Kafta and Potato Stew
Updated Apr 11, 2026
This one-pot kafta and potato stew is a Lebanese classic with spiced beef, tender potatoes, and tomato sauce. Ready in about 45 minutes.
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Kafta and potato stew made in just one pot!
My mom made kafta and potato stew all the time when I was growing up. She went the traditional route, browning the kafta on the stove, then transferring everything into a baking dish to finish in the oven. I decided to try it all in one pot because, goals. It works just as well, and there is way less to clean up after.
Some people know this as Kafta Bil Suniyeh, others call it Yakhnet Batata, which just means potato stew. Either way, it is the same idea: spiced ground beef kafta, potatoes, green pepper, tomatoes, and tomato sauce simmered together until the sauce thickens and soaks into everything. I always serve my kafta and potato stew over vermicelli rice; that part is non-negotiable for me.
Happy Cooking!
– Yumna
Kafta and Potato Stew Ingredients
- Kafta mixture: Ground beef, parsley, onion, 7 Spice, cumin, cinnamon, coriander, salt, and black pepper. Use 80 to 85% lean ground beef here. Too lean and the kafta can turn dry. The food processor does the heavy lifting for this part. Pulse the parsley first, then the onion, then add the beef and spices, and pulse until it comes together into a uniform mixture. Do not over-process, or it gets too dense. If you don’t have 7 Spice, you can use ¾ teaspoon black pepper, ¾ teaspoon cinnamon, and ½ teaspoon allspice in its place.
- Potatoes: Yukon Gold potatoes work well here because they hold their shape in the stew without falling apart. Slice them about ½ inch thick so they cook evenly and don’t get too soft by the end. If the slices are too thin, they’ll break down into the sauce.
- Stew base: Olive oil, onion, tomatoes, green pepper, tomato sauce, water, salt, and black pepper. The chopped tomatoes and green pepper add some texture to the sauce. One cup of water thins it just enough so it simmers without getting too thick.
- For serving: Vermicelli rice is the classic pairing with kafta and potato stew and what I always use.
How to Make Kafta and Potato Stew
Kafta and Potato Stew Recipe
Ingredients
For the kafta
For the stew
- 2 tablespoons olive oil divided
- 1 pound Yukon potatoes about 6, sliced ½- inch thick
- 1 onion chopped
- 2 tomatoes chopped
- 1 small green pepper chopped
- 1 15-ounce can tomato sauce
- 1 cup water
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- Lebanese rice for serving
Instructions
To Make the Kafta
- Place the parsley in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until finely chopped, remove and set aside. In the same food processor bowl, place the quartered onion and pulse until finely chopped.
- Return the parsley back to the bowl of the food processor with the onions. Add the ground beef to the food processor along with all the spices. Pulse once or twice until ingredients are well combined and form a pasty meat mixture.
- Using a medium spring-loaded cookie scoop, scoop and roll about 1.5 tablespoons of the kafta mixture dough and place them on a plate. You should get about 18 balls. Use your hands to flatten the balls slightly.
To Assemble and Cook the Stew
- Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large pot or deep skillet over medium-high heat. Add the sliced potatoes, and cook them for 10 minutes, tossing occasionally, or until lightly golden on the edges. Set the potatoes aside on a plate.
- Add remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil to the pot, place the kafta balls and cook for 1-2 minutes per side, until they’re lightly browned, but not fully cooked.
- Return the partially cooked potatoes on top. Add the onions, tomatoes and green peppers. Add the tomato sauce, water, salt and pepper, and carefully stir everything together. Bring mixture to a boil, then lower the heat to low and continue cooking covered for 30 minutes.
- Serve warm over vermicelli rice, if desired.
Notes
- To freeze them prior to cooking, lay them on a flat baking dish in the freezer for at least 4 hours. When frozen, place them in an airtight bag. Thaw in the fridge overnight and cook per instructions.
- To freeze them after cooking, simply store them in an airtight bag after they’ve cooled. To re-heat, thaw in the fridge overnight and bake in a 350°F oven until heated through.
Nutrition
Nutrition information provided is an estimate. It will vary based on cooking method and specific ingredients used.
Recipe Tips
- Bake it in the oven instead. The more traditional way to make the kafta and potato stew is in the oven. I recommend that you still cook the kafta patties on a skillet to brown them and deepen their flavor. You can also cook the potatoes if you’d like. Then transfer all the ingredients to an 9×13 oven safe pan and bake covered at 375°F for 20-25 minutes.
- Adjust the sauce thickness to your liking. With 1 can of tomato sauce, I prefer to add 1 cup of water, for a total of 4 cups of liquid. You can check on the thickness halfway through cooking and then adjust to your liking.
- Use ground beef with 15-20% fat. Although I always prefer using leaner meat, in this case, it’s like cooking meatballs where the fat in the ground beef helps to really flavor the dish as it all simmers together for a period of time.
- Grate onions if you don’t have a food processor. It’s important for the onions to have a fine texture so they mix well with the ground beef and patties. Using a grater is an excellent alternative if necessary.
- Drain extra moisture in onions if necessary. If you pulse the onions in the food processor or grate them, and notice that they are very moist, you can use a paper towel to dab off extra moisture.
FAQs
I love serving this as soon as it is made, but if you have leftovers they will keep well in the fridge for 3 days. You can make the kafta patties ahead of time and keep them covered in the fridge until you are ready to make the rest of the recipe.
I like to make beef kafta for this kafta and potato stew as it works so well with the other flavors. If you prefer, you can also make them with lamb.
This usually happens if the mixture wasn’t processed long enough and didn’t fully come together, or if the stew was stirred too hard once everything was in the pot. Make sure the kafta mixture looks uniform and paste-like before you shape it, and stir gently when you add the sauce.
Comments
Absolutely delicious! This is similar to a stove-top version of tepsi baytinijan (minus the eggplant and baking). Only change I made is adding salt and pepper to vegetables and tomato sauce. Otherwise, only the kafta would have been seasoned. Highly recommend! Thanks for a yummy recipe, Yumna.
Love that!! I haven’t had tepsi baytinijan but it sounds delicious. So glad you enjoyed it, Sara! Thanks!!
Could this recipe be made in a slow cooker?
Hmm, I haven’t tried it but I think the kafta patties and potatoes may break up too much. If you end up trying it, make sure not to skip the browning step for the potatoes and patties before adding the rest of the ingredients. I’d love to hear how it turns out for you!
A bit bland
So sorry to hear you didn’t like it, Malak. I recommend adding more of the spices used in the kafta next time to give more flavor.
My favorite! I’ve made it many times for loved ones. My dad even said it tasted just like my late Sito’s recipe (his mom/my full Palestinian grandma). Thank you!
Aww, that makes me so happy to hear!! Thank you so much, Leila!
Loved. I sprinkled some salt on the layer of potatoes but otherwise followed pretty exactly. My little kids asked if we could eat it every day.
Aww, that is so sweet!! Thank you, Em! So glad you loved it!
Hi, I made this recipe and it tasted good, but I had a hard time making the kafta patties hold their shape, when I would try to turn them over they would fall apart easily. There was a lot of moisture in the mix which I’m sure had something to do with it. What do you suggest I do differently?
Hi! So happy you liked the recipe! There are a few things you can do to help with the moisture levels. After chopping the onions, you can dab with a paper towel to soak up some of the moisture if they look very wet (this is likely what happened with your kafta patties). Make sure to also use ground beef with 15-20% fat and cook on medium heat (though you may need to turn up the heat on your stovetop if the patties aren’t browning enough after cooking in 1-2 minutes per side). Hope that helps!
Love this recipe
Thank you Roula!! It’s one of our favorites!
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