remember is that you can take any one of their recipes and adapt it to your family's likes. We are so lucky to have all of these recipes as a base from which to start. Growing up, our dinners rotated among probably six basic meals Meat Loaf, Baked Chicken, Hot Dogs and Beans, Pot Roast on Sundays, Fish on Fridays (and we weren't even Catholic!! Campbell's Tomato Soup with Grillled Cheese Sandwiches and every once in a while--steak! And everyone was home for dinner and we sat around the dinner table and talked about their day. Dad served everyone, knew what they liked best and gave us extras of that and less of things we didn't like. And we gratefully ate everything on our plate. Nowadays, you have a wealth of recipes to try. Let's all appreciate the Food Network for giving this to us. Happy and Grateful Grandma Jean

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I think Rachel gets the short end of the reviews on every single recipe. Some of us "get it"

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I followed the recipe pretty closely (I don't measure, but with half of the balls of meat, I fried in Olive oil for a few minutes. I didn't completely dunk them in Olive oil, just put some in a pan and browned the meatballs gave it about 1 minute then turn them. The other meat balls I just baked as planned.

Conclusion: The ones cooked in olive oil first got much better ratings from the crowd, and looked much more presentable. They had a nice golden brown finish.

The baked ones tasted good, though looking at them was not appetizing.

I doubled the recipe, and cooked these for 8 people, the fried ones got devoured, while half of the baked ones were still left.

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This was a success in our house. We all loved it, even my two young daughters. I only added about half the spinach and I think it was just enough. I think it was a little heavy on the Montreal seasoning, I think I might do 2 tsp. next time. I used a small scoop to form my meatballs and got exactly 18 and they were cooked through in 12 minutes, just like it says. I don't know why other people are having a problem with that. For the sauce, I didn't add the cumin or coriander but I did use Greek yogurt, which I think is a MUST. It made for a great sauce because it's very thick. We'll definitely make these again.

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I served these at an Open House. The meatballs were almost perfect. Mine cooked in 10 minutes, but it made a lot more than the recipe called for, so perhaps they were smaller than they were meant to be. I would probably use a little less spinach next time, but they were delicious.

The dip, on the other hand, was a huge disappointment. Although it tasted great, it came out very watery. I'm guessing the cucumber gave it too much liquid, but it was more like a drizzle than a dip. Would definitely try again and maybe reduce the cucumber or try to dehydrate it first.

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Excellent recipe, easy to do and yummmmmmm. We love Greek food and this seemed like a simple way of doing a Greek meal without making the same old gyros or salad. Way better than I even expected.