Ethiopian Sambusa, Almond Flour Crust, Meat Filling

📍 Where this dish comes from: Kenya · Maasai Mara
Discover the history of this region →

Sambusa show up at nearly every celebration across the Horn of Africa — small, triangular, and endlessly snackable. This version keeps the exact spice profile of the original filling while trading the wheat wrapper for an almond-coconut flour dough that fries up genuinely crisp.

What You’ll Need

Ethiopian Sambusa, Almond Flour Crust, Meat Filling

Ethiopia's answer to the samosa — crisp, spiced pastry stuffed with well-seasoned beef, built on a fry-friendly almond flour dough.

Print Recipe

Prep Time: 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes minutes

Total Time: 45 minutes minutes

Course: Appetizer

Cuisine: East African

Servings: 6 (12 pieces)

Calories: 290kcal

Ingredients

• 2 cups almond flour
• 2 tbsp coconut flour
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tbsp melted butter
• 1 pinch salt
• 1/2 lb ground beef
• 1/2 onion minced
• 1 clove garlic minced
• 1 tsp berbere spice blend
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• Salt to taste
• Oil for frying

Get Recipe Ingredients

Instructions

• Combine dough ingredients into a firm ball; chill 15 minutes.
• Brown beef with onion and garlic; season with berbere, cumin, and salt; cool slightly.
• Roll dough thin between parchment, cut into triangles.
• Spoon filling onto each triangle, fold and seal edges with a little water.
• Pan-fry in oil over medium heat, 2–3 minutes per side, until golden and crisp.
• Drain on paper towels, serve warm.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 290kcal | Protein: 14g | Fat: 24g | Fiber: 2g

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Health Benefits

• Almond flour brings healthy fats and vitamin E in place of refined wheat.
• Beef delivers iron and B12, both easy to run low on without careful planning.
• Berbere’s chili content contains capsaicin, linked to modest metabolic benefits.