Lebanese Beef Kafta
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The ultimate Lebanese Beef Kafta recipe to enjoy at home, easy to prepare and get to your plate for a satisfying meal. Experience delightfully fresh and aromatic flavours that hit close to home in this recreation of traditional Lebanese kaftas.
While I have some delicious Lebanese recipes that I’m proud to share here including Chicken Shawarma and Meat Pies, it’s still a relatively new cuisine to me! If you’ve followed me for long enough, you know that I love some skewers! If you’re looking to no longer make Lebanon a destination unseen, I strongly recommend you try this Lebanese Beef Kafta recipe as part of your Live to Cook one-month challenge! As I mention in my free motivational guide to explore your potential in the kitchen, Make Cooking Fun!!, you could make an entire theme for the week around Lebanese food, since you’ll see a crossover with lots of the ingredients! Get started on your cooking journey today for free by signing up to my email newsletter, plus you’ll never wonder what to make for dinner as all of my recipes will be sent straight to your inbox!
To follow along with the marination process and cooking these amazing beef kafta skewers in the oven, then be sure to watch the video at the bottom of this post! If you’re not already, it would mean a lot to me if you would please subscribe to my YouTube channel, and press the bell button to be notified when my video recipes go live to go along with the written ones! Let’s get cooking!
What is kafta?
Kafta or “Kofta” in other parts of the world is a type of kebab made from ground meat and this Lebanese version is made up of ground onions, parsley and a medley of spices. Other various of Kafta exist around the Middle East regions, and is also common in other parts of the world. In fact, I grew up with a Indian vegetarian Kofta made up of cabbage which was fried and then served in a tomato based sauce. The word Kafta is derived from the classical Persian word "kūfta," which means "to pound" or "to grind” - referring to the ground meat used in this recipe.
Why This Lebanese Kafta Recipe Is a Must-Make!
Delicious: Always the main reason to make something, right! This Lebanese kafta recipe features melt-in-your-mouth tender beef, Middle Eastern spices, and fresh herbs. I guarantee you could eat a bunch of them!
Authentic: We’ll be using Lebanese 7 spice and Sumac to pack in lots of flavour. This Kafta recipe will follow traditional methods, but I’ll be broiling the kafta to show how these can be accessible to everyone!
Crowd pleaser: Who doesn’t love skewers at a BBQ party? If you have a BBQ, then wonderful! Otherwise, don’t worry about it! These skewers will fly off your table in no time!
Healthy: The main ingredient here is ground beef, which is high in protein that will keep you full. Ground beef is also loaded with iron. Otherwise, we have some fresh herbs and spices, so this is incredibly simple and packed with nutrition!
Low-carb and keto friendly: The only source of carbohydrates in this recipe are the onions, which are quite negligible. As a result, this Lebanese Beef Kafta recipe is suitable for those following a keto diet.
Gluten-free: As mentioned earlier, we have no bread or breadcrumbs here, so this Kafta recipe is perfect for those with a gluten intolerance!
Tools Needed to Make Beef Kafta
Ingredients for Lebanese Kafta
All ingredient quantities and the complete recipe instructions can be found in the FULL PRINTABLE RECIPE CARD! Scroll down to the bottom of this post or press the “Jump to Recipe” button to save the recipe for later, and to scale the recipe based on how many skewers you want to make. By default, the quantities listed will make 4 skewers.
Ground beef: I used medium ground beef. Traditionally, either beef or lamb is used, so you can pick whatever one you want.
Onion: I’m using a yellow onion here to get that sweeter taste, plus that’s what’s typically used. Grating it instead of finely chopping it helps the onions to keep the meat more moist and act as a binding agent.
Garlic: Always go for freshly minced garlic cloves.
Parsley: Freshly chopped parsley.
Mint: Go for fresh mint leaves.
Lebanese Seven Spice Mix: A must have to create the Kafta as close to a traditional version. This is composed of ground allspice, ground black pepper, ground cinnamon, ground cloves, ground coriander, ground cumin and ground nutmeg
Other seasonings: Sumac is the key spice here apart from the Seven Spice Mix.
Salt: My preference is Himalayan pink salt, but whatever salt you have will work.
How to Make Beef Kafta
Add the ground beef to a large bowl and then add the grated onions, parsley, Lebanese seven spice mix, black pepper, sumac, garlic and salt. Mix thoroughly until all the ingredients are well combined.
Allow the meat to marinate for at least an hour.
Then shape the meat mixture into oblong shapes around skewers.
Grilling: Preheat a charcoal grill. Grill the kafta skewers or patties on medium-high heat, turning occasionally, until fully cooked and browned on all sides (about 10-15 minutes).
Baking: Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Prepare a baking sheet with a wire rack and place the skewers over the wire rack. Turn on the broiler on the oven and place the baking sheet on the second highest rack in the oven. Pour about 2 cups of water on the baking sheet and then broil for 7-8 minutes. Then, turn the skewers once. Cook on the other side for 5 to 6 more minutes. Cook on the other side for 5 to 6 more minutes.
Skillet: Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add a bit of oil if desired, and cook the kafta, turning to brown all sides, for about 10-15 minutes.
Serve with rice, pita bread, garlic sauce, and/or hummus. Enjoy!
What to Serve with kafta?
Potatoes: Fries, Sweet Potato Fries, Mashed Potatoes, or roasted Baby Potatoes are all tasty options!
Dips: Hummus, tzatziki sauce, toum garlic sauce.
Salad: Vegan Couscous Salad, Vegan Lentil Salad, or Arugula Goat Cheese Salad.
Bread: Pita bread, or even naan bread if you would like!
Rice: Steamed White Rice, Turmeric Rice, Cilantro-Lemon Rice.
Veggies: Grilled onions, peppers, or zucchini, or Garlic-Butter Sautéed Broccoli.
Tips For Lebanese Beef Kafta
Take the time to grate the onions instead of chopping them finely. This will help keep the meat extra moist and will disperse its flavour in the mince much better. The texture will be much smoother as well.
For a chunkier texture, you can opt for finely chopped onions instead and see if you like this variation better and save a few minutes.
Make sure to cook a sample skewer or a small bit of meat so you can taste and adjust for salt. This is an underrated but a very essential step.
When you form the meat around the skewer, make sure it’s about the same thickness throughout. This will ensure even cooking as much as possible.
If you’re broiling the beef kafta, having water on the baking sheet will help keep the skewers more moist, plus this will protect your baking sheet from the burn marks!
Before serving, garnishing with more sumac will help add a zesty, lemony kick to the kafta.
Questions You May Have!
Can I Make Beef Kofta in Advance?
In a way. So it really would be a disservice to make the kaftas in advance, because unless you’re planning on eating refrigerated cooked chilled meat, reheating the kafta will only dry it out. Instead, stop a few steps earlier, make the mince mixture in advance which will allow the ingredients to meld together and make the kafta even better.
Can I Use Other Meats instead of Beef?
While lamb and beef are the traditional choices, feel free to keep all the other components of the recipe the same and try using ground chicken or turkey. I’m sure it will be extremely delicious!
Other Amazing Skewer Recipes!
Watch How to Make Lebanese Beef Kafta Here:
Let me know what you think of this recipe in the comments! If you’ve tried this recipe, be sure to post it on social media and tag it with #cookingwithanadi and mention me @cooking.with.anadi. Thank you!
Lebanese Beef Kafta
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1/2 yellow onion, grated
- 1/4 Cup tightly packed parsley, finely chopped
- 2-3 tsp Tbsp Lebanese seven spice mix (see below)
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp sumac
- 2 Tbsp minced garlic
- mint leaves, finely chopped
- salt, to taste
- 1 tablespoon ground allspice
- 1 tablespoon ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon ground cloves
- 1 tablespoon ground coriander
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 1 tablespoon ground nutmeg
Instructions
- Add the ground beef to a large bowl and then add the grated onions, parsley, Lebanese seven spice mix, black pepper, sumac, garlic and salt. Mix thoroughly until all the ingredients are well combined.
- Allow the meat to marinate for at least an hour. Then shape the meat mixture into oblong shapes around skewers.
- Grilling: Preheat a charcoal grill. Grill the kafta skewers or patties on medium-high heat, turning occasionally, until fully cooked and browned on all sides (about 10-15 minutes).
- Baking: Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Prepare a baking sheet with a wire rack and place the skewers over the wire rack. Turn on the broiler on the oven and place the baking sheet on the second highest rack in the oven. Pour about 2 cups of water on the baking sheet and then broil for 7-8 minutes. Then, turn the skewers once. Cook on the other side for 5 to 6 more minutes.
- Skillet: Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add a bit of oil if desired, and cook the kafta, turning to brown all sides, for about 10-15 minutes.
- Serve with rice, pita bread, garlic sauce, and/or hummus. Enjoy!
Nutrition Facts
Calories
340.48Fat (grams)
24.52 gSat. Fat (grams)
9.37 gCarbs (grams)
10.51 gFiber (grams)
4.25 gNet carbs
6.24 gSugar (grams)
1.36 gProtein (grams)
21.14 gSodium (milligrams)
157.43 mgCholesterol (grams)
80.51 mgNutrition info is an estimate.
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Welcome to Cooking With Anadi. This platform is all about making cooking exciting and finding new ways to bring classic flavours and recipes at your service. Join me in my personal journey in the world of cooking. Hope you have a great ride!
