Greek Meatza with Creamy Feta, Kalamata Olives and Red Onion
There is much about meatza that makes our mouth water: the juicy, high-protein meat “crust,” the toppings that satisfy our cravings for pizza and the fact that we can eat it with our hands like traditional pizza. But even the most carnivorous among us have to admit that some meatza recipes, the ones smothered in sauce and tons of gooey cheese, can be a bit of a gut bomb. We’re not saying it doesn’t taste good, we’re just saying that after a few bites we’re on the verge of a meatza-induced food coma.
We figured there had to be a way to make meatza that wasn’t so heavy, a meatza that looked less like something we’d eat alone in front of the TV and more like something we could serve at a dinner party. We wanted to change our meatza up a bit, but didn’t want to make the recipe more complicated or less flavorful. We’re happy to report we have succeeded on all fronts.
This Greek-inspired meatza has a crust made from juicy ground beef seasoned with fresh thyme and garlic, a thin layer of sauce and a simple but incredibly flavorful trio of red onions, kalamata olives and feta cheese to top it off.
The sharp, briny feta brings tons of flavor and a creamy texture without becoming greasy or adding too much dairy. Because the flavor of quality feta is so bold, we find that a mere 1/3 cup is enough, but you can use as much as you like if you tolerate dairy well. Along with the feta, the bold combination of red onion and kalamata olives makes every bite exciting and satisfying without straying too far from traditional pizza flavors. The meat “crust” is thick enough to hold together without being too thick and heavy.
This is not your momma’s meatza; it’s a little more refined, a little less over the top, but we guarantee you’ll think it’s just as good.
Makes 6-8 square pieces
Ingredients:
- 2 pounds ground beef
- 2 eggs
- 1-2 tablespoons fresh thyme
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon dried onion powder
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped (optional)
Toppings:
- 1/4 cup (or more to taste) of your favorite pizza/tomato sauce
- 1 cup pitted kalamata olives
- 1 small red onion, very thinly sliced
- 1/3 cup or more crumbled feta
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.
Line a rimmed 11×17 pan with parchment paper. The rim is important so the grease is contained while the meat cooks.
In a large bowl combine the meat, eggs, thyme, oregano, onion powder, salt and garlic. Whisk the egg with a fork then get your hands in there and thoroughly combine the eggs with the meat.
Spread the meat out evenly and thinly over the entire pan, stretching it all the way to the sides.
Bake for 10-12 minutes and remove from the oven.
Turn on the oven broiler to high.
The meat will have shrunk by several inches. We like to gently scrape off the top to remove excess grease and then transfer the meat to a new pan. (You can also just drain any liquid or grease that has gathered in the pan and finish baking the meatza in the same pan.)
Spread pizza sauce on top, leaving a little rim around the edges for a “crust.” Cover the meatza with toppings. Broil for 5-7 minutes, until cheese is soft and toppings are lightly browned.
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Posted By: Worker Bee
This looks delicious. I’ve never even heard of these things. Thanks for posting!
Any ideas about how to hold the “crust” together without eggs? They are very unkind to my gut, and I can’t think of anything else that works as well as a binder.
Maybe cheese will work…
Organic Ground Flax Meal!
Awesome! Getting ready to cook. I didn’t have ground beef so I’m using goat… Lol hope it works!
can you make this without the eggs? i’m trying to avoid them because they upset my stomach.
lol. just saw the earlier question along the same lines. disregard my earlier comment
I love meatza though i prefer some cheese as toppings! I am definently going to give this a try.
Has anyone made a meatza with no cheese? I want to hear if it’s still delicious …though I imagine it would be!
This looks amazing, I’ve never thought to use meat as a “crust” before. Definitely going to have to try this
I made this last night so amazingly wonderful…but my parchment paper caught on fire while under the broiler LOL
OK that is funny! I think I’ll remove the parchment before broiling!
I used aluminum foil instead of parchment paper – works just fine and is not likely to catch on fire in the broiler!
Also used homemade sauce – 1/2 can of diced tomatoes; 4 or 5 garlic cloves, finely chopped; oregano to taste. Easy way to avoid the added sugar in many store-bought sauces.
Wow you could also do that with ground turkey or chicken and make it even leaner. I love this idea. I am going to try it myself and spring it on my wife when she comes home from work on Friday!!!
Looks awesome – I think it will be dinner tonight!! Seems like it needs some kind of appropriate veg side though…
delicious! made this for dinner and it was a huge success! now i’m thinking of all the meatzas we can make. thanks, mark!
We just tried this. Calling it anything related to “Pizza” was a big disappointment to the kids. When we called it hamburger, they were willing to try.
It only tastes like hamburger off the bun to me — which I enjoy, but …
Made this for dinner tonight. Absolutely wonderful. Used half sausage/half gr. beef. Topped it with leftover mushrooms, artichoke hearts, onions and blk. olives. Didn’t have feta on hand but had a small amount of mozzerella and parm.
It was delicious! Thx!
My first first to MDA and I’m hooked! I picked up the book last night, then hit the grocery store for organic ground beef and turkey. Was going to make hamburgers, but didn’t want the buns. This is the PERFECT recipe that I was looking for! My husband is going to freak out! lol I was wondering…does anyone have the nutritional breakdown for this? Being new to the Paleo diet, do you need to count carbs (that what a co-worker told me). I haven’t even got past the first chapter of the book, but so far it lines up with what I believe to be true.
Anyone, who can stomach ground goat, turkey, or chicken, is a really primal. I have never tried goat, but the other two are retched.
Hmmm … I have a real problem with Meatza. Actually, I have a problem with Pizza – I hate it! I’ve never liked it.
Okay, I am very new to paleo/primal but have enjoyed a good diet for many years. The problem with Meatza is that is emulates Pizza. So, what’s wrong with that?
Well, Pizza is born out of neolithic habits – it is the epitome of all that is contra-paleo; literally half doughy bread. The bread is not even a carrier, the rest of the ingredients poor excuses to cover the fact that it’s bread.
Emulating food that is the epitome of contra-paleo food is surely wrong. Of course, I’m open to my opinion being changed. What say you guys?
This is great! I used ground lamb, substituted red pepper pesto instead of tomato-based sauce, and added roasted red peppers with the olives and feta.
With the leftover, I crumbled and sauteed with kale, olive oil, more olives(!) and lemon.
OK, egg sub update. Made this with a layer of parmesan underneath ground bison, and mixed some into the meat for good measure. The hard cheese melted and set up nicely, and the “crust” held together. Plus, without the egg white foam rising to the top, there was nothing to scrape from the top of the meat. Added sauteed onions and peppers, and chevre, and sprinkled with marjoram and cracked black pepper. Tasty. But I prefer my meats less, um, well done. Probably would have this infrequently, but it might make a nice appetizer when cut into small pieces.
BTW, saved and froze all that liquid from the crust. Will use it for a sauce or as an addition to soup or stew.
And as to the emulation issue, I’ve been at this way too long to think of it as a pizza substitute. For me, it’s just another interesting way to prepare a meat dish.
I just made this and ate it. It was delicious and satisfying… Even my 11 year old daughter said yum! Next time we plan to top it with Portabello mushrooms and a little mozzarella cheese. Thanks for this recipe!
I have been cooking foods such as above pizza for 22 years. My son has an enzyme deficiency whereby he cannot break down carbohydrates. One has to become very creative at such times. He is the quintessential meatatarian….
He would go to birthday parties with a toppings only pizza that I made myself either out of regular meat toppings or an egg or ground beef crust. So great to find an actual recipe. Of course the student now outcooks the teacher (me). He has become very creative himself.
My GOD this is good!
Thank you so much for this recipe! I feel Meatza fills a hole that was in my recipe repertoire! Makes eating paleo even better.
Made this awhile back.It was so easy to make and so…….. good.
i just made this w/ 50% beef and 50% italian sausage…. it was like eating an ENORMOUS meatball. i love some some good neapolitan pizza (yeah i know it isn’t primal in the least) and usually cringe at the thought of trying to adapt my old favs (veggies burgers in particular are epic fails) but this was sufficiently tasty and sufficiently different to not seem like a pizza replacement and just as a different way to prepare the food.
Any ideas on a substitute for the cheese?
Made this tonight for my family, added crumbled bacon, it was amazing! My daugters comment was “I like it because I can taste each of the ingredients”. This will be a regular in our kitchen I am so glad I found this.
To truly make this a Greek Meatza, I think I would use 1# of ground Lamb and 1# of ground beef.
Sounds so good -I’m going to have to make it soon.
This is my favourite Meatza recipe – deliisshhhh !