Lebanese Meat Pie Recipe (2024)

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Lebanese Meat Pie Recipe, otherwise known as Sfeehas, are triangles of bread dough that are baked with a rich, warm flavored ground beef mixture. Serve your meat pies with yogurt, hummus and a tabbouleh salad. The leftovers freeze great for later!

LEBANESE MEAT PIE RECIPE

When I think of a Lebanese Meat Pie Recipe it brings back wonderful memories from childhood.

There was a lot of lebanese cooking going on in my family, especially when we visited my grandma’s house.

We often called them Fatayer, but I have also heard them called Sfeeha.

My family loves making a big batch of these for family events because they are always a favorite with kids and adults.

We serve our meat pies with plain yogurt, grape leaves, Hummus, Tabbouleh and Lebanese Green Beans.

The perfect Lebanese meal if you ask me!

Lebanese Meat Pies use simple ingredients.

They are triangles of baked dough that are filled with a warm, rich flavored beef meat filling mixture of onions, garlic, spices and the ground beef.

Last week I shared a recipe for a lebanese spinach pie also knows as spinach fatayer that we also make a lot.

I like to make both Spinach and Meat Pies so people have options and can eat both if they want.

WHAT INGREDIENTS ARE IN MEAT PIES?

GROUND BEEF: The meat pies I grew up eating used ground beef. I use a lean ground beef but you can use any fat content you want. Just make sure to drain the fat so the meat pies don’t get soggy.

ONIONS: The sautéed sweet onions are a nice addition to the meat pies. You could also use yellow onion, red onion or shallot. If you don’t like onion just leave it out.

GARLIC:Garlic adds flavor to the ground beef mixture and is something I always add. Feel free to add more or less depending on your love for garlic.

SPICES: When I make the ground beef mixture I use cinnamon, cumin, allspice and cloves. I love the way those spices work together to create a warm, rich flavor. You can modify to your tastes.

DOUGH:You can use a homemade dough or buy a store-bought dough to use in this recipe. To save time I like to buy the Rhodes Roll Dough that is frozen and portioned into small rounds.

When you are ready to make your fatayer you will remove the dough and let it thaw and rise for 3 to 4 hours before making the spinach pies.

HOW TO MAKE THIS LEBANESE MEAT PIES RECIPE

PREPARE DOUGH: Place frozen dough in your refrigerator 6 to 12 hours before using. Dough will not rise, but will be thawed and ready to use.

CREATE DOUGH BALLS: Spray two baking trays with non-stick spray. Lay out the dough on the tray if not using the frozen rolls and cover with a kitchen towel to rise for about 1 hour.

When the dough has doubled in size form the dough into 2 inch round balls and make about 24 of them. Cover with kitchen towel for another 30 min to rise again.

If using the frozen roll dough place 24 of the frozen dough rolls on the sheet pan.

Spray the top of the dough with non-stick spray and cover with plastic wrap. Let the dough thaw and rise, which takes about 2 to 3 hours.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

PREPARE BEEF MIXTURE: In a medium skillet heat 2 Tablespoons olive oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and onion and saute for 2 to 3 minutes or until soft.

Add the ground meat mixture and the spices and continue to cook until the meat is browned. Drain the fat from the ground beef and place in a mixing bowl.

PREPARE MEAT PIES: Set out of a large cutting board or another work surface that has space to roll out the dough. Flour the surface you’re working on. Use a rolling pin to roll each dough round out so there are three sides.

FILL DOUGH WITH MEAT MIXTURE: Fill each dough round with enough beef mixture to fill the dough but leave room around the edges to close the meat pie.

CREATE MEAT PIE: Bring the three sides of the dough together to a point in the middle. Use your fingers to pinch the dough together and make sure they are closed completely.

Spray the each meat pie with a bit of olive oil or use a brush to brush them with olive oil. Place on a baking sheet.

BAKE FATAYER: Bake for about 20 minutes, or until just the edges of the dough are just golden brown. To get a nice golden brown on the edges you can turn the heat up to 450 the last 2 minutes of baking.

Remove from oven and let cool for a couple of minutes.

Serve warm or freeze for later.

WAYS TO MODIFY THESE FATAYER

SPICES: Change up the spices that are used with the ground beef. If you have a favorite spice blend you like try using that. Another idea is to use a shawarma seasoning on the beef or add sumac or za’atar.These are great spices to have on hand for middle eastern food.

PINE NUTS: Add pine nuts into the beef mixture. It adds a nice crunch to the meat pies.

FETA: Feta is a great addition to meat pies. I add it on top of the ground beef mixture right before baking the meat pie.

TOMATOES: Use tomatoes in the ground beef mixture. You will want to make sure if you use diced tomatoes that you drain the juices from them so that the meat pies don’t get soggy.

HEAT: Spice up the ground beef mixture by adding additional cayenne pepper or crushed red pepper. You could also add chopped jalapeños into the beef mixture when you cook it.

PROTEIN: You can swap the ground beef for ground lamb, ground chicken, ground turkey or ground pork.

POMEGRANATE MOLASSES: I love using pomegranate molasses in Mediterranean recipes. I use it in this Easy Arabic Salad and it adds a nice sweetness. It would be great in these meat pies. I suggest adding it in after cooking the ground beef.

HOW TO FREEZE FATAYER

These are great to freeze for later. I make a double batch so I have some for later.

Make sure you completely cool the spinach fatayer . Once cooled, wrap each individually in plastic wrap or aluminum foil. This helps to prevent freezer burn but isn’t necessary if you don’t want to do this.

Place them in a freezer bag or freezer safe container.

These will last in the freezer for up to 3 months.

THAWING AND REHEATING:

When yo are ready to eat spinach fatayer you can thaw them in the fridge overnight. You then can slowly reheat them in the oven at 200 degrees until heated through, air fry them or microwave them.

WHAT SHOULD I SERVE WITH LEBANESE MEAT PIES?

Fattoush : A healthy Middle Eastern Salad with a light, lemony vinaigrette dressing. This Fattoush Salad mixes crisp romaine, fresh vegetables, pita chips and a light lemony sumac dressing and is great with fresh farmers market vegetables.

Tabbouleh:Tabbouleh is a fresh, light salad mixing tomatoes, parsley, mint, green onions, bulgur wheat along with a light lemon olive oil dressing. A great side to any meal or a main dish for lunch!

Persian Cucumber Salad: Persian Tomato Cucumber Salad is a fresh, light salad mixing tomatoes, cucumber, red onion,jalapeño, fresh mint and parsley and topped with an olive oil lemon dressing.

Lebanese Green Beans: Lebanese Green Beans are a warm, spiced green bean dish, combining tomatoes, green beans, cinnamon and cumin. These pair great as a side dish to your weeknight meals!

Hummus: Hummus pairs great with any Mediterranean meal. Feel free to dip your spinach pie in the hummus for extra flavor!

Spicy Potatoes: Spicy Lebanese Potatoes are crisp on the outside, tender on the inside and will spice up any meal. The sauce on these potatoes is the star featuring coriander, paprika, cayenne pepper mixed with olive oil and lemon juice.

OTHER BEEF RECIPES YOU MIGHT LIKE:

MEDITERRANEAN GROUND BEEF ZUCCHINI SKILLET

MEDITERRANEAN GROUND BEEF STUFFED PEPPERS

BEEF KAFTA KABOB RECIPE

SLOW COOKER MEDITERRANEAN BEEF MEATBALLS

KIBBEH RECIPE

LEBANESE BEEF AND GREEN BEANS

BEEF KAFTA MEATBALLS

Yield: 24

Prep Time: 1 hour

Cook Time: 35 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 35 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 package of dough or 1 package of Rhodes 36 count frozen dinner rolls
• 1 to 1 1/2 pounds of ground beef {I used 80/20}
• 1 sweet onion, finely chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 2 Tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon allspice
• 1/4 teaspoon cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper {optional}
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper

Instructions

1. Place frozen dough in your refrigerator 6 to 12 hours before using. Dough will not rise, but will be thawed and ready to use.
2. Spray two baking trays with non-stick spray. Lay out the dough on the tray if not using the frozen rolls and cover with a kitchen towel to rise for about 1 hour. When the dough has doubled in size form the dough into 2 inch round balls and make about 24 of them. Cover with kitchen towel for another 30 min to rise again.
3. If using the frozen roll dough place 24 of the frozen dough rolls on two of the baking sheets. Spray the top of the dough with non-stick spray and cover with plastic wrap. Let the dough thaw and rise, which takes about 2 to 3 hours.
4. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
5. To prepare the beef mixture: In a medium skillet heat 2 Tablespoons olive oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and onion and sauté for 2 to 3 minutes or until soft. Add the ground beef or lamb and the spices and continue to cook until the meat is browned. Drain the fat from the ground beef and place in a mixing bowl.
6. To prepare the meat pies: Set out of a large cutting board or another work surface that has space to roll out the dough. Flour the surface your working on. Use a rolling pin to roll each dough round out so there are three sides.
7. Fill each dough round with enough beef mixture to fill the dough but leave room around the edges to close the meat pie.
8. Bring the three sides of the dough together to a point in the middle. Use your fingers to pinch the dough together and make sure they are closed completely.
9. Spray the each meat pie with a bit of olive oil or use a brush to brush them with olive oil.
10. Bake for about 20 minutes, or until just golden brown. To get a nice golden brown on the edges you can turn the heat up to 450 the last 2 minutes of baking.
11. Remove from oven and let cool for a couple of minutes.
12. Serve warm or freeze for later.

Notes

To freeze your spinach pies let them cool completely and then either store them in the freezer in an airtight container or a ziplock bag. When I am ready to use the meat pies I will let them thaw overnight in the fridge and then reheat them in the oven.