Lebanese Spinach Pies

These Lebanese Spinach Pies, also known as Spinach Fatayer or Fatayer bi Sabanekh in Arabic; are one of my favorite Lebanese side dishes. I could eat them everyday! Spinach pies make a perfect portable snack, you can pack them in your kid’s lunch box or eat them on the go!

If you have not tried spinach fatayer, you’re in for a treat! This Lebanese spinach pies recipe is a delicious savory Middle Eastern pie.

Today, I’m sharing my family’s favorite fatayer recipe, with step-by-step photos. Making this recipe is so much easier to make than you think!

What is Lebanese Spinach Pies?

Lebanese Spinach Pies or spinach fatayer are a stable in Lebanese cuisine, made with spinach, onion, olive oil and sumac mixture, baked inside a homemade pastry dough to create a delicious vegetarian meal. These spinach pastries are soft, tangy and delicious.  They  freeze great too!

The Fatayer Dough Recipe: 

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 minutes of kneading, and 3 hours to rise.  If you don’t have the time to prepare homemade dough, you can use ready-made pizza dough or frozen rolls as an alternative. 

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 or diced. 

• Cut spinach into small pieces and place in a large bowl  and 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 Homemade Lebanese 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 Lebanese spinach triangles 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!          

TIPS FOR MAKING THE BEST FATAYER:

• Remove as much liquid as possible from the spinach. Make sure to use your hands to squeeze out as much liquid as possible so the pies don’t get soggy and open up in the oven while baking.
• Add some crumbly feta cheese to the spinach mixture, if you’d like.
• Make it faster using store-bought pizza dough. While nothing beats homemade fatayer dough, it is fine to use store bought dough for this recipe, especially if you’re in a rush!

Making Spinach Fatayer Ahead of Time: 

The good news is that you can make these Lebanese fatayer ahead of time, you can store in the fridge for up to 5 days in an airtight container.  They are also freezer friendly, Once the fatayer pies have been baked allow them to cool. Place in an airtight freezer safe container separating layers with parchment paper. Freeze for up to 3 months. Reheat in the oven or in the microwave before serving .

How to Serve Lebanese Spinach Pies: 

These Lebanese spinach triangles also taste great both warm and at room temperature. Serve with yogurt, hummus or Fattoush Salad.

Looking for more Lebanese Fatayer Recipes:

Zaatatar Manaqish

Lahm bi Ajeen- Lebanese Meat Pies

Cheese Manakish 

If you make this authentic Lebanese Spinach Pies recipe, then don’t forget to snap a photo and hashtag it #thesaltandsweetkitchen — I would love to see your creations on Instagram and Facebook! 

The Best Middle Eastern Spinach Pies Recipe

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Lebanese Spinach Pies

Yield: 12

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Additional Time: 4 hours

Total Time: 4 hours 45 minutes

These delicious Lebanese Spinach Pies or fatayer bi sabanekh make the perfect breakfast, snack or side side dish!

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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
• 3 tablespoons plain yogurt

For the Filling

• 1 large onion – Diced or cut into fine wedges
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 2 lbs spinach – Chopped into small pieces
• 1/4 cup sumac
• 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

Instructions

Prepare the the Spinach Pies Dough:

1. In a small bowl, combine warm water, sugar and yeast. Set aside for 10 minutes to foam.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, salt, warm milk, yogurt and vegetable oil.  Work the mixture with your hands.
3. Pour in the yeast mixture and continue mixing until a soft dough forms.
4. Continue kneading the dough until its feels elastic, smooth, and no longer sticks  to your hands, this step will take about 5 minutes.
5. If after kneading, the dough is still too sticky for you, you can sprinkle just a tiny bit of flour and knead some more.
6. Shape the whole dough into a round shaped dough.
7. Pour 1 teaspoon olive oil on dough and spread it so the whole top of the dough is covered with oil evenly.
8. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and the bowl with its lid.
9. 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 Spinach Pies Stuffing Mixture:

1. 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:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 ° F. Line a baking sheet with a lightly greased parchment paper.
2. Punch down the dough and form into 12 small balls.
3. Arrange on lightly floured surface and sprinkle some flour on top too.
4. Cover again with a towel and leave to rise for another 30 minutes.
5. 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.
6. Add about 1-2 tablespoons filling in the center of each circle. Leave a 1 inch border around.
7. 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.
8. Arrange the stuffed pies in a single layer onto the prepared baking tray.
9. Bake until golden, about 15 minutes.
10. Repeat the process with the remaining circles and the remainder of the dough.
11. 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.

Recommended Products

The recommended products below are affiliate links to products I use and love!

• 
  Farberware 47139 Colorvive Nonstick Baking Sheet / Cookie Sheet / Cookie Pan - 11 Inch x 17 Inch, Brown

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 12 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 250Total Fat: 17gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 14gCholesterol: 2mgSodium: 866mgCarbohydrates: 42gFiber: 4gSugar: 5gProtein: 9g

Please note that the nutrition label provided is an estimate based on an online nutrition calculator. It will vary based on the specific ingredients you use.

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