
Spinach Pies
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These Lebanese Spinach Pies are one of my favorite Lebanese snacks. I could eat them everyday! Spinach pies also known as Fatayer bl Sabanekh in Arabic, is a popular breakfast, side dish or appetizer in Lebanon. Spinach pies make a perfect portable snack, you can pack them in your kid’s lunch box or eat them on the go!
The Dough:
The dough for this fatayer recipe is very easy to prepare. With just 6 ingredients, this dough requires just one bowl with a lid (no stand mixer, though you can use one if you’d like), about 5 of kneading, and about 4 hours to rise.
The Spinach Pies Filling:
The Spinach pies filling is a combination of spinach and onions, seasoned with salt and sumac. Sumac is the basic ingredient to this recipe. You can feel free to experiment with this recipe a bit, for example by adding some feta cheese to the filling if you want.
- Start by cutting onions into wedges.
- Cut spinach into small pieces and place in a large bowl.
- Add onions salt and Sumac spice and mix well.
- Add olive oil and mix some more until the mixture is well incorporated.
How to Make Spinach Pies:
- Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line a baking sheet with a lightly greased parchment paper.
- Punch down the dough and form into 12 small balls.
- Arrange on lightly floured surface and sprinkle some flour on top too.
- Cover again with a towel or plastic wrap and leave to rise for another 30 minutes.
- Form the spinach pies by flattening the dough balls on a floured surface into small circles with your fingertips or use a rolling pin (whatever works better for you). They will be about 6 inches in diameter.
- Add about 1-2 tablespoons filling in the center of each circle. Leave a 1 inch border around.
- Pinch together 3 edges of the circle over the center of the filling to form a triangular-shaped pie. Start by pinching two sides of each circle together and bringing the third edge a bit up to the center to close.
- Arrange the stuffed pies in a single layer onto the prepared baking tray, lined with lightly greased parchment paper.
- Bake until golden, about 15 minutes.
- Repeat the process with the remaining circles and the remainder of the dough.
- Let cool, serve and enjoy!
Looking for more Lebanese Pies Recipes
Zaatatar Manaqish
Lahm bi Ajeen- Lebanese Meat Pies

Spinach Pies
These delicious Spinach Pies or fatayer bl sabanekh make the perfect breakfast, snack or side side dish!
Ingredients
For the Dough
- 4 cups bread flour (or 3 cups all purpose flour and 1 cups wheat flour)
- 1 cup warm milk (heat it in microwave for a 20 seconds or so)
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 2 teaspoons instant yeast
- 3 tbsp warm water
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
For the Filling
- 2 large onions – Cut into fine pieces
- 1 tbsp salt
- 2 lbs spinach – Chopped into small pieces
- 1/4 cup sumac
- 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
- In a small bowl, combine warm water, sugar and yeast. Set aside for 10 minutes to foam.
- In a large mixing bowl with a lid, combine flour, salt, warm milk and vegetable oil. Work the mixture with your hands.
- Pour in the yeast mixture and continue mixing until a soft dough forms.
- Continue kneading the dough until its feels elastic, smooth, and no longer sticks to your hands, this step will take about 5 minutes.
- If after kneading, the dough is still too sticky for you, you can sprinkle just a tiny bit of flour and knead some more.
- Shape the whole dough into a round shaped dough.
- Pour 1 tbsp olive oil on dough and spread it so the whole top of the dough is covered with oil evenly.
- Cover the dough with plastic wrap and the bowl with its lid.
- Wrap container with a large towel (to keep warm) and leave to rise at room temperature for about 3-4 hours or until doubled in size.
Prepare the the Spinach Pies Dough:
Prepare the Spinach Pies Stuffing Mixture:
- In a large bowl, add spinach, onions, salt, sumac and olive oil- mix well. The mixture will be overly salty and sour ( if you decided to taste), however after baking the final product should come out just right 😉
Prepare the Spinach Pies for Cooking:
- Preheat the oven to 350 ° F. Line a baking sheet with a lightly greased parchment paper.
- Punch down the dough and form into 12 small balls.
- Arrange on lightly floured surface and sprinkle some flour on top too.
- Cover again with a towel and leave to rise for another 30 minutes.
- Form the spinach pies by flattening the dough balls on a floured surface into small circles with your fingertips or use a rolling pin (whatever works better for you). They will be about 6 inches in diameter.
- Add about 1-2 tablespoons filling in the center of each circle. Leave a 1 inch border around.
- Pinch together 3 edges of the circle over the center of the filling to form a triangular-shaped pie. Start by pinch two sides of each circle together and bringing the third edge a bit up to the center to close.
- Arrange the stuffed pies in a single layer onto the prepared baking tray.
- Bake until golden, about 15 minutes.
- Repeat the process with the remaining circles and the remainder of the dough.
- Let cool, serve and enjoy! 🙂
Notes
Any leftover spinach pies can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for around a week, or can be frozen for about 2-3 months.
If you make this recipe, then don’t forget to snap a photo and hashtag it #thesaltandsweetkitchen — I would love to see your creations on Instagram and Facebook!