Cevapi
on Jun 01, 2024
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It’s no secret that in the Balkans, we loooove our meat! Cevapi, or Ćevapi (if you want to be legit 😉), is a staple Balkan dish that’s not only a popular street food but also a must-have at every Balkan gathering or barbecue. In Bulgaria, we refer to these small meat sausages as Kebapcheta (same ingredients, but slightly longer to resemble a kebap), and I have been enjoying these ridiculously tasty little meat sausages since I was a mini Sneji.
With grilling season just around the corner, I knew I had to pay homage to my Balkan roots with this recipe. This has been a long time coming, so, idemo (let’s go) 🇧🇬🇧🇦🇭🇷🇷🇸🇷🇴🇦🇱🇸🇮🇲🇪🇽🇰🇲🇰!
Why You’ll Love Cevapi
Crispy on the outside and incredibly tender and juicy 💦 on the inside, cevapi are are Balkan staple for a reason. These little sausages are made with a simple blend of spices and a hefty portion of garlic 🧄, giving them their distinct savory and garlicky flavor.
The mix of meats ensures the right ratio of fat to keep the cevapi moist, and grilling them adds a smoky flavor, taking them to the next level. Once you try cevapi, you’ll understand why Balkans love this dish, and I guarantee you’ll become just as obsessed 😍.
What are Cevapi?
Ćevapi are small hand-shaped grilled sausages made from a mix of beef, lamb, or pork, often seasoned with a simple blend of garlic, paprika, salt 🧂 and pepper. Ćevapi are traditionally served with warm lepina or somun (a type of pita bread), chopped onions 🧅, ajvar (a red pepper-based spread), and sour cream or kajmak (a type of clotted cream).
Each region in the Balkans has its own variation and name for these meat sausages, but the name Ćevapi is specific to ex-Yugoslavia, where they date back to the 1500s and are a national dish. In Bulgaria 🇧🇬, we call them kebapche (plural: kebapcheta). Kebapcheta are made with a slightly different spice blend, often including cumin, although I always leave it out because I’m not a fan of it 😅. Similar to ćevapi, kebapcheta are a staple in Bulgarian cuisine, and you can always find them at barbecues, restaurants, and street food vendors.
How to Prepare Cevapi
🥣 In a large bowl, add the pork, beef, egg, grated onion, garlic, paprika, and salt and pepper.
✨ In a small bowl, mix the baking soda and the sparkling water.
⏲ Add the baking soda mixture to the meat mixture and, using clean hands, mix well to combine. Then, cover the bowl tightly and refrigerate for 24 hours.
🔥 The next day, when you’re ready to cook, preheat a gas or charcoal grill to medium heat.
🌭 Take a large spoonful of the meat mixture and form it into a bowl. Then, using your hands, form it into a 4-inch log, similar to the shape of a sausage.
🧑🍳 Cook the cevapi over indirect medium-high heat (400F on the grill) or until grill marks appear on all sides of the cevapi. They are ready when a kitchen thermometer inserted in the center reads 165F.
Nonna’s Tip
Don’t skip the baking soda: it produces a springier sausage and helps bind all the ingredients together.
Variations and Substitutions for Cevapi
- Cevapi are also delicious when made with ground lamb. For a lighter, healthier version, try ground turkey and chicken. You can use any combination of ground meat that you love 🍗🦃🐑.
- If you want to make the Bulgarian kebapcheta version, you can add some ground cumin to the meat mixture, along with paprika. One teaspoon is all you need.
- In a pinch, any variety of onion will do: red, yellow, sweet, or even shallots 🧅.
- Feel free to use your favorite beer 🍺 instead of sparkling water. You can enjoy the rest of the drink while you prepare the recipe.
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Best Served With
- Cevapi are traditionally served with fresh pita bread called lepina. If you want to try making something similar, you can use the dough (omit the cheese) from my pita recipe.
- A Shopska Salad is the perfect addition to grilled cevapi 🥗.
- French fries often accompany kebapcheta as a side dish. Make them Bulgarian by topping the potatoes with crumbled feta cheese. 🍟
- If you want to eat like a real Balkan, serve the cevapi with lepina or somun (a type of pita bread), chopped onions 🧅, ajvar (a red pepper-based spread), and sour cream or kajmak (a type of clotted cream).
Common Questions
Certainly! You can make this with ground lamb, or for a lighter meal, try ground turkey or chicken.
The combination of sparkling water (or beer) and baking soda gives the cevapi a distinct spongy texture, which distinguishes it from other grilled meat dishes.
You’ll find cumin included in many kebapcheta in Bulgarian restaurants. I’m not too fond of cumin, so I don’t typically add it.
Cevapi is traditionally made on the grill, but you can also make it on a grill pan on the stove, or make a non-traditional version in an air fryer or oven preheated to 400F until the meat is 165F (although neither will give you grill marks).
It’s best to let the meat sit and for all the flavors to marinate for at least 24 hours. However, you’re welcome to shorten the refrigeration time, but the results will not be the same.
Absolutely you can, once shaped, place them on a baking dish lined with parchment paper and put the baking sheet in the freezer. Once you freeze the cevapi, transfer them into a freezer bag. Feel free to add a piece of parchment paper (or wax paper) in between each one so they stay separated. They will last you frozen for 3 months and you can cook them on the grill straight from the freezer!
Although I prefer them fresh, yes you can. Let the cooked cevapi cool, and place them in a freezer safe bag. You can reheat them on the grill or in the oven when you are ready to enjoy them again.
Cevapi
Video
Equipment
Ingredients
Instructions
- In a large bowl, add the pork, beef, egg (egg is optional), grated onion, garlic, paprika, and salt and pepper. The measurements for the salt and pepper are just a suggestion; measure with your heart.
- Note: we don't typically add egg to cevapi but depending on the meat, ill add it in as a binder. If you're egg-free, leave it out completely.
- In a small bowl, mix the baking soda and the sparkling water.
- Add the baking soda mixture to the meat mixture and, using clean hands, mix well to combine. Cover the bowl tightly and refrigerate for 24 hours.
- Take a large spoonful of the meat mixture and form it into a ball. Then, using your hands, form it into a small log, similar to the shape of a sausage. Mine were 4 inches long.
- Place each one on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. You can freeze them if you wish (instructions in Q&A) or grill them right away.
- When you're ready to cook, preheat a gas or charcoal grill to medium-high heat (400F on the BBQ). Be sure to oil the grill grates prior to cooking.
- To cook the cevapi, grill them over medium indirect heat until grill marks appear on all sides. Use a kitchen thermometer to check that the internal temperature reaches 165°F, which should take about 15-20 minutes. The total cooking time will vary based on the size of the cevapi you have formed.
- Remove from the grill, let rest for a few minutes, and enjoy!
- Enjoy with: fresh pita, fries, ajvar, kajmak, shopska salad, onions, or any sides you like!
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Hello, I am first generation born Croatian and I’ve never visited Croatia yet so I really don’t have anything to go by as far as taste, texture etc. I doubled the recipe so that I could freeze and used 50/50 of beef and lamb.
These were delicious with ajvar, kaymak and lepinje!
I’m not sure if i did them right but by themselves I could taste the texture bc of the baking soda/mineral water combo. Do you think I used too much? Everything was doubled. Should I not have doubled the baking soda?
All in all, these will be made again and again!! Thank you so much for this recipe!!
Hi, Josie! I’m so happy you loved them! Doubling the recipe is fine. Of course, you can always adjust the ingredients to taste next time and use a little less baking soda if you prefer. 😊
I spent six months in Bosnia in 1999, and fell in love with Sarajevo, including the food. Subsequent to my return to the U.S. I have visited a number if Bosnian restaurants, and the food was good to amazing, but the cevapi, when offered, just couldn’t compare to the in-country variants. I’m not a master chef, but I followed this recipe, and I knew from the aroma wafting from grill that I was in for something incredible.
Thank you, for taking me back.
Best regards always,
Cliff
Thank you for sharing your story, Cliff! I’m so happy you loved this recipe! ❤️
Thank you for the recipe. I have never been able to get these right. In the original recipe I have from the little Baba’s in the Romanian community, it calls for suet. I have never used it and the recipes I have made just don’t taste the same as I remember. I am Romanian from my father’s side of the family. His family lived in the Torak (Žitište) region of what was once Yugoslavia and is now Serbia. We came to Canada in 1951 from Paris France where my father and my German mother had made their way on foot and were waiting for their Visa to come to Canada. We were raised in the Romanian Community first in West Lorne, then in Hamilton and eventually settled in Cabbagetown in Toronto. We ate these little sausages without casings that we called Mititei at every Romanian picnic we went to and I have missed them. I can’t wait to make these.
Hi Cornelia, your story is BEAUTIFUL! Thank you for sharing and opening up. Sending all my Love 😍
This cevapi turned out amazing!
Thank you for the recipe,
My daughter said it tastes exactly like the boxed ones we buy, only now I can make them and I know the ingredients that I put in are healthy and no preservatives!
Thank you again
Sooo happy, Nin! Making your own delicious homemade food and controlling the ingredients is so empowering 💗
Hello
I don’t eat pork. What is the best meat to substitute?
Thanks
Hi Lola, a combination or one of the following: lamb, beef, chicken, or turkey. Enjoy!
My mom would make cevapi and I never tried to make them myself. I saw your recipe and made them. Took me back to my childhood. My parents are from former Yugoslavia. Love your recipe. I have some in the freezer for a weekend BBQ and share with my husbands family as I don’t have anyone from my side anymore 🥹 I bought kajmak and lepinje at a Serbian grocery shop near by ♥️
Hi Vesna – that makes me so so happy to hear! Cevapi are such comfort food for us Balkans and they bring me right back to my childhood too! Thanks for taking the time to comment 🥰 Pozdrav!
Juiciest meat ever so tasty
I’m so happy you loved it!
Hi Sneji, thank you for the recipe. How do I make the dipping sauce? Or is it something I can buy? I live in Toronto.
Hi Myra, you can purchase ajvar, usually in a jar, at most grocery stores.
Can you use the air fryer or oven to make this recipe
Hi Elaina, you can use the air fryer, but the outcome will be different (and not traditional) as grilling.
Thank you! I made your recipe and it’s absolutely amazing! Exactly as I remember and better than the frozen from the Eastern European grocery I go to perhaps twice a year (2.5 hrs drive!) My siblings and I were in a Croatian Tamburitza group that traveled to then Yugoslavia in the 70s. That was my first taste of Cevaps as a street food on every corner from Zagreb to Split! That is also were I met my husband. The taste and smell bring back such awesome memories! I can’t thank you enough!
This makes me so happy to hear, Toni! Thank you for sharing your story! ❤️