Sfeeha (Middle Eastern meat Pies)
Good morning lovely friends! Today, I present to you Sfeeha (Middle Eastern Meat Pies) which are Palestinian open-faced meat pies. These savory pies which you can call Middle Eastern meat pizzas are to die for any time of the day. I especially love them for brunch or as a snack. The sfeeha dough is fluffy and soft while the meat topping is full of flavor. This one is my husband’s favorite among the various Middle Eastern pies. He can quite literally eat these by the dozen. Yesterday, the weather was gloomy and snowing in Chicago, which made for the perfect day to stay in and bake with my husband.
I added the easy dough recipe below, which is delicious for pizza nights too! This pizza dough bakes super fluffy and melts in your mouth. I use it often for many savory baked goods. It is fabulous stuffed like a calzone or spinach pie or topped like a pizza or in this case-Palestinian sfeeha. The meat pie recipe has its own recipe card below. Combine the two, and you have a killer savory meat pie. These are delicious on their own but work well with Arabic salad and/or yogurt as well for some freshness. I especially enjoy them with a warm cup of mint tea.
Tips for making Sfeeha (Middle Eastern Meat Pies)
- The leaner the meat the better in this case. If ground beef has a high percentage of fat then it is likely to lose its shape after baking on the flatbread. I typically use 90/10 ratio.
- Make sure to remove any excess liquid from the salsa after pulsing. If too wet, it will release the liquid while baking on the flatbread and not give you the best results.
- Some people like to use lamb for sfeeha. I personally prefer beef or a mixture of beef and lamb but this is up to you.
- These are best enjoyed warm, but leftovers can easily be frozen and reheated to enjoy at any time.
If you want to learn how to make za’atar manakish, cheese pies, and spinach moaganat, check out my homemade fatayer post. I would love to see your creations, please share on my Instagram page and let me know below what you think or if you have any questions.
Easy Dough
Ingredients
- 5 cups All-Purpose Flour
- 1 tbsp Salt
- 2 tbsp Sugar
- 1/2 cup Olive Oil
- 2 cups Water, lukewarm
- 1 packet Fast Rising Yeast about 2-3 tsp
- 2 tbsp Dried Milk Powder optional, does add extra fluffiness to the dough however
Instructions
- This recipe can either be done by hand or using the dough handle for the Kitchenaid.
- First, mix together in the desired bowl the yeast, sugar, salt, milk powder, lukewarm water, and 2 cups flour until well combined.
- Cover with a towel and allow this to rest for 15 minutes.
- Then, add the olive oil and the remaining 3 cups of flour to the dough. It may be easier to do so one cup at a time. Use either dough hook or hands to bring this together.
- If the dough is too sticky at this point, add a pinch of flour to work with it.
- Shape it like a big ball and cover it with a towel for 1 hour.
- Divide it into smaller balls (around 25) for meat, spinach, za'atar, and cheese pies and rest for another 45 minutes covered with a towel preferably in a warm area. If using for pizza dough, just divide dough in half for 2 large pies.
- When ready to bake the desired pie, place in a 350 F oven for about 20 minutes for the savory pies and around 25-30 minutes for a large pizza. Keep an eye on it after 20 minutes.
Sfeeha (Middle Eastern Meat Pies)
Ingredients
- 1 lb Ground Beef You can also use ground lamb or mix the two.
- 1 tsp Pomegranate Molasses
- 1/2 tbsp Seven Spice
- 1/2 tbsp Allspice
- 1 tbsp Chili paste
- 1 tbsp Tomato Paste
- 1/2 tsp Ground Cinnamon
- Salt & Pepper to taste p
Salsa Mixture for the meat
- 1 Tomato
- 1 Onion
- 1 cup Fresh Parsley
- 2 Garlic cloves
Instructions
- Process the ingredients for the salsa in a food processor. Drain the veggie mixture from its excess liquid.
- Add all the ingredients for the meat and 4-5 tbsp of the salsa mix to the meat and mix together very well.
Assembly & Cook time
- Once the dough is ready, flatten out the ball sized dough into what looks like a thin pita shape. Top it off with a spoonful of the meat mixture and spread that around the center but leaving 1 inch around the edges. Repeat this step with all the dough.
- Bake in a 350 F oven for 20-25 minutes until browned at the bottom and broil for another 1 minute to brown the top.
Made these for my family last night!! I’m
Not very good with dough and making breads but this recipe of dough was sooooooooo gooood and so easy can’t believe how fast I was able to get dinner ready. These meat pies were sooo yumm,easy and quick. My 11 year old daughter actually said they taste better than restaurant!
Made meat pies for family and cheese pies for my toddler! Def recommend their recipe! The for sharing!!
I am so thrilled to hear that! I love when the entire family enjoys a recipe 🙂
Omg this dough was amazing! I am wondering can I store the dough? If so how and for how long? Thanks for the amazing recipe! You have a new fan!
Is the milk powder necessary?
Is there a substitute for the milk powder?
No, but it does allow for a fluffier dough!
We made your dough recipe to make Lebanese meat pies. They were delicious and the majority of it was because of your dough recipe! I am going to use it to make pizza and maybe even something for dessert. Thanks again for your delicious recipe!
I am so happy to hear you enjoyed my dough recipe! Thanks for the kind review, Julie!
Great recipe!!
So thankful for your blog. The kids asked for pizza but your Instagram is disabled 😑. I came right here and found what I needed. Great recipe, great results.
Great recipe! I had leftover dough that I made rosemary and sundried focaccia bread. Great for pizza as well!
Thank you Sandra, yes it makes for a great pizza dough!
What is a good substitute for the Pomegranate Molasses? Thanks
Hi Kimberly,
I would just omit the ingredient if you don’t have any on hand.
My go to recipe for when I have some ground meat and no idea what to make. super quick and easy as a grab and go lunch for the next two days as well!
Love that! Try my Arayes recipe sometime when you have extra meat; it’s fantastic too!
I made these meat pies for the first time in my life and they turned out to be a hit!! The dough itself is so tasty, like nothing before. Haifa’s recipes are truly the best!
Thanks for the lovely review, Yasmine!
Can you freeze the dough
Hi Jehan,
I have never frozen dough but you can refrigerate it for one day, My suggestion is to make the sfeeha and freeze the sfeeha instead.
I made the beef mixture with ready made dough- it was delicious!!! I’m excited to try it with the dough recipe in the future iA. Thank you for another amazing recipe!
Yum!!!
I learn to make sfeeha with my grandmother here in Brazil. Your dough recipe is very good! Here in Brazil I made the ground beef normally with lemon juice, mint leaves, seven spices, tomatoes, onions, garlic and parsley. Thanks for the recipe and for the website!
My pleasure, Daniel! Whar a lovely combo for the meat.
Should i cook the meat first to prevent it from shrinking in the oven?
You can definitely do that but cook it halfway so it finishes cooking while it bakes and doesn’t dry out.
Live it can’t wait to try! What’s the chili paste you’ve used?
Hi Dina,
I use shatta, harissa, or sambal!
Hi how can I prevent the meat from shrinking ?
Hi Dunia,
A few things. You can either partially cook the meat first. You must drain excess liquid from the salsa mix and meat. You should use lean ground beef as it has less fat. The fat releases when it cooks causing shrinkage. I typically use 90/10. If there is shrinkage, I spread out the meat after baking with a spoon and it is as if nothing happened!
Hi just wondering if this dough could be used for spinach pies as well? i looked at your spinach pie dough and it was a bit different.
Hi Julie.
Yes, it can but you can also check out my fatayer dough and use that too. Either would work.
I used the dinner rolls as my dough but the meat for the pies was so juicy! So glad to have your blog!
Okay I have to say the sfeeha meat filling is delicious! My family and I enjoyed the sfeeha pies as dinner with a quick salad next to it and we’re so happy with the results. The pomegranate molasses really gives it the flavor.
This recipe was great. I’ve always thought bread was intimidating but the step by step made it easy for me. My whole family loved them!