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When it comes to grilling, we love our burgers and hot dogs, but we are definitely more partial to Lebanese style grilling, which includes grilled chicken kabobs, shish tawook and this Beef Kafta recipe. It’s perfect for grilling outdoors or on a grill pan and is so full of flavor, but only requires four basic ingredients: ground beef, onions, parsley and spices.
What is kafta?
We call it Kafta in Lebanon and it’s also widely known as Kofta in other Middle Eastern countries. It’s basically a meatball using either beef, chicken or lamb, mixed with herbs, Middle Eastern spices and onions. All you really need is 4 ingredients: ground beef, onions, parsley and a spice blend similar to all spice.
Traditionally it’s served on pita with hummus, or you can also serve it with cauliflower rice or rice pilaf and a salad as pictured here.
RECIPE VIDEO TUTORIAL
How do you make beef kafta?
Do all the prep in a food processor. It makes everything super fine and that way when it’s all mixed together, the flavors are more robust! Start with about ½ bunch of parsley, remove the stems, wash and dry them, and pulse in the food processor. You should get about ¼ cup chopped parsley.
Then, remove the parsley and set aside in a small bowl. No worries if some remain in the bowl of the food processor. Next, throw in one yellow onion in the food processor and pulse it until it’s also finely chopped.
Now, put everything together. The parsley comes back to the food processor with the onions and you can add in the ground beef and the Kafta spices. Pulse the food processor a few times until everything is well combined and forms a pasty meat mixture like this.
Time to form the patties! Well they’re not really patties. They have a unique beef kafta shape that’s oblong. When you shape the kafta, you can shape them around a wooden skewer to make grilling easier or just shape them with your hands if you’re grilling indoors.
The result is a juicy, flavorful protein packed beef kafta that is the hero to so many wonderful Lebanese side dishes.
What do you eat with beef kafta?
- Fattoush Salad – Great option if you’re doing low-carb or keto.
- Hummus – This works well for making sandwiches with the kafta.
- Lebanese Rice – It’s the classic and comforting side dish for kafta.
- Bulgur Pilaf – When you want some grains but not plain white rice.
Watch this video to learn how to make beef kafta.
Top tips to make beef kafta
- Use a good quality beef with 10-15% fat for this recipe. Making kafta is like making meatballs which requires some moisture to help it bind and stay juicy. The fat provides that much-needed moisture since we’re not using eggs.
- Pulse the beef only with the onions and parsley. It’s important to already have the parsley and onions chopped and then just pulse lightly with the beef in order to avoid over-mixing. Over-mixing can lead to overworked dry meat.
- Form the beef kafta into evenly sized shapes. This ensures that everything is finished cooking together making it all tender and juicy without anything being overcooked.
- Do not overcook the kaftas. They should be cooked to medium, this way they are more flavorful and aren’t dry. Keep in mind they’ll continue to cook when they’re resting off the grill.
Frequently Asked Questions
Cooked kaftas will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for about 3 to 4 days. They can be reheated or eaten cold. They also freeze well and will last for up to 3 months.
I love making kaftas with beef, but you can also use a ground lamb or ground chicken if you prefer. A lot of kaftas are made with a mix of beef and lamb mince for a really rich flavor.
Yes, these work really well in the oven. Bake at 350ºF for around 15 to 20 minutes until they are cooked through.I do prefer the flavor of the kafta when grilled though.
We love eating kafta with a salad, with Lebanese rice, in a stew or in. wrap. You can also eat it on its own with tahini sauce or cucumber yogurt sauce for dipping.
More Lebanese recipes
- Chicken Kafta
- Mujadara
- Chicken Shish Tawook
- Beef Shawarma Wrap
- Lebanese Chicken Fatteh
- Falafel Recipe
- Mujadara Hamra
If you’ve tried this healthy-ish feel good Beef Kafta recipe or any other recipe on FeelGoodFoodie, then don’t forget to rate the recipe and leave me a comment below! I would love to hear about your experience making it. And if you snapped some shots of it, share it with me on Instagram so I can repost on my stories!
This Beef Kafta recipe was originally published on September 2, 2018. I’m re-sharing it with more step-by-step photos and a recipe video. Here’s the original photo!
Beef Kafta
Video
Ingredients
- ¼ cup parsley
- 1 small yellow onion quartered
- 1 pound ground beef
- 2 teaspoons 7 spice
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon coriander
- ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Place the parsley in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until finely chopped, remove and set aside.
- In the same food processor bowl used to chop the parsley, place the quartered onion and pulse until finely chopped. Drain the onions slightly to release excess moisture.
- Return the parsley back to the bowl of the food processor with the onions. Add the ground beef to the food processor in addition to all the spices. Run the food processor on pulse once or twice until ingredients are well combined and form a pasty meat mixture.
- Transfer the mixture from the food processor to a large bowl and form the Kafta into an oblong shape about 1 inch in thickness. You can form them on a wooden skewer or without.
- Grease the grates of a gas grill or indoor grill pan, and preheat it to medium high heat. When heated through, transfer the kafta to the grill. Grill for 4-5 minutes per side, depending on your preferred level of doneness.
- Serve hot off the grill with your choice of side.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information provided is an estimate. It will vary based on cooking method and specific ingredients used.
Every year I make things for my staff as gifts for the holidays. For my staff that follow Halal or Kosher requirements. This was perfect, a member from Algeria was so surprised as for him it was a true taste from home.
So thank you for posting this – it is now in my recipe book.
Cheers Ed
Awe, that means so much, thank you for sharing with your staff, Ed!
Made this last minute for dinner and so glad!! The meat was so delicious and tender. Cooked in a cast iron pan which gave a nice crust to the meat. Really wonderful and so flavorful!
Yay, so glad you enjoyed it!
I made this pretty much like the recipe except that instead of using a food processor, I chopped very very fine by hand.
I used a pound of minced beef and a pound of minced lamb and scaled appropriately. It made 13 kafta balls. I served two kofta each, on couscous.
It was fantastic. I will certainly make this again. My wife and I both liked it. Five stars. Way better than restaurant version.
Thanks for letting me know about the changes you made, I’m so happy you enjoyed this recipe!
I forgot to say that I cooked it in the oven, with convection, 350°F for 25 minutes.
We have lots of leftovers too enjoy!
We were going to go out to eat at an Arabic restaurant today. That has been delayed. This kofta is much better!
Hello!
Does this receipt require both the seven spices mixture and the listed spices below it?
or is it either just the spices individually or the seven spices on its own?
Hi Aalyah, great question! It uses the 7 spice seasoning as well as the spices listed below it. I hope you enjoy!
This is an amazing recipe. Followed it to the letter. Will be using again in future
Thank you so much!
Easy and delicious! After trying hundreds of recipes, I’ve only commented twice when I had something constructive to add. However, this recipe is soooo flavorful, I had to thank you for sharing it!
You’re so welcome! Thank you for making it!
This recipe does not mention how much 7 spice to use, and when to add it to the beef-veggie mixture….
Hi Bruce, if you scroll down to the recipe card all the measurements are listed as well as the full instructions. Hope you enjoy!
Can this be sautéd? I wonder if it will have the same flavor…
Great question! You can cook it on the stove top, it does miss out on that grilled/charred flavor but other than that it is still really yummy!
This was a huge hit for my boyfriend and I. I made them into smash burgers served in flatbread with lettuce, tomatoes, red onions, and a homemade creamy feta sauce. I also used your recipe for the 7 spice and I will make sure to always have this in the pantry! He requested to have this meal once a week lol. Thank you for this delicious recipe!
You’re so welcome! I am so happy to hear that you both enjoyed it! I love the idea of making it into burgers!