Recipe
🥙 LUNCH
Koupes
Torpedo-shaped bulgur shells stuffed with spiced minced meat and onion, fried crisp, a favorite Cypriot snack-lunch.
Cypriot · advanced · serves 6
prep 45 min · cook 20 min
~458 cal · 29g protein · 60g carbs · 12g fat · 10g fiber · 3g sugars · 5g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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Koupes are a Cypriot street snack and lunch, torpedo-shaped croquettes with a crisp shell and a savoury meat filling. A legacy of the wider Levantine kebbeh tradition, they are found in every Cypriot bakery and taverna.
A paste of fine wheat is shaped into a hollow casing around a filling of minced pork or beef cooked with onion, cinnamon, and parsley, then deep-fried until deep brown and crunchy. Eaten hot with a squeeze of lemon, the contrast of the crisp, nutty shell and the warmly spiced meat inside is what makes them so moreish.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally dairy-, egg- and nut-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
🐖 Pork-Free
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.
Ingredients
US
Metric
Serves 6
3 cups fine wheat
1 lb ground pork or beef
2 onion, finely chopped
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 handful fresh parsley, chopped
1 lemon, to serve
for frying oil, for frying
Instructions
1
Soak the fine bulgur, then knead to a smooth, pliable paste and rest.
2
Cook the meat with the onion, cinnamon, and parsley until browned and dry, then cool.
3
Shape the bulgur paste into hollow torpedoes around the filling, sealing the ends.
✎ Chef’s note
Wet your hands and work the shell thin and evenly, sealing the ends fully, so it fries crisp without splitting and leaking.
4
Deep-fry until deep brown and crunchy, and serve hot with lemon.
Cypriot street-food tradition.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Nicosia. The spice that marks Cypriot cooking is coriander seed rather than the leaf, crushed into afelia of pork cooked in red wine, into loukaniko sausages, into lountza, and into olives cracked and dressed with lemon. It is the flavour Cypriots themselves name as the island's own.
🗺️
Cyprus. The flavour that marks Cypriot cooking out from Greek and Turkish is coriander seed rather than the leaf, crushed into afelia, pork marinated in red wine, and into loukaniko sausage, lountza and the olives cracked with lemon. Kleftiko takes its name from klefti, thief, and is lamb sealed in a clay oven so no smoke gives it away.
🌍
Europe. Europe has written a great deal of its food into law. A regulation of 1992 created the protected designation of origin and the protected geographical indication, tying a name to a place and a method, and an EU evaluation published in 2021 counted more than three thousand registered names across those schemes, from cheeses and hams down to particular shapes of bread.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from Cyprus
SheftaliaHerby caul-wrapped sausages of pork and onion, charcoal-grilled and tucked into pita with salad.
Halloumi and EggsSlices of grilled halloumi with fried eggs and fresh tomato, the classic Cypriot breakfast.
LoukoumadesAiry fried dough puffs soaked in honey syrup and dusted with cinnamon, an ancient sweet loved across Cyprus.
Browse all Cyprus recipes →
Good to know
You’ll need: Deep pot for frying.
Storing it: Fried food is best eaten fresh while crisp. Re-crisp leftovers in a hot oven or air fryer; the microwave makes them soft.
Make it a Cyprus meal
LoukoumadesDessert
KleftikoDinner
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Frequently asked questions
What is Koupes?
Torpedo-shaped bulgur shells stuffed with spiced minced meat and onion, fried crisp, a favorite Cypriot snack-lunch.
Where does Koupes come from?
Koupes is a Cypriot dish from Nicosia, Cyprus.
Can Koupes be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Koupes recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions, including several at once such as gluten-free and dairy-free together. Treat them as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Koupes safe for people with food allergies?
Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.
How long does Koupes take to make?
About 65 minutes total (45 minutes prep, 20 minutes cooking), serving 6.
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