Baked kibbeh or kibbie is a traditional Lebanese dinner recipe, using ground beef or lamb, and then combined with bulgur wheat, pine nuts, and warm spices like cinnamon and allspice.
My husband has been BEGGING me to share this family recipe for baked kibbeh with you all for years now. I am so excited to finally come through with my promise! Hands down, this is his all-time favorite Lebanese dinner recipe and is quite possibly one of his “last meal” requests.
What is baked kibbeh?
Combine ground meat and super-fine bulgur wheat with allspice, cinnamon, clarified butter, and toasted pine nuts. Each bite is tender, juicy, and intoxicatingly delicious.
This recipe is actually for the cooked version of kibbeh. Find a great recipe for the raw version, Kibbeh Nayeh, here.
Typically served with a Syrian green salad and a side of cucumber laban yogurt sauce, this is Lebanese comfort food at its best. The best part? It also freezes wonderfully so make a big batch and freeze extras for another night.
Frequently asked questions:
Is baked kibbeh freezer friendly?
Yes.
Can baked kibbeh be prepared in advance?
If you want, baked kibbeh can be prepared the night before and heat in the oven in the next day.
Where is ground lamb available?
Most grocery stores sell it pre-packaged in their meat section. If you don’t see it there check with someone at the meat counter.
Recipe substitutions:
- People have asked about swapping out butter or olive oil instead of ghee and I do not recommend. You really need the ghee for the recipe to work. You can use ghee for other things like cooking eggs or frying potatoes.
- If you’re not a fan of ground lamb you can just use all ground beef.
Your fork is waiting.
Baked Kibbeh
Equipment
Ingredients
Base Meat Mixture
- 1 ½ cups bulgur wheat (fine ground (not coarse))
- 3 cups boiling water
- 1 pound ground sirloin
- 1 pound ground lamb
- 1 large yellow onion (grated)
- 6 servings All Purpose Lebanese Spice Blend ((1 serving = 1 teaspoon))
Filling
- 2 tablespoons clarified butter (ghee)
- ½ pound ground sirloin
- ½ pound ground lamb
- 1 medium yellow onion (chopped)
- ¼ cup pine nuts (toasted)
- 2 servings All Purpose Lebanese Spice Blend
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees and butter a 9 x 13 baking dish; set aside.
- To prepare the base meat mixture, add the bulgur wheat to a medium bowl and stir in the boiling hot water. Cover the bowl and let stand for 10 minutes then drain any excess water.
- Add the ground lamb and sirloin to a food processor and pulse until it forms a fine paste. Remove from food processor and place in a large bowl along with softened wheat, grated onion, and All Purpose Lebanese Spice Blend. Use your hands to mix well. If mixture gets too sticky on hands, dip into a bowl of ice water.
- To make the filling, heat the clarified butter in a large, deep skillet over medium-high heat. Add the meat, pine nuts, onion, and All Purpose Lebanese Spice Blend and sauté until meat is cooked through about 9-11 minutes.
- To form the baked kibbeh, spread half of the base meat mixture out on the bottom of the baking dish. Next, spread the filling on top of the base layer. Finally, spread the remaining base meat mixture on top, pressing down a bit with wet hands to smooth the top.
- Slice kibbeh diagonally to form small diamonds. Optional: you can drizzle on additional melted clarified butter over the top at this point.
- Bake until meat is fully cooked, about 40-45 minutes. Serve with Cucumber Laban on the side.
Can the bulgur wheat be swapped for a different grain to make it Celiac friendly?
Yes, you can. You could try quinoa, ground farro, or brown rice couscous.
My neighbors were Lebanese best friend’s father was a three-time decorated American hero I learned about Lebanese food from them and how wonderful it is my neighbor joined the military when he was 15 so he could fight in world war 2
I’ve made this twice and absolutely adore it!
That makes me so happy!!!
Can I use chicken mince in the crust and lamb for filling.
Yes that’s a great idea!
If I only have medium cracked wheat, can I put it in the food processor to make it more fine or should I use it as is?
Just use it as is but great idea!!!
Hi Liz! Sounds amazing. It’s been many years since I had kibbeh and want to try yours
Can I use walnuts instead of pine nuts (don’t have any!). Thanks!
I would just skip the pine nuts if you don’t have them!