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Home Collections BBQ Recipes

Turkish Lamb Kofta Kebabs

By:Nagi
Published:17 Feb '16Updated:9 Mar '19
109 Comments
Recipe v Dozer v

Kebab, kabob, kofta – whatever you call this, it’s fragrant, it’s exotic, and it’s fantastic for midweek because it’s something different but so easy and fast to make. And perfect for summer grilling! These Lamb Kofta Kebabs are adapted from a recipe by Efendy, a popular Turkish restaurant in Balmain, Sydney.

Serve these with store bought or homemade Flatbreads and a side of Pilaf or a spiced Middle Eastern Lentil Rice would be wonderfully on theme!

Turkish Lamb Kebab Kofta on pita with vegetables and yoghurt sauce

Turkish Lamb Kofta Kebabs

I was watching the latest Food Safari series called Fire the other night which showcases food from around the world cooked over charcoals and in wood fired ovens. I have neither a charcoal grill nor a wood fired pizza oven, but when I saw these Turkish lamb kofta kebabs, I knew straight away that these would be still be fabulous made on the stove or on an ordinary gas BBQ.

I’m really fond of my Middle Eastern Kebabs, but they require more spices than these! So this easy recipe really appealed to me. They really did take 30 minutes to make, from start to finish.

Turkish Lamb Kebab Koftas - Simple to make, exotic and fragrant, 30 minutes from start to finish!

Lamb kofta kebabs grilling in a griddle pan

A simple Turkish Spice Mix

The original lamb kofta kebab recipe is made using a combination of veal and lamb mince (ground meat) plus lamb fat. I don’t know about you, but I don’t even know where to get lamb fat here in Sydney!

So to make this midweek, I made a few alterations. I kept the spice mix the same – super simple, just pepper, cumin and red pepper flakes. But I added extra flavour by adding onion and garlic to compensate for the absence of lamb fat.

I know, I know, onion and garlic isn’t the same as lamb fat but they definitely do add extra flavour!!

Turkish Lamb Kebab Kofta on pita with vegetables and yoghurt sauce

The original lamb kofta kebab recipe calls for pistachio nuts too, which I included because I happened to have them in my pantry. Only because I visited a Middle Eastern grocery a few weeks before and got overly excited by how cheap the pistachios were!

They definitely add an extra layer of flavour and richness into the lamb kofta kebabs. But these are worth making even if you don’t have pistachios. Truly. – Nagi x


Serve this Lamb Kofta Kebab with…

  • Yogurt Sauce (recipe below)

  • Flatbreads (homemade or store bought), shredded lettuce, tomato and onion slices

  • And/or a pilaf – these will go very well with these Koftas:

    • Rice Pilaf with Dried Fruit and Nuts

    • Curried Basmati Rice

    • Middle Eastern Lentil Rice Pilaf (Mejadra – one of my personal favourites!)

    • Chickpea Rice Pilaf

And another Turkish street food favourite – Gozleme!

Turkish Lamb Kebab Kofta on skewers

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Turkish Lamb Kebab Kofta on pita with vegetables and yoghurt sauce

Turkish Lamb Kofta Kebabs

Author: Nagi | RecipeTin Eats
Prep: 20 minutes mins
Cook: 10 minutes mins
Total: 30 minutes mins
BBQ, Dinner, Grilling
Turkish
4.92 from 24 votes
Servings4
Tap or hover to scale
Print
  • 102
A simple, exotic, fragrant midweek meal. 30 minutes, start to finish. Adapted from a recipe by Effendi restaurant in Balmain, Sydney, as shown in the Food Safari "Fire" TV series. See notes for changes made to the original recipe.

Ingredients

Kebabs

  • 1 lb / 500g lamb mince (ground lamb) (or substitute with beef)
  • 1 small onion , grated or minced using a food processor - about 1/4 cup (white, brown or yellow) (Note 1)
  • 1 garlic clove , minced
  • 1/4 cup pistachio nuts , ground (Optional. I use my food processor) (Note 2)
  • 1 1/2 tsp salt (table salt, not flakes, use 2 1/2 tsp if using kosher or sea salt flakes)
  • 1 tsp black pepper
  • 1 tbsp cumin powder
  • 1 tbsp red pepper flakes
  • 1 tbsp olive oil

Yoghurt Sauce

  • 3/4 cup plain yoghurt (I use Greek)
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice
  • 1/2 garlic clove , minced
  • Salt and pepper

To Serve

  • Pita bread or lebanese flat bread , warmed
  • Lettuce leaves of choice
  • Sliced tomato
  • Sliced red onion

Instructions

  • Mix together Yoghurt Sauce ingredients and place in the refrigerator to allow the flavours to develop.
  • Place the Kebab ingredients except the oil in a bowl and use your hands to just combine (don't over mix).
  • Divide into 8 portions and mould onto skewers.
  • Heat oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add skewers (I could fit all in, placing them in alternating directions) and cook for 8 minutes, turning to brown all sides.
  • Meanwhile, slice tomatoes and red onion.
  • Serve kebabs with pita bread, lettuce, tomatoes, red onion and yoghurt sauce on the side. Wedges of lemon are also a great accompaniment.

Recipe Notes:

1. I used an ordinary box grater, but it would have been smarter to use my food processor which I used to ground the nuts! You could also finely chop it, but I find you get better flavour by grating because the juices mix throughout.
2. The pistachio nuts are included in the original recipe and add richness and flavour but these are still really delicious even if you exclude them.
3. The original recipe is more complicated because it requires a mix of lamb and veal mince PLUS lamb fat. So this is a simplified version using just lamb. To compensate for these changes, I added more flavour by adding onion and garlic.
Also, these are traditionally cooked over charcoal, but they are great made on the stove! Great for summer grilling too!
4. If you want to cook these on a BBQ with a GRILL, as opposed to a hot plate, soak the skewers for at least 30 minutes in water so they don't burn.
5. Nutrition per serving, assuming 4 servings, for kebabs and Yoghurt Sauce only (2 kebabs per person, bread not included).
Turkish Kebabs Nutrition

Nutrition Information:

Serving: 184gCalories: 330cal (17%)Carbohydrates: 7.9g (3%)Protein: 37.7g (75%)Fat: 16.1g (25%)Saturated Fat: 4.1g (26%)Cholesterol: 113mg (38%)Sodium: 1007mg (44%)Potassium: 514mg (15%)Fiber: 1.6g (7%)Sugar: 1g (1%)Vitamin A: 600IU (12%)Vitamin C: 6.6mg (8%)Calcium: 50mg (5%)Iron: 4.5mg (25%)
Did you make this recipe?I love hearing how you went with my recipes! Tag me on Instagram at @recipe_tin.

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109 Comments

  1. Fran says

    July 18, 2023 at 12:19 am

    5 stars
    My husband is Turkish and he loved this recipe! I used beef mince instead and tasted delicious. I made the mistake of adding the oil to the mix so I wasn’t able to used skewers so I just molded them and it turned out fine

    Reply
  2. Anika Ahmed says

    May 25, 2023 at 5:18 am

    4 stars
    Great kebabs! but I think 1 tablespoon red pepper flakes was too much, should be less than that. It turned out too spicy and I am a regular spice eater.

    Reply
  3. Jodi says

    March 17, 2023 at 11:03 pm

    5 stars
    Delicious recipe. Made it as per the recipe but without the red pepper flakes and I rolled little balls and threaded them on my skewers rather than moulding a continuous piece. My only error was not having made double to feed my family who were fighting over them!

    Reply
  4. Samantha Alouise Atholwood says

    March 29, 2022 at 4:51 pm

    5 stars
    My family are fussy not keen on new things. They all loved this recipe, kept the onion and garlic and pistachios in and it was delicious.

    Reply
  5. Deanna says

    March 26, 2022 at 2:53 pm

    Hi I was just wanting to know can I make the mixture and then freeze uncooked for cooking later on ? we are going camping and this would be a great meal over the fire .
    Cheers Deanna

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      March 27, 2022 at 8:21 am

      I think they would freeze fine Deanna – you would want to shape them before freezing! N x

      Reply
  6. Bee says

    January 30, 2022 at 4:37 pm

    5 stars
    I made the kebabs without the pepper flakes. Easy and nice. 8 yo liked them too. I also made some meatballs using the same recipe. This one is a keeper for us.

    Reply
    • Bee says

      January 30, 2022 at 4:38 pm

      Forgot to add I used beef mince and not lamb.

      Reply
  7. Amanda says

    January 23, 2022 at 2:18 pm

    I reduced the chili flakes to half a Tbsp and we still nearly blew our heads off with 500gm lamb mince. Are red pepper flakes and chili flakes not the same thing maybe ? Otherwise tasted great. Would def make again with 1 tsp or 1/4 Tbs chili flakes though.

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      January 24, 2022 at 5:28 pm

      Chili can vary greatly in heat Amanda, even the dried ones! Taste a bit next time before adding then add a little bit at a time. N x

      Reply
  8. Bernie says

    May 26, 2021 at 4:05 pm

    Just wondering if it really is one tablespoon of red pepper flakes, or should be maybe one teaspoon? I made these with a kilo of lamb mince and cut the amount of chilli down to just over a tablespoon and it was still pretty fiery!

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      May 27, 2021 at 11:43 am

      Hi Bernie, yes that’s correct but you can always cut down to suit your personal preference. N x

      Reply
  9. Hassan says

    April 8, 2021 at 11:19 am

    5 stars
    Great success. It was my first time to cook kofta. I was very impressed with this very easy to follow recipe. If I could add some photos, that would be great.

    Reply
  10. Caf says

    February 22, 2021 at 5:19 pm

    5 stars
    These taste EXACTLY like my local Turkish restaurant’s koftas, utterly yum! I served them over rice and a sprinkling of sumac with griddled aubergine, courgette and peppers on the side. Hi Dozer!

    Reply
  11. SonjaAnn Cameron says

    February 12, 2021 at 6:09 am

    5 stars
    Tried this with ground beef (family preferences) and it tasted great, if a little dry.

    Could i add a small of shredded beef suet to the mix to try and moisten the kebob?

    Reply
  12. Jackie says

    November 28, 2020 at 9:52 pm

    Could I use this spice mix for a marinade? I have lots of diced lamb and would like to cook on skewers.

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      November 30, 2020 at 10:49 am

      Hi Jackie – try this marinade, it’s AMAZING! https://www.recipetineats.com/slow-cooked-lamb-shawarma/ N x

      Reply
  13. Muni says

    June 23, 2020 at 10:41 am

    Why do my kebabs break on the bbq?

    Reply
    • Andrena says

      November 12, 2020 at 6:13 am

      Yes, I have the same problem. My kebabs don’t stay on the skewer while BBQ. They don’t hold their shape and some have even fallen off the skewers and onto the charcoal. What can I do to fix this?

      Reply
    • Nagi says

      June 24, 2020 at 2:29 pm

      Hi Muni, do you mean the mince is breaking apart? N x

      Reply
  14. Chris says

    June 13, 2020 at 4:09 am

    5 stars
    Really tasty and easy to make, thanks!

    Reply
  15. Cindy Edwards says

    May 29, 2020 at 6:41 pm

    5 stars
    I made these for a bbq and had rave reviews. Love this one. Love forward to making again.

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      May 29, 2020 at 6:46 pm

      That’s great to hear Cindy!! N x

      Reply
      • M says

        August 17, 2020 at 1:09 am

        Kofta is a Greek word so this is not Turkish

        Reply
        • S. Ouellette says

          March 26, 2021 at 11:36 am

          Kofte is Turkish word, accept the letter “o” has two dots on it..written correctly with Turkish alphabet it would be “köfte”. This is common everyday Turkish food, Greeks and other Balkan countries also adapted to their kitchens many Turkish food such köfte or imam bayıldı , or döner kebap or sish kebap , Turkish yoğurt, many Turkish desserts and köfte kebap / sish köfte as in the above recipe. All the countries once under the rule of Ottoman Turkish Empire is now sharing Turkish cuisine in their kitchens from Caucasus to eastern Europe, without changing the original Turkish names of these old recipes , naturally this Turkish word could still be used in Greece as they have many Turkish words still remaining in their language. Also in line with the recipe here, the word köfte is used in all the present day Turkic Republics other then Turkey and in their restaurant’s menus located outside of their countries.. The recipe given here and it’s name “Turkish Lamb kofte kebabs” is correct.

          Reply
  16. Mayanka Khetarpal says

    March 23, 2020 at 4:17 pm

    Hi Nagi,

    How long do you have to refrigerate the kebabs before frying them

    Reply
  17. Joni Renee Zalk says

    December 7, 2019 at 2:16 am

    Would you BBQ the skewers, or do you think the best is to put them in the oven, as you said?

    Reply
    • Joni says

      December 7, 2019 at 2:22 am

      Oh, shoot, sorry! I see that you already made comments on BBQing. You can delete this if you wish. I’ll make these tonight 🙂

      Reply
      • Nagi says

        December 8, 2019 at 1:58 pm

        Enjoy Joni!!

        Reply
  18. Mary Fagan says

    May 30, 2019 at 5:31 am

    Fantastic! The flavors were amazing. Served with savory rice. Will use this again and again. Gracious thanks

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      May 30, 2019 at 3:32 pm

      Great, thanks for the feedback Mary!

      Reply
  19. Juan Jaramillo says

    March 7, 2019 at 7:34 am

    Love the recipe – any way to make these in the oven (would love to make in bulk and also healthier)?

    Reply
  20. Angela Dash says

    November 20, 2018 at 9:52 am

    Another hit with the adult children. I did use the pistachios and think they were a great addition. Have used a lot of your recipes and never had a failure. Thanks for taking the boredom out of cooking. With two large dogs, I always check out Dozer.

    Reply
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Hi, I'm Nagi!

I believe you can make great food with everyday ingredients even if you’re short on time and cost conscious. You just need to cook clever and get creative! Read More

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