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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 Feel Good Foodie, 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.
I used the air fryer to see how they would turn out. (baked 3) I coated them in olive oil first and baked them for 10 minutes and then turned them over and baked for another 5 minutes. They were brown and crispy on the outside. Overall, they turned out. However, I made the remaining in our deep fryer since they are more flavorful fried. Also, I did not have any basil or mint since our summer season is over. They still turned out good.
So happy you liked how they turned out, Ruth! Thanks so much for sharing your notes and experience, I appreciate it!!
Hi Yumna. This looks a delicious recipe. Is it possible to prepare these one day, leave them in the fridge overnight and then cook them the following day? Thanks very much. From sunny Melbourne.
Yes, I think that would work! Just be sure to store the mixture in an airtight container in the fridge. They will probably taste best if cooked within 24 hours of prepping the mixture. Enjoy!!
Many thanks – shukran!
You’re welcome, Trish!
Hi Yumna! First of all, let me say all your recipes are excellent. I appreciate all your Lebanese recipes from your mother and am continuing the tradition with my family. I have made these Kibbeh Balls many times and they always turn out perfect. We bought an air fryer recently and was wondering if I could make these in the air fryer rather than deep frying. I’m thinking I would coat/brush them with olive oil before putting them in the air fryer. What do you think? Thanks.
Thank you, Ruth!! Yes, I think that would work! I haven’t tried air frying kibbeh balls myself but other readers have had success with the method. Hope that helps!!
I will try a couple first and will let you know. Thanks.
They were absolutely wonderful
Thanks, Josie! So glad you liked them!!
Is there a Lebanese name for a kibbeh ball? My family loves it and I remember our Lebanese friends from Central Mississippi would call a an individual ball and udice. Have you ever heard the term?
Hello! We just call them kbeb. I haven’t heard of that term that you mentioned.
My kibbeh always cracking. I use 96 percent lean ground beef
Kibbeh balls can be fragile sometimes, depending on how well-processed everything is and the bulgur you use. It’s important to make sure it’s super smooth (like dough) and very soft before you start shaping them. You should also keep your hands wet when you’re closing the kibbeh balls so that the kibbeh mixture becomes sticky and binds well. Hope that helps!
I made it with ground lamb and it was very good. I’ve never had kibbe made with beef, so I shall try that the next time. Good recipe!
Thanks, Ray!
I’m sorry, but I don’t see anywhere where it says how many a single recipe makes?
Hi Cindy! The recipe makes around 12 kibbeh balls. Hope you enjoy!