• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Free Dinner Ebook! Get your copy!
  • About
  • Videos
  • Learn to Cook
  • Visit my other site: Fun Cookie Recipes

Little Sunny Kitchen

Delicious Recipes for Real Life

  • All Recipes
  • Course
    • Appetizers
    • Breakfast
    • Sides
    • Dinner
    • Casseroles
    • Salads
    • Sandwiches
    • Pasta
    • Soups & Chilis
    • Desserts
    • Snacks
    • Sauces & Dressings
    • Beverages
  • Holiday
    • Easter
    • Summer
    • Fall
    • Halloween
    • Thanksgiving
    • Christmas
    • Valentine’s
    • Game Day
    • Ramadan
  • Method
    • Instant Pot
    • Air Fryer
    • Slow Cooker
    • Oven
    • Casseroles
    • Stovetop
    • Grill
    • Bread Machine
  • Easy Meals
  • Slow Cooker
  • Air Fryer
  • Breakfast
  • Snacks
  • Copycat Recipes
  • Beef
  • Low Carb
  • Chicken
Home Cuisine Levantine

Middle Eastern Lamb Kofta Balls

5
/5 –
Rate Recipe 21 Comments
Jump to Recipe
  • Share
By: Diana Last updated on May 15, 2021

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.

Middle Eastern lamb kofta balls shallow fried in olive oil, served with flatbreads and garlic lemon sauce.

Middle eastern lamb kofta recipe


As I grew up in the Middle East my love for Middle Eastern food also grew. The flavours are beautiful, the food is always prepared with the freshest ingredients and the food is healthy too. I love the fact that the Middle Eastern cuisine uses a lot of protein and veg in the food. My favourite thing is the mezze, you know all the amazing dips like Hummus, Mtabbal and Baba Ganoush served with freshly baked pita bread? And then you have all the incredible salads like Tabouleh and Fatoush.

Best Kofta Recipe

For the main course, it usually includes either meat, chicken or fish. And you probably have heard of and maybe tried Kofta or Kufta before, as it’s a popular dish in South Asia, not just the Middle East. It’s also popular in Turkey, Greece, Cyprus and even Russia (called Tiftele) and Romania (Chiftele). Each country, of course, has its own version, and the version that I’m sharing with you today is the Jordanian one.

Lamb kofta - what is lamb kofta

What is kofta?

Kofta is usually made with minced beef, lamb or chicken or a mixture or beef and lamb. Mixed with diced onions, garlic and herbs. In South Asia, the koftas are usually cooked in curries or sauces, while in the Middle East the koftas are fried in olive oil and served with vegetables or baked in tomato or tahini sauce.

The most popular kind of Kofta in Jordan is lamb kofta. This is also my family’s favourite as lamb is usually bought organic and the dish turns out full of flavour. When making the mixture, we add onion, garlic, parsley, and spice.

In Jordan, Koftas are either shaped like meatballs by mixing the ground meat with ground black pepper, salt, diced onion and chopped herbs like parsley and mint leaves. And then fried in olive oil or cooked in tomato or tahini sauce. Another version is by spreading out the meat in a semi-shallow baking pan and topping it with either tomato and possibly potato slices which is then baked in the oven. Or cooking the spreaded kofta or kofta balls with tahini sauce in the oven.

The simplest version is to fry the koftas in olive oil, and eat them with flatbreads and a simple garlic sauce. I love such easy and healthy dishes that I can quickly make at home for a delicious mid-week dinner.

Middle Eastern garlic lemon sauce TOUM

Middle Eastern Garlic Sauce (Toum)

This sauce is very popular in the Middle East and is usually served with Falafel, Shawerma or Sheesh Tawooq. I like to serve it with these simple kebabs. The traditional sauce is made with sunflower or canola oil, garlic cloves, lemon juice, water and salt. All of the ingredients are then added to a food processor and processed until you reach a smooth consistency.

TIP: Make sure that the food processor doesn’t get too hot as sauce might start separating. I use ice cold water to make sure that this does not happen.

The sauce that you can see in the picture is exactly as explained above, but I also added parsley leaves to the food processor and some extra lemon juice.

Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest!

Recipe
5 from 11 votes
(Click stars to rate!)

Middle Eastern Lamb Kofta Balls

Prep Time: 20 minutes mins
Cook Time: 10 minutes mins
Total Time: 30 minutes mins
Author: Diana
Print Rate Recipe
Easy Middle Eastern Lamb Kofta Balls that can be ready in under 30 minutes!
20 balls
Easy Middle Eastern Lamb Kofta Balls that can be ready in under 30 minutes!

Ingredients 

  • 2 pounds (1 kg) (2 pounds) ground lamb
  • 1 (1) onion sliced
  • 2 cloves (2) garlic
  • 15 grams (½ cup) parsley
  • 1 teaspoon (1 tsp) ground black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon (1 tsp) salt
  • 1 teaspoon (1 tsp) ground cumin
  • 1 tablespoon (1 tbsp) olive oil

Instructions 

  • In a food processor, add all ingredients and process until onion and parsley are finely chopped and well mixed with the meat.
  • shape the lamb mixture into meat balls. Make sure that the size of the koftas is even.
  • In a pan, heat olive oil and fry the Koftas on medium heat until brown on all sides.
  • Serve with flatbreads, and garlic sauce.

Nutrition Information

Calories: 150kcal, Protein: 8g, Fat: 12g, Saturated Fat: 5g, Cholesterol: 36mg, Sodium: 146mg, Potassium: 124mg, Vitamin A: 65IU, Vitamin C: 1.5mg, Calcium: 12mg, Iron: 0.9mg

This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.

© Little Sunny Kitchen

Did You Make This?I love to see what you made! Tag me @LittleSunnyKitchen and hashtag #LittleSunnyKitchen
Pin Recipe Tag on Insta Leave Review

You may also like...

  • Crockpot middle Eastern french beans
    Middle Eastern Green Bean Stew (Fasolia bi Lahme)
  • Mouhalabieh served in a small oriental style bowl, with a spoon. Garnished with crushed pistachio
    Mouhalabieh (Lebanese Milk Pudding)
  • Luqaimat Doughnut Holes
  • Ghraybeh (Middle Eastern Shortbread Cookies)
Irish lamb stew recipe with potatoes and carrots
Previous Post
Irish Lamb Stew
Lentil Vegan Wraps
Next Post
Easy Lentil Vegan Wraps

Reader Interactions

Leave a Review! Cancel reply

Have a question or just want to say how much you loved the recipe? Leave a rating below, save for later on Pinterest, and share on Facebook. Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Rate this recipe!




  1. Kim Styles says

    Posted on 7/7/18 at 17:53

    5 stars
    Kofta is a great recipe for using the meat from breast of lamb- breast of lamb is so cheap because it is fiddly to get the meat off the bones . but with patience you can get quite a bit off and I then mince it for very cheap Kofta

    Reply
Older Comments 1 … 3 4 5

Primary Sidebar

Diana, author of Little Sunny Kitchen.
Welcome

Meet Diana

Welcome to Little Sunny Kitchen! I'm Diana and I’m here to teach you how to make easy meals that are quick, family-friendly, and delicious!

Read More
Follow on Pinterest for more ideas!
Free ebook!

Download My Free Dinner eBook!


Get my copy!

Free eBook

Download My Free Dinner eBook!

Popular Recipes

Marry Me Chicken

Creamy Garlic Shrimp Pasta

Garlic Butter Chicken Tenders

Air Fryer Chicken Breast

Rasta Pasta Recipe

Shredded Chicken Tacos

Reader Favorites

a light green plate of spaghetti and meat sauce with hidden vegetables.

Meat Sauce with Hidden Vegetables

top down view of cheesy beef enchiladas in a casserole pan.

Ground Beef Enchiladas

Oven Baked Chicken and Rice

three mahi mahi tacos on a wooden board.

Mahi Mahi Fish Tacos

Cheesy Chicken Fajita Casserole

two white bowls of lasagna soup with a dollop of ricotta cheese and other cheeses, garnished with fresh herbs.

Lasagna Soup

Instant Pot Air Fryer Crockpot Easy Dinners Salads Grilling
Opens in a new window Opens an external site Opens an external site in a new window

As Featured On:

Dinner tonight
Free ebook!

Get My Free Dinner eBook!

Join us and receive new recipes every week! Receive our FREE eBook with quick and easy dinner recipes that are family-friendly and delicious.

Back to Top

explore

Recipe Index

Videos

Cooking Guides

Follow Along on Social:

Join My Free Cookie Facebook Group
Back to Top

About

Contact

Privacy Policy

Accessibility

© 2025 Little Sunny Kitchen
|
Site Credits Designed by Melissa Rose Design Developed by Once Coupled

Rate This Recipe

Your vote:




A rating is required
A name is required
An email is required