Arayes: the tasty recipe for making Lebanese meat-stuffed pitas

Arayes is an easy, tasty Lebanese street food recipe. It's basically meat-stuffed pitas usually served as an appetizer, snack, or main dish. To make it, stuff a homemade pita with a spicy ground beef or kofta mixture and grill or pan-fry until crispy on the outside, but tender and flavorful on the inside.

It’s usually served with refreshing sauces like toum (Lebanese garlic sauce), tahini (sesame seed paste), or yogurt. Eat it as a snack, or add a fresh side dish and call it dinner. No matter what time of day you eat it, you’ll love this meaty, spicy dish.

What Are Arayes?

Arayes (pronounced ah-rah-yes) is a Middle Eastern street food consisting of pitas stuffed with a spicy meat mixture. The name literally means "bride and groom", and while it’s not completely clear where it comes from, it’s said that the names come from the “marriage” of meat and bread.

We don’t know the real story, but in this recipe, meat and bread do make a good pair! In Egypt, there is a similar version called hawawshi.

Arayes Ingredients

Ground meat – typically beef is used, but you can also use lean ground lamb.

Onion and garlic – add flavor; blending it in a food processor prevents large chunks of onion in the mixture.

Herbs – fresh parsley adds freshness and a touch of green.

Seasoning – this is what makes the Arayes extra special; check out the tips below for substitutions.

Pomegranate molasses – adds tanginess to the meat mixture.

Pitas – use store-bought or make your own.

How To Make Arayes

Start by mixing your ingredients. Process the onions, parsley, and garlic until fine. Then mix it with the ground beef, tomato, seasonings, pine nuts, and molasses until fully combined. Time to fill the pitas. Fill the quartered pitas with about 2 tablespoons of the beef mixture and flatten slightly.

To cook the pitas, place the filled pitas on a rack on top of a baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes at 425°F, flipping halfway through. You can also pan-fry or air fry the Arayes. To pan-fry, brush the filled pitas with olive oil and fry in cast iron over medium-high heat.

To air fry, brush the pitas with olive oil and place them in the Airfryer basket. Air fry at 375ºF for 10 minutes, flipping halfway through. If your pitas are thicker, they might require a longer cooking time.

What To Serve With Arayes

Serve the stuffed pitas on their own, or with a dipping sauce like toum (Lebanese garlic sauce), tahini (sesame seed paste), or tzatziki (cucumber and yogurt sauce).

To make it a full meal, you can add a fattoush salad, or plain cucumber and tomato salad.

Tips For Lebanese Meat-Stuffed Pitas

Make sure to use lean meat, otherwise, the Ayares will be too fatty.

If you can’t find Baharat seasoning (a Middle Eastern 7 Spice blend), you can substitute it with garam masala. You can also use equal amounts of ground coriander, black pepper, ground cloves, and ground nutmeg.

If you prefer, you can use ground lamb for the filling, just make sure to use lean lamb.

Don’t overfill the pita pocket, as it might not become crispy and will be soggy instead.

How To Store Arayes

The Arayes are best served immediately, but leftovers can be stored in the fridge for up to 3 days.

More Recipes You'll Like

• Chickpeas Falafel
• Chicken Kebab
• Seekh Kebab

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 425°F.

In a food processor, add the onions, parsley, and garlic, and pulse until fine.

Add the mixture to a large mixing bowl, together with the ground beef, tomato, seasonings, pine nuts, and the molasses (if using).

Use a wooden spoon or spatula to mix thoroughly.

Place about 2 tablespoons of the beef mixture inside each quartered pita and flatten slightly. Repeat until the beef mixture is all used up.

Place the filled pitas on a rack on top of a baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes, flipping halfway through.

Serve with your choice of sides and sauces.

Notes

If you want, you can also add all the ingredients to a food processor and pulse until fully combined.