These Moroccan Kefta Lettuce Wraps are the perfect combination of spicy meatballs, fluffy rice and a harissa yogurt sauce.
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Kefta = the world's juiciest + easiest meatballs
If you've ever made meatballs before, you know it's actually pretty easy, regardless of what kind. But these Moroccan Kefta meatballs are truly the most deliciously simple bites. In Morocco, this blend of herbs and spices is traditionally used to make their version of a hamburger.
A little cumin, salt, pepper, paprika, ginger, garlic. A bit of parsley and cilantro. Red onion and olive oil.
And a bit of a modern flair never hurt no one, so we're adding a tablespoon of parmesan cheese, totally optional.
Let's Talk Rice & Toppings
In this particular recipe, I opted to use fresh tomatoes and my favorite recipe for Persian inspired Golden Rice. You can find the secret ingredient that gives this rice it's glowing yellow color here.
That said, you can use pretty much anything you like to fill these babies.
Other options I love:
- Plain white or brown rice
- Fluffy quinoa
- Forget the grains and add roasted veggies instead
- Rice noodles of some sort
- Crunchy bean sprouts (we have totally strayed from the Moroccan path here and that's ok)
Finally, we're topping these wraps off with a two ingredient, Harissa Yogurt sauce. This sauce's secret Moroccan ingredient is basically the Sriracha of Morocco. It's spicy and acidic and goes well with any savory dish you'd use hot sauce on.
When mixed with creamy greek yogurt it's the perfect mix of hot and cool to tie these lettuce wraps together.
Moroccan Kefta Lettuce Wraps with a Spicy Yogurt Sauce
These Moroccan Kefta Lettuce Wraps are the perfect combination of spicy meatballs, sweet rice and a harissa yogurt sauce.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 16-25 meatballs 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: Moroccan
Ingredients
For the Kefta Meatballs:
- 1 lb ground beef or lamb
- ½ red onion, minced finely
- 2 tbsp minced parsley
- 2 tbsp minced cilantro
- 3 cloves minced garlic
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tsp ground ginger
- 3 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp paprika
- 2 tsp salt
- 2 tsp pepper
For the Yogurt Sauce:
- ½ cup greek yogurt
- 2 tsp harissa sauce
Other Ingredients:
- 1 head butter lettuce
- 1 cup Golden Rice or whatever kind of rice/grain you like!
- 2 roma tomatoes, diced
- additional cilantro to garnish
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. In a large bowl combine all ingredients for your meatballs and mix well.
- Round into 1 inch balls and set on a parchment lined baking sheet, with an inch of space between each. Bake for 15-18 minutes or until cooked through (this will depend on the protein you use, cut one open to make sure there isn't any pink left in the meat).
- To make the Yogurt Harissa sauce, simply mix the two ingredients together.
- Assemble the lettuce wraps: place a piece of butter lettuce down, fill with rice, kefta, top with tomatoes, cilantro and the yogurt sauce.
Keywords: Moroccan Kefta Lettuce Wraps, Kefta