This tutorial is all you need to make the BEST authentic Kofta kebab recipe. Grilled kofta (or kefta) are skewers of ground beef and lamb mixed with fresh parsley, onions, garlic and warm Middle Eastern spices! These kabobs will feed a crowd and there are many sides and salads you can serve alongside (lots of ideas at the bottom of this post). And be sure to watch the video and the step-by-step tutorial!
Watch the video for how to make these Kofta Kebabs
The Middle East boasts a few signature foods: vegan-friendly falafel; shawarma; and of course, kabobs of all sorts, including kofta!
What is Kofta or Kefta?
Let’s chat kofta kebabs. The word kofta (or kefta) has its origins in Persian, and it means grounded or pounded. You can have meat kofta, seafood kofta or even a vegetarian kofta.
But today’s kofta kebab recipe is one of the more popular dishes in Egypt–a mixture of ground beef and lamb, blended with onions, garlic, parsley and a few of my favorite Middle Eastern spices including, allspice, cardamom, sumac, and nutmeg. Flavor heaven! In fact, I use a similar spice blend to make meatballs with hummus, or marinated salmon depending on my mood.
My earliest memory of kofta kebab goes back to my elementary school days and a place called Abdu Kofta, a family-owned restaurant near Port Said’s boardwalk.
The place was iconic and known for it’s delicious kofta kebabs, heavy on the spice and cooked over open fire till perfectly charred.
There are more than a dozen ways to prepare kofta kebab. This kofta kabab recipe is easy and fairly authentic. It is my best rendition of Abdu Kofta’s; and a tribute to Port Said, my Mediterranean hometown.
Let me show you step-by-step how easy it is to make kofta (Kefta), and I have a bunch of ideas below for what you can serve along.
Step-by-Step for this Grilled Kofta Recipe:
*Note: If you’re using wooden skewers, be sure to soak them for 30 minutes to 1 hour before using so they don’t catch on fire.1. Chop onions garlic and parsley in food processor.
2. Now, add ground beef, lamb, bread (make sure to squeeze out any water out of the bread), and spices. Run processor. Scrape sides of processor and run again until the meat mixture is well combined.
3. Remove the meat mixture from the food processor and place in a large bowl. Take a fistful portion of the meat mixture and mold it on a wooden skewer. Repeat the process until you have run out of meat.
3. b) Be sure each kofta kebab is about 1 inch in thickness, this is best for grilling. Lay the kofta kebabs on a tray lined with parchment paper for now.
4. Place kofta kebabs on the lightly oiled, heated gas grill. Grill over medium-high heat for 4 minutes on one side, turn over and grill for another 3-4 minutes (total of 7-8 minutes.)
5. Serve the kofta kebabs immediately with pita bread, tahini and fixings (tomato wedges, onions, more parsley) and other sides you prepared (see ideas just below!)
What to Serve Along Kofta (Kefta)?
These kofta kebabs are a big crowd pleaser, and you can easily turn them into a big Mediterranean picnic by adding a few sides and salads. The possibilities of what to serve alongside kofta kebabs (or kabobs) are endless! Here are just a few thoughts..
Salads: Fattoush; Tabouli; 3-Ingredient Mediterranean Salad; or this Fresh Tomato Salad.
Sauces and Dips: Ezme (Spicy Turkish Salsa), Tahini Sauce, Creamy Hummus, or Roasted Red Pepper Hummus
Sides: Mediterranean Grilled Vegetables; Spicy Skillet Potatoes (Batata Harra); Lebanese Rice; Roasted Eggplant; Persian Rice With Potato Tahdig
Similar Recipes to Try:
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Kofta Kebab Recipe
- Total Time: 28 minutes
- Yield: 10 skewers 1x
Description
A must-try authentic Kofta kebab recipe: ground beef and lamb mixed with fresh parsley, onions, garlic and Middle Eastern spices. Add some Mediterranean sides and salads for your next picnic! (Ideas and video in post above)
Ingredients
- 1 medium yellow onion, quartered
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 whole bunch parsley, stems removed (about 2 packed cups parsley leaves)
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1/2 lb ground lamb
- 1 slice of bread, toasted until browned and soaked in water until fully tender
- Salt and pepper
- 1 1/2 tsp ground allspice
- 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1/2 tsp ground green cardamom
- 1/2 tsp ground sumac
- 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- Pita bread to serve
For the Fixings:
- Tahini Sauce
- Tomato wedges
- Onion wedges
- More parsley
Instructions
- Soak 10 wooden skewers in water for about 30 minutes to 1 hour. Remove from water when you are ready to begin. Lightly oil the grates of a gas grill and preheat it to medium-high for about 20 minutes.
- Prepare pita bread and fixings. If you plan to, make the tahini sauce from this recipe. Prepare other sides and salads before you begin grilling.
- In a food processor, chop the onion, garlic, and parsley.
- Add the beef, lamb, bread (be sure to squeeze out the water completely), and the spices. Run the processor until all is well combined forming a pasty meat mixture.
- Remove the meat mixture from the food processor and place in a large bowl. Take a fistful portion of the meat mixture and mold it on a wooden skewer. Repeat the process until you have run out of meat. For best results, make sure each kofta kebab is about 1 inch in thickness.
- Lay the skewered kofta kebabs on a tray lined with parchment paper
- Place the kofta kebabs on the lightly oiled, heated gas grill. Grill on medium-high heat for 4 minutes on one side, turn over and grill for another 3-4 minutes.
- Serve the kofta kebabs immediately with pita bread, tahini and the fixings you prepared. See suggestions for sides and related recipes.
Notes
- Cook’s Note: For gluten free, simply omit the toasted bread.
- Cook’s Note: If you prefer, you can use an all-beef or all-lamb for the kofta mixture
- Recommended for this recipe our all-natural allspice; cardamom, sumac, nutmeg and paprika.
- SAVE! Try Ultimate Mediterranean Spice Bundle, or create your own 6-pack of all-natural and organic Mediterranean spices.
- Visit The Mediterranean Dish shop
- Prep Time: 20 mins
- Cook Time: 8 mins
- Category: Entree
- Method: Grilled
- Cuisine: Mediterranean
I didn’t use sumac since I don’t have that, but I think an egg or a flax egg would help to bind this. I found that they were hard to keep bound. I’m used to mint when i make these.
Thanks for sharing, Lillian. It’s not typical to use an egg in this recipe, but you can definitely give it a try!
Excellent kebabs – remind me of my travels through the Middle East many years ago.
Loved hearing this! Thanks, Richard
can I replace the cardamon and sumac with cumin?
Those are different flavor profiles, but if you do make some replacements to your taste, it should still be tasty!
Once prepared can these kofta Kebabs be frozen and thawed and cooked at a later date
Are you looking to freeze the kofta meat mixture before cooking or after?
Hello! I’m a huge cook as well and was just searching for a Kebab recipe to use with my meatloaf mixture (ground veal, beef and pork). I’m going to try it and instead of soaking the bread in water, I’m going to try milk. Will let you know how it turns out. Your website and recipes look amazing! Thank you!
Wonderful, Karen! Enjoy!
Hello! Just wanted to say my whole Egyptian side of my family is Port Saidi too! Looking forward to trying this tonight (but without the sumac and the cardamom as I don’t have it). I wonder if you have put up other Port Saidi recipes like stuffed duck BUT with the onion mixture ( not the Freekh). Anyway, cool your repping Port Said.
Awesome! Glad to have you here 🙂
My family loved these! I made one batch with beef and lamb and used the seasoning to make another with homemade seiten, which I steamed beforehand. The only part I didn’t love was getting caught in a cloud burst on the patio, much to my folk’s amusement, but that’s the risk of grilling where I live.
Thanks for the recipe!
Thanks so much for sharing, Katherine! I’m so glad you enjoyed it.
This recipe is delicious!! I was wondering what beef fat percentage do you use with the lamb? Being that the lamb has a good amount of fat, do you think 90% is good or too lean? Thank you!
It really is up to you, Nihal. I find that you need a little fat so that it’s not too dry, so we occasionally do 50% lean beef and 50% lamb.
Made this for 30+ people and they all loved it! Even the ones who don’t normally like this kind of food and the ones who don’t like lambmeat.
It was a big succes!
Thank you!
Awesome! So glad to hear it!
Can i use eggs instead of bread?
Sure, Katie. The bread though makes these moist.
Excellent
So glad to hear it
Gorgeous!!
I made this over the weekend along with your tahini sauce and your fried eggplant recipe (the one with the green peppers, tomatoes and sumac). Everything was wonderful, one of my favorite home meals in a long time. This site is amazing!
Thank you so much, Rich! Makes my day to know the recipes are helpful to you.
Can’t wait to try this recipe, but hoping to do it in the oven grill, how long do u think it should take?
It would really depend on your oven how large the koftas are (I’m assuming you would not prepare them on wooden skewers.) Hard to say, but here is another baked kofta recipe for you that give you a bit of a guide on that preparation: https://www.themediterraneandish.com/baked-kofta-pita-sandwich-tutorial/
Perfect kafta 🙂 Tastes just like my mom makes (she was born and raised in Syria).
I’ve used this recipe for kafta burgers cooked in a skillet on the stove top and also baked it in the oven. The best thing is that you don’t need to measure everything perfectly and it always turns out delicious.
You’re an amazing cook!
Please don’t stop adding recipes 🙂
Lisa, thanks so much! So glad to hear the recipes have been helpful to you. And I’m honored that this tastes like your mom’s kofta!
Hi there! I had bookmarked your page long back to try out this dish. Lately I have had a craving to try arabic food. Will you please help me as I would like to know:
1. Why many recipes call for a mix of beef and lamb? Does the mix enhance the flavor?
2. The place where I reside doesnt stock any lamb meats. Will it be ok if I follow this recipe with just beef?
3. If I were to use beef, do I have to mix in a bit of fat into the mix?
Thank you so much for sharing a great recipe.
Hi Mary,
You can certainly make this very recipe using beef only. Lamb has a particular taste, and it does enhance the kofta, but it is just as good using beef only. And no, you don’t have to add more fat. Enjoy!
Thanks for your recipe. Tonight I’ll make it.
Thanks! Enjoy