This chicken kofta is made with ground chicken flavored with parsley, onion, and great spices. It is healthy, exciting, and easy to prepare. It would be great with ground turkey too!
Remember I mentioned that I had a great recipe to go with the tahini sauce recipe? Well, look no further — here it is!
Sometimes I mix up my usual routine of buying ground turkey (every single time I go to the store) and I grab the ground chicken instead. Occasionally it is on sale, or I might just take it out of boredom. Mix up the ol’ routine.
Despite being a food blogger, I do get into dinner ruts. Ground chicken is great for a number of recipes (try southwestern mini meatloaves, air fryer egg rolls, or chicken lettuce wraps) and can be subbed in for ground turkey or even ground beef in many of your favorite recipes. Often, I’ll just throw it in spaghetti sauce or use it for tacos, instead of ground beef.
But the night I tried this recipe, I was in the mood to try something new.
I love recreating recipes from our favorite Lebanese carry-out place. Chicken tawook, tahini sauce, grilled chicken shawarma drumsticks, chicken kofta. This recipe doesn’t come out exactly like the chicken kofta at our usual carry-out place, but dare I say…it’s better? Ben definitely likes it better. I like them both but they are quite different so it’s hard to compare the two to each other.
Both versions are a combination of ground chicken with lots of great flavors. I use parsley, onions, cinnamon, allspice, and nutmeg. Mix this together in the same way you would do for meatballs or burgers. I like to use my hands so that I don’t overmix the meat mixture.
I’m pretty sure the version I order from the restaurant doesn’t include the combo of cinnamon, allspice and nutmeg, but I love what they bring to this recipe. I also love the freshness of the lemon and parsley in the restaurant version. Clearly I need to make Chicken Kofta Version 2.0 for my blog in the future.
After you get the meat combined with all the other ingredients, form it around wooden skewers. I recommend soaking the skewers in water for at least 30 minutes so they don’t start on fire.
Place the chicken kofta on a baking sheet lined with foil for easy cleanup and broil until they’re cooked through, turning once. It’s so easy.
You could also grill these, but the mixture is fairly loose and you might have some problems with it falling through the grates of the grill. I’d recommend broiling or maybe using a grill pan.
You can eat this straight off the kebabs or you can slide the meat off and use a fork and knife – whatever you prefer! Serve it with rice, tahini sauce, and a salad.
PS: Kofta vs. Kofte vs. Kafta – what’s your vote? I believe the spelling depends on if the recipe is Lebanese, Pakistani, Greek, or Indian? One thing I know is that I’ll eat it regardless of how it’s spelled or where it’s from!
More Middle Eastern Vibes
- Fattoush salad recipe (with video!)
- Tabbouleh salad
- Classic homemade hummus with toasted pine nuts
- Hummus without tahini (parsley flavored, sesame and nut-free)
- Red lentil soup (a family favorite)
Chicken Kofta
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground chicken breast
- 1/3 cup finely chopped yellow onion
- 1/3 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
- 2 tablespoons Greek yogurt
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon allspice
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Instructions
- Preheat broiler to high with the oven rack positioned 5-6 inches from the heat. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil and spray foil with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine all ingredients and mix together using your hands until just combined. Do not over mix.
- Wet hands and shape chicken mixture evenly around 5 to 6 skewers (if using wood, make sure to soak them in water for a couple hours first).
- Broil for 8-10 minutes, turning once, or until cooked through and golden brown.
Notes
- These are fragile and slightly difficult to form around the skewers, so they probably won’t work on the grill. The broiler adds that same great grilled flavor without the risk of your kofta falling through the grill grates.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Did You Make This?Share a comment and rating below! I love hearing what you think!Photos updated 1/8/18 – see below for old photos!
I normally make these with a mix of beef and lamb but my daughter’s family likes to limit red meat so I was happy to find a ground chicken version. The recipe I make uses cumin instead of the allspice as many have mentioned and along with parsley it suggests chopped coriander or mint. I use coriander as my husband doesn’t like mint and I love coriander. When I make this for my husband and I, I make it into patties and cook in a pan on the stove because it’s easier. For groups, I mold it around the sticks and grill them. I’m looking forward to making these for my daughter and then trying a mix of chicken ones and beef/lamb ones for get togethers.
Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment! Yours sound amazing!
The flavor of this is outstanding! I was hesitant to add the yogurt, but did. It was too loose to roll, so I formed patties. Was afraid to put them directly on the grill grates, so I put them on foil, to the side of direct coals. Cooked covered for about 15 minutes, and they firmed up. Then put them directly over hot coals, just to color them up. About 3 minutes each side. Served them with Tzatziki on the side, and they were the spotlight of a great meal !
So glad you liked these! Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment!
For a more Mediterranean taste, try omitting the allspice and cinnamon, and adding cumin and some fresh chopped mint, instead.
You can definitely do that! I love with with lemon and parsley, too. They can really be a blank slate that you can season any way you’d like!
To make these more like Armenian koofta (which traditionally use either ground lamb or beef), I would add fine bulgar wheat to the mixture (and not use cinnamon or alspice). The bulgar would make it a little easier to form into a shape that doesn’t fall apart so easily. These would be delicious served with yogurt-cucumber sauce and a topping of extra chopped onion and parsley. Yum