Homemade Cevapcici (Cevapi) – Delicious grilled minced meat sausages. As you might know from the Balkans, home-seasoned and made. In terms of taste, they resemble the well-known sausages from vacation! And this beef cevapcici recipe is delicious. You will be making this again and again!
Traditional Cevapcici Recipe: Grilled Serbian Sausage
Cevapcici, or Cevapi, is an easy meat dish in the Balkans, southeastern Europe. They are spicy sausages that you make from minced meat and then grill.
Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia, and Montenegro, eastern European countries, have their own variant. And you can eat them as a take-away.
They are eaten on flat (pita) bread and served with finely chopped onion, lettuce, and sauce. It's a delicious meal, that's for sure!
Cevapcici grilled spicy minced meat sausages are not only delicious on holidays. You can now prepare them quickly at your own home!
Jump to:
Balkan cuisine
You know this dish from the Balkans (southeast Europe), where every country has its own variant.
The cevapcici recipe Bosnian (cevapi) is shorter and a bit fatter. They are usually made from two types of ground beef.
You get a beef, lamb, and pork mixture if you order Serbian Cevapcici in Serbia.
In Croatia, the cevapcici are made from a mixture of beef and pork. This variant is thinner and longer compared to the Bosnian version.
The recipe is very similar to other kebabs, such as kofta and shish kebab. Dishes you see a lot in Turkey.
A rich history
This dish goes back to the time of the Ottoman Empire (1299 to 1922). Initially, robbers outside the city made long meatballs and roasted them over fire. That dish was called Leskovac Cevap.
And as always, with great recipes, it spreads quickly and by the mid-nineteenth century. The grilled sausages became a favorite dish in Belgrade (Serbia). At the time, it was eaten as a snack after a night out.
In the first half of the twentieth century, sausages cevapi became a recipe that was eaten for breakfast. You could buy it locally, and it was one of the first take-away meals. It has since spread throughout the Balkans and has even become the national dish of Serbia.
What do you need for the Serbian Cevapi Recipe?
You require the following ingredients to prepare this Cevapi (Grilled Serbian Sausage). You can find the correct amounts in the recipe card at the bottom of the blog:
- Ground beef: You can use different types of minced meat in this recipe. Only ground beef, 50 % ground beef, 50 % ground pork, or a combination of ground beef with ground lamb (50%: 50%).
- Paprika Powder: Use a combination of different spices for a deeper flavor. I use smoked paprika and sweet paprika powder.
- Baking soda: Add a little baking soda to crisp up the crust of the meat.
- Vegeta: A spice widely used in the Balkans, where everyone seems to have it in their pantry. It is available at stores like and can be used in soup, sauce, and stews in addition to this recipe. If you don't have it at home? Then, you can replace it with vegetable stock powder.
- Garlic sauce: Serve the cevapcici with a flatbread, like pita bread, and sauce. In this recipe, I chose garlic sauce (because it's one of my favorite sauces), but sour cream, Greek yogurt (a slimmer version), and pepper sauce are also popular.
- Parsley: Gives a fresh flavor.
- Egg: Binds the meat so it doesn't fall apart.
- Flour: I will make the meat moist.
- Cayenne pepper: Add some spice to the meat.
- Garlic: Adds great flavor to the ground meat.
How to prepare Cevapcici Sausages
You can find a printable recipe with a step-by-step description at the bottom of this blog.
- Place the ground beef, chopped parsley, and squeezed garlic in a large bowl. Add the flour and Vegeta, sweet paprika powder, and the smoked paprika powder.
- Sprinkle with cayenne pepper and with baking soda. Put the egg on top. And knead everything well. Cover the bowl and refrigerate for at least 2 hours to cool so you can form the meat better and it won't fall apart when you grill it.
- Form small rolls with your hands. If you wet your hands before shaping, the minced meat will stick less. Brush the meat with oil. Because it is baked on the grill or BBQ, you oil the outside of the meat instead of the pan.
- Heat the BBQ or grill (pan) until it is very hot. Place the Serbian sausages on the baking plate and grill for 12 minutes (turning the meat in between).
What to serve with cevapcici? Finely chop the onion and fry the flatbread. Fill the bread with onions and cevap and serve with the garlic sauce. Enjoy your meal!
Tips, Substitutions, and Variations
- Ground Beef: Instead of lean ground beef, you can use half ground beef/ half ground pork or half beef and half lamb (both ground).
- Vegeta: Replace with vegetable stock powder. If you don't have it at home either, leave it out.
- Garlic Sauce: Instead of this creamy sauce, you can also serve this with sour cream or Greek yogurt. Or serve with Ajvar (available in supermarkets or online).
- Baking soda: Don't have baking soda in your pantry? Then leave it out.
- Kid-Friendly: Instead of one teaspoon of smoked paprika, add ½ teaspoon. Omit the cayenne pepper.
- Spicy: Do you like it spicy? Add a finely chopped red pepper to the meat mixture.
- Also tasty: Serve with crispy fries.
- Mix baking soda through the meat. This way, you get a crispy layer when grilling.
- Chill the flavored meat in the refrigerator for at least two hours. This makes it easier to shape them, and you can grill the sausages better.
Did you make this recipe? Tag #byandreajanssen via Instagram. I enjoy seeing what your creation looks like. Video recipes can be found on my YouTube channel. And don't forget to save the recipes on Pinterest so you can easily find them next time!
📖 Recipe
RECIPE CARD
Ingredients
cevapcici
- 1 pound ground beef, Or half and half minced pork / minced beef or ½ pound of minced beef and ½ pound of minced lamb
- ½ oz Fresh Parsley, flat, finely chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, squeezed
- 1 egg, size M
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon sweet paprika powder
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper ground
- ¾ teaspoon Vegeta
- 2 tablespoons sunflower oil
To serve
- 8 pita bread, baked of any other flat bread
- 2 red onions, finely chopped
- 1 cup garlic sauce, sour cream or Greek yogurt
All my recipes are written both in Metric (gram / ml) and US Customary (cups / pounds). Here you can select which type of amount you would like to see.
Instructions
- Put the ground beef in a bowl. Add the parsley and garlic.1 pound ground beef, ½ oz Fresh Parsley, 4 cloves garlic
- Add the smoked paprika, sweet paprika, flour, baking soda, cayenne pepper, and Vegeta. Also, put the egg in the bowl.1 tablespoon all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon sweet paprika powder, 1 teaspoon smoked paprika powder, ½ teaspoon baking soda, ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper ground, ¾ teaspoon Vegeta, 1 egg
- Mix all the ingredients with your hands.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours.
- Form small meat rolls with your hands. Place on a platter or plate.
- Brush the meat with oil.2 tablespoons sunflower oil
- Heat the BBQ or grill pan until very hot.
- Place the cevapcici in the pan and grill for 12 minutes while turning the meat a few times.
To serve
- Cut open the flatbread (pita bread) and fill it with cevapcici and red onion.8 pita bread, 2 red onions
- Serve with garlic sauce.1 cup garlic sauce
Notes
- You can use different types of minced meat in this recipe. Only ground beef, 50 % ground beef, 50 % ground pork, or a combination of ground beef with ground lamb (50%: 50%).
- Chill the flavored meat in the refrigerator for at least two hours. This makes it easier to shape them, and you can grill the sausages better.
- Kid-Friendly: Instead of 1 teaspoon of smoked paprika, add ½ teaspoon. Omit the cayenne pepper.
- Also tasty: Serve with crispy fries.
- Spicy: Do you like it spicy? Add a finely chopped red pepper to the meat mixture.
- After shaping the cevapcici, before brushing them with oil, you can keep them in the fridge for up to one day. You can also freeze them. Place them in a freezer container (with baking paper between each roll, so they do not stick). You can keep them for up to 2 months. Let them thaw in the refrigerator and grill them according to the directions.
- After grilling the cevapcici, you can keep them covered in the refrigerator for three days. You can also freeze them. Then, place them in a freezer container (with baking paper between each roll, so they do not stick). You can keep them for up to 2 months. Thaw them in the fridge and heat them in a skillet or the oven for 20 minutes at 320 °F (160 °C).
Nutrition
Jerika says
What a unique recipe can't wait to try this yummy recipe.:) Thanks!
Chef Dennis says
I couldn't believe how delicious those sausages were! My family loved htem.
Toni says
This was so good! It is so tasty and delicious!
Andréa says
Thank you!
Andréa says
So glad to hear that!
Andréa says
Thank you! It sure is!
Goran Stefanović says
Just for a note — "ćevapi" (plural of "ćevap") or "ćevapčići" (diminutive, plural of "ćevapčić") ARE NOT sausage(s) — at least, not in Serbia nor anywhere else in the Balkan.
'When referred to as "a sausage," the product is usually cylindrical and encased in/stuffed into a skin.' — to quote Wikipedia.
Andréa says
Goran, you're absolutely right. When comparing to the official terms cevapi aren't sausages. I used the term because readers who don't know the official name can also find this recipe and can relate to it and enjoy it. Kind regards, Andréa
Susan says
This sounds amazing and I am making them tonight but I'm confused by the meat measurements.
Is it:
1 pound ground beef
or
1 lb half and half minced pork / minced beef =2lbs
or
2½ pound of minced beef and ½ pound of minced lamb =3lbs
I have done 1lb of beef and 1lb or pork mixed...I hope that I have it right! 🙂
Andréa says
It's a total amount of 1 pound. So when mixing two sorts of ground meat, you'll half the weight.