Lamb Kofta Lettuce Wraps served with Tzatziki Sauce! Juicy and delicious, bursting with Middle Eastern flavor! Low-carb and Keto friendly!
Juicy and bursting with Middle Eastern flavor, these Grilled Lamb Kofta are like little oval meatballs spiked with pine nuts, aromatic spices and fresh herbs. Here they are grilled and wrapped up in refreshing lettuce cups with cool and crunchy cucumber, summer tomatoes, fresh mint and the most delicious Tzatziki Sauce!
I love the contrast of warm lamb kofta paired with the cool yogurt sauce. A light, protein-filled, low carb meal, perfect for summer nights!
This week I’ve partnered with the American Lamb Board to share how lamb can be part of our summer activities. Whether it’s outdoor activities, or simply grilling on the patio, this versatile protein has a multitude of uses.
I prefer to use sustainably raised, locally grown, American lamb, which is raised closer to home compared to imported lamb that travels from great distances to get here. For one, it’s fresher and but more importantly, it supports our local community. It’s produced in nearly every state and is available fresh year-round, just check your local farmers market. In years past we’ve bought ½ or ¼ of a lamb locally and kept it frozen, which is always an option too.
American lamb is always raised hormone-free and producers go to great lengths to give their animals healthy, comfortable lives, letting them graze and forage on a variety of nutrient-dense grasses and legumes – producing succulent, sweet and tender meat.
For some, lamb may seem too rich for hot summer months, but this Grilled Lamb Kofta recipe is surprisingly light, flavorful and sooooo refreshing! Look at all the fresh mint and parsley!
These are also surprisingly fast and easy to make, and the flavors will seriously blow you away.
Roll the lamb into little oval egg-shaped meatballs and grill.
While the Lamb Kofta are grilling, assemble the easy wraps, using butter lettuce, cucumber and tomato. Feel free to add other cool crunchy veggies- grated carrot, radish, cabbage- have fun with it!
When the kofta are done, just place them in the wrap- or you could have people just assemble themselves.
Add a dollop of flavorful Tzatziki Sauce! I’ve included a link here ( in the recipe) to make your own amazing Tzatziki, or feel free to use store-bought, if pressed for time.
Three to four wraps are the perfect amount of food- the kofta are about 1 oz. each. On average, a 3 oz. portion of lamb contains only 175 calories and is packed with hunger-curbing protein. Together with all the fresh veggies, it’s a healthy, satisfying meal.
Top with sprouts and fresh torn mint leaves.
Enjoy!!
xo
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Lamb Kofta Lettuce Wraps
- Prep Time: 20
- Cook Time: 15
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 4-5 entrees
- Category: Main
- Method: Grilled
- Cuisine: Middle Eastern
Description
Bursting with flavor, these Lamb Kofta Lettuce Wraps are light and refreshing and perfect for summer dining on the patio. Can be served as a main course ( 3-4 wraps) or as an appetizer.
Ingredients
Lamb Kofta:
- 1/4 cup toasted pinenuts
- 1/4 of a medium red onion- rough chopped
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1/4 cup Italian parsley – packed
- 1/4 cup fresh mint leaves- packed
- 1 pound ground lamb
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon paprika ( not smoked)
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon coriander
- 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice ( this adds really great flavor-try not to leave it out)
- generous pinch alepo chili flakes- optional, or regular
Wraps
- butter lettuce leaves ( or baby romaine, little gems)
- 2–3 turkish cucumbers, sliced or cut into thin spears
- handful cherry tomatoes, halved
- Tzatziki – store-bought or homemade
- Garnish with fresh mint, sprouts
Bowl: serve Lamb kofta over rice or other whole grain with tomato, cucumber, tzatziki, fresh mint and sprouts.
Instructions
Preheat grill to Med-high heat.
Place pinenuts, onion, garlic and fresh herbs in a food processor, and pulse repeatedly until coarsely ground but not smooth.
Place ground lamb along with salt and all the spices ( paprika, cumin, allspice, chili flakes) into a medium bowl. Add pine nut -herb mixture to the bowl and with a wet hand, mix well, kneeding to combine.
With wet hands ( run under faucet) form sixteen 1 ounce balls. You could shape these into ovals like an egg and slightly flatten, or just make round balls, and slightly flatten. Place on a plate or sheet pan.
When the grill is hot, clean and grease well. Place lamb koftas on the grill, turn heat to medium and cover for 3-4 minutes. Using a metal spatula, flip, as they develop grill marks they should release their hold on the grill. After you flip all, turn heat down to low, cover and continue cooking until cooked through, about 5 more minutes- be sure to check one for doneness.
Assemble wraps: you could let guests assemble these themselves, or pre-assemble the wraps with the butter lettuces laid out on a platter, topped with tomato, cucumber and tzatziki and refrigerate while the kofta cook. Or just assemble as you cook, up to you. 🙂
Top with tzatziki, torn mint leaves and sprouts.
Notes
For a heartier version, serve wrapped in pita or over rice and create a “Bowl”.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 3 wraps
- Calories: 435
- Sugar: 2.2 g
- Sodium: 132.4 mg
- Fat: 33.9 g
- Saturated Fat: 12.5 g
- Carbohydrates: 10.9 g
- Fiber: 2.3 g
- Protein: 22.9 g
- Cholesterol: 84.8 mg
These are a 10! I’ve made lamb meatballs so many times.. This has this wonderful pine nut filler — no egg or bread! Yum!! Light, bright and yummy!!
So happy you enjoyed these Jackie!
I love, love, loved this years ago and had a craving in my head since Friday…I literally tore through all of my paper recipes and could not find it…so upset! Do you KNOW how many lamb kofta recipes are online? LOL anyways, I was going on the vague memory of your recipes wrap image and I scrolled through sooo many and YAY I finally found you! This is a wonderful recipe, so flavorful and just delicious! Guess what’s for dinner tonight 🙂
Oh I totally hear you! So glad you persevered!
We had this with some butter lettuce from the garden. So delicious and we are glad there are left overs for later in the week. Thank you for a great recipe!
Thanks so much!
My family loved this! We served it over naan bread with tzaziki and veggies- yumm
I made this tonight and it was amazing!
I made these last night along with the Tzaziki recipe and it was delicious! I served gyros style – on top of some really good quality pita bread for the big eaters in my family. I would probably add a tad more salt or maybe a little tamari to the meat mixture next time. Thanks for a great recipe! It was so nice to have something different.
So happy you liked them!
Great recipe. Very Fragrant and pretty easy to prepare
thanks Scott!
Made this last night and wish I would have doubled the recipe for the rest of the week! So flavorful! My husband and I made grain bowls as the base and polished off the whole thing. Thank you!!