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5 from 11 votes

Lamb Kofta Recipe

This Lamb Kofta is full of warm spices, sautéed onions and garlic, Italian parsley and baked in the oven. Serve it with hummus, rice and a cucumber tomato salad.
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time12 minutes
Total Time22 minutes
Course: Dinner
Cuisine: American, Greek, Middle Eastern
Diet: Low Calorie
Servings: 6
Cost: $12

Ingredients

Lamb Kofta:

  • 1/3 cup pine nuts
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • ½ yellow onion (peeled and roughly chopped)
  • 4 cloves garlic (peeled and smashed)
  • 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1 teaspoon ground smoked paprika
  • ½ teaspoon ground coriander
  • 1 pound ground lamb
  • 2 tablespoons finely minced Italian parsley (from a small handful of parsley)
  • 1 teaspoon olive oil (for baking sheet)

For Serving:

  • Cucumber and tomato salad (for serving)
  • Hummus (for serving)
  • Pita (for serving)
  • Grilled lemons (for serving)

Instructions

To Make Lamb Kofta:

  • Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
  • In a medium skillet, set over medium heat, add the pine nuts. Toast for about 2 to 3 minutes, until lightly golden brown. Transfer to a food processor and allow to cool. Alternatively, you could chop everything up if you don't have a food processor.
  • To the same medium skillet, pour in a teaspoon or two of olive oil. Add the onion and smashed garlic. Cook until softened, about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Transfer to the food processor, along with the salt, cumin, paprika and coriander. Pulse until everything is minced into small bits.
  • Pour into a medium bowl. Add the lamb and finely minced Italian parsley. Mix together gently until everything is combined. Brush a half baking sheet with a teaspoon of olive oil. Using a medium cookie scoop, add mounds of the lamb kofta to the baking sheet, placing them about 2-inches apart.
  • Transfer to the oven to bake for 10 minutes, until lightly golden brown on the tops and cooked throughout. Feel free to halve a lamb meatball in order to ensure doneness.
  • Serve with rice, hummus, cucumber and tomato salad and pita.

To Store:

  • Keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. You can reheat them in a microwave on high for 1 minute. OR you can add them to a skillet set over medium-low heat with a lid covered and cook until warmed throughout, about 5 to 7 minutes.

Notes

Tips and Tricks:
  • Be sure to add the spices and salt to the onion mixture. This will help avoid any pockets of salt and/or spices.
  • Don’t over mix the lamb mixture. This will create tough meatballs. However, you still want to mix them up because you want to be sure the onion mixture is evenly dispersed.
  • The high heat from the oven ensures super moist but delicious meatballs.
  • Lamb beef kofta - There are variations to this recipe and sometimes people combine ground beef and ground lamb. You can definitely do that with this recipe!
  • Lamb kofta accompaniments - I like to serve this with rice, grilled lemons, hummus, a little tomato and cucumber salad and pita.

Nutrition

Serving: 6g | Calories: 85kcal | Carbohydrates: 3g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 583mg | Potassium: 72mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 9mg | Iron: 1mg