Last Updated on June 12, 2022
Lebanese Vegan Kibbeh Recipe
Lebanese cuisine is famous for offering a wide array of Kibbe variants, including at least a couple of vegan versions as in this recipe. For those who are not familiar with the term, Kibbeh generally refers to ground meat mixed with Bulgur (cracked weat), spices, and herbs and then baked, fried or grilled into an amazingly savory dish like Lebanese Vegan Kibbeh Recipe or Lent Potato Kibbeh.
Lent Potato Kibbeh Ingredients
In the Lebanese Vegetarian Potato Kibbe recipe, we’re going to feature a vegan-baked Kibbeh recipe that’s often made during Lent. Its main ingredients are potatoes and chickpeas with some spices. Featured in the photo above are vegan Kibbeh patties with a side of Tabbouleh Salad.
Lebanese Vegan Baked Kibbeh Recipe – Kibbeh Aat’aa
This delicious vegan Lebanese kibbeh recipe is made with potatoes, chickpeas and other legumes and is typically made for Lent.
Ingredients
- 2 cups Bulgur cracked wheat/Burghul
- 2 cups dried chickpeas
- 3 potatoes medium sized, boiled, mashed
- 2 cups flour
- 1/2 bunch parsley
- 1/2 bunch mint
- 1/2 bunch green onions
- 1 white onion medium sized
- 2 cups Olive oil about 1 cup per pan of Kibbeh
- 1 teaspoon chili powder or to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon Lebanese 7 spices
- 2/3 teaspoon salt
Instructions
Preparations
- Chickpeas: The goal of the process here is to skin and halve the chickpeas. If you are able to find skinned chickpea halves at your grocery store, you can just soak them overnight and skip the remaining steps in this process. If you have regular chickpeas, then soak them in water overnight. On the day of, rinse them well then warm in a pot of water on the stove for a few minutes. Drain, then spread warm chickpeas on a towel then break them open by rolling a rolling pin on them a few times with force. Place broken chickpeas back in a pot, fill with water then rub them with your hands to separate the skin. Repeat the process a few times so that you rid the all of the chickpeas from their skin. Once done, drain the skinless chickpeas and place in the “mixing” pot.
- Potatoes: Boil the potatoes for 15-20 minutes, let cool down a bit, peel, mash and add to the “mixing” bowl.
- Bulgur: rinse with water, strain, let dry for 30 minutes and then add to the “mixing” bowl.
- Mint and Parsley: Cut stems away, then finely mince the leaves and add to the “mixing” bowl.
- Green Onions: Chop finely then add to “mixing” bowl.
- White Onions: Chop finely then add to “mixing” bowl.
- Flour & Spices: Add flour on top of all ingredients in the “mixing” bowl, add the 7 spices, chili powder and salt. Knead well with your hands for a few minutes. The result should be a dough.
Cooking Method
- Brush olive oil on your Pyrex glass baking pan (or your preferred baking pan).
- Pat the Kibbeh dough into pan with a thickness of about 1/2 to 2/3 of an inch.
- With a knife, cut deep lines into the dough to form square shapes. Then make small cuts in the center of each square. The purpose of this is to allow the olive oil to seep through the dough, cook and flavor it from the inside, and also make it easy to cut when cooked.
- Gently and slowly soak the Kibbeh with olive oil until it’s fully covered and the olive oil level is right above the surface of the dough. This should be about 1 cup of olive oil per pan.
- Bake at 400 degrees for 45-60 minutes, or until the dough turns light brown and a bit crispy. Poke to make sure the inside is well cooked.
- Enjoy it hot or cold, and serve with Lebanese pita bread.
Notes
This vegan Kibbeh can last for a few days in the fridge. If you make extra dough, you can place the surplus in a ziplog bags and store in the freezer for a few months. To cook, thaw at room temperature for a few hours then follow the same baking process in this recipe.
Nutrition Facts
Lebanese Vegan Baked Kibbeh Recipe – Kibbeh Aat’aa
Serving Size
6 pieces
Amount per Serving
Calories
1283
% Daily Value*
Fat
77
g
118
%
Saturated Fat
11
g
69
%
Polyunsaturated Fat
10
g
Monounsaturated Fat
54
g
Sodium
300
mg
13
%
Potassium
1335
mg
38
%
Carbohydrates
129
g
43
%
Fiber
24
g
100
%
Sugar
9
g
10
%
Protein
25
g
50
%
Vitamin A
584
IU
12
%
Vitamin C
32
mg
39
%
Calcium
120
mg
12
%
Iron
9
mg
50
%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
This was a really delicious recipe. Thank you!!
What size bulgar do you use?
You can use 1 or 2 (fine or medium).
can i use tinned chickpeas or will it not fit in with the cooking time?
Tinned chickpeas are fine too. They may need a bit less cooking time.
Will ALL of it take less cooking time then? I guess I cant put the chick peas in later as everything goes in at the same time. Just checking Thansk for replying
We are Lebanese, my grandkids have always loved kibble but have been vegetarians for many years and beg for me to find a way to make it for them. I experimented with Seitan recipes, found one I like and then used it as the “meat” ingredient, making my kibble with one cup of soaked bulgar for a lb. of seitan, one medium onion, salt, pepper cinnamon, olive Oil and vegan butter. It was fantastic and no one could tell the difference, really. If you want the entire recipe, email me, I would be happy to share.
The ingredients you use are the exact same ingriedents my grandmother used. and she always dotted the top layer with butter. I regret that i never got the recipe before she paassed. i would love to try your recipe for kibbeh. Please send it…………………………..Thank You so much!………….LAURA
Hello, Ms. Karen Richter. I hope you are still monitoring this page. Please send me the whole recipe for the vegetarian kibbeh your grandkids love, made with soaked bulgur, Seitan, etc., and that you mentioned on mamaslebanesekitchen.com on December 27, 2016. I will be very grateful and will always give you credit. Many thanks. My email address is aharonmayne@gmail.com
By the way, I love this site!
Thank you for this wonderful recipe! I’m planning to make it for our vegetarian Thanksgiving dinner.
For the bulgur, should it be cooked or uncooked? Thank you so much!
Hi Anjali – use uncooked Bughul for this recipe.
Thank you so much for your reply! I made this for our dinner and it was a HUGE hit. Everyone loved it. I followed your recipe exactly and it came out so delicious and flavorful. Even the non-vegetarians were happy. Thank you for such a delicious recipe, it made our Thanksgiving dinner a success! 🙂
Hi there,
I made this today and it was delicious. I was wondering if some toasted pine kernels could be added to the mixture? When I used to eat the meat kebbe it used to have it. Thanks for your recipe. It was easy to make and really tasty.
Maria yes you can add pine nuts to the vegetarian Kibbe.. i imagine that it would give it a nice kick.
Looks great and happy to find a vegetarian recipe for Kibbe, but why such a small amount of Seven-Spice? Possibly a misprint? I made it with 2 teaspoons, and I still think it could have used a bit more flavor.
Hi Katja – spice is typically to taste. We found the small amount we use in this recipe is enough for us as there are many other rich flavors that we like to taste as well but totally up to you how much you like the Kibbe spicy.
Hi, I’m going to make this for a dinner party. How many servings does this make? I plan on serving this with your tabbouleh. Thanks!
Susan the recipe ingredients as-is should serve about 6.
What is is the seven spice mixture, I can not find it anywhere?
Hi Debbie – you can find the ingredients of the 7 spices here : https://www.mamaslebanesekitchen.com/pantry/ you can also buy them from amazon ready made but they’re not that fresh usually.. better to mix them at home. Let me know if you have other questions.
Hello 🙂 I would love to try out this recipe, but I can’t find the lebanese 7-spices mix anywhere. What do you suggest I can substitute it with to get the best possible flavour? Thank you!
The taste was great, just a little more salt needed. As for the bulgar, it was just undercooked and grainy, will try and make it thicker.
The grains of bulgar were undercooked, maybe it does need to be thicker. The flavor was great, just a little more salt. I will make the rest thicker and hope for better results!
Thank u!
I must have used the wrong size bulgar, any suggestions on how I can correct this? I made part of the batch and was still very crunchy. Otherwise it was very tasty
Hi Nihal – the burgul size may not have a lot to do with the crunchiness of the Kibbeh. To start with, the end product will always be crunchy and this is part of its feature. Usually we keep it in the fridge and the 2nd day it’s a bit less crunchy. Also if you thicken the kibbeh patties while baking them the insides will not be as crunchy. How was the flavor by the way?
u were wondering how i got it to hold together without flour..i just used the same ratio that i know..1.5 cups burghol to 1.5 pounds potato..i guess since this has more potatoes it holds without flour..but instead of our onions on bottom ..i made it with chickpeas..very very nice..
I Tried this Recipe yesterday, it was very delicious especially with tabouleh 😉 Shukran kteer for such Great Recipe!
Sahtain Maggie I’m glad you liked it.
i finally made this as per your recipe..minus the flour and a bit less oil,, so delicious,the chickpeas were delicious in it…I think I like it better than our family version with onions carmelzed on bottom as the sweet onions overpower the potato/bulgar/herb flavours..thank you again
Hello Samir, I’m glad you got to do it and like it thank you for the feedback. I wonder how it came out with no flour, flour usually keeps the dough together and don’t make it break.
I made this kippe last weekend and even my picky 12 year old loved it. The taste and flavors are wonderful. I made a green sauce to go with it(peppers+ mint+ cilantro) along with Lebanese green salad, absolutely delicious! Thank you for the recipe.
Hello Rayan I’m very happy that the Kibbe turned out good and you loved it!
btw we also use a bit less oil about 2/3 to 3/4 cup ,place half that oil and scatter sliced raw onion(sliced in half moons ,not too thin)on the bottom of the tray under the paste ,they will caramelize and stick to the dough as the kibbeh bakes ..and pour the the rest of the oil on top of the paste before baking..just in case you want to try it!!
Interesting stuff.. this is the creativity of Middle Eastern cuisine at work! 🙂
I love this dish . but I have one question before trying this version…my family recipe calls for 1.5 cups fine burghul to 1.5 pounds potato boiled and mashed..and NO flour unless the dough is too soft,then we add a small amount a little at a time( up to 1/2 cup at most) to firm it up but only if necessary..can yours be made with little or no flour as well? our seasoning is basically the same but no chickpeas which I want to try..
Hi Samir, we’ve always made it with flour but I’m pretty sure it can be made without it. I don’t think that flour contributes much to the taste, it’s more to help holding the paste together. So if you’re able to make it hold without flour, it’s worth trying. As for chickpeas, it’s a nice addition try it out. They give a nice flavor when toasted/baked in the oven, they get crunchy.
this looks amazing..have to try this recipe..we make our version somewhat similar but without the chickpeas..