Discover the Best Lebanese Beef Kafta Recipe

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Cooking With Anadi

12K subscribers · ground beef fragrant with sumac, mint and seven spices

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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 leave Lebanon out as a destination unseen, I strongly recommend you try this 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 this amazing Lebanese kafta recipe, then be sure to watch the video! 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 icon to be notified when my video recipes go live to go along with the written ones! Let’s get cooking!

Why This Kafta Recipe Lebanese-Style Is a Must-Make!

• Delicious: Always the main reason to make something, right! This Lebanese beef kafta recipe in the oven 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 flavor. 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

• Mixing bowl
• Chef’s knife
• Garlic press
• Grater
• Spatula
• Ramekins
• Metal skewers
• Measuring spoons
• Baking tray
• Wire rack
• Plastic wrap

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.

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 flavor 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!

Other Amazing Skewer Recipes!

• Brazilian Churrasco
• Singapore Chicken Satay with Peanut Sauce
• Oven-Broiled Iranian Joojeh Kebabs
• Grilled Tandoori Shrimp Skewers
• Souvlaki Chicken Skewers
• Juicy Chicken Seekh Kebabs
• The BEST Oven-Broiled Chicken Tikka

Beef, Ground Lamb and Other Easy Swaps

Traditionally kafta is made with either beef or ground lamb, so use whichever you prefer, and many cooks use a half-and-half blend of the two. I use medium ground beef because the fat is what keeps the skewers juicy; lean ground beef works but comes out noticeably drier, so watch the cooking time if that is what you have. Shaped without skewers, the same mix makes meatballs or a flat patty, which is why this dish is often described as a spiced Lebanese cousin of the hamburger; treat those patties like a burger and they cook in about the same time. Grating the onion is worth the extra two minutes, but if you would rather not grate, a few short pulses in a food processor do the same job. Do not take it to a puree, or the mixture goes loose. Red onion can stand in for the yellow onion; it is sharper and less sweet. Measure the spices properly, because it is easy to under-season a pound of beef: 2 tablespoons of minced garlic, 2 to 3 teaspoons of Lebanese seven spice and a teaspoon of sumac is what gives this its flavor. Mix with clean hands rather than a spoon so you can feel when everything is evenly distributed.

Grill, Bake or Pan: Cooking Time and Heat

All three methods land in the same place, so pick whichever suits your kitchen. On a charcoal grill, cook over medium-high heat, turning occasionally, for 10 to 15 minutes. To bake, heat the oven to 400F (200C), set the skewers on a wire rack over a baking sheet, pour about 2 cups of water onto the sheet and broil for 7 to 8 minutes, then turn once and give them 5 to 6 minutes more. The water is there to hold moisture in the oven and to save your baking sheet from burn marks. On the stove, a large skillet or heavy pan over medium-high with a drizzle of olive oil will brown all sides in 10 to 15 minutes; if your pan runs hot and the outside is coloring faster than the middle cooks, drop to medium heat and give it a little longer. Whichever way you go, shape the meat into an even oblong shape around each skewer so the cooking time is the same end to end. If you are using a wooden skewer rather than metal, soak it in water for 30 minutes first so it does not scorch.

Sides, Sauces and Storing Leftover Kafta