Algerian Kefta (Meatballs)

These meatballs put inside a French baguette make a pretty good meatball sandwich. However, I think I would throw a little ras el handout into the ground beef if I made it again to give the meat a little more flavor.

I loved these. I made them exactly as called for - but used minced onion instead of chopped. For the tomato sauce - I got creative and added: 1 can rotel, 1 can of italian stewed tomatoes, sofrito (from the spanish isle), some salsa, splash of A1 bold, a 1/2 lime (squeezed), more sofrito, pepper and some cumin. Sofrito adds a little zip and spice to the sauce, as I did not have ras el hanout. Simmer on low and added on top of the meatballs. It was SO good and my company for dinner that night were AMAZED! This is my new "go to" recipe for meatballs. My FAVE!

Wonderful dinner! I served it over rice and substituted a few pinches of cumin and lemon zest for the ras el hanout, and fresh parsley for dried. Also left out the water as the tomatoes made it saucy enough and made the meatballs a bit more bite-sized. Otherwise, terrific!

These were very tasty! I followed the recipe exactly, except I didn't have any ras el hanout, so I checked AR for what it's made of and simply sprinkled said spices over the tomatoes towards the end. My 3-year old and I gobbled them up for lunch today along with zucchini patties and it was a delicious meal.

Good meatballs and a nice change from the "run of the mill" meatball recipe. I used a few sprinkles of cumin in place of the ras el hanout and served them in hoagie rolls since we've had a lot of rice lately.

The recipe is perfect and even better with ground goat or lamb! I happened to have all the ingredients for the ras el hanout spice/herb mixture- I think you really do need at least some of these spices. We'll be making this again lots of times.

Fantastic! Made as directed. I did put a little flour in the sauce to thicken it up a bit. I served it over white rice. Even my picky eater went back for seconds! Next time I will double the sauce. This will be a regular at our house from now on.

Awesome, we liked this recipe and my husband is picky when it comes to trying different dishes. I would add a little more ras el hanout next time, this is the first time using that spice we really liked it. I will make this recipe regularly. Thank you -Mrs. Winters

I wanted something different to add to my low carb menu. This was a nice addition. I found the ras el hanout at Central Market and am glad I didn't omit it or substitute anything for it - it has quite a unique flavor. I followed the recipe except used ground turkey instead of beef. The tomatoes were tasty, but seemed like something was missing. My boyfriend and I will definitely keep it in the rotation and experiment some with the tomatoes.

Delicious. Followed the directions except that I took the advice of another, and added the Ras el hanout to the meat as well. Delicate and distinct flavors make this dish a simple, clean, culinary delight. My children are not necessarily picky eaters, but spice can be challenging to a child’s palate and this dish won them over. I doubled up on the recipe, and it fed a hungry family of 4 with leftovers for a single lunch (in other words- it was devoured!). Beautiful recipe and very simple to make. Thank you for sharing your wonderful family dish and I will be adding this recipe as a staple menu item. Also, I made the ras el hanout. Very easy to make and requires readily available spices. I give this recipe 5 stars all around- looks nice, smells wonderful, tastes amazing, takes under an hour from start to finish (even with making the spice), but most of all- will be enjoyed by all sorts of eaters- from finicky to those that will eat anything.

This was good, but I didn't find that the meat had enough flavor. The flavor was mostly in the sauce.

Very delicious and classic dish! The added water is entirely unnecessary- makes the sauce very diluted and runny. Instead of using a pre-made set of ras el hanout, I make my own mix of cumin, coriander, ginger, salt, pepper, cinnamon, cloves, cayenne, and paprika. That being said, since even pre-made blends have salt and pepper in them already, be careful to not over-salt! Next time I will be also adding some mint leaves with the onion, to add a little Moroccan kick.

I don't know anything about Algerian dishes, but assuming the recipe is authentic, the ras el hanout seasoning is NOT optional. Without it you just have hamburger and tomatoes. And a little cumin is not a substitute - make the ras el hanout as directed and you will be glad you did. the only change I made is 1/2 hamburger and 1/2 lamb. Great dish!

I used garlic paste and put the RAH right on the meat and in the sauce. Delicious!

loved these, I also added some garbanzos to the sauce. SO GOOD

I'm rating the sauce here. I actually use another recipe for the meatballs, to add more flavor.

4 stars only because I did make a few changes. I used the link provided in the notes for the ras el hanout (I did cut back on the cinnamon) and put a teaspoon into the meat mixture, and doubled the amount in the tomato mixture. These meatballs were excellent; I served them with homemade pita breads and tomato/cucumber/feta salad. Very different and very yummy! Thanks for the inspiration!

These were good but I did end up making quite a few changes based on reviews and preference. I doubled the recipe, made meatballs instead of oblong patties and baked (13 min @400) instead of pan-fried. For the meat mixture, I used 1 TBs ras el hanout, 1.5 tsp sea salt, 1/3 cup chopped parsley, 4 cloves garlic, 1/2 cup minced onion. For the sauce, I used 4 cloves garlic and a 28 oz can of whole tomatoes. I also added 2 tsp of ras el hanout to the sauce omitted the dried parsley and topped everything with chopped fresh parsley to serve. I would allow more time to cook down the sauce next time to develop more flavour but other than that, it was great!

Some seasoning needs to be added to the meatballs, the way this recipe calls for them, they are very bland. However, besides that part this recipe is delicious! Like some previous reviewers mentioned, the water is optional and wasn't necessary from my experience.

This recipe was absolutely fabulous! As a Caribbean girl, getting a North African spice blend during COVID was out of the question, so I researched and made my own blend of ras el hanout from 16 ground spices that I had on hand. The meatballs were made from equal amounts of minced lamb and beef, seasoned with chopped garlic and onions along with a generous sprinkling of my homemade ras el hanout blend. Had no plum tomatoes, so I substituted tomato sauce after deglazing the au jus. Another generous dash of ras el hanout and a sprinkle of brown sugar (I seldom use measurements when cooking) absolutely transformed the taste of the tomato sauce. The meatballs and the thick, tasty sauce which developed were served and sopped up with some freshly baked bread. I think I'm in looooove!! With all my changes, this recipe may no longer be authentically Algerian, but it certainly was tasty!! Thanks so much for sharing this recipe.

Excellent, simple recipe. Please don't avoid the optional spice, which can be obtained through Amazon if you don't live near a store that carries it in a more rural area. It adds a touch of sweetness and aroma- I also used Amish paste tomatoes as opposed to the Roma, because I prefer their slightly sweeter taste- these are harder to find, depending on where you live, but it's another take on this great recipe! We also preferred rice with ours but the bread sounds like a wonderful idea...

We absolutely loved this recipe! The only thing I changed was I doubled the ras al hanout and added sweet peppers I had in the fridge.

Smash hit @ the meatball potluck. I added a 1/2 tsp of the spice mix and a 1/2 tsp of dried parsley to the meat directly to tie the flavors together. I will make it again. Next time I am going to try searing the meatballs on high heat then bringing them to full temp in the sauce. The meatballs were a touch dry and I had trouble getting them over 140 degrees internally without risking burning the outsides.

The flavor of the sauce was wonderful but I will, in the future, par boil the tomatoes first to remove the skin or just use canned diced tomatoes. Just a personal preference to not have the separated skin floating around. I agree the meat needed seasoning as well, so I’ll try that next time.

Unique taste that is delicious. I have to cut back on the cinnamon because my husband is not a fan. Yet it is still worth making. I love it!

I've made kefta once before with beef. It was plain and dry. I decided to try this with ground chicken. I baked in it the oven, with some panko and olive oil added (because the chicken was astonishingly well ground, like a paste). I read some of the other reviews and put some Ras el Hanout in. Stuck to the recipe otherwise. All in all, quite good and nicely browned. Regarding the Ras el Hanout, I cut the cinnamon as others suggested. I also added 5 Spice Powder and cardamom. Since the 5 Spices include cloves, I'd recommend on cutting the other cloves back too.

The meatballs themselves were OK where there really is not a lot of oomph relative to taste. The sauces however was good and really makes the dish as this is where all the flavor comes from relative to this dish. Similar to many of the the other folks who made this dish I added cumin to the recipe in lieu of the handout.

We really enjoyed this meal ! Definitely be making again. I did add a little green pepper and added a little more garlic served over rice. I really enjoyed the spices in this meal never used before

this recipe was easy and was a new great way to use ground meat! I served it with warmed pita bread, sauteed green beans, and green quinoa tabbouleh salad...great meal.

Tasty and easy. Doubled the Ras el Hanout (which I have from Oaktown Spice Shop) and served with rice. Will make again.

Let me preface by saing we did not make these as per the recipe. instead, we swapped put the beef for ground lamb, and a few times with ground goat. And we did include the ras al hanout. Recipe is fantastic!

Delicious! Love flavorful food. Only thing I changed was mix in some of the Ras El Hanout and tiny bit more salt into the meat to enhance the flavors throughout. Thanks for sharing!

This is one of the most interesting meals I've made in a long time. we really enjoyed it. I love finding new and exciting recipes to try and I'm so glad I found this one. Making this again.

Excellent

You can us kosher beef it's the same as Halel.....

This wasn't bad but I think that the sauce and meat needed a bit more flavor. Next time I would make this with extra ras el hanout in the actual meatballs themselves

Not much flavor considering all the seasonings.

I'm always looking for something different to try for a new taste treat. These were pretty good, but next time I will add some ras el hanout to the meat mixture too.

made this not bad we added a whole onion and more garlic and it was a little bland for our tastes

really good. I did tweak it somewhat, adding another measure of ras el hanout in with the meat, and using canned diced tomatoes (it's not tomato season yet)

Very good with pita bread , thanks !

DEFINITELY USE RAS EL HANOUT, gives it a wonderful flavor! Would be bland otherwise! Overall I give it 4 stars.. I would like to add a little more flavorings to the meat. I followed it to the T and it came out good, next time will season the beef a little more before cooking.

The sauce was delicious but the meatballs could have used a little bit more flavour.

This recipe turned out amazing! I could barely be considered a "home cook" but my girlfriend, an avid cook, loved it! Thank you! My meatballs turned out a little dry, but that was because I didn't do what the recipe said - "oblong patties" and "medium-high heat". I also only had one roma tomato and half of a small heirloom tomato - oh, and no parsley - substituted dried oregano for the parsley. The dish STILL turned out amazing! Having some ras el hanout on hand surely helped. I served the finished kefta over plain white rice and I will make it again. I can't wait until my chef-to-be girlfriend makes it. My thanks to you for sharing you and your husband's wonderful dish!

I made it and loved it but the family did not care for it. I think I try to make kefta kabobs next time. I made a lot of ras al hanout whihc is great in itself . Thanks for sharing this