Easy Lebanese Kafta Recipe

This Beef Kafta Recipe turns a classic Lebanese dish into something possible at home on a weeknight. The succulent grilled meat kabobs are flavored with garlic, onions and lots of dried herbs and spices. Serve simply with yogurt dipping sauce, or bowl-style for a larger meal.

“Great kafta and yogurt sauce recipes! I made [this] with ground chicken, and it was really delicious, definitely a keeper! I doubled the recipe, which was a good decision because we had enough for lunches plus a container to freeze and enjoy later on.”

—Michele

If you’ve seen the term “kafta” or “kofta” on a Lebanese restaurant menu and have been unsure of what it might be or if you’d like it, this post is for you!

To quickly explain, this dish is a mixture of ground beef and/or lamb, mixed with onion and spices, formed into a patty, log or meatball, and then grilled.

Even if this is your first time hearing this term, I’m here to convince you that this dish is a great make-at-home weeknight dinner with huge flavor!

It can be made with your choice of ground meat, it comes together in about 30 minutes, and you can serve it on its own with side dishes of your choice, or bowl-style with rice, a fresh salad, and pita bread.

What Is Beef Kafta?

Kofta / kefta / kafta is a Middle Eastern meatball or skewer, usually consisting of beef or lamb mixed with onion and spices.

In my recipe, versatile ground beef is flavored with enough onion, garlic, herbs and spices to make it super savory, but not so much so that you can’t taste the great flavor of the meat itself.

Lebanese Kafta Ingredients

A full recipe card, including exact ingredient amounts, appears at the bottom of this post.

• ground beef – we’ll need 1 pound of ground beef for this recipe, as it’s the main protein source.
• garlic – adds a pungent and aromatic depth of flavor to the meat.
• onion – chopped yellow onion adds a savory flavor, as well as moisture and texture, to the meat mixture.
• dried herbs and spices – dried parsley, ground coriander, ground cumin, allspice, salt and pepper are what we’ll use to heavily season the meat and make it super flavorful. It seems like an aggressive amount of spice blend, but many rounds of recipe testing as proven that this is the way!
• Greek yogurt – the backbone of the creamy sauce that will pair with the spiced meat.
• lemon – fresh lemon juice and zest are used to brighten the tangy yogurt sauce. Cut extra lemon wedges for serving!
• dried oregano – adds a herbaceous note to the yogurt sauce.
• fresh parsley – an optional garnish for sprinkling over the cooked meat.

How To Make Lebanese Kafta

1. MIX. Mix the garlic, onion, parsley, coriander, cumin, allspice, salt and pepper into the beef.

2. SHAPE. Divide the beef mixture into 8 portions, and shape each portion around a bamboo skewer (that you’ve soaked in water for at least 15 minutes!) into an oblong shape.

3. GRILL. Transfer the skewers to a preheated grill or grill pan and cook until the internal temperature reaches 160 degrees F (about 8 to 10 minutes).

4. SAUCE. While the meat is grilling, stir together the yogurt, lemon juice and zest, oregano, salt and pepper.

5. SERVE. Serve the beef kafta with the yogurt sauce. Or, to serve bowl style, serve the meat and yogurt sauce over rice, topped with a tomato, cucumber and onion salad, along with pita bread, if desired.

Lebanese Kafta Recipe Variations

• MEAT – I like to use ground beef, since the high fat content is really forgiving (i.e. if you overcook it a little, it’s not gonna get TOO dry). But feel free to experiment with ground lamb, chicken or turkey versions of this dish.
• SAUCE – Try our Feta Dressing in place of the yogurt sauce for a cheesy twist.
• SKIP THE SKEWERS – Forming the meat onto bamboo skewers makes them easy to transfer to and from the grill and flip, but if you don’t have skewers, or don’t have time to soak them in water, you can actually just form the meat into logs and grill them without skewers. Or, you can make small patties. Either way, they’ll turn out just fine!

What Do You Eat Kafta With?

You can serve beef kafta simply garnished with the yogurt sauce and parsley, with lemon wedges on the side.

The kabobs are also great simply tucked inside some pita bread with a drizzle of the sauce.

Or, to serve bowl style, use the recipe card below to make a quick salad with tomatoes, cucumber, red onion and olive oil. Serve the meat over rice topped with the salad and yogurt sauce (and feel free to add hummus!). Garnish with parsley and lemon wedges, and serve with pita bread if you want!

Kafta Recipe Storage

If you have leftovers, transfer them to an airtight container and place them in the fridge uncovered for a few hours until they are fully chilled, then cover them with the lid and keep in the refrigerator up to 3 days. 

Kafta Beef FAQs