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🌿 Mediterranean
Lebanese Beef Kafta Skewers
⏱ 30 min
🍞 ~12g
🍽 4 (2 skewers each) servings
⭐ 4/5
⚠️ Estimates only — not medical advice. Carb counts vary by brand and portion. Always verify with your endo or CDCES.
🌍 Cultural note
Kafta is the smell of a Lebanese summer — charcoal smoke, parsley, and somebody's teta yelling at you to eat more. My grandmother shaped them around her finger; my daughter prefers a tiny meatball shape on a stick. *(Cousin of the Kafta Kebabs in the Middle Eastern chapter — this version plates Greek-style with tzatziki and a cucumber-tomato salad.)*
Why this recipe is T1D-friendly
- Almost all the carbs come from the cucumber-tomato salad — easy to estimate, no sneaky add-ins
- ~28g protein per serving from beef + lamb keeps the blood sugar curve flat
- Naturally gluten-free if you skip the pita (or add a controlled portion)
Ingredients
- 1 lb 80/20 ground beef (0g)
- 1/4 lb ground lamb (optional, sub more beef) (0g)
- 1/2 cup finely chopped parsley (2g total)
- 1/4 cup grated yellow onion, squeezed dry (3g total)
- 2 cloves garlic, grated (1g)
- 1 tsp ground cumin (0g)
- 1 tsp ground allspice (0g)
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon (0g)
- 1 tsp salt + pepper
- 2 Persian cucumbers, diced (4g total)
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes, quartered (8g total)
- 1/4 red onion, fine diced (3g total)
- 2 tbsp olive oil (0g)
- 1 lemon, juiced (3g total)
- Sumac, pinch (0g)
- 8 metal or soaked wooden skewers
Directions
- Soak wooden skewers in water 20 min if using.
- Combine beef, lamb, parsley, grated onion, garlic, cumin, allspice, cinnamon, salt, and pepper. Mix with your hands until just combined — overmixing makes it tough.
- Divide into 8 portions. Shape each around a skewer in a long sausage, or form into 3 small meatballs per skewer.
- Chill 10 minutes — this helps them hold shape on the grill.
- Meanwhile, toss cucumbers, tomatoes, red onion with olive oil, lemon juice, sumac, salt, and pepper.
- Heat grill, grill pan, or cast iron to medium-high. Cook skewers 3-4 minutes per side, turning to brown all sides (10-12 min total). Internal temp 160°F.
- Let rest 3 minutes — the juices need a minute.
- Plate skewers with a heap of cucumber-tomato salad. A dollop of plain yogurt on the side is traditional.
Dash's kid tips 🐆
- Dash's secret: kids who "don't like onion" never notice grated onion. Promise.
- For picky kids, skip the allspice/cinnamon and double the cumin. Still delicious, less "what IS that?"
- Cooled kafta meatballs (off the stick) freeze great — quick lunchbox protein.