Get ready to fall in love with this delicious Vegan Kibbeh Recipe. These flavorful football-shaped patties are made with a mixture of red lentil, bulgur, peppers, onions, and spices. This makes them both nutritious and quite addicting!
Kibbeh can be served as a snack, appetizer, or with a salad (such as Fattoush) for a healthy lunch or dinner.
The origin of this recipe is Armenian. Although I don’t remember mom making them, according to my aunt, Alice, my grandmother prepared them often.
She said grandma made a plateful of what they called “Chikufta.” She would store them in the fridge and would go back and forth opening the fridge and grabbing one at a time. You might just do the same!
My sister, Rosa, also makes these vegan kibbeh. She gave me a “loose” Armenian Kibbeh recipe from which I developed my own recipe. Her recipe did not have garlic, lemon juice, cilantro, or peppers.
Armenian Lentil Kibbeh Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup red lentil
- 1 cup bulgur (fine, #1 coarseness))
- 3 T. olive oil
- 1 small yellow onion (or 1 bunch scallions)
- 3 mini sweet peppers (or 1 red/yellow bell pepper)
- 1 serrano (optional)
- 2 cloves garlic (minced)
- 1½ tsp. sea salt
- 1 tsp. paprika
- ½ tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
- ¼ tsp. cumin powder
- ¼ tsp. coriander powder
- 1 T. tomato paste
- 1 T. lemon juice
- ½ cup parsley or cilantro (chopped)
Instructions
Rinse lentil in a strainer and add to a medium pot. Cover with 2 cups of water.
Bring to a boil and then reduce heat. Cook, uncovered, for 10 minutes.
Add bulgur to the red lentil and stir together.
If no liquid is remaining, add an additional 1/2 cup of boiling water to allow the bulgur to soak up the liquid and soften.
Meanwhile, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a skillet. Sauté chopped onions, peppers, and garlic until soft.
Add salt, paprika, crushed red pepper flakes, cumin, and coriander. Stir to combine. Stir in the tomato paste and lemon juice then mix in with the lentil and bulgur.
When cool enough to handle, add cilantro/parsley and form into football-shaped kibbeh using walnut-sized portions of the mix.
Sprinkle with additional olive oil if desired and serve with lemon or lime wedges.
Or store in the fridge, like my grandmother did, and eat them when you need a quick, healthy snack!
Cook’s Tips
- When adding the bulgur to the lentil, these should be some liquid left in the pot to soften the bulgur. If not, add some boiling water (1/2 to 1 cup).
- If there seems to be too much liquid left, strain the lentil and add 1/2 to 1 cup of the liquid back before adding the bulgur.
- If the bulgur seems too hard, add a little more hot water and allow it to soften before continuing.
- Before forming the kibbeh, you may want to taste the mixture and adjust the spices, including the salt.
- If the mixture doesn’t stick together, you may need to knead it for a bit.
- If the kibbeh are still too wet, allow them to sit, uncovered, until they reach the preferred texture.
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Kibbeh Recipe (vegan lentil patties)
Ingredients
- 1 cup red lentil
- 1 cup bulgur (fine, #1 coarseness))
- 3 T. olive oil
- 1 small yellow onion (or 1 bunch scallions)
- 3 mini sweet peppers (or 1 red/yellow bell pepper)
- 1 serrano pepper (optional)
- 2 cloves garlic (minced)
- 1½ tsp. sea salt
- 1 tsp. paprika
- ½ tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
- ¼ tsp. cumin powder
- ¼ tsp. coriander powder
- 1 T. tomato paste
- 1 T. lemon juice
- ½ cup parsley or cilantro (chopped)
Instructions
- Rinse lentil in a strainer and add to a medium pot. Cover with 2 cups of water.
- Bring to a boil and then reduce heat. Cook, uncovered, for 10 minutes.
- Add bulgur to the red lentil and stir together.
- If no liquid is remaining, add ½ cup of boiling water to allow the bulgur to soak up the liquid and soften.
- Meanwhile, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a skillet. Sauté chopped onions, peppers, and garlic until soft.
- Add salt, paprika, crushed red pepper flakes, cumin, and coriander. Stir to combine.
- Stir in the tomato paste and lemon juice then mix in with the lentil and bulgur.
- When cool enough to handle, add cilantro/parsley and form into football-shaped kibbeh using walnut-sized portions of the mix.
- Sprinkle with additional olive oil if desired and serve with lemon or lime wedges.
Notes
- When adding the bulgur to the lentil, these should be some liquid left in the pot to soften the bulgur. If not, add some boiling water (1/2 to 1 cup).
- If there seems to be too much liquid left, strain the lentil and add 1/2 to 1 cup of the liquid back before adding the bulgur.
- If the bulgur seems too hard, add a little more hot water and allow it to soften before continuing.
- Before forming the kibbeh, you may want to taste the mixture and adjust the spices, including the salt.
- If the mixture doesn’t stick together, you may need to knead it for a bit.
- If the kibbeh are still too wet, allow them to sit, uncovered, until they reach the preferred texture.
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