Easy Lebanese Pizza Recipe | simple & tasty dinner in 20 minutes! (2024)

by Denise 2 Comments

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This Lebanese pizza recipe is super easy to make and really full of flavor. They make a nice change of pace from regular pizza. The Middle Eastern spices in the meat along with the store bough bread helps you to make this tasty dinner in just 20 minutes!

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Easy Lebanese Pizza Recipe | simple & tasty dinner in 20 minutes! (1)

Every year I used to take my dad to Florida to visit his sister Margo, who just happened to be a fabulous cook. Everything she made was delicious but especially her Lebanese dishes.

And while I would never try to imitate one of her Lebanese dishes, I do feel comfortable making this easy Lebanese pizza recipe.

This is something she made for a quick dinner one night and she called them Armenian meat pies. I don’t know if technically they are Armenian, nor if they are meat pies or pizza. However I my version can be called an easy Lebanese meat pie.

As I recall, Aunt Margo had used a flour tortilla (it was a long time ago) but I decided to use naan bread. Either way you make it, it’s a delicious snack or meal.

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All the things you can do with store-bought naan bread!

I loveusing naan bread to make pizza and flatbreads. It’s the perfect texture for meat pies too. I’ve made this , and last year this .

One of the reasons for my obsession with flatbreads is that naan bread is readily available at Aldi and Costco and I shop there often. They have a great chewy texture and the flavor to me is just tasty.

Recipe ingredients I used.

I’m making these Lebanese meat pies from memory but below you can see what I used. The ingredients are lean ground beef, onion, tomato paste, cinnamon, parsley and naan bread.

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As you can see these are simple ingredients and you can easily buy them in Aldi or more grocery stores. Note that I am use naan bread and not pita bread. The naan is much more chewier and tastes more like pizza bread.

How to make Lebanese pizza.

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F degrees.
  2. In a food processor add parsley and onion and pulse until it’s finely chopped.
  3. Next add the ground beef to the food processor bowl and pulse a few times to mix with the parsley and onions. You don’t want to over process the meat as it might make it tough.
  4. Spoon the meat mixture into a mixing bowl along with the spices and tomato paste.
  5. Mix well with your hands.
  6. Take some of the meat mixture and spread over naan bread using your hands to smooth and even it out.
  7. Spray baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray.
  8. Also spray the outer crust with the cooking spray and place the meat pies on the baking tray.
  9. Place in the oven for 10 minutes or until meat is brown and cooked. (Please scroll down to view and print the recipe card.)
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And that is all there is to it. It is really tasty I’m telling you. There is something about both the tomato paste and cinnamon that give the meat a bit of sweetness and compliments the onion and parsley.

It’s a bit like kofta spread out on chewy naan bread and it’s a winning combination.

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What you can use instead of naan bread.

Another option you can use are flour tortillas. I think that is what my aunt used and so I tried both of those and the naan bread today.

I personally like the naan bread much better because the tortilla is a bit thin for the heavy meat. However it was also good. I would recommend not putting as much meat on the tortillas if you are using them. Here is what they look like.

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As you can see my meat layer was a bit thick. Next time I would make it a bit thinner. Still the meat mixture is so tasty and so simple.

Easy Lebanese Pizza Recipe | simple & tasty dinner in 20 minutes! (10)

I hope you like these easy Lebanese meat pies recipe using naan bread. It’s great for those throw together meals on busy days. Enjoy!

Easy Lebanese Pizza Recipe | simple & tasty dinner in 20 minutes! (11)

Easy Lebanese Pizza or Meat Pies

Yield: 8

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 20 minutes

These easy Lebanese meat pies are full of flavor and make a delicious change of pace for a week night dinner. The Middle Eastern spices in the meat go perfectly with the chewy naan bread that acts as a crust or flatbread. Easy and tasty dinner!

Ingredients

  • 1 pound lean ground beef
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 3 oz tomato paste, (half of a regular 6oz can)
  • 1 onion
  • 1 cup fresh parsley
  • 8 naan bread, more or less depending on size

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
  2. In a food processor add the parsley and onion and pulse until it's finely chopped or minced.
  3. Add the ground beef to the food processor pulse a few times to mix with the parsley and onions. Do not over process as the meat may get tough. You want it to be a little pasty.
  4. Add meat mixture to a large bowl along with the spices and tomato paste and mix well with hands.
  5. Take some of the meat mixture and spread over naan bread using your hands to smooth and even it out.
  6. Spray baking sheet with non stick cooking spray.
  7. Also spray the outer crust of the naan bread with cooking spray and place the meat pies on the baking tray.
  8. Place in the oven for 10 minutes or until meat is brown and cooked through.
  9. Let cool before eating.

Notes

Note the number of pizzas you make will be determined by the size of the naan bread. I bougth mine at Aldi and there were 4 to a package and were roughly 5 inches in length. I have seen both smaller and larger ones in stores.

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 8Serving Size: 1 grams
Amount Per Serving:Calories: 410Total Fat: 12gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 7gCholesterol: 50mgSodium: 743mgCarbohydrates: 49gFiber: 3gSugar: 5gProtein: 26g

wp-recipe-maker/recipe {“id”:15435

Easy Lebanese Pizza Recipe | simple & tasty dinner in 20 minutes! (12)

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Nutritional information for the recipe is provided as a courtesy and is approximate only. You should always do your own calculations if you are concerned about the accuracy of this or any recipe. I use the Lose It app for all of my nutritional information because I have for years.

Comments

  1. Heather McKie

    One thing I have used is frozen raw bread buns, I just thaw out a bit then roll them out in a circle, put the filling on top, put them in the oven. If you don’t find them big enough just combine two frozen raw bread rolls together to make them bigger. Cheers!

    Reply

    • Denise

      That’s a great idea Heather! Thanks for sharing.

      Reply

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Easy Lebanese Pizza Recipe | simple & tasty dinner in 20 minutes! (2024)

FAQs

What is the Lebanese version of pizza? ›

A simple way to describe Manoushe is a Lebanese pizza. It consists of a flatbread base with various toppings. The most common topping is Za'atar, a mixture of thyme, sumac, and sesame seeds. However, depending on personal preferences, it can also include cheese, ground meats, or assorted vegetables.

What meat is used in Manoush? ›

The meat is commonly lamb or beef, the vegetables are usually onion, capsicum and tomato, and herbs can include parsley, mint and cilantro.

What are traditional Lebanese foods? ›

Chickpeas and parsley are also staples of the Lebanese diet. Well-known dishes include baba ghanouj, tabbouleh, sfeeha, falafel and shawarma. An important component of many Lebanese meals is hummus, a chickpea puree dish, and many dishes are eaten with flatbread. Well-known desserts include baklawa, sfouf and ka'ak.

What does Zaa mean pizza? ›

ZA (often styled in print as 'za) is a slang shortening of the word pizza.

What is the difference between Manakish and Manoushe? ›

Manakeesh is also known as “Manoush”, “Manaeesh”, and “Manakish”. It can be described as a flat baked dough with toppings, just like a pizza – which is why it is often referred to as 'Lebanese Pizza'.

Is Zaatar Lebanese food? ›

It is used to make the popular Za'atar blend (of the same name, and also known as Zoubaeh), used in Levantine/ Middle Eastern cuisine, and more. The traditional Lebanese za'atar mix is made with the sun-dried za'atar herb, salt, toasted sesame seeds and sumac spice. It is a staple in the Middle Eastern pantry.

What is Lebanon unique food? ›

9 Ridiculously Good Lebanese Foods You Need to Try
  • Kafta. The kafta is a happy little lamb, beef or chicken meatball, filled with onion, parsley, breadcrumbs and spices. ...
  • Kanafeh. Sweeten up your day with this sugary cheese pastry smothered in orange blossom syrup. ...
  • Hummus. ...
  • Rice Pilaf. ...
  • Fattoush. ...
  • Manakish. ...
  • Tabbouleh. ...
  • Sfeeha.
Jul 25, 2022

What do you call Arabic pizza? ›

Manakeesh. Popular throughout the Middle East, manakeesh is a round, pizza-like Lebanese flatbread made with a simple dough and topped with olive oil and various toppings, typically za'atar — a blend of wild oregano, toasted sesame seeds and sumac — and a brined cheese known as Akkawi.

Is manakish a pizza? ›

Manakish with Cheese: Manakish (also pronouned as Manaeesh) is a Lebanese pizza or flatbread made with a soft dough and topped with vario...

What is berber pizza called? ›

Traditionally baked in the sands of the Sahara, Moroccan madfouna is locally joked as being the Berber take on pizza and is sliced into pieces to be shared among many.

What is a Fatayer pizza? ›

Fatayer is called the Egyptian pizza and has almost the same ingredients as of an Italian pizza, the only difference is that Italian pizza has all the toppings on the outer side of the bread whereas Fatayer has all the ingredients stuffed inside the bread.

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