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These Pork Koftas are the perfect gluten free BBQ recipe! Favoured with fennel, garlic, chilli, fresh coriander and parsley. I love them served in flatbreads or a fresh salad – make them on the BBQ, in the oven or the air fryer.
Most BBQs tend to end up in a mash up of chargrilled burgers, sausages and chicken drumsticks, so I decided to try something a bit different.
Let’s face it, if you’ve been cooking on the barbecue all weekend, you’re probably a little tired of gluten free burgers and sausages by now.
This pork kofta recipe uses lean pork mince so it’s a nice healthy option – and I feel pork mince recipes are often so overlooked.
This is the kind of thing you could cook on the BBQ and enjoy as a light and fulfilling meal, without the meat coma.
These are so simple to make, and should the weather not look too great, I’ve updated the original recipe (from 2017) to include air fryer and oven methods too.
Serve them with my chickpea and halloumi salad, wrapped in a gluten free flatbread or as an easy summer dinner with some gluten free oven chips.
Ingredients
You only need a few simple ingredients to make these pork kebabs, and they’re naturally gluten free, dairy free and egg free:
- Lean Pork Mince: I find this such an easy pork mince recipe and it’s a lovely cheap ingredient. I use lean ground pork but you can use a higher fat one if you prefer.
- Fennel Seeds
- Chilli Flakes: Omit these if you don’t like spice.
- Garlic Paste: Or two finely minced garlic cloves.
- Fresh Coriander (cilantro)
- Fresh Parsley
- Salt and Pepper
How to make pork koftas
There’s a printable recipe card below with the method, but here are some step-by-step photos to show you how easy these lean pork koftas are to make.
To prepare the pork koftas:
Place the fennel seeds in a pan and toast until they become fragrant. Add to a pestle and mortar and crush.
Chop the coriander and parsley, and crush the garlic clove. Add the pork mince, fennel seeds, coriander, parsley, chilli flakes, crushed garlic, salt and pepper to a large mixing bowl.
Mix well, really ‘mushing’ the spices and herbs into the ground pork.
Shape the pork into six koftas (like big fat thumbs) around skewers and then use one of the following cooking methods:
To cook pork koftas on the BBQ:
- When you’re ready, fire up the BBQ and grill them on each side until cooked through. You want them to be lovely and brown on the outsides.
To cook pork koftas in the air fryer:
- Spray the air fryer basket with a little oil, then lay the pork koftas in one layer with space between them. Air fry at 220C for 12-15 minutes until cooked through.
To cook pork koftas in the oven:
- Preheat the oven to 200C / Fan 180C / Gas Mark 6. Lay the koftas on a baking tray and bake for 15-20 minutes until cooked through.
However you cook them, these gluten free pork koftas are a great summer dinner idea and perfect for batch cooking and freezing too (see FAQs below).
And if you’re unsure on the best ways to avoid cross contamination check out my guide to gluten free fan ovens and air fryers.
Serving suggestions
Not sure what to serve up with these gluten free pork koftas? Here are some recipes that work really well with these easy pork mince kebabs:
- Gluten Free Flatbreads – wrap them up with garlic yoghurt and salad.
- Oven Chips – great for a quick and easy meal.
- Greek Salad – the perfect side dish for a light summer meal.
- Garlic and Lemon Potatoes – the flavour of these crispy potatoes is always a hit.
- Quinoa and Feta Salad – the tangy pomegranate will work so well with this.
More gluten free BBQ recipes
If you make this recipe and love it, please do let me know by tagging me on my Instagram or using #theglutenfreeblogger. You can also share your creations in my Facebook group! And please do leave a 5* review ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ to let others know you loved it too! It would mean the world to me and really helps support my website.
Pork Koftas
Ingredients
For the koftas
- 500 g lean pork mince
- 1 tsp fennel seeds
- 1 tsp chilli flakes
- 2 cloves garlic
- handful fresh coriander
- handful fresh parsley
- Salt and pepper
Instructions
- Place the fennel seeds in a pan and toast until they become fragrant. Add to a pestle and mortar and crush.
- Chop the coriander and parsley, and crush the garlic clove.
- Add the pork mince, fennel seeds, coriander, parsley, chilli flakes, crushed garlic, salt and pepper to a large mixing bowl and mix well with your hands.
- Shape the pork into six koftas (like big fat thumbs) around skewers and then use one of the following cooking methods:
To cook on the BBQ:
- When you’re ready, fire up the BBQ and grill them on each side until cooked through. You want them to be lovely and brown on the outsides.
To cook in the air fryer:
- Spray the air fryer basket with a little oil, then lay the pork koftas in one layer with space between them. Air fry at 220C for 12-15 minutes until cooked through.
To cook in the oven:
- Preheat the oven to 200C / Fan 180C / Gas Mark 6. Lay the koftas on a baking tray and bake for 15-20 minutes until cooked through.
Notes
Nutrition
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are some FAQs about this easy bagel recipe – if you can’t find the answer to your question here or in the post above, please comment and I’ll try answer!
Yes! To get ahead, you can make the pork mince mixture up top 24 hours before and either leave it in the bowl in the fridge, or form into the koftas. Wrap these in clingfilm on a plate and keep in the fridge until you’re ready to cook them.
Any leftovers of this easy pork mince recipe can be kept in the fridge for up to 3 days. Make sure you reheat them thoroughly before eating.
Yes you can! You have two options when it comes to freezing pork koftas:
To freeze them uncooked: I recommend laying the raw koftas on a sheet of baking paper and then freezing them on a tray or board. Once frozen, transfer to a bag or tub. Defrost in the fridge before cooking.
To freeze them cooked: Allow the cooked koftas to cool completely before freezing. Defrost and reheat thoroughly before eating.
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Awesome recipe Sarah, love how simple this is to make, no one needs to be prepping for hours before a BBQ, where’s the fun in that. Next time the BBQ is fired up these babies are being made! #FreeFromBBQ
Thanks Rebecca, yes BBQs should definitely be faff-free! x
Yummy! These look delicious. I do love a good kofta!
You can’t go wrong with a kofta!! x
Oh wow Sarah, that’s my kind of food! I absolutely love pork, especially on the BBQ. With the spices you’ve added and the Greek Yoghurt dip, you’ve basically created something I could eat right now!!
Thanks Mel, hope you give them a go, they are delicious! x
LOVE koftes – and this one sounds delish!! I always have trouble getting them to stick to the skewer though, so I usually shape mine into burgers or meatball shapes instead! Off to share. 😀 Eb x
I have to say I normally go for the meatball or burger option, but I was feeling brave, haha! x
Wow! LOVE these. And I know for sure that your boards are are from gluten.
Apologies for the delay in getting over to check them out though….. I thought I had added your feed to my dashboard, but realised this morning I hadn’t. Sorry! Should be over to check out what you are up to on a regular basis now…. xx
Oooh yum! these look beautiful, and Peachick safe too! Off to share! xxx
Yay! Thanks lovely xx