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This Beef Kafta Kabob Recipe is easy to prepare and uses warm, rich Middle Eastern spices. You can eat the beef kabobs in a pita sandwich or on a plate of hummus with pita on the side. I like to grill my beef kofta but you can also air fry or bake them!
These Beef Kafta Kebab Recipe will be on repeat this summer and I can’t wait. If you like Kofta try these Lamb Kafta, Turkey Kofta Kebabs, Chicken Kofta or these Beef Kafta Meatballs. This recipe is a popular middle eastern dish. If you have eaten in a Middle Eastern restaurant you might have had a beef kafta recipe before. I love the warm spices that are in beef kofta.
We eat kafta skewers a lot in Lebanese cooking and it is one of my favorite things to order at my go-to local Middle Eastern restaurants, Aladdins. While I love getting take-out from time to time from my favorite Middle Eastern restaurant. I also like cooking at home as much as possible for obvious reasons–to save money and to really know exactly what is going in my meal. These require minimal prep time which is great! I knew I had to share these kafta kebabs with you because they are my favorite way to eat beef using Middle Eastern flavors. You can serve this Kafta with Tabbouleh, Hummus and Lebanese Green Beans.
If you have had my Beef Kafta Meatballs than today’s Beef Kofta Kebabs will remind of you those. The big difference is the way these are cooked on the grill. I love how easy grilling makes meal time, especially with beef. Beef really doesn’t need much time to cook on the grill and with these kebabs that is one of my favorite parts. This kofta cook in less than 10 minutes on the grill. If you like kofta you can also make this Lamb Kofta and this Chicken Kofta. Other beef recipes we like to make in my house is this Beef Shawarma, One Skillet Beef Taco Pasta and these Mediterranean Beef Kabobs.
Ingredients in this Lebanese Kofta Recipe
For exact ingredient amounts and instructions, see the full recipe card below.
- Beef: Ground beef is the star of the show in this delicious recipe. I like to use 80/20 to make sure there is some fat in the beef giving it more flavor. You can also use 1/2 ground lamb and 1/2 ground beef or use a more lean ground beef. I do find the 80/20 helps to create a more tender kafta and helps hold the kabob together better.
- Onion and Garlic: Minced onion and garlic help to create a nice flavor in this kafta recipe.
- Spices and Herbs: The spice blend and fresh herbs are my favorite part of this recipe. It features fresh parsley and fresh mint along with cumin, coriander, cinnamon, allspice, cloves and oregano.
- Breadcrumbs: The bread crumbs help to hold the kafta together. I use plain, regular breadcrumbs.
How Do You Make this Lebanese Kafta Recipe
Step 1. Prepare the Skewers: If you are using wooden skewers you will want to soak them for an hour before you grill. Otherwise you can use flat metal skewers. If you are using metal skewers set about 6-8 aside depending on how big you want to make your kebabs. Preheat the grill on medium-high heat for 10- 15 minutes before you start grilling.
Step 2. Blend the Ingredients for the Kafta: In a food processor chop the onion and garlic until finely chopped. Add the ground beef, parsley, mint, salt, pepper, cumin, coriander, cinnamon, allspice, cloves, red pepper flakes, cayenne pepper, oregano and give it a few pulses. Add the egg and process until the beef starts to become a thick mixture and everything is pretty well mixed together.
Add the breadcrumbs and process until everything is combined. Remove the ground meat mixture from the food processor and put it into a large bowl.
Step 3. Form the Kafta: Use your hands to form 1 to 1 1/2 inch thick kebabs around the skewers into an oblong shape. Do this using each of the skewers until your beef is done.
Step 4. Grill the Kebabs: Rub olive oil on the grill with a brush. Put the meat skewers on the outdoor grill and grill them over the medium-high heat for about 4-5 minutes on one side, flip and grill another 4 to 5 minutes. Alternatively you can air fry these or bake them on a baking sheet.
Step 5. Serve: Serve with hummus or baba ganoush with pita bread or on a pita wrap with a side toum or tahini sauce. I also like serving them on top of a salad with cucumber and tomato. Store in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
What to Serve with the Beef Kafta Kabobs
- I love pairing these lebanese kebabs with vegetable side dishes. Some of my favorites are these Mediterranean Roasted Vegetables, Za’atar Carrots and this Mediterranean Roasted Cauliflower.
- Salads are also a great addition to this meal. I love this Mediterranean Bean Salad, Easy Lebanese Salad or this Mediterranean Chopped Salad.
- Potatoes can be a nice pairing. Some favorites of mine are Spicy Lebanese Potatoes, Lemon Cilantro Roasted Potatoes or these Garlic Roasted Potatoes with Paprika.
- Of course serving Kafta alongside pita bread or pita chips is a great option too or my favorite vermicelli rice.
Recipe FAQ
I think that an 80/20 blend (80% lean, 20% fat) works best to keep the kafta juicy and full of flavor.
You want to make sure that the onions and herbs are finely chopped so it helps bind everything together. You also can refrigerate the mixture for 30 minutes before shaping into the kafta in order to get it to bind better.
Yes you can! You can shape the kafta and refrigerate it for up to 24 hours before cooking or freeze it for up to 3 months.
Yes you can bake them in the oven, cook them in a skillet or even make them in the air fryer!
More Mediterranean Beef Recipes
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Beef Kafta Kebab Recipe
Video
Ingredients
For the Beef Kafta:
- 1 1/2 pounds ground beef
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/2 of a medium sweet onion, finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons fresh mint, finely chopped
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon coriander
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon allspice
- 1/2 teaspoon cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes {optional}
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper {optional}
- 1/2 teaspoon oregano
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup breadcrumbs
For the Tahini Garlic Sauce:
- 1 cup tahini
- 3/4 cup warm water {you might need more depending on the consistency you like}
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice, or more to taste {1 lemon usually does the trick}
- 1/4 tsp salt, or more to taste
Instructions
For the Beef Kafta:
- If you are using wooden skewers you will want to soak them for an hour before you grill. If you are using metal skewers set about 6-8 aside depending on how big you want to make your kebabs.
- Preheat the grill on medium-high heat for 10- 15 minutes before you start grilling.
- In a food processor chop the onion and garlic until finely chopped.
- Add the ground beef, parsley, mint, salt, pepper, cumin, coriander, cinnamon, allspice, cloves, red pepper flakes, cayenne pepper, oregano and give it a few pulses.
- Add the egg and process until the beef starts to become a thick mixture and everything is pretty well mixed together.
- Add the breadcrumbs and process until everything is combined. Remove the beef mixture from the food processor and put it into a large mixing bowl.
- Optional: Refrigerate the beef mixture for 30 minutes before shaping to help the mixture hold and bind better.
- Use your hands to form 1 to 1 1/2 inch thick kebabs around the skewers making them as long as you want. Do this using each of the skewers until your beef is done.
- Put the kebabs on the grill and grill them over the medium-high heat for about 4-5 minutes on one side, flip and grill another 4 to 5 minutes.
- Serve the kebabs with your favorite pita, hummus, tabbouleh and a drizzle of the tahini garlic sauce.
For the Tahini Garlic Sauce:
- Put all the ingredients for the Tahini Garlic Sauce in a food processor and process until everything is combined and the sauce is smooth. Add more water to reach the consistency you like.
Notes
- These Grilled Beef Kafta Kebabs work great in many meals. Try adding them on top of Fattoush or alongside Tabbouleh. Make a pita sandwich out of the beef along with tomato, a scoop of tabbouleh, hummus and the tahini garlic sauce.
- Traditional beef kafta doesn’t always use breadcrumbs but I like to add that in to help with the consistency of the meat and make it easier to form into kebabs on the skewers.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I made this for dinner tonight and it was delicious! Good, easy to follow recipe. I pan fried instead of grilling – medium high heat for about 3.5 mins per side.
Love that you pan-fried. I haven’t tried that but I will soon. Glad you liked them!
@Angelica, It is winter in PA, so I had success with airfrying for 12 minutes at400*.
Great recipe.
Love that you air fried it! I need to try that. Thanks for sharing.
It very very deliciou. I had a great diner with my family. thank you!
Glad you liked it!
This is a great idea for my weekend picnic. Thanks you!
This reminds me of the cevapi from Bosnia. Looks so delicious and a quick meal for any night of the week.
Thanks for the grilling inspo, can’t wait to make these!
Going to need this ASAP!! Seriously, those flavors!!
Yes, grilling season is the BEST! These kebabs are definitely happening on our grill!
It really is the best season. Hope you enjoy them.
I like any food on a stick and these flavors are BOMB!
I do too! These are packed with flavor!
I would love these for dinner soon! That sauce looks perfect!
This is my favorite. Beef kebabs are love. They are easy to prepare and delicious. You just inspired me to make one tomorrow. Thank you for posting about this. I am so excited.
Hope you like them! They are really easy and we love them with hummus and some pita.