Meatballs with mixed vegetables and tahini-yogurt sauce: A sheet pan meal that's quick and comforting

This cosy weeknight meal combines juicy beef meatballs with a variety of vegetables that are roasted together on the same sheet pan — and are ready in just 15 minutes! But perhaps the best part of this recipe is the tahini-yogurt sauce, which is drizzled on top before serving. It’s creamy, cooling and pulls the whole dish together.

Ingredients

Vegetables:

• 1 medium red onion, thinly sliced
• 1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
• 1 large zucchini, cut into thick sticks
• 1 head broccoli, cut into florets
• ½ tsp paprika
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• ½ tsp onion powder
• ¾ tsp kosher salt
• ¼ tsp black pepper
• 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

Meatballs:

• 2 large garlic cloves
• 1 large yellow onion, peeled and quartered
• 1 cup loosely packed parsley
• 454 g lean ground beef
• 2 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp allspice
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• ½ tsp black pepper
• ¼ cup dry bread crumbs
• Cooking spray, as needed

Sauce:

• ½ cup plain whole-milk yogurt
• 2 tbsp tahini
• 1 tbsp mayonnaise
• Juice of ½ lemon
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• ¼ tsp kosher salt
• ¼ tsp black pepper

Preparation

Adjust oven rack to the middle position and heat oven to 425 F.

Place vegetables on a large sheet pan and toss with the spices, salt, pepper and oil. Then spread the vegetables out in a single layer.

To make the meatballs, add the garlic, onion and parsley to a small food processor and pulse for a few seconds until finely chopped. (If you don't have a food processor, you can do this by hand.) Add to a medium bowl with the ground beef, spices, salt, pepper and bread crumbs, and mix well to combine. Use your hands to shape the meat into 1-inch balls. 

Arrange the meatballs on top of the vegetables, spray them with oil and roast for 12 to 14 minutes. Turn the oven to broil and cook until the tops of the meatballs are browned, about 1 minute. Remove from the oven.

While the meatballs are roasting, add all of the sauce ingredients to a small bowl and whisk until creamy. If the sauce is too thick, add 3 to 4 tablespoons of water, plus more as needed, until it reaches your desired consistency. 

Serve the meatballs and vegetables over rice or wrapped in a pita, and drizzled with the sauce.

Serves 4 to 6

Produced in collaboration with CBC Creator Network.