Lebanese meat pies (sfeeha or fatayer) are a traditional dish fit for the family. It is savory bread dough filled with a ground beef mixture with Mediterranean spices and lemon then baked to perfection.
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What is a sfeeha? Lebanese Meat Pies (aka Fatayer, or sfiha)
Lebanese meat pies, or sfeeha, are savory bread dough rolls filled with a Lebanese meat filling of either ground beef or ground lamb, onions and Mediterranean spices, as well as pine nuts. These delicious meat pies are a Middle Eastern staple. They are also know as fatayer, but fatayer can also include a different kind of filling with spinach, cheese.
When I think of Lebanese food and family functions, it cannot be complete without Lebanese meat pies. These are so traditional and a staple in any Lebanese home. Usually it is made with ground lamb, but after my family immigrated to the U.S. they began to use beef instead of lamb.
If your child is a picky eater, try this recipe. It is delightful and it's rather addicting. A whole recipe makes about 36 meat pies and our family of 6 eats most of them in one sitting.
This dish is a little time consuming, so grab your helper, and make sure to make the full recipe! They can always be frozen after baking them. They reheat perfectly in the oven.
If you are not familiar with Lebanese food, please check out my article "The Ultimate Guide to Lebanese Cuisine"!
What are the ingredients for sfeeha?
The ingredients for the most typical meat fatayer, or sfheeha, inlcudes: bread dough, lean ground beef or ground lamb, onions, ground black pepper, salt, pine nuts (or in this recipe celery) and lemon juice.
How to make Lebanese meat pies
Start off with one large package of frozen yeast dough balls. I find this at my local grocery store, I buy the store brand. They come with 36 in a package so it is perfect to make with this recipe. Put them in the fridge for several hours to thaw. If you want to make these completely from scratch, then make it with the dough recipe from my Pita Bread recipe.
But for ease of use, get the frozen store-bought dough rolls!
In a pan on medium heat, brown the ground beef with the chopped onions, celery (or pine nuts), cinnamon, salt and pepper. THAT SMELL IS AMAZING!!! I'm pretty sure that this ground beef mixture is one of the best aromas on earth.
When the ground beef is browned, drain the grease and squeeze the lemon into the meat mixture and mix well. Let it cool off for 10-15 minutes before filling the bread dough rolls.
Video of how to fold meat pies
Roll out the dough into a thin ⅛ inch circle, using flour if need be. Put 1 Tbls. of the meat mixture into the center. Fold together the top, making a crease down to the middle, then fold the bottom into the middle, making another crease and it becomes a triangle. Follow the steps below.
Place each meat pie on a non-stick baking sheet. After they are all assembled, cover the meat pies with a kitchen towel or with plastic wrap and let them rise for 45 minutes.
Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. These are soooooo delicious! You won't be able to stop eating them! Serve them with some Lebanese Labneh or with this Mint Yogurt Sauce!
Are sfeehas freezer friendly?
YES! This is one thing I LOVE about this Lebanes Sfeeha recipe! Go head and freeze the leftovers after they are already baked! You can freeze them in a plastic zipper bag for up to 3 months.
How to thaw and reheat frozen meat pies
Take the meat pies from the freezer and transfer them onto a baking sheet. Bake in a preheated oven until they are heated through, or for about 10-15 minutes. They should taste just as fresh as when they were prepared.
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Lebanese Meat Pies
Ingredients
- 1½ lb. lean ground beef
- 1 large onion chopped
- 2 stalks celery chopped
- 2 teas salt
- ½ teas pepper heaping
- ½ teas cinnamon heaping
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice or the juice of one lemon
- 1 package frozen yeast dough balls (about 36)
Instructions
- Thaw the frozen bread dough
- Brown and drain ground beef, celery, onions, salt, pepper and cinnamon together
- Add lemon juice and stir, let it cool for 10-15 minutes before stuffing the dough balls
- Roll the dough ball to about ⅛ " circle using flour if it sticks
- place 1 tablespoon of meat mixture in the middle
- fold into a triangle using these steps
- place assembled meat pies on a non-stick cookie sheet
- cover with a towel and let rise for 45 minutes
- bake at 350° for about 25 minutes or until golden brown
Freezer Instructions
- Follow all of these steps but only bake it bout 15 minutes. Pull it out before it's all the way done and let it cool
- Freeze in a freezer bag
Thawing Instructions
- Pull out of the freezer and place on a baking sheet for about 45 minutes
- Bake in the oven at 350° for about 15 minutes or until golden brown
Roselyn Franke
Sounds great but does look a little labor intense; however, thanks for sharing. If I wanted to use lamb, could you provide the spices to use please?
Emily A
Hi Roselyn, If you were to use lamb the recipe would stay the same, cinnamon, salt, pepper and lemon, and of course the onions and celery as well
judean
I have never tried a meat pie! I love bread and ground meat so I think this would be delish!
Sabrina DeWalt
My husband loves Jamaican Meat Pies. I bet he would really enjoy these as well.
Beth
These look just delicious and I'm so impressed at how clear you were able to make the process in a 25-second video!! I'm definitely checking out other recipes.
Emily A
Thank you Beth!
Alexis Farmer
I’ve never had these but will definitely be making them because they look so yummy!
Barbara
Looks great!
Eva
These look delicious! I love bread, especially warm and stuffed bread! There was a Lebanese restaurant across the street from my high school and I used to take friends there all the time to work on projects or homework since all the other students would go to the McDonalds next door.
Emily A
I would DEF go to the Lebanese restaurant. haha
Sarah Camp
Oh my goodness - I am so making this! I love cuisine from around the world but usually the recipes look complicated (to me - as I have hardly any skills in the kitchen haha). This looks like one I could do! Thank you!!
Emily A
It is sooooo yummy! and no strange ingredients either
Myrka
These remind me of empanadas with bocadillo. I have never tried Lebanese dishes and I love trying food from all over the world. I am terrible at cooking but great at eating! lol. I will try to make these. If you open up a restaurant, please let me know and I will go eat!
Emily A
HA! I don't think I'm cut out for restaurant life however I'll keep making it look good online. Thanks!
Angela
A great comfort food meat pie!
Carrie Beaton
These look delicious. They remind me of Beerrocks. I will definitely want to try these to see how they compare!
Cindy Mailhot
We have had these when traveling and loved them! Looks easy enough to make at home...may give that a try!
Annette
These are soo cute!!! Perfect for little hands, too.
Emily A
They are! I make them with my kids all the time!
Tara
Ohhh! These look really good and quite simple! I'll have to try them out!
Katherine Scheri
My grandmother would not cook the meat prior to filling The dough. That way you get a little bit of caramelization on the bottom of the Dough.
She also exclusively use Lamb and she would add yogurt to the lamb along with the pinenuts cinnamon salt pepper garlic and onions. It gave the Meat a little twang And really enhance the flavor. She also paired it with spinach pies which was just a little bit of yogurt spinach and onions. She would use fresh spinach and she would sauté that slightly so they would wilt and she would drain it very well. To that she would add yogurt onions and pinenuts lemon juice cinnamon
She would serve it with a cucumber yogurt salad where the cucumbers were shredded with garlic and lemon juice. Absolutely the most fond memory that I have a family meals on Sunday
Emily Ackerman
I love how everyone's family does it slightly different. Some of my relatives would make it with yogurt as well, or even open face meat pies. YUM!