Lahmajeen Meat Pies
Picture a crispy yet fluffy thin-like pizza bread topped with minced meat that’s seasoned to perfection and packed with veggies! Whether you call it lahmajeen, lahmacun, sfeeha, meat pie, or pide, it is delicious in every way, shape, and form. Enjoy it with breakfast or as a snack throughout the day!
If you’ve traveled to some countries in the Middle East or been to a Middle Eastern bakery/restaurant, you’ve probably seen some sort of version of this meat pie! In Turkey, they call it pide or lahmacun, and it’s boat-shaped, in Lebanon and many countries in the Levant, they call it lahmajeen or sfeeha. There are so many names and so many variations and today’s version is equally delicious! Let’s make it.
Making the Dough
If you have ever made pizza dough, the process for this recipe is very similar! It is pretty easy to make and comes together quickly. There is just a bit of downtime but that gives you an opportunity to prep some other components of the recipe like the cheese filling.
To a large mixing bowl, add the all-purpose flour, salt, instant yeast, lukewarm water, olive oil, and plain whole milk yogurt. Bring the dough together using a hook attachment on a stand mixer or use a wooden spoon/rubber spatula. You can also knead it by hand. Knead together for about 2 to 3 minutes until you have a soft and elastic dough. It should be a bit sticky but not difficult to handle. If it is too sticky, add a tablespoon of flour and combine as needed.
Transfer the dough to a well-greased bowl, cover it, and let it rest in a warm place for an hour or until doubled in size. In the meantime, while the dough is rising, it is the perfect time to prepare the meat filling!
The Meat Filling
What makes this recipe so special is all the deliciousness that is packed into the meat filling! From all the spices to the peppers, fresh garlic, and herbs, it is spiced to perfection and bursting with flavor.
HERE ARE THE INGREDIENTS YOU NEED:
- ground beef
- red bell pepper
- roma tomatoes
- parsley
- garlic
- jalapeños
- tomato paste
- pomegranate molasses
- spices
To a mixing bowl, add the ground beef, diced red bell pepper, diced roma tomatoes, chopped parsley, minced garlic, diced jalapeños, tomato paste, and pomegranate molasses. For the spices, we’ll be adding Aleppo pepper, chili powder, cumin, coriander, black pepper, onion powder, salt, and allspice. There is a lot of chopping of veggies and herbs involved but it is worth it!
NOTE: Aleppo pepper is completely mild! You can find it at most Middle Eastern supermarkets but if you’re not able to get your hands on it, swap it for paprika and a dash of cayenne powder.
Instead of ground beef, you can also swap it for ground lamb or use a 50/50 combination of both!
Assembling & Baking
Once the dough and meat filling is ready, preheat the oven to 475°F.
After the dough is doubled in size, punch it down and divide it into 12 equal portions. Pinch each piece into a tight round ball. Dust the balls with some additional flour. If you want to make bigger pies, divide the dough into 6 or 8 pieces. For smaller individual appetizer portions, divide into 12.
Stretch or roll each piece out into a thin circular shape using floured hands. You can make the circles as big or as small as you’d like depending on how many pieces you divide the dough into.
Add a generous amount of meat filling all across the dough and press tightly into the dough. Transfer to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Brush the edges with milk or heavy cream. Another option is to beat together an egg to make an egg wash and use this to brush the edges. Repeat with the rest until all the dough is used.
Bake in the oven for 11 to 12 minutes until golden brown on the edges. Take out of the oven, allow to cool for a few minutes, and then enjoy warm! I like to add a bit of cucumber yogurt on top, quick pickled red onions, more tomato, and a bit of mint.
IF YOU HAVE ANY LEFTOVERS, just transfer them to a Ziploc bag or air-tight container and keep them in the fridge. To reheat, pop in the air fryer for a few minutes or toast it on a skillet or in the oven!
Watch How to Make It
Other Recipes Like This to Try
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Ingredients
DOUGH- 2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour, more as needed
- 1/2 tablespoon salt
- 1/2 tablespoon instant yeast
- 1 cup lukewarm water
- 1/2 tablespoon sugar
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons plain yogurt
- 1 pound ground beef, 80/20
- 1 red bell pepper, chopped
- 2 roma tomatoes, diced
- 2 tablespoons parsley, finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon garlic, minced
- 2 jalapeños, seeds removed and diced
- 2 to 3 teaspoons Aleppo pepper
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon coriander
- 1 teaspoon allspice
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon pomegranate molasses, optional
- milk or heavy cream, for brushing the dough
- additional flour, as needed
Instructions
MAKE THE DOUGH- Add the all-purpose flour, salt, instant yeast, lukewarm water, sugar, olive oil, and plain yogurt to a large mixing bowl.
- Bring the dough together using a hook attachment on a stand mixer or a wooden spoon/rubber spatula. You can also knead it by hand. Knead together for 2 to 3 minutes until you have a soft, elastic dough. It should be a bit sticky but not difficult to handle. If it is too sticky, add a tablespoon of flour as needed.
- Transfer the dough to a greased bowl, cover it, and let it rest in a warm place for an hour or until double in size.
- To a large mixing bowl, add the ground beef, red bell pepper, tomatoes, parsley, garlic, jalapeños, chili powder, cumin, coriander, allspice, salt, black pepper, onion powder, salt, tomato paste, and pomegranate molasses.
- Combine together and set aside.
- Preheat oven to 475°F.
- After an hour, punch down the dough and divide it into 12 equal portions, pinching each piece into a tight ball. Generously flour the dough balls.
- Stretch each piece out into a very thin circle, adding flour as needed.
- Add a generous amount of beef filling to cover the whole circle and press down well so the meat sticks to the dough.
- Transfer to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Brush the edges with milk or heavy cream. Repeat with the rest.
- Bake in the oven for 10 to 12 minutes until golden brown on the edges.
- Take out of the oven, allow to cool for a few minutes, and then enjoy warm!
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WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THIS RECIPE?
HI, I’M HAJAR
Welcome to Moribyan! This is my blog where I love to share all my favorite recipes and lifestyle tips with you all. If I’m not cooking here, I’m either at Trader Joe’s, the gym, or eating a bagel.
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I’ve made these twice now and they are delicious! I omit the tomatoes and tomato paste due to my husband’s sensitivity, but even with those omissions, they are so good! I’ve made the grinder sandwich from this site also and it is a repeat as well. I’m excited to try more of your recipes!
Made these for a dinner and they were such a crowd pleaser 🙂 the pomegranate molasses is a perfect ingredient to add. I served it with a parsley yogurt sauce and some sumac marinated tomatos and onions
made these tonight from your recipe with only very few omissions (didn’t have jalapeños!) and they were absolutely delicious! and quite simple!
These came out so well. As promised crunchy and fluffy. Ma sha Allah it was an amazing iftar.
Very delicious! This is better than the recipe that my parents used to make for me growing up. I found that I had too much filling for the amount of dough made by the recipe, so I ended up making some extra fatayer on regular pita bread. These are also much better fresh out of the oven so eat them hot!!
Delicious!! I just used whatever Arabic spices I had on hand, and used chipped onion and tomato. It was fantastic and so easy! Can’t wait to make for Ramadan.
WAS SOOO GOOD. My husband was very impressed, I make many recipes from this site because its one of the few sites that use adequate seasoning for my taste. Flavors are complex enough that you can really wow guests. I didn’t need to add anything once the dish was done, no salt or pepper it was perfect as is.
You have to use a timer or you will burn the dough! LOL. I didn’t have the pomegranate item I used jam, I know thats not idea but I HAD to make the recipe and I didn’t want to wait. I will get it though because this will me in my family meal prep list.
Great looking and very simple. I always stay away from dough making process. However, you made it look so easy. I definitely will give this recipe a try. Thank you for posting it.