Cevapi/Cevapcici/Croatian Sausages

This cevapcici recipe is probably the best homemade sausage recipe I know. It's easy to make, incredibly hearty, and flavorful, and it's a success with anyone who has ever tasted it.

You definitely have to try them this summer. They are really summer food for me; I always associate grilled sausages with hot Romanian summers, cold drinks, and garlic sour cream sauce.

The Croatian cevapi or cevapcici are also very similar to the Romanian "mici" or "mititei", which are THE BEST grilled sausages if you ask me. 🙂 But I might be biased here... 🙂

What are cevapcici or cevapi?

Cevapi or cevapcici are grilled sausages made of ground beef and pork, seasoned with garlic and paprika. Originally, these sausages were made with ground lamb, but nowadays, beef or pork are more common.

They are very common not only in Croatia but pretty much in all the other former Yugoslavian countries. Also common in countries around former Yugoslavia, like Romania - mici, Bulgaria - kebaptscheta, or Albania - kebape.

This cevapcici recipe is very similar to Turkish meat rolls or beef kofta. They originated in the Balkan area during the rule of the Ottoman empire, who had a century-long influence all through these Balkan and South European countries.

Here are another few Ottoman-inspired recipes that you will probably find variations of in the Balkan area and throughout the South European region: Savory Cheese Pie with Quark, Zacusca, Sarmale, or Turkish Sarma.

Recipe ingredients

Spices: Spice the sausage thoroughly with sweet paprika, hot paprika, sweet smoked paprika, Vegeta, salt, and pepper (the Amazon affiliate links open in new tabs).

Vegeta: Another "spice" I use when making the cevapi is Vegeta. (the Amazon affiliate link opens in a new tab). Vegeta is a Croatian all-purpose seasoning used to flavor almost any meal. It can be added to soups, sauces, stews, and rice dishes, sprinkled on meat, salads, bread spreads, and so on.

If you cannot find or don't want to buy it to make just this particular recipe, you could easily replace it with vegetable stock powder.

Onions: Make sure you chop the onions as finely as possible. There are quite a few of them in the sausages, and it is not nice if the pieces are roughly cut.

See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.

How to make cevapcici?

Step #1: Combine all ingredients in a large bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 1-2 hours.

Step #2: Take about ¼ cup (50-55 g) of the meat mixture and form the cevapi into rolls about the thickness of your thumb and 3-4 inches (7-10 cm) long. I made 18 sausages with this recipe, but you can easily double it.

Step #3: Grill the cevapi on a hot grill pan or barbecue for 12-14 minutes, turning several times until browned and cooked through. Check doneness by cutting one in the middle. Grill the next batches.

Good to know!

The cevapcici recipe is simple, with just one thing that makes it very different from other kinds of homemade sausage. The sausages are made with baking soda, which helps tenderize the ground meat, making the cevapi less dense, lighter, and softer. So good! You should definitely not leave the baking soda out. You could make the cevapi without it, but you will definitely miss something.

cevapcici sausages grilling in a grill pan.

How to serve?

Well, there are lots of possibilities. One possibility would be to serve them with Djuvec rice. You could also serve the cevapi or cevapcici with ajvar, chopped onions, sour cream, feta, and flatbread.

In Romania, we would serve our version of cevapcici - mici with mustard or garlic sauce made with only grated garlic, salt, water, and white bread.

And you should definitely make a Shopska Salad on the side. This is the way we had them most of the time when on holiday in Croatia: Cevapi with rice, raw onions, and ajvar on a large plate and shopska or white cabbage salad on the side! Delicious!