Oven-baked chicken ćevapi with wholemeal pitta: recipe for four

Ćevapi off the grill need charcoal, patience and a kitchen you can air out afterwards. This oven version is on the table in about 40 minutes and comes to roughly 57 g of protein per serving. Two things decide whether it turns out dry: the fat content of the mince, and how long the tray stays in.

Prep time and servings

Prep: 20 min. Cook: 18 min. Servings: 4.

If you have the time, chill the mixture for 30 minutes before shaping. That sitting time isn't counted in the prep, but the ćevapi hold their shape far better on the tray.

Ingredients

• 800 g minced chicken (thigh and breast mixed, around 5–7% fat)
• 100 g onion, very finely chopped
• 10 g garlic (3 cloves), crushed
• 1 egg (55 g)
• 40 g wholemeal breadcrumbs
• 100 ml cold sparkling water
• 6 g salt (about 1 level teaspoon)
• 3 g sweet paprika
• 2 g bicarbonate of soda (half a teaspoon)
• 1 g ground black pepper
• 10 ml olive oil for the tray
• 4 wholemeal pitta breads (4 × 90 g)
• 400 g natural yoghurt (2.8% fat) to serve

Minced breast alone gives the highest protein figure and the driest result. A thigh-and-breast mix is the better call here, because that bit of fat keeps things juicy while the tray is in the oven.

Method

1. Heat the oven to 220 °C (200 °C fan). Line a tray with baking paper and brush it with the 10 ml of olive oil.
2. Chop the onion as finely as you can, almost to a paste. Coarse pieces release water and the ćevapi break apart halfway through baking.
3. In a large bowl, combine the minced chicken, onion, garlic, egg, breadcrumbs, salt, paprika, pepper and bicarbonate of soda.
4. Add the sparkling water in two goes and knead by hand for 3–4 minutes, until the mixture turns sticky and even. That stickiness is the sign it will hold together.
5. Cover the bowl and chill for 30 minutes.
6. With wet hands, shape 16 ćevapi of about 55–60 g each, roughly 8 cm long and 2 cm thick. Space them 2 cm apart on the tray so they roast rather than steam.
7. Bake for 18 minutes, turning them once halfway. Switch the grill on for the last 2–3 minutes if you want more colour.
8. Before taking them out, check the centre of the thickest one: 74 °C is the point at which chicken is safe to eat. Warm the pittas for 2 minutes, then serve 4 ćevapi per person with 100 g of yoghurt and raw onion.

Nutrition per serving

• Calories: around 650 kcal
• Protein: 57 g
• Carbohydrates: 53 g
• Fat: 22 g

These are an estimate per serving, worked out from the quantities listed above, pitta and yoghurt included. The real figures shift with the fat content of your mince and the exact weight of your pitta. A 90 g wholemeal pitta contributes roughly 5 g of fibre, a decent chunk of your daily fibre intake from a single meal.

Swaps and variations

To cut the calories, skip the yoghurt and use a 60 g pitta — a serving then drops to about 480 kcal with roughly 47 g of protein. To go the other way, add another 100 g of mince to the mixture.

Minced turkey behaves the same way and needs the same baking time. No egg? Add 20 g more breadcrumbs and knead for an extra minute; the mixture will still bind.

Not using pitta at all? Serve with 200 g of cooked rice or bulgur per person. Cool leftovers within two hours and keep them refrigerated for up to three days — cold ćevapi travel well in a packed lunch box with vegetables and yoghurt.

If you'd rather cook chicken in whole pieces, the same temperature-and-timing logic applies to air fryer chicken with rice. For something lighter the next day, chicken and chickpea soup uses the same protein in a much softer format.

In short

Eight hundred grams of minced chicken, finely chopped onion, a splash of sparkling water and 18 minutes at 220 °C give you 16 ćevapi and four servings at roughly 650 kcal and 57 g of protein. Fine onion, a chilled mixture and a thermometer reading 74 °C are the three details that separate juicy from dry.