Skip to content

Baked Kibbeh Recipe

    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.

    Baked Kibbee

    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.

    Baked Kibbeh

    What Makes Up baked kibbeh?

    Baked Kibbeh is the combination of ground meat, super-fine bulgur wheat, 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.

    Baked Kibbeh

    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 Kibbee

    Baked Kibbeh

    4.47 stars average
    Baked kibbeh or kibbie, a traditional Lebanese dinner recipe, is made with ground beef or lamb combined with bulgur wheat, pine nuts, cinnamon and allspice.
    PREP: 30 mins
    COOK: 1 hr
    TOTAL: 1 hr 30 mins
    Save
    Servings: 15

    Ingredients
     

    Base Meat Mixture

    • 1 cups bulgur wheat (fine ground (not coarse))
    • 2 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

    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. 
      preparing base mixture for kibbeh
    • Slice kibbeh diagonally to form small diamonds. Optional: you can drizzle on additional melted clarified butter over the top at this point.
      preparing kibbie slicing diagonally
    • Bake until meat is fully cooked, about 40-45 minutes. Serve with Cucumber Laban on the side. 

    Nutrition

    Serving: 2piecesCalories: 300kcalCarbohydrates: 10gProtein: 18gFat: 21gSaturated Fat: 9gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 8gTrans Fat: 0.4gCholesterol: 69mgSodium: 61mgPotassium: 316mgFiber: 3gSugar: 1gVitamin A: 5IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 33mgIron: 2mg

    SHOW AND TELL ON INSTAGRAM!Show me your creation and rate it below! Mention @thelemonbowl or tag #thelemonbowl! I would LOVE to see!

    nv-author-image

    Liz DellaCroce

    Liz Della Croce is the creator and author of The Lemon Bowl, a healthy food blog. Since 2010, Liz has been sharing delicious recipes that just so happen to be healthy. By using real ingredients with an emphasis on seasonality, Liz has built a growing audience of loyal readers who crave good food for their families. Click Here To Subscribe to my newsletter:

    63 Comments

    1. Could you please clarify the amount of spice mix for the kibbee “dough “
      Is it 6 servings. Thank you. It’s the closest recipe to my mother’s Trying to duplicate

    2. I can’t seem to find the recipe for the spice blend,I know allspice,cinnamon s&p but I need measurements please! Thanks so much

      1. 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

      1. 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?

    3. 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!

    Leave a Reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Your feedback is important to us. Rate what you thought of this.




    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.