Lamb Sliders with Feta Tzatziki Sauce
Looking for a fun yet casual dinner idea for holiday entertaining? Give these Lamb Sliders with Feta Tzatziki Sauce a shot!
This post may contain paid links. For more information, please see our disclosure policy.
Can someone tell me how the holidays got here so fast this year? I’m pretty sure someone cut the calendar short by about 3 months! Sure enough, we’re heading into Thanksgiving, and we’re looking forward to celebrating with our close friends from grad school. (They also have a young son…so Robbie will have company! We’re also plotting for them to be teammates on the 2042 U.S. Curling Team. You heard it here first.)
Every year, we spend the weekend after Thanksgiving pulling out all of our Christmas decorations. We put our tree up early so that we can enjoy it for the whole holiday season. We put on classic Christmas tunes (i.e. Celine Dion’s Christmas album), and we start pulling all of our ornaments and decorations out of the boxes. Sure enough, there is always an ornament or two that I forgot about…and it makes me smile pulling it out. Last year, it was an ornament of the 3 chickens from the Muppets. They cluck Jingle Bells whenever you turn the tree on. And I should just stop talking now before you lose all respect for me and my Christmas decorations!
Recently, the local news has been featuring the story about this year’s Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree. The tree is 94-feet tall, and it was cut down in someone’s backyard in Oneonta, NY. I can’t imagine giving up that large of a tree from my backyard, but I guess it would be pretty cool to see your tree standing in the middle of Rockefeller Center. Plus, the guy who owned the tree said it dropped a lot of pine needles. 94-feet worth, to be exact. That’s a lot of raking!
There has been a tree in Rockefeller Center every year since 1933, and this year’s tree is the 2nd largest tree in Rockefeller Center history. An estimated 50,000 LED lights (measuring almost 5 miles in total length) are wrapped around the tree, and power to light the tree is drawn in part from solar panels on the roof of Rockefeller Center. I can’t imagine what that power bill would be without the solar panels! Once the tree is taken down on January 7th, it will be donated to Habitat for Humanity to use in building homes for the less fortunate. Oh, and one more fun fact: the Rockefeller Center tree drinks about 90 gallons of water per day during it’s first week. Crazy!
But enough talk about Christmas trees…at least for now! The holidays always make me think of spending time with family and friends, and of course that in turn leads to delicious food. We had some friends over for dinner the other night, and I made these Lamb Sliders with Feta Tzatziki Sauce. Let me tell you…these were epic! Lamb often shows up during the holidays as a rack of lamb, but I wanted to keep it a bit more casual…so Lamb Sliders it was. These Lamb Sliders would’ve been great on the grill, but it’s a bit too cold outside for grilling now. Instead, I went with a cast iron grill pan, and I just cooked these bad boys right there on the stovetop. Delicious!
I wrapped these Lamb Sliders in Flatout’s Rosemary and Olive Oil Fold-Its. Talk about the perfect combination! Each Fold-It clocks in at just 100 calories, and they’re perfect for sliders.
This year, Flatout and the American Lamb Board have partnered together with the goal of raising money to support Friendsgiving with No Kid Hungry. 1 in 5 kids in the U.S. struggle with hunger, and it’s important to do what we can to help…especially at this time of the year. Together, the American Lamb Board and Flatout Flatbread will donate $1 to No Kid Hungry for each new Facebook follower, recipe shared or Friendsgiving post that includes #FlatoutLamb and #Friendsgiving. It’s that easy! (Plus, you have a chance of winning a Holiday Feast Prize Pack, too.) More information, including recipes and tips, can be found at their CeLAMBrate Friendsgiving page.
As we head into the holiday season, make sure to relax and spend time with family and friends. Curl up on the sofa and watch some football (or read a good book). Light a candle. Pull out your favorite comfy sweater from the top of the closet. And make up a batch of these Lamb Sliders with Feta Tzatziki Sauce for everyone. Enjoy!
Lamb Sliders with Feta Tzatziki Sauce
Ingredients
For Lamb Sliders
- 2 Tbsp olive oil divided
- ¼ cup red onion diced
- 1 tsp garlic minced
- 1 pound ground lamb
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp black pepper
- 1 Tbsp fresh rosemary chopped
- 1½ Tbsp ketchup
- ½ cup Swiss cheese grated
- 6 Flatout Foldits Rosemary & Olive Oil flavor
For Feta Tzatziki Sauce
- 4 ” piece of English cucumber
- ⅓ cup plain Greek yogurt
- 2 Tbsp sour cream
- ¼ cup feta cheese finely crumbled
- ¼ tsp garlic minced
- ½ Tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp white vinegar
- 1 tsp fresh dill minced
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp pepper
Instructions
For the Lamb Sliders
- Preheat grill (outdoors) or grill-pan (indoors) to medium heat.
- Meanwhile, using a small skillet, add 1 Tbsp of olive oil and place over medium-high heat. Once hot, add onions; sauté for 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add garlic, continue cooking for 1-2 more minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove pan from heat.
- Transfer onions and garlic into a large mixing bowl. Add lamb, cumin, salt, pepper, rosemary, ketchup and Swiss cheese; stir until well combined. Shape into 6 patties, leaving a slight indention in the center of each patty. Brush patties with remaining 1 Tbsp of olive oil.
- Place patties on grill or grill pan; cook over medium heat until fully cooked (~4-5 minutes per side). (Note: If you don’t have a grill pan, then a cast iron skillet is a great way to cook these sliders!)
- Place cooked patties in Flatout Foldits and top with spoonful of Feta Tzatziki Sauce.
- {Optional} Garnish with additional fresh rosemary before serving.
For Feta Tzatziki Sauce
- Slice the cucumber lengthwise and use a spoon to scrape out the seeds. Using a medium grater, grate the cucumber into a bowl. Using several paper towels, press the grated cucumber firmly to remove as much liquid as possible.
- Add all of the remaining ingredients (yogurt, sour cream, feta, garlic, lemon juice, vinegar, dill, salt and pepper) and mix until well blended. (See note.)
- Cover and refrigerate for several hours. (Tip: This dip will taste much better if you refrigerate it overnight!)
Notes
This Lamb Sliders with Feta Tzatziki Sauce post was sponsored by Flatout Flatbread and the American Lamb Board, but the recipe and opinions are entirely my own. Thank you for supporting the brands that support Spiced!
These sliders sure sound good. I think I’d like’m as full-grown burgers! With regard to the holiday, yes, they do seem to come out of nowhere. I casually picked up a can of pumpkin last night when I stopped at the store to get some milk (and found Pumpkin Spice Cheerios on sale for a dollar a box!), so I guess I’m at least a little prepared?
You know, these would indeed make good grown-up sized burgers, Jeff. I might have to do that on the grill next summer…once the thaw out happens. Or I could just bundle up in a winter jacket and tackle the grill this weekend. Oh, I saw those Pumpkin Spice Cheerios at the store…they sound amazing! And at $1 a box, they sound even more amazing! 🙂
Hi David! These are droolworthy! I love lamb, I just wish it were more available here! I did see that my local store has leg of lamb on sale this week and I am definitely going to get at least one or two. I’ll have to look for those foldits too. I love all the holiday feasts and will move into Christmas mode after Thanksgiving.
Yeah, I totally understand that, Dorothy! Lamb does indeed take a bit of searching to find…but it’s oh so worth the hunt! These Fold-Its are amazing–and the Rosemary version really pairs so well with the lamb. In fact, Flatout has a product finder on their website: http://www.flatoutbread.com/find-a-store/where-we-are/ Hopefully there is one in your area! Oh, I forgot to ask you…how are the leaves down there? I seem to recall mid-November being beautiful down in the south. As for us, all the leaves are off, and I’ve done multiple rounds of raking. They’re calling for snow on Sunday/Monday…again… I’m sure you remember that white stuff from your days in Michigan? 🙂
It was quite pretty, but it’s been so dry that a lot of the color has faded. Then there is the matter of smoke from the wildfires hazing up everything including my eyes! It’s a little better today so hopefully it will be gone soon. Yes I do remember that white stuff and NO I don’t miss it! I told Gary when we moved here that if I want to see snow I’ll turn on the weather channel. 🙂
Yeah, I just heard about the wildfires last week. A friend’s parents drove through the area, and that’s how I heard. Then it finally made the national news. Hopefully they got those under control soon! And, yes, I hear ya on the snow. I used to love it when I was a kid…now I just have to shovel it. But at least it’s a good workout! Thanks, Dorothy!
Awesome Thanks giving Dish!!
Thanks so much, Sharmila! This is indeed a good one for the holidays! 🙂
Good grief I could go for these right now an dI still haven’t had my breakfast. Today’s espresso was THAT good. Haha.
Big time lamb fan and those grill marks along with the tzatziki and feta. Perfecto!
Wow, now that must have been one AMAZING espresso, Kevin! Haha! These lamb sliders turned out quite well, and we even made another batch to eat for dinner this week. 🙂 Hope your week is going well…and hope you got another one of those espressos!
Even though my November has been quite hectic, I’ve already checked our box with the Christmas ornaments. Nope, we aren’t planning to decorate the house for another 3 weeks – I was just checking it for my Christmas edition food props:) You should definitely show your tree on your blog, David. And talking about Christmas trees, I’ve heard the most beautiful tree in Canada you can find in Halifax, NS, and the tree is from…Boston, if I’m not mistaken. Hopefully, I’ll get to check this out one day. P.S. You’ve got delicious and comfort sliders here!
Haha! I get digging out some props for food photography. There was that time that I pulled out Christmas decorations in late September…but that’s another story. 3 more weeks til you decorate?? I say cut a week off and make it 2 weeks. Christmas decorations always put me in the best mood! Good point about the tree, too…I’ll have to include that one in a post coming up soon. (It’s not up yet…even though I do love me some Christmas!)
2042 U.S. Curling Team 🙂 I think Robbie will be the team captain! I saw the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree a few years ago, and it’s pretty darn impressive. It puts you in the Christmas spirit. I’ve had Tzatziki Sauce, but never Feta Tzatziki, sounds tasty. Those Lambs Sliders took dangerously delicious David.
Hah…well, Robbie has a long way to go to be the captain of that 2042 US Curling team! He still needs to learn how to curl. Heck, he still needs to learn how to walk! 🙂 So feta tzatziki is super fun…it’s basically just crumbled feta mixed into a tasty homemade tzatziki sauce. And it made for one heck of a tasty topping on these sliders! Thanks, Mary!
These sliders looks so delicious! Feta cheese is one of my favorite and its addition in this sauce sounds so interesting. Can’t wait to give this a try.
Thanks so much, Kushi! I gotta say that these sliders turned out quite tasty. I love that feta tzatziki sauce, and I’ve made it before as a dip with pita chips. But it was the perfect topping for these sliders, too! 🙂
Can’t believe Christmas is around the corner either! I took my Chrismas boxes down from the attic on the weekend – I just love Chrismas decorations. Such a lovely time of the year! Would love to see this years Christmas tree at the Rockefeller centre. Tzatziki is one of my favourite things I could eat it by the bucket and your lamb sliders just look delicious! Your friends must have loved them!
Yes! I love that you are getting out the Christmas decorations already, Miriam! For some reason, just walking into my house when it’s decorated for Christmas puts me in the best mood. I just want to lay down next to the tree and take a nap! (In fact, that’s what our dogs do during the holidays…so I guess I just want to be a dog…) These lamb sliders did indeed turn out well, and they were a huge hit! Thanks so much!
Haha- David, that clucking 3 hens ornament made me chuckle! Now I want one – just glad I have dogs and not cats when the tree is put up because those clucking 3 hens would probably explain this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fg0K_RN3eGI
By the way, your friends sure are lucky to have feasted on these sliders! I love lamb but don’t ever cook with it and used to only eat it in curry form when we used to go to my dad’s fav Indian Restaurant. But, they closed recently so am gonna have to head north for my lamb fix – I’ll be the water girl for y’alls 2042 U.S. Curling Team in return – deal? 🙂
Oh my gosh…that YouTube video! We already have to leave the bottom 18″ of the tree undecorated because Max likes to knock off the ornaments…and eat the tinsel. That leads to our backyard getting “decorated” for the holidays. Haha!
These lamb sliders turned out quite well, and I’d be more than happy to make you a batch! I’m thinking Robbie would love to have you on the team as his water girl. But first things first…we gotta teach him to walk. 🙂
The lamb sliders sounds wonderful. I love the sauce that you made with these. Delicious!!
Thanks so much, Dawn! These sliders turned out quite well…and that sauce! Oh, I could eat that sauce with a spoon. 🙂
I wish I could tell! seriously where did the year go? It was summer like a month back! I love Tzatziki , it sounds so good here!
I totally agree with you, Manali! But the holidays are right around the corner now…so it’s time to get excited about some delicious comfort food! And we can spend the winter dreaming of all the summer picnic foods…haha. 🙂
oh geebuz thank Goodness- Finally more lamb in the blog world! I swear it’s not used enough (or maybe we were blessed in Australia with it).
Now seriously WTF. I completely forgot Thanksgiving was next week until you told me. WHAT!
Haha! You Aussies were just keeping lamb secret…but now your secret is out! And speaking of Aussie secrets, Target now carries Tim Tams up here. Yup, you heard that right! 🙂
I love lamb !That’s my choice of meat. I agree with Arman , lamb is definitely not used enough.
These lamb sliders are looking so delicious 🙂
You know…you and Arman are both right, Ruwi. Lamb isn’t used near enough. But these lamb sliders are bringing it back! 🙂 Thank you so much!
Yeah, welcome you to the club of who love ornament for houses on holidays! Like you, I also love the atmosphere when all members of my family repair and redecorate my house to greet a holiday. That feeling is so good. And the same to other recipes you share with us, this time the dish of lamb sliders with tzatiki sauce also makes me want to try cooking it right now!
Thank you so much, Emily! These sliders are super easy to make…and really, really tasty, too. I hope you are having a very happy holiday season so far! 🙂