Persian kabob is a staple of Persian cuisine and a favorite at family dinners. From juicy ground beef koobideh to saffron-marinated chicken joojeh kabob, these grilled meats are full of flavor without complicated ingredients. Here you’ll find traditional Persian kabob recipes, marinades, grilling tips, and easier oven-baked and air-fryer versions for when you don’t feel like firing up the grill.
What Makes Persian Kabob Special?
Traditional Persian kabob is all about the meat, seasoning, preparation, and cooking method. Some kabobs use marinades to add flavor and tenderness, while others rely on a simple combination of ground meat, onion, and seasoning.
The marinade depends on the type of kabob. Chicken joojeh kabob is often marinated with ingredients such as saffron, yogurt and lemon juice, while kabob barg, made with tender cuts of beef or lamb, uses a different preparation. Ground beef koobideh doesn’t use a marinade; its flavor comes from the meat, onion, and seasonings.
Traditionally, Persian kabob is grilled over hot charcoal on long metal skewers. The meat sits close to the heat, developing that delicious grilled flavor. But you don’t have to own a traditional charcoal grill to enjoy kabob at home!
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How to Make Persian Kabob
Traditional Persian kabob is cooked on long, flat stainless steel skewers placed across a charcoal grill, with the meat cooking directly over the hot coals rather than on a cooking grate. The flat shape helps keep ground meat in place and prevents pieces of chicken or steak from spinning as you turn the skewers.
Thin round skewers can make turning the meat more difficult, while bamboo skewers aren’t suitable for the traditional method of grilling ground meat.
A dedicated stainless steel kabob grill makes it easier to position the skewers over the coals. If you’re using a regular grill, follow the setup and safety instructions for your grill rather than assuming the cooking grate should always be removed.
No charcoal grill? No problem. You can make some Persian kabobs in the oven, on the stovetop, or in an air fryer. The texture and flavor will differ from charcoal-grilled kabob, but these methods are convenient alternatives for everyday cooking.
Traditional Persian Kabob Recipes
If you are ready to try some traditional Persian kabob recipes, skewers, grill and all you should definitely try these recipes:
- Kabob Koobideh: This is the ground meat kabob, typically beef, lamb or a combination of the two. Combined with grated onions and salt it is then formed onto wide skewers. I share all my tips to ensure your koobideh is juicy and doesn’t fall off the skewers while grilling.
- Joojeh Kabob: Chunks of chicken breast are marinated in saffron, onion and yogurt, yielding an incredibly juicy and flavorful meal.
- Kabob Barg: Thin slices of filet are cut and marinated in a yogurt mixture creating tender and delicious bites of steak.
Easy Persian-Inspired Kabob Recipes
My family wants kabob all the time, so I developed these kabob recipes for busy days. They are either baked in the oven or cooked in the air fryer, giving you a quick yet fabulous kabob dinner, without the fuss of skewers or a grill.
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- Dry-Rub Chicken Kabobs in the Oven: Boneless chicken thighs are rubbed down in my special kabob dry rub and baked in the oven. I make this all the time with white rice or any other flavored Persian dishes.
- Sheet-Pan Koobideh Kabob: I worked very hard to get juicy koobideh flavor in these sheet pan kabobs. From start to finish, your kabob dinner is on the table in under an hour.
- Baked Chicken Koobideh: I typically only order chicken koobideh at restaurants because it is finicky to get it right on skewers. So I developed this baked version that is also formed and cooked on a sheet pan.
- Air-Fryer Koobideh: One of my sons loves cooking in his air fryer and I personally love that the mess is self contained in the fryer. All the flavors of koobideh, and cooked in a flash!
- Persian Chicken Wings: These wings are a huge hit at our super bowl parties. They are crispy, tangy and baked in the oven!
We love Persian kabob so much, we don’t stop at skewers! I’ve taken those classic koobideh flavors and turned them into a Persian kabob burger, and even made Persian koobideh jerky for a fun twist. Because why should kabob be limited to the grill?
What about the marinades and dry rub?
Chunks of meat are often marinated to add flavor and help keep them juicy while grilling. Yogurt is commonly used as a marinade because it tenderizes the meat.
Although both chicken and filet kabob use yogurt as a marinade, there are other ingredients used to make them each unique. Because chicken is a lean meat, saffron adds flavor and its signature golden color.
I created my dry-rub chicken seasoning to cut down on the marinade time and to offer a dairy-free way to make chicken kabob. It has all the flavor of traditional jujeh kabob, but in a dry rub.
Persian Side Dishes for Kabob
Persian kabob is typically served with Persian rice (chelo), but we also like to serve it with other rice dishes like lubia polo (green bean rice) or sabzi polo (herb rice). We also like to make sandwiches with kabob using flat breads like lavash or pita.
And of course we have to include a few other side dishes like these:
- Sabzi khordan, a platter of fresh herbs and radishes
- Salad shirazi, a cucumber tomato salad
- Mast o khiar, yogurt with cucumbers
- Torshi, pickled vegetables
Whether you’re firing up the charcoal grill for traditional Persian kabob or making an easy oven-baked version on a busy weeknight, there’s a kabob for every occasion. And if you’re hungry for more, explore all my Persian recipes for family favorites, traditional dishes, and modern twists on Persian cooking!
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Written by Laura BasharÂ
Hi, I’m Laura, a certified professional cook and cookbook author living in San Diego. I have been sharing my family’s favorite recipes inspired from all over the world since 2008. Let’s cook up something fun!
