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Turkish

Izgara köfte

Non-vegetarian

Small, flat Turkish meatballs of minced beef with grated onion, parsley and cumin, grilled until charred outside and juicy within.

Izgara köfte is a Turkish grilled dish from Türkiye, ready in about 1 hour and made with ground beef and cumin. It serves 4 and is rated easy to cook.

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Prep
20 min
Cook
10 min
Rest
30 min
Total
1 h
Serves
4
Level
Easy
Calories
359

Ingredients

4 servings

Equipment

Method

  1. Step 1

    Put the beef, onion (opens in a new tab), garlic (opens in a new tab), breadcrumbs (opens in a new tab), parsley (opens in a new tab), spices, salt and pepper (opens in a new tab) in a bowl and knead with your hands for 3–4 minutes until sticky and well combined.

    • 8 min

    Food safety: Wash hands and surfaces after handling raw meat.

    Hands kneading dough on a floured surface
    How it looks · Photo: Klaus Nielsen on Pexels

  2. Step 2

    Cover and chill so the mixture firms up and the flavours blend.

    • 1 min

  3. Step 3

    With wet hands shape into about 20 small oval patties roughly 1.5 cm thick.

    • 8 min

  4. Step 4

    Heat a grill or ridged griddle pan until very hot and oil it. Cook the köfte with the peppers (opens in a new tab) and tomatoes (opens in a new tab), turning once, until well browned and cooked through.

    Food safety: Minced meat should reach 71 °C in the centre.

    Food cooking over a grill
    How it looks · Photo: Malte Luk on Pexels

About this dish

Origin
Türkiye · Well documentedGrilled köfte is made all over Türkiye, with well-known regional styles such as İnegöl and Tekirdağ.More food from Türkiye
Dish
Lunch · Dinner · Grills & kebabs · Main courses
Cooking method
Grilled
Taste
savoury, smoky, aromatic / warmly spiced
Diet
Dairy-free · No nut ingredients · Low-carb · High-protein
All labelsNon-vegetarian · Dairy-free · Egg-free · No nut ingredients · No added sugar · Alcohol-free · Pork-free · Low-carb · High-protein · Calorie-conscious
Worked out from the ingredients. How labels work
Good for
Child-friendly · Make-ahead · Freezer-friendly · Everyday
Cook more with
Ground beef · Cumin · Onion · Garlic · Breadcrumbs · Parsley
Techniques
Grilling · Charcoal grilling · Kneading

Allergens

  • May contain: Milkfrom breadcrumbs
  • Contains, can be adapted: Wheatfrom breadcrumbs
  • Contains: Glutenfrom breadcrumbs
  • May contain: Soyfrom breadcrumbs
  • May contain: Sesamefrom breadcrumbs

Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.

Nutrition

359 kcal per serving

Estimated

1 serving ≈ 175 g · recipe makes 4

Where the energy comes from

  • Protein 29%
  • Carbohydrate 13%
  • Fat 58%
Nutrition per serving and per 100 g
NutrientPer servingPer 100 g*
Energy359 kcal205 kcal
Protein25.3 g14.5 g
Carbohydrate11.5 g6.6 g
Net carbohydrate10.1 g5.8 g
Sugars1.9 g1.1 g
Added sugars0 g0 g
Fibre1.5 g0.8 g
Fat23 g13.2 g
Saturated fat7.6 g4.3 g
Trans fat——
Cholesterol85 mg49 mg
Sodium743 mg425 mg
Salt equivalent1.9 g1.1 g
Vitamins & minerals per serving
Potassium
489 mg
Calcium
60 mg
Iron
3.9 mg
Magnesium
36 mg
Vitamin A (RAE)
40 µg
Vitamin C
8 mg
Vitamin D
0.1 µg
Vitamin B12
2.7 µg
Folate (DFE)
36 µg

How these numbers were made

  • Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
  • *Per 100 g of combined raw ingredients; the cooked dish may weigh more or less.
  • Optional ingredients are not included: green chilli, tomato.
  • Red chilli flakes: Ground cayenne (FDC 170932) used as a stand-in for dried chilli flakes such as pul biber or Aleppo pepper.
  • “—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
  • Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.

Good to know

Tips

  • Squeezing the grated onion dry stops the köfte falling apart on the grill.

Common mistakes

  • Under-kneading — the mixture needs to turn tacky to hold together.

Serve with

  • With piyaz bean salad, bulgur pilaf or in a split pide with sliced onion and parsley.

Storage

  • Raw köfte keep 1 day in the fridge; cooked ones 3 days. Freeze raw patties between baking paper.

Reheating

  • Warm in a hot pan or 180 °C oven until piping hot.

Variations

  • İnegöl köfte: A simpler, very finely kneaded version from Bursa province, seasoned mainly with onion, salt and pepper.

Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added · Updated

Sauces, chutneys & dips for this dish

Recipe DNA

How this dish is built

Grouped by each ingredient’s role in the dish. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.

What the dish is built around

Main ingredient

Used in steps 1, 4

Reviews & corrections

Reviews come from signed-in cooks and appear after a moderator checks them. We never show made-up ratings.

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