The Best Kofta Kebabs
You will not regret making these delicious and flavorful Kofta Kebabs. The crunchiness of the pine nuts is wonderfully matched with the wide array of spices that will knock your socks off in a good way.
If you have ground lamb, I highly suggest it. Alternatively you can use ground beef or ground pork too. If you don’t have pine nuts, you can use cashews or walnuts. The key step in this recipe is to sauté the shallot, garlic and pine nuts with that glorious spice combination.
Please make sure you make the Tzatziki to go along with this. Another great addition to the table would be to have some warm pitas and a Greek Traditional Salad or a Maroulosalata to serve.
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The Best Kofta Kebabs
Equipment
- 8 skewers (wood or metal)
Ingredients
- 2 tsp olive oil
- 1 large shallot, chopped
- 1/3 cup pine nuts, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp coriander
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp cayenne
- 1/8 tsp ground cloves
- 1 lb ground lamb (or beef)
- 1/2 cup parsley, fine chop
- 1/2 cup breadcrumbs
- 1 tbs olive oil
- Tsatziki
Instructions
- Heat the 2 tsp olive oil in a small skillet. Sauté your shallot until transluscent – 2 minutes, then stir in your garlic for 30 seconds. Toss in your pine nuts and toast until browned – about 2 minutes. Sprinkle on ALL of the spices listed above into the pan and stir for 30 seconds.
- Transfer this mixture to a large bowl and add in your ground meat, parsley, breadcrumbs and 1 tbs olive oil. Mix with your hands to combine. Form 8 long meatballs and then push the skewer through as picture above.
- You can cook them in a skillet like I did or on your grill or in your oven. For the skillet, add a drizzle of olive oil and get the pan hot. Add the kebabs to the pan and cook for about 3-4 minutes per side on medium. I had four sides to mine. I ended up loosely covering my pan with parchment paper to create an oven effect. Internal temperature should read 145° F. for lamb to be done.
Easy, delicious, quick, and inexpensive! I used walnuts, onion, and beef because it’s what I had on hand. I put the spices together ahead of time.
I served it in lettuce wraps with air fried green beans and a drizzle of ranch (didn’t make taziki, but will next time). Yum!!! (I got the organic produce on clearance and needed to use it. It worked!)
Hi Caroline, Glad you shared your feedback with us! And thanks for trying them out! They are also some of my favorites!
how long to cook in oven? Love your recipes. everything is delicious!
Hi Stacy, I would do 20-25 minutes for these! Thank you
These were excellent!
I had cashews and skipped the cloves. I added in some Zaatar seasoning I have.
Broiled in the oven (550F) third position, flipping every 2 minutes for a total of 9 minutes.
Served with Pitas and tzatziki. Super easy week night meal.
I have a question – there’s a similar recipe in the Mediterranean cookbook (Marie-Pierre Moine) -and the kofta recipe in there uses 1 slice of white bread soaked in milk. I used regular italian breadcrumbs but wondering if that is more traditional?