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Kibbeh, also known spelled kibbi or kebbeh, is a mixture of cracked wheat, beef, onions and spices made into many different dishes like these kibbeh balls version. This is similar to my Baked Kibbeh recipe, but instead of layering the ingredients in a baking dish, you shape them into what we grew up calling footballs!
How to make kibbeh balls
Cook the hashweh
- Cook the onions with olive oil until softened and lightly golden.
- Add the ground beef and cook with the onions until browned and cooked through.
- Mix in the spices with the ground beef and onion mixture.
- Fold in the pine nuts, if you’re using them and set this aside.
Combine the kibbeh mixture
- Place the soaked bulgur, fresh herbs, kamouneh spice and onions into a food processor.
- Blend until it’s well combined without any large chunks of onions.
- Add the lean beef to the mixture along with salt and 7 Spice to season the beef.
- Blend until the beef is well incorporated with the bulgur mixture. Then remove the food processor blade and divide in half.
Shape the kibbeh balls
- Scoop a small amount of the kibbeh mixture and make an indent with your finger in the middle.
- Hollow out the inside using your finger into a triangle shape.
- Add the hashweh filling into the cavity you formed.
- Close the shell with your fingers to resemble the shape of a football. Now you see why we called them that!
- As you’re shaping them, you can set them on a plate or tray or if you have a helping hand, have another person start frying them while you continue to shape them.
Fry the kibbeh
- Fry the kibbeh balls in hot oil in batches.
- Remove from the oil with a slotted spoon and place on paper towel to drain the excess oil.
Tips for making kibbeh balls
- Keep the kibbeh dough cool when you make the footballs so that it is easy to work with. If needed, shape them in batches and keep the rest of the mixture refrigerated.
- Let the bulger wheat rest before mixing it with the other ingredients. This will help the wheat to absorb the excess moisture. If you don’t let it rest, your dough will be too wet.
- Don’t overcrowd the pot when you are frying them. If you add too many at a time, the temperature of the oil will drop and they will not cook through.
- You can also bake these in an oven. Spray the kibbeh with oil and bake in the oven at 400°F for around 30 minutes until a deep golden brown. It helps to flip them halfway through.
- Make sure the dough is super smooth. To ensure this process, the kibbeh mixture until the dough is soft and comes together in a ball. Then when shaping the kibbeh balls, don’t forget to wet your hands to make sure the dough sticks together.
Frequently asked questions
The fried kibbeh will keep well in the fridge in an airtight container for 3 to 4 days. You can also freeze them for up to 3 months.
If you are looking to make them ahead of time, you can freeze the uncooked kibbeh and then fry them right from frozen, which is very often the case.
It’s traditional to deep fry kibbeh balls. Along with falafel, it’s literally the only two foods that I deep fry in my kitchen because they’e so much better than baked! However, if you’d like to bake them, you can bake at 400°F degrees for 30 minutes, flipping halfway through.
They can be eaten on their own, along with the Fattoush salad or dipped in Cucumber Yogurt Sauce as shown below.
More Lebanese recipes:
- Fatayer
- Lebanese Rice
- Molokhia
- Lebanese Fattoush Salad
- Best Lebanese Hummus Recipe
- Lebanese Chicken Fatteh
- Lebanese Stuffed Grape Leaves (Warak Enab)
- Kibbeh Nayyeh
- Lebanese Chicken and Rice
If you’ve tried this healthy-ish feel good Kibbeh Balls recipe or any other recipe on FeelGoodFoodie, then don’t forget to rate the recipe and leave me a comment below! I would love to hear about your experience making it. And if you snapped some shots of it, share it with me on Instagram so I can repost on my stories!
Kibbeh Balls
Ingredients
Kibbeh Mixture
- 1 ½ cups fine #1 bulgur wheat
- ½ cup water
- 1 onion quartered
- ½ cup fresh basil and/or mint
- ¼ cup kamouneh spice
- 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 pound 100% lean ground beef
- 2 teaspoons 7 Spice
Hashweh Filling
For Frying
- Vegetable or canola oil for deep frying
Instructions
Make the Filling
- Heat the olive oil. Add the beef and onions and cook until the beef is browned, about 8-10 minutes. Season with salt and 7 Spice and fold in the pine nuts.
Make the Kibbeh Mixture
- To prepare the base meat mixture, add the bulgur wheat to a medium bowl along with the water, fluff after 10 minutes to absorb all the water.
- Transfer soaked bulgur to a food processor along with the onion, basil and/or mint, kamouneh spice and 1 tablespoon salt. Blend until well combined. Add the lean ground beef to the food processor and blend until well combined.
- Add the lean beef, along with the remaining salt and 7 Spice. Blend again until a meat paste forms. Divide the mixture in half.
Assemble and Fry
- Add water to your hands, and scoop about 3 tablespoons of the kibbeh mixture. Use one finger to indent the middle of the scooped mixture and then hollow out the inside using your finger until it looks like a half shell.
- Add about two tablespoons of the mixture into the shell and then close the shell and shape into a football with your hands. Place the kibbeh ball on a tray and repeat for the remaining mixture and filling.
- Deep fry the kibbeh balls in the oil in batches of 6-8 until golden brown and crisp, about 2-3 minutes per side. Use a slotted spoon to carefully remove from the oil and place on a plate lined with paper towel to absorb the excess oil.
- Serve warm with cucumber yogurt sauce, if desired.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information provided is an estimate. It will vary based on cooking method and specific ingredients used.
Made your baked version, taste wise they were excellant except about 1/3 of them cracked open, split at the sides!
Can you help.
Glad you enjoyed the taste! These can be fragile sometimes, depending on the bulgur you use and how well-processed everything is. It’s important to make sure it’s super smooth, like dough and very soft before you start shaping them. Also, keep your hands wet when you are closing the kibbeh balls so that the kibbeh mixture becomes sticky and binds well. I hope that helps!
I like the recipe but found it too salty even though I’m always adding salt to my food. I’m wondering if the tablespoon of salt in the Kibbeh mixture was meant to be a teaspoon.
It is meant to be a tablespoon, but you can definitely adjust to your liking!
Hi Yumna,
I am making these tomorrow, and had a question before I start. I have made these for years following my Mother’s recipe but wanted to try your recipe. I am making 36 (I tripled your recipe). I noticed that when I did that your 3 pounds came to 4.5 cups of Bulgur? I have been making them with 3 pounds lean ground beef and 3/1/2 cups Bulgur. What do you suggest? Will it change to use more Bulgur?
Thanks.
Ruth
You can do it either way and it should still work! Let me know which you decide to give a try and how it turns out!
Up until I found this recipe I thought I could only eat kibbeh when I visited my mom because she knew a Lebanese butcher who made the dough for her. My grandma had a huge meat grinder she would use to make the dough so it seem d like a pretty complex and time consuming project! Then I found this life changing recipe! I made the dough and froze half of it. It defrosted nicely and I used the same dough for both baked and fried kibbeh. I made the baked one for a family iftar and it was gone before I had a chance to sit at the table!! So delicious 🤤
I love that you are now able to make kibbeh at home too! It’s definitely hard not to love!
Thank you. I will let you know. Sometimes, I make things one way and then find recipes that vary the amounts and ingredients. My parents did not use recipes or measure anything. Plus they did not have access to certain ingredients like in Lebanon. Thanks again.
I made your humus and kibbeh recipes yesterday and both were a hit with my very picky family. PS I used an air fryer for the kibbeh and they came out great 375 for 10mins
Thank you for letting me know about the air fryer! I’m so glad they were both a hit even with the picky eaters!
This was my first time making kibbe for my family and my in laws who are lebanese . They really liked it . Everyone said its so tasty , exactly how made in lebanon (except for the shape , i didn’t manage to make it look perfect football shape )
Thanks for this great receipe , i suggest this for everyone .
I’m glad you all enjoyed it! Thank you so much!
Lesson learned for me, I needed to add more spices and salt. Also, I found I needed to almost freeze these before frying, they came out much better for those and didn’t open up on the ones that were colder to start with. All over a success though.
I’m happy to hear it! I’ll have to try that.
By the way i also kept it in the freezer for 30 mins before frying it . Just as suggested by Susan.
Love this
Thank you!
Where can I find the kamouneh spice
It can be difficult to find but if you go to a middle eastern store, they should have it there.
Hello! I’m excited to try this! Thanks for sharing. I’m having a hard time finding a local or online store with kamouneh spice. Would you be able to link to one you might be aware of?
I haven’t found it in anywhere online, but I share in the post how you can make your own:
1 tablespoon cumin seeds
1 tablespoon black peppercorns
1 tablespoon dried rose petals (optional)
2 teaspoons dried marjoram
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried mint
1 teaspoon 7 spice
Kamunah is just cumin right?