Lebanese Spinach Pies, also known as Fatayer Bi Sabanekh in Lebanon, are tasty savory pastries made from dough and spinach. These pastries are soft and have a sour zing to them. These homemade dough stuffed with spinach, onion and other ingredients are a staple of Lebanese cuisine. They are absolutely delicious and can be frozen and reheated any time.
What are Lebenese Spinach Pies
Spinach Pies are very nutritious. The stuffing is made from spinach, which is full with amazing benefits, caramelized onions, tomatoes, black pepper, salt, and sumac and lemon juice to give it the citrusy flavor. Some people also add citric acid in place of the lemon juice to make them more sour and less moist.
Fatayer pies can be made with endless stuffing options but the most popular ones are spiced ground meat, cheese and spinach filling.
How to make Lebanese Spinach Pies
The first thing to do is to prepare the dough this way you prepare the filling while the dough rises.
Dough Ingredients
Mix the yeast, warm water and sugar in a cup and let it sit for 10 minutes until the yeast mixture rises and doubles in size. This step is important to make sure the yeast is active.
In an electrical mixing bowl, add all the dry ingredients in. Start by adding in the yeast and mix, then gradually add in the warm milk and oil gradually. Continue kneading the dough for 1-2 minutes until the dough collect well.
Remove the bowl out from the mixer and collect with your hand to make a round dough. Return to the bowl, cover with a towel or plastic wrap for 45-1 hour until the dough doubles in size. As shown in the photo below.
While you wait for the dough to rise, let's make the filling!
How to make Spinach Fatayer Filling
Ingredients
First thing I like to do since I use fresh spinach is to sauté the chopped spinach and shrink them. Next, set on a strainer and allow the liquids to drain and the spinach to cool.
Meanwhile, caremalize the diced onions with 1 tbsp. of olive oil. This is just to soften up the onion a little so they are not crunchy. Once this step is done, dice the tomatoes.
Let's get back to the spinach. At this point they are cool enough, and you will drain them one more time by squeezing them with your hands to remove all the excess water or use a towel cloth.
All the main ingredients are ready to combine now. In a bowl, place the spinach, onions, tomatoes, salt, sumac, black pepper, cayenne pepper (optional). If you are using citric acid, place in now. Mix to combine well. Set aside. If you are using lemon juice mix in right before you are ready to fill the pies.
Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees.
Let's get back to the dough. Remove it from the bowl, sprinkle some flour on it and knead a little bit with your hands on a marble slab or cutting board to deflate it. Cut up the dough and form into small even balls.
You can also roll the dough into a big piece and cut out 3 inch circles with a cookie cutter or some sort of round lid like a mason jar lid. This will prevent you find rolling each dough at a time.
Using a normal kitchen teaspoon place a heaping teaspoon of filling on the dough. Wrap the dough in the form the shape shown in the photo. You basically pick up two sides of the round dough and close them together then close the back part to form a triangle like shape. Make sure you pinch the edges very well to seal it and prevent it from opening. Repeat for the reminder of the dough mixture.
Place the pieces on a large sheet pan or two lined with a parchment paper leaving 1 inch apart. Brush generously with lightly flavored olive oil and bake in the oven for 10 minutes, then brush with more olive oil and continue baking for another 5-10 until they get a light golden brown color depending on your oven.
Remove the pies from the oven and allow them to cook for a minute or two before serving. Serve with some lemon wedges. Enjoy these Lebanese Spinach Pies (Fatayer) as an appetizer, snack or side dish at any time.
Expert Tips and Notes.
- Drain the spinach really well to prevent the pies from getting soggy bottom. This will ruin the pies.
- Roll the dough as thin as you can. This will making the pies so much softer and crispier and give it a flaky texture.
- Use warm milk and water only for the dough.
- Do not skip the sumac, this gives a citrus flavor to the filling.
- To make it more sour, use one less lemon and add 1 tsp. citric acid.
- Add 1 tsp. paprika for a little bit of color and 1 tsp. to add extra heat.
Freezing and Storing Tips
- You can store them in an airtight container or zip lock freezer bag after they cool completely. Place a parchment paper over the pies if you are placing on top of each other to prevent hem from sticking to each other.
- If you are making these to freeze, undercook for 5 minutes to allow them to fully cook when ready to reheat. Cook at the same temperature. This will prevent the pies from drying up when reheating. Brush with some lightly flavored olive oil and bake for another 10 minutes when you complete the cooking.
Substitutions
- You can used frozen spinach if you cant get fresh spinach. Squeeze out all liquids. But fresh is highly recommended.
- You can use Rhodes dinner roll dough (the Orange color 36/pack) if you don't want to make your own dough. Be sure to thaw, let it rise, and then thinly roll it.
- Can substitute lemon for citric acid. Please taste to tell how much you need.
- Do not substitute fresh onion with frozen onion or omit.
- Do not replace fresh tomatoes for canned tomatoes.
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Lebanese Spinach Pies
Ingredients
Spinach Filling
- 2 lbs fresh spinach roughly chopped
- 2 tbsp olive oil (to saute the spinach)
- 3 medium vine tomatoes petite diced
- large onion diced and caramalized
- 2 tbsp sumac
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1/4 cup lemon juice or replace with 1.5 tsp citric acid
- 1 tsp salt
- 3/4 tsp cayenne pepper (optional to add heat)
- 2 tbsp pomegranete molasses (optional)
Dough
- 4 cups all purpose or bread flour
- 1 cup warm milk
- 1/3 cup warm water
- 1/2 cup vegetable or canola oil
- 2 tbsps sugar
- 1 1/2 tbsp active yeast
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 cup lightly flavored olive oil for brushing only
Instructions
Making the dough
- Mix the yeast, warm water and sugar in a cup and let it sit for 10 minutes until the yeast mixture rises and doubles in size. This step is important to make sure the yeast is active.
- In an electrical mixing bowl, add all the dry ingredients in. Start by adding in the yeast and mix, then gradually add in the warm milk and oil gradually. Continue kneading the dough on low speed for 1-2 minutes until the dough collect well together.
- Remove the bowl out from the mixer and collect with your hand to make a round dough. Return to the bowl, cover with a towel or plastic wrap for 45-1 hour until the dough doubles in size.
Making the filling
- Heat 1 tbsp. of olive oil in a large pot and sauté the chopped spinach to shrink them. Next, set on a strainer and allow the liquids to drain and the spinach to cool.
- Once this step is done, dice the tomatoes.
- Let's get back to the spinach. At this point they are cool enough, and you will drain them one more time by squeezing them with your hands to remove all the excess water or use a towel cloth.
- All the main ingredients are ready to combine now. In a bowl, place the spinach, onions, tomatoes, salt, sumac, black pepper, cayenne pepper (optional). If you are using citric acid, place in now. Mix to combine well. Set aside. If you are using lemon juice mix in right before you are ready to fill the pies.
Assembling the Spinach Pies
- Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees.
- Let's get back to the dough. Remove it from the bowl, sprinkle some flour on it and knead a little bit with your hands on a marble slab or cutting board to deflate it. Cut up the dough and form into small even balls.
- You can also roll the dough into a big piece and cut out 3 inch circles with a cookie cutter or some sort of round lid like a mason jar lid. This will prevent you find rolling each dough at a time.
- Using a normal kitchen teaspoon place a heaping teaspoon of filling on the dough. Wrap the dough in the form the shape shown in the photo. You basically pick up two sides of the round dough and close them together then close the back part to form a triangle like shape. Make sure you pinch the edges very well to seal it and prevent it from opening. Repeat for the reminder of the dough mixture.
- Place the pieces on a large sheet pan or two lined with a parchment paper leaving 1 inch apart. Brush generously with lightly flavored olive oil and bake in the oven for 10 minutes, then brush with more olive oil and continue baking for another 5-10 until they get a light golden brown color depending on your oven.
- Remove the pies from the oven and allow them to cool for a minute or two before serving. Serve with some lemon wedges.
Notes
- Drain the spinach really well to prevent the pies from getting soggy bottom. This will ruin the pies.
- Roll the dough as thin as you can. This will making the pies so much softer and crispier and give it a flaky texture.
- Use warm milk and water only for the dough.
rain the spinach really well to prevent the pies from getting soggy bottom. This will ruin the pies. - Roll the dough as thin as you can. This will making the pies so much softer and crispier and give it a flaky texture.
- Use warm milk and water only for the dough.
- Do not skip the sumac, this gives a citrus flavor to the filling.
- To make it more sour, use one less lemon and add 1 tsp. citric acid.
- Add 1 tsp. paprika for a little bit of color and 1 tsp. to add extra heat.
- If you are making these to freeze, undercook for 5 minutes to allow them to fully cook when ready to reheat. Cook at the same temperature. This will prevent the pies from drying up when reheating. Brush with some lightly flavored olive oil and bake for another 10 minutes when you complete the cooking.
- You can store them in an airtight container or zip lock freezer bag after they cool completely. Place a parchment paper over the pies if you are placing on top of each other to prevent hem from sticking to each other.
- Do not skip the sumac, this gives a citrus flavor to the filling. To make it more sour, use one less lemon and add 1 tsp. citric acid. Add 1 tsp. paprika for a little bit of color and 1 tsp. to add extra heat.
- You can store them in an airtight container or zip lock freezer bag after they cool completely. Place a parchment paper over the pies if you are placing on top of each other to prevent hem from sticking to each other.
Super delicious
Hi Aya,
Thank you so much for leaving a review! I am glad you enjoyed the pies!
These little pies look marvellous! We love handheld pies and spinach is always popular around here. What a lovely weekend supper this would be!
Hi Katerina!
Thank you so much for your review! I am glad you like the pies.
These were really good. We just had sooo much spinach filling leftover using fresh spinach for that amount of dough. So, we decided to serve it up as a side salad to go alongside the spinach pies.
Hi Alicia!
Glad to hear you enjoyed the pies! It's important to blanche the spinach to shrink them and then drain them. They become a very small amount. Also try to use more filling in the pies. We like ours pretty full so it doesn't feel like we are eating more dough than filling. Thanks for the review.
Cam we leave the dough un cooked for the second day? And can we add a little salt to it. I felt the dough needed a little
Hi Fatimah,
you can definitely add a little bit of salt if you like. I do not recommend leaving it uncooked. The dough continues to right and will deflate and the dough won't be soft anymore.