Kofta Kebab Recipe
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This kofta kebab recipe combines ground beef and lamb with fresh herbs and warm Middle Eastern spices. Shaped onto skewers and grilled until perfectly charred, kofta (or kefta) will feed a crowd!
My Childhood Recipe for Juicy Kofta Kebabs
The Middle East boasts a few signature foods: falafel, shawarma, and of course, kabobs of all sorts, including kofta!
My earliest memory of kofta kebab goes back to my elementary school days, when my family would visit Abdu Kofta, a family-owned restaurant near the boardwalk in my hometown of Port Said, Egypt. It was iconic and known for its delicious, spice-forward kofta kebabs, cooked over an open fire until perfectly charred. This recipe celebrates the flavors of my childhood and is a tribute to Abdu Kofta.
In my version, I use 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. I’m telling you, it’s a real flavor party! In fact, I use a similar spice blend to make meatballs with hummus, or marinated salmon depending on my mood.
A food processor makes quick work of the process, and the kebabs take less than 10 minutes on the grill. Kofta kebabs are a 30-minute weeknight dinner, and a fantastic addition to any Mediterranean spread.
What is Kofta or Kefta?
Kofta refers to a broad family of dishes common throughout the Middle East, North Africa, and other parts of the Mediterranean. Most people are familiar with the version made from ground meat, formed onto a skewer and grilled, like this recipe.
However, kofta comes in many forms, including patties or meatballs. It can be vegetarian, made with lamb, beef, chicken, seafood. or fish. The word kofta (also spelled kefta) comes from the Persian word kūfta, and it means ground or pounded.
Kofta Kebab Ingredients
- Ground beef and lamb: I use 1 pound of ground beef and 1/2 pound of ground lamb for a rich, savory flavor and juicy texture. You can use all beef or all lamb if you prefer.
- Yellow onion and garlic: These aromatics add moisture and savory depth. The food processor chops them finely so they blend evenly into the meat.
- Fresh parsley: One whole bunch, or about 2 packed cups of leaves, adds freshness and color.
- Bread: Soak one toasted slice of bread in water until tender, then squeeze it completely dry. It helps bind the mixture and keeps the kofta tender.
- Warm spices: Allspice, cardamom, sumac, nutmeg, paprika, and cayenne give this kofta its bold, aromatic flavor. Sumac adds tang, while cayenne provides a gentle kick.
- For serving: Warm pita, tahini sauce, tomato and onion wedges, and fresh parsley turn the kofta into a complete Mediterranean spread.
How to Make Grilled Kofta Kebabs
- Prepare the grill and skewers. Soak 10 wooden skewers in water for 30 minutes to 1 hour to help prevent burning. Meanwhile, lightly oil the grates of a gas grill and preheat to medium-high heat. If serving with pita, tahini sauce, or Mediterranean sides, prepare those before you begin grilling.
- Process the aromatics. Add 1 quartered yellow onion, 2 garlic cloves, and 1 bunch of fresh parsley (tough stems removed) to a food processor and pulse until finely chopped.
- Finish making the kofta mixture. To the bowl of the food processor, add the ground beef, ground lamb, the soaked and thoroughly squeezed dry bread, 1 1/2 teaspoons allspice, and 1/2 teaspoon each cayenne, cardamom, sumac, nutmeg, and paprika. Season with salt and black pepper. Process until the mixture is well combined and forms a cohesive paste, stopping to scrape down the sides as necessary.
- Shape the kofta. Divide the meat mixture into equal portions. Using damp hands, firmly mold each portion around a soaked skewer, pressing gently to form an even log about 1 inch thick. Repeat with the remaining meat mixture.
- Grill the kofta. Arrange the skewers on the hot grill and cook, turning every few minutes, until lightly charred on all sides and cooked through, about 8 to 10 minutes. The internal temperature should register 160°F.
- Serve. Transfer the kofta kebabs to a serving platter and enjoy immediately with warm pita, tahini sauce, and your favorite Mediterranean salads and sides.
Tips, Tricks, and Troubleshooting
After making this recipe for decades, I’ve learned a thing or two. Here are a few suggestions to make sure this recipe works for you every time.
- Use a grill pan. If you don’t have an outdoor grill, feel free to make kofta kebabs on an indoor grill pan. Just make sure you oil the pan well.
- Chill the mixture. If you’re having a difficult time forming the kofta to the skewer, chill the mixture in the fridge for 15 to 20 minutes to make it easier to shape.
- Damp hands. Wet your hands before shaping, so the ground meat sticks to the skewer and not you! This same trick works for shaping meatballs too.
- To make gluten-free kofta, just leave the bread out. I have made this recipe both with the bread and without for my gluten-free friends, and the kebabs are still juicy without the bread thanks to the other ingredients.
- Make Ahead Kofta Kebabs up to 2 days in advance: Make the kofta recipe mixture, and shape it to the skewers. Layer the skewers between sheets of parchment paper so they don’t stick together, then cover and place in the refrigerator. Grill directly from the fridge.
What to Serve with Kofta (Kefta)?
These kofta kebabs are a crowd-pleaser, and you can easily turn them into a big Mediterranean feast by adding a few sides and salads. Here are a few of my favorite additions:
- Salads: Fattoush, Tabouli, Tomato Cucumber 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
How to Store and Reheat Kofta
This recipe makes 10 skewers, and we don’t usually have much leftover, but they make excellent lunches the next day.
- Remove the skewers and zap in the microwave just until warmed through.
- Place the skewers in a skillet set over medium heat. Add 1 to 2 tablespoons of water. Cover and cook until warmed through, about 6 minutes.
Try These Kofta Recipes Next!
Kofta Kebab Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 medium yellow onion quartered
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 bunch parsley, stems removed (about 2 packed cups parsley leaves)
- 1 pound ground beef, 85/15
- 1/2 pound ground lamb
- 1 slice bread, toasted until browned and soaked in water until fully tender
- kosher salt
- ground black pepper
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground allspice
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon ground green cardamom
- 1/2 teaspoon ground sumac
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- Pita to serve
For the Fixings:
- Tahini Sauce
- Tomato wedges
- Onion wedges
- More parsley
Instructions
- Prepare the skewers and the grill. Soak 10 wooden skewers in water for about 30 minutes to 1 hour. If using metal skewers, skip the soaking step. Lightly oil the grates of a gas grill and preheat it to medium-high for about 20 minutes. Line a tray with parchment paper.
- Prepare the fixings. Prepare pita bread, tomato, onion, and tahini sauce, and any other sides so they are ready when the kebabs come off the grill.
- Make the kofta mixture. To the bowl of a food processor, add the onions, garlic, and parsley. Pulse until finely chopped. 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.
- Shape the kofta. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl and divide it into 10 equal portions. Press each portion securely around a skewer, shaping it into an even log about 1-inch thick. Place each skewer on a parchment-lined tray.
- Grill. Place the kofta kebabs on the lightly oiled grill. Grill on medium-high heat for 4 minutes on one side, then turn over and grill for another 3-4 minutes, or until the internal temperature reaches 160°F.
- Enjoy. Serve the kofta kebabs immediately with pita bread, tahini, and the fixings you prepared.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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I like how you include suggestions for side dishes etc.
Thank you, Patricia! I always hope it makes it easier to put together a whole meal without too much thought.
Can I use this recipe with ground chicken?
Angela, you can but I do have a chicken kofta recipe that will be coming in the next couple of weeks. Ground chicken does not have as much fat, so it does help to add something to bind the mixture like an egg. More when I have the new recipe 🙂
Hi, how long can it stay in the fridge uncooked? Is it best to cook it all and then freeze as per previous comments? Thank you.
In the past, we have prepared these 1 night in advance and saved them (uncooked) on a large tray in the fridge with parchment paper separating the layers of skewers. Be sure to cover well though! You can also freeze the uncooked mixture by forming the kabobs and placing them in a vacuumed freezer bag or freezer-safe container and freeze. When you’re ready to cook them, thaw the meat out in the fridge the night before and skewer it. Hope that helps!
Can these be frozen after they are grilled? Will they still be moist after reheating?
Hello! Sure! Just wait until they are cool before freezing. When you reheat, do so in a medium warm oven, just until heated through. That should help maintain the moisture. Hope that helps!
Hi. I made too many….can I freeze them ? Thanks x
Sure! When you go to reheat, it’s best to do so in the oven, and just until hot, so they don’t dry out.
My Husband and I like most of the population nowadays are under quarantine. We decided that to make the best of our time at home we would cook full on meals from scratch and have a date night on Saturday. We made this Kofta recipe together with Tabuli, Hummus and Greek Tzatziki from recipes also found on the site. Everything was delicious and the recipes were very easy to follow. We used 1 lb beef and 1 lb lamb, as we didn’t want to freeze half a pound of lamb. The Kofta came out very flavorful and juicy and paired perfectly with the rest of the sides. We had previously bought a number of the spices that are sold through the website for other recipes on the site and we were able to use it for the Kofta. I recommend loading up on the spices and browsing for other recipes here to use them. You will not regret it.
Thanks for sharing your recipes and making our days at home enjoyable and delicious.
Stay Healthy.
Thank you so much for your very sweet and helpful comments here, Carolina! I’m glad you have found recipes to keep you busy well-fed :). Many healthy blessings to you and your husband!
Dear Suzy:
Tonight I made your kofta kebab, 3-ingredient Mediterranean salad, and roasted cauliflower for dinner. They were all fantastic! Thank you! I further enhanced the flavors by using freshly ground spices. The aroma was heavenly!
I already marinated the chicken shawarma. I plan to make it and tabouli on New Year’s Day. I am sure they will turn out great.
My family enjoyed your recipes so much tonight. They said our meal was more delicious than similar dishes we recently had in a Mediterranean restaurant!
Thank you again, and I wish you and your family a Happy and Healthy New Year!
What a great meal combo! Good to hear the fam enjoyed! Happy New Year to you, as well!!!
This recipe is solid gold. Cooked exactly as per the ingredients above and grilled over charcoal. I didn’t have all the stuff for the tahini sauce, so I used hummus with a big squeeze of lemon to loosen it a little with the cucumber, tomato, onion & parsley described in the recipe. Genuine crowd pleaser!
Josh, so glad you enjoyed it! Thank you so much for sharing.
My mixture is too soft to stay on the skewers. What can I do to save it?
Tina, if you run into this, it’s a good idea to chill the meat mixture for a half hour or up to an hour before skewering.
Made these tonight. Used blender instead of the food processor. The mixture was too fine, and mine were hard to keep together also. Last time I threw together a kofta recipe from thin air, I hand mixed the mixture and it came out with a much better texture and consistency. I always prefer a firmer, denser mixture though, unlike spongy meatballs.
Hi Troop. Sounds like your results were a bit different because of the blender? At any rate, you could also mix kofta meat mixture by hand in a large bowl, this will give you more control and the texture will not be too fine.
Hi – I plan to make these for a friend’s birthday and wonder how far in advance you think it would be safe to prep the skewers. Do you think it would be okay to do 48 hours in advance, or stick to 24 hours? Thank you!
Hi Kay, we have prepared these 1 night in advance before and saved them on a large tray in the fridge with parchment paper separating the layers of skewers. Be sure to cover well though.
SOOOOOOOO DELICIOUS!!! you have officially SPOILED MY FAMILY AND MY FRIENDS with your recipe!! No longer can any of us order lamb kofta kebabs at a restaurant – we live in London, where the competition is pretty stiff! — but your recipe beats them all — hands down. Thank you so much!
Ellie, thank you so much! This means a lot to me. I am so glad everyone enjoyed it.
Can these be baked in the oven or prepared any other way?
Hi Nouda, here’s another baked kofta recipe for you: https://www.themediterraneandish.com/baked-kofta-pita-sandwich-tutorial/
This recipe is excellent! Highly recommend giving this a try. It’s easy to prepare and tastes amazing!
So glad to hear it, Kevin!
Excellent Kofta recipe. Sumac adds a nice earthy citrus note to the nutmeg and allspice, and adding in cardamom gave it that sort of indescribable…something…kind of peppery, but in a wonderfully tongue-tingling fragrant way. Like when I make cardamom bread for Christmas, you love the flavor, but are not quite sure what spice gives it. Genius in a grilled meat dish. This one goes in my family’s keeper list!
Awesome! Thanks for sharing
Can this be cooked and frozen ahead of time? Probably 1 week before using.
I live in Mexico City but my husband has Greek blod I love cooking and I have been doing many of your recepies thank you !!!
Thank you so much, Sara! So glad I can help