I’m a beef kofta lover, so the chicken version had a lot to prove to me. Ground chicken is lean, which means it can fall flat on flavour and texture. But I tested these many times before nailing them. The secret: finely chopped vegetables, breadcrumbs for better texture, and a little bit of tomato paste or ketchup to balance the warm spices. They’re ready in 20 minutes, you can grill or pan fry them, and they freeze beautifully. Must make!

A platter of pan-seared meatballs served with hummus, roasted potato wedges, sliced red onions, parsley, and lemon wedges.

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5-Star Reader Review

“Doubled the recipe so that I could have extra to store in the freezer, and I am SO glad I did. They’re so easy to reheat and they taste just as fresh. Every time I popped them in the oven, it smelled up our house and it would get my husband super excited for dinner. Definitely will keep these on repeat.”

—Hakima
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My “Beef” With Chicken Kofta

I am a beef kofta lover! In fact, I love it so much I make kofta meatballs too, and almost always have a bag of them in my freezer. But when it comes to ground chicken koftas, I am quite picky. This is simply because ground chicken is quite lean and therefore doesn’t have as much flavour as ground beef.

It can fall flat and not have the best texture if you’re not adding the right ingredients. So this chicken kofta recipe was tested many times before I finally nailed it. The chopped onions and parsley (essential in any great kofta if you ask me!), the breadcrumbs to improve the texture, and that bit of tomato paste (or ketchup) to balance the warm spices. Yes – ketchup!

I apply the same technique to my juicy ground chicken burgers and they are consistently delicious with a great texture. This is a recipe I make quite often because I can either pan fry or grill the koftas quite quickly for a weeknight dinner (drizzled with my creamy tahini sauce – yum!).

Let’s Make Chicken Kofta

First – gather your ingredients. Here I use store-bought ground chicken, but you can certainly grind your own in a food processor (I mainly get too lazy to wash it afterwards).

A flat lay of Chicken Kofta ingredients, featuring ground chicken, breadcrumbs, fresh parsley, an egg, onion, garlic, olive oil, and labeled spices: paprika, salt, pepper, cumin, coriander, garlic powder, and onion powder.

Now: the warm spices I add are essential in my opinion. You really need them to amp up the flavour. You can also swap cilantro for the parsley.

a small food processor with finely chopped onions and parsley inside, with a metal spoon sticking out.
Start by finely chopping the onions, parsley and garlic. I do this using a small food processor.
raw ingredients placed in a blue bowl, including raw ground chicken, breadcrumbs, parsley, egg and spices.
In a bowl, combine the ground chicken, the onion parsley and garlic mixture, and all the other ingredients.
uncooked ground chicken in a blue bowl, mixed with spices, onions and parsley.
Mix everything by hand until well combined.
uncooked chicken kofta shaped into logs, placed on a plate lined with parchment paper
Oil your hands and shape the chicken kofta. You can shape into small or larger koftas.
A plate of raw, oval-shaped herb and meat patties.
If making smaller koftas, you’ll get about 16 pieces. For larger, you will get 10-12.
Eight oval-shaped patties frying in a non-stick skillet.
Cook on each side for 2-3 minutes. Continue to flip over and cook until the inside is no longer pink.

Serve the kofta hot with sliced vegetables, crunchy salad, or my vermicelli rice. My favourite way to enjoy them is in a pita wrap, along with sliced red onions, tomatoes, lettuce and drizzled with my quick yogurt shawarma sauce.

A platter of pan-seared meatballs served with a side of hummus topped with red onion slices, herbs, and roasted potato wedges.

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If you tried these recipes, please consider leaving a star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating in the recipe card below and/or a review in the comments section further down the page – I’d love to hear from you! You can also hop on over to Instagram and say hello!

grilled Chicken kofta with grill marks on them, served on a white plate with sliced red onions, cherry tomatoes and parsley.
5 from 12 ratings

20-Minute Chicken Kofta Kebab (Grilled or Pan-Fried)

Yield: 16 small koftas
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 15 minutes
Total: 25 minutes
Author: Amina Al-Saigh
Turn your ground chicken into these flavourful and moist chicken kofta! Easy to make and only needs 20 minutes – these chicken koftas can be grilled or pan fried, flavoured with onions, parsley, and other pantry ingredients. Let's walk through how to make them, step by step.
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Ingredients
  

  • 454 g ground chicken
  • 1 yellow onion
  • 1 cup parsley
  • 3 cloves garlic
  • 2 teaspoons onion powder
  • 2 teaspoons garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon paprika
  • 1 teaspoon coriander powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, more per preference
  • 1 cup breadcrumbs, panko or italian
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tablespoon tomato paste or ketchup
  • 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, for cooking

Instructions
 

  • Start by either finely chopping the 1 yellow onion and 1 cup parsley, or using a small food processor, chop to a fine consistency.
  • In a large bowl, add the 454 g ground chicken, the parsley and onion mixture, along with the 3 cloves garlic, 2 teaspoons onion powder, 2 teaspoons garlic powder, 1 teaspoon paprika, 1 teaspoon coriander powder, 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, 1 cup breadcrumbs, 1 egg, and 1 tablespoon tomato paste or ketchup. Mix well until combined.
  • Spray oil on your hands and shape the chicken into kofta shapes if desired, or shape into small circular patties, per preference.
  • Place 1-2 tablespoons of oil either on a cast iron grill pan, or in a non-stick frying pan and place on medium heat. Pan fry or grill the koftas for 2-3 minutes on each side, until they turn a lightly golden brown. Flip and cook 2-3 minutes on the other side. Cover with a lid and cook for 1-2 minutes to ensure the inside is cooked through (break a piece to test it out). Add more oil as needed and work in batches.
  • Remove from the pan and serve with chopped vegetables like onions, parsley and tomato, in sandwiches or with a salad.

Notes

  • You can shape these chicken koftas either as log shaped koftas for grilling, or circular patties for sliders or burgers.
  • You can also bake these chicken koftas, but I prefer to pan fry in a bit of oil to add more fat and moisture.
  • Store in an air tight container and in the fridge for a few days, or freeze them to use for later. 
  • Freezing instructions:
      • If freezing uncooked chicken kofta, only do this if you have used fresh ground chicken to make the kofta. Never re-freeze thawed out ground chicken. Place the shaped kofta on a lined tray and flash freeze for 1-2 hours. Once they are frozen solid, remove each kofta and place in a freezer bag. Freeze up to 3 months and cook directly from frozen, adjusting the cooking time as needed.
      • If freezing cooked chicken kofta, simply place in a freezer bag. I typically portion out 4-5 koftas per bag so I can just pull out and thaw enough for 1 meal. Freeze for a few weeks and warm through in the oven or microwave.
Serving: 1Kofta, Calories: 432kcal, Carbohydrates: 25g, Protein: 26g, Fat: 26g, Saturated Fat: 5g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g, Monounsaturated Fat: 15g, Trans Fat: 0.1g, Cholesterol: 139mg, Sodium: 906mg, Potassium: 838mg, Fiber: 3g, Sugar: 3g, Vitamin A: 1427IU, Vitamin C: 23mg, Calcium: 101mg, Iron: 4mg
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