Grilled Lamb Kebabs, made with ground lamb, are served with Basil Tahini Sauce. It’s a delicious, paleo & keto friendly recipe featuring Middle Eastern flavors.
Calling all lamb lovers… you are going to love this dish! Middle Eastern inspired ground lamb kabobs with a deliciously addictive basil tahini sauce.
These kabobs will be on your table in under 30 minutes. Or, upgrade your summer picnic and pack these along. They’re the perfect finger food and offer such a unique twist on standard picnic fare.
It all starts with fresh ground lamb. I’ve mentioned before how I prefer cooking with American Lamb. Here’s why I always choose it over lamb from Australia or New Zealand:
- By choosing American Lamb, you’re supporting local farmers throughout America.
- American Lamb is up to 10,000 miles fresher than imported lamb.
- Sheep improve pasture quality by recycling important nutrients back into the soil, minimizing erosion and encouraging plant growth.
- Raising lamb in the U.S. is a family affair with more than 80,000 family owned operations.
- The majority of sheep in the states graze pastures for most of their lives.
I kept the ingredients for these Lamb Kofta Kebabs simple. Combining ground lamb with cumin, onion, garlic and salt and pepper. That’s because I wanted the true flavor of the lamb to shine through and I didn’t want too much competition with the delicious basil tahini sauce that we’re drizzling over the top of them.
What Sauce Goes with Lamb Kebabs?
- Let’s talk about that Basil Tahini Sauce. I combined tahini with basil, garlic, lemon juice and olive oil. The aroma of the fresh basil is outstanding, and it takes on the perfect creaminess when it’s blended with the tahini sauce. (Tahini is a paste made from toasted, ground sesame).
- These would also be delicious with spicy peanut sauce.
- Or, check out these 23+ sauces for kebabs.
To make the kebabs, I formed 16 ovals of the lamb mixture and threaded them onto eight skewers. Then I popped them onto a hot grill.
How Long to Grill Lamb Kebabs
- Grill lamb kebabs on a medium-hot grill for 8-10 minutes, until cooked through (160-degrees).
How to Bake Lamb Kebabs
- You can also bake these kabobs in the oven. Heat your broiler to high and cook on a rack set over a baking sheet for about 10 minutes.
What Goes with Lamb Kebabs?
- Israeli Couscous Tabbouleh Salad
- Blistered Shishito Peppers
- Tomato Cucumber Salad
- Farro Salad with Basil Lemon Tahini Dressing
- Apple Slaw with Celery Root
- Cherry Tomato Salad with Roasted Lemons
What Wine Goes with Lamb Kebabs?
- Malbec with medium body and smooth tannins makes an excellent pairing for the rich lamb.
- Petite Sirah is another great match. With its typical flavors of plum, raspberry, blackberries, and black pepper it lends itself wonderfully to stronger flavored meats, such as lamb.
- Syrah is another wine that will stand up nicely to these kebabs.
More Lamb Recipes:
- Broiled Lamb Chops with Mint Mustard Sauce
- Sheet Pan Lamb Dinner
- Instant Pot Pasta with Lamb & Mint
- Grilled Rack of Lamb with Pistachio Basil Pesto
- Grilled Lamb Chops with Spicy Peanut Sauce
Grilled Lamb Kebabs with Basil Tahini Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 pounds ground American lamb
- 1/2 onion (finely diced)
- 3 garlic cloves (finely minced)
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 Tablespoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 8 wood skewers (soaked in water for 30 minutes)
- Lemon wedges (for serving)
Basil Tahini Sauce:
- 1/2 cup tahini
- 1/4 cup basil loosely packed
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 1/4 cup water
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Soak the skewers and start the grill.
- In a bowl, mix the lamb with the onions, garlic, cumin, salt and pepper. Form the mixture into 16 ovals and thread them onto 8 skewers.
- Brush the lamb kebabs with olive oil. Grill over medium-high heat, turning occasionally, until the kebabs are cooked through, 8 to 10 minutes (160-degrees).
- Serve with Basil Tahini Sauce and lemon wedges.
Basil Tahini Sauce
- In a high powered blender, combine all ingredients.
- Blend on high until you have a smooth, creamy sauce.
- Add up to ¼ cup more water (blending again to incorporate) until you get the thickness you like. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
Notes
- Move rack to the top position.
- Heat broiler to HIGH.
- Line a baking sheet with foil and place in an oven safe rack.
- Place skewers on top of rack and broil for about 10 minutes or until cooked through.
Nutrition
If you loved these Lamb Kebabs I would appreciate it so much if you would give this recipe a star review! Also, be sure to snap a picture of your finished dish and share it with me on Instagram using the hashtag #platingsandpairings and tagging me @platingsandpairings.
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I teamed up with American Lamb to bring you this post. As always, all opinions are my own.
I LOVE these photos! This whole beach setup looks stunning!
I’ve always found lamb recipes intimidating but I guess that’s because I’ve never tried it before. Your recipe makes it look like I should just go for it. Also, what a lovely beach setting!
I made this for dinner tonight with the farro salad that has the same basil lemon tahini dressing. We put the salad over mixed greens with a few lamb skewers per person and it was a very filling, healthy, yummy meal. Exactly what I want to eat in the summer. I doubled the sauce recipe since I knew I needed it for both the meat and the salad, but I don’t think it was necessary since I ended up with a lot of extra sauce. I subbed a little bit of unsweetened unsalted natural peanut butter since I didn’t have enough tahini, and it worked out great! Thanks for your blog, I’ve enjoyed so much great food from your ideas! Keep the awesome recipes coming!
10 out of 10 would recommend! Thanks for the recipe 🙂 will be making many times again. I did use pb in place of tahini (was out) and it was still delightful. Did need to use quite a bit more basil to get that color in your photos! Also my kebabs took another 5 minutes longer in the broiler. Super taste!
Thanks Miranda – I’m glad you liked it!