Classic fried kibbeh balls with a meat and nut filling
Prep time: PT120M
Cook time: PT20M
Total time: PT140M
Rating
4.97 stars (31 reviews)
Keywords
Authentic, Classic, Traditional
Ingredients
500 g minced meat
2-3 onions (chopped)
1 tsp 7 spice
1.5 tbsp Kibbeh Spices ((Kamouneh Spice Mix))
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tbsp salt
1 cup chopped walnuts or pine nuts
2 tbsp sumac
1 kilo fine bulgur wheat
1 kilo mince meat
2 onions
1.5 tbsp Kibbeh Spices
1.5 tbsp cornflour
1 tsp 7 spice
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tbsp salt
Sunflower or vegetable oil
Categories
Appetizer
Main Course
Side Dish
Cuisine
Lebanese
Steps
Soak the bulgur wheat in enough water to cover and set aside
To make the filling, sauté the chopped onions in regular olive oil until golden on medium low heat
Add 500g of minced meat to the onions and cook out the meat on medium high heat
Add the 7 spice, kamouneh spices, black pepper and salt and use the back of your wooden spoon to break up the meat
When it is cooked turn off the heat and add the sumac and chopped walnuts. Taste to make any adjustments then cover and set aside
Drain the bulgur wheat and add to a large bowl. Take out the kilo of meat and prepare food processor
In several batches, add the bulgur wheat and equal amounts of meat to the food processor and process until it clumps together and starts to roll in the processor bowl.
Roughly chop 2 onions to go in the food processor along with the 7 spices, kamouneh spices, black pepper and salt. Blitz well
When you have combined all the meat and bulgur wheat in a bowl, add the blitzed onion spice mix and the cornflour, then bring everything together preferably with your hands
If it is too dry add a bit of water, you don't want it too loose, sticky or crumbly but so it holds together nicely. If you don't mind tasting a bit of raw meat check a tiny bit for saltiness and adjust as necessary
Add approx half a cup of sunflower to a small bowl which you can dip your fingers into when shaping the kibbeh to avoid sticking. Clean your table and arrange a workflow with a large clean tray, the sunflower oil, the filling and the casing mix
Take some casing and roll into golf ball size, indent the middle then hollow out the inside with your index finger turning as you do so until you have a half shell. Add a spoon of filling and close up the casing. Compress well with your hands and shape into classic kibbeh morsels (see video)
Line up the kibbeh on the tray until you finish the filling
Deep fry your kibbeh morsels in sunflower or vegetable oil and serve with yoghurt dip
Reviews
Fasel on 2026-06-10 (5 stars): You are the kibbeh queen
Alana on 2026-04-25 (5 stars): Delicious and perfect recipe
Shadia on 2024-10-05 (5 stars): Thank you for the receipt, looks delicious, I will try it.
Caspar Rawlings on 2024-09-06 (5 stars): Wow, these are amazing. I had memories of eating them when I was younger and this brought me straight back to the enjoyment I had. They are somewhat laborious to make an entire batch but oh so worth the effort. I used pinenuts as well,no think I added to much water to the bulgur as it made the outer casing quite wet and I had to be gentle shaping them but I'm ever so happy I made them and bagged them and froze them. They literally take 5 mins in the fryer to cook and come out lovely and crisp. I used lamb for the filling and half lamb half beef for the casing, I also used some home smoked Cherrywood salt too which I think adds very slightly to it but it's a great recipe and my family and friends love them. Thank you very much for sharing
Final on 2023-09-23 (5 stars): So good every time
Mildred M. Brown on 2023-09-08 (5 stars): THANK YOU FOR THE RECIPE AND THE VIDEO TO ILLUSTRATE THE ACTUAL MAKING OF THE SHELL. My neighbor is Lebanese and makes the best Kibbeh I have tasted so far. He made it for a Christmas Party and it was a huge hit with all......so delicious and is a great "hand food."
I want to try to make it but know it will take much practice so may buy it from the local restaurant in College Station, Texas (Abu Omar Halel).
Fatemah on 2023-06-22 (5 stars): Very authentic recipes!
Agnes on 2023-05-02 (5 stars): Great recipe ! Thank you ! I had to cut down on the Bulghar …. As I took 1 kg and soaked that and it was wayyyyyyy tooo much! Did you mean 1 kilo of soaked Bulghar? Then that would be 500 GMA of Bulghar right? Also , how do you drain the Bulghar? With cloth? The spices are sooo good and that filling can be used inside crepes and sandwiches …. Sooo good!! Thanks for sharing .
Najjar on 2022-12-27 (5 stars): Beitunia Chicago loves it. Good job.
Joe on 2022-11-30 (5 stars): This was the best kibbeh recipe, big thanks for zaatar & zaytoun.
Susan on 2022-10-27 (5 stars): love, Love, LOVE this recipe!! I admit the kamouneh was a bit tedious to put together, but i made a huge batch and froze as advised; i'll be using that with a lot of things this winter. I learned to make kibbeh from my Palestinian boss when i worked in a Middle Eastern restaurant, but he dialed down the spiciness for boring, midwest-american palates; this is so much more piquant and complex. I used lamb throughout, since that's what i have; the seasoning is a lovely complement.
My store no longer carries fine bulghur, only coarse, and my blender wants to take it all the way to flour no matter how carefully i pulse, so the grind was not exactly uniform, but it helped. I bumped up the cornflour/starch a bit, but found it still a bit too loose to shape easily. Putting the "dough" in the fridge for about an hour, then taking out a small batch at a time, solved the problem, and they cooked up crisp, sturdy and perfect!
Nina on 2022-10-22 (5 stars): I dream about kibbeh like this all the time
Amy on 2022-10-19 (5 stars): Winner! Winner! Kibbeh Dinner! ..and now for a repeat..
nehad on 2022-10-14 (5 stars): You are the master of kibbeh, just like my mum and teta thanks so much
Altaf on 2022-10-08 (5 stars): There’s no better recipe than this one I tried many and this is the best
MrsPeel on 2022-07-13 (5 stars): great recipe for kibbeh! my family came from Syria to South America and my grandma and my mum put pomegranate seeds sometimes, and these days (my mum is 86!) she uses one of those meat manual machines that are for mincing meat but have the attachments to make the casing faster (she used to do Arabioc catering for parties ) I cannot express with words how happy I am to have found your blog, great recipes and marvellously explained. Only thing here is, I can't find the video?
Yassir on 2022-04-19 (5 stars): Best kibbeh recipe on the Internet
