Ground meat stuffed pita bread baked into a delicious handheld sandwich. This arayes recipe is quick to prep and easy to serve as a main meal or as an appetizer.
Pitas aren’t solely meant for falafel. They can substitute bread in any sandwich. Making a easy handheld & possibly mess free meal.
But did you know you could cook in them too?
What are arayes?
This popular Middle Eastern street food is made from a mixture of ground meat stuffed inside a pita pocket. It’s assembled with raw meat and the pita is grilled/pan fried to cook through.
Arayes recipe ingredients
- pita bread – regular or whole wheat. Thin, 7 inch pitas were used in this recipe. You can substitute with other sizes as well. That may make more/less pitas and the you’ll want to modify the cooking times accordingly. If they are much smaller, only cut them in half before filling with the ground meat mixture.
- ground meat – 85% lean/15% fat beef
- onion – peeled and minced. The small pieces help it evenly distribute into the meat mixture.
- parsley – chopped, use the leaves for this recipe and save the stems for another use (like this Parsley Pesto or Spicy Chimichurri) or freeze them for future soup making.
- spices – including ground cumin, turmeric, paprika, granulated garlic, kosher salt & coarse black pepper
- oil spray or use a brush to coat some onto the pan and pitas
How to make meat stuffed pita
Pita triangles
Start by cutting the pita bread into quarters, using either a sharp knife or a pair of kitchen scissors. Cut the pita round in half. Then cut each piece in half again. Creating pita triangles.
Herbs for meat mixture
Set the pitas aside, preheat the oven and prepare the sheet pan. You want to do this step first so that once your hands are dirty from touching the meat you can go straight into filling the pita.
Place the ground meat to a large bowl. Mix in the onions, parsley and spices.
Stuffed pita time
Once combined, take a pita triangle and spread a layer of the meat mixture inside. Close the pocket and press together lightly with your hands to help spread the meat. Place onto the sheet pan and repeat with the remaining pitas, until all the meat is used.
Spray each pita with oil. Bake in a preheated oven for 15 minutes per side.
Some grease will pool in the pan while cooking. This can help crisp the pita bread. If it looks like too much, use a paper towel to absorb some of it when you flip the pitas over.
Watch how to make this arayes recipe
Yes, this arayes recipe can be frozen raw. After the pita triangles are stuffed with the meat mixture, transfer them to the freezer in a single layer (on a sheet pan or freezer bag). Once they are frozen they can all be transferred to a freezer bag.
When ready, cook them straight from the freezer. Follow the baking directions below, plus an additional 5-10 minutes.
Save any extra pita bread for another recipe (see some ideas below) or freeze them (unused) for a future batch of arayes. You can leave them in the original packaging but make sure to securely close the bag. Let them thaw at room temperature or microwave (on defrost) until they are pliable.
Other Pita Recipes To Try
Arayes
Ground meat stuffed pita bread baked into a delicious handheld sandwich. This arayes recipe is quick to prep and easy to serve as a main meal or as an appetizer.
Ingredients
- 2½ pitas (7 inch)*
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 small onion, minced (120 grams/1 cup)
- ½ cup (20 grams) chopped parsley leaves
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon coarse black pepper
- ½ teaspoon granulated garlic
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric
- oil spray
- For serving (optional) tahini and sauerkraut
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F. Line a large sheet pan* and spray with oil.
- Cut pita into quarters. Set aside.
- In a mixing bowl, combine the ground meat, minced onion, parsley and spices. Fill cut pita triangles with a layer of the meat mixture. Place onto prepared baking sheet. Spray each pita with oil.
- Bake 15 minutes on each side.
Notes
Pita Sizing: they amount of pita bread you need might be different depending on its size. The ones used here were 7 inches (diameter). You could use also use less filling in each one.
Lining the Baking Pan: these are more likely to stick on foil than parchment paper
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 10 Serving Size: 1 triangleAmount Per Serving: Calories: 185Total Fat: 10gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 40mgSodium: 155mgCarbohydrates: 10gFiber: 1gSugar: 1gProtein: 14g
LOOKING FOR MORE RECIPES?
Check out the recipe index where you can find the latest recipe or browse by meal type or category!
