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Make a delicious and easy fatayer recipe with sumac, spinach, and onion. These Lebanese spinach pies are perfect for a snack, appetizers, lunch, and more!
I absolutely love fatayer (pronounced ‘fat-tah-y-er’)! Every time my mom makes them, she prepares a big batch, and they vanish before you know it. And whenever one of us is about to travel, she prepares some for us to take along—a little piece of home to carry with us.
These Lebanese spinach pies also freeze really well—I can just bake them and enjoy them whenever I want. The smell of fatayer in the oven brings me right back to Lebanon, reminding me of my mom and the warmth of her hands making them.
Fatayer is a staple in Lebanese meze and appetizers. We often serve it during festive occasions or big family dinners. Its savory zingy fillings and crispy texture make it the perfect addition to a spread of delicious small dishes, like hummus and tabbouleh, bringing flavor and tradition to the table.
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Watch the fatayer recipe video
The ingredients
For the Filling
- Spinach: I love to use fresh spinach leaves.
- Salt: Needed to macerate the spinach.
- Sumac: The star ingredient will give a tangy, almost citrusy flavor.
- Onion: I like using red onion, but you can also use white, yellow onion, or shallots.
- Olive oil.
- Lemon juice.
- Pomegranate molasses: Optional.
For the Dough: I usually make the dough at home, but you can also use store-bought pizza dough. To make it from scratch, you need:
- Flour: Use plain all-purpose flour.
- Cornstarch: It helps get a nicer, crispier crust when baked.
- Active dry yeast: Make sure it’s not expired.
- Sugar: Just a bit of sugar is needed to feed the yeast.
- Salt.
- Neutral oil: You can use vegetable oil, olive oil, or another neutral oil.
- Luke-warm water: This will help activate the yeast. Make sure it’s just warm and not hot.
How to make fatayer
Make the dough: First, make the yeast mixture. Combine the water, sugar, and yeast in a bowl, stir, and set aside for 5-10 minutes. During this time, the yeast will activate and become bubbly.
Then, sift together the dry ingredients (flour, cornstarch, and salt) in a large bowl. When the yeast is ready, add it and the oil to the flour and mix well. It’s easy to use a spatula to incorporate the ingredients first. Then, use your hands to form a sticky dough.
Next, knead the dough for 5-10 minutes till soft and elastic. Shape it in a ball, place it in an oiled bowl, and rub the top with a bit more oil to prevent drying. Cover the bowl with a kitchen towel or muslin cloth and leave the dough to rise for 45-60 minutes in a warm location. After it’s doubled in size, it will be ready to use.
Prepare the spinach: While the dough is resting, prepare the spinach. First, wash well and chop the spinach finely. If your spinach has long stems, remove them—we only want the leaves. Then, place it in a bowl and sprinkle the salt on top. Set aside for 10-15 minutes to macerate—this will help the spinach to release its liquid content.
Make the spinach filling: While waiting for the spinach, finely chop the onions and, if needed, juice your lemons. Then, squeeze the salted spinach with clean hands to remove as much of the liquid as possible, then place it back in the bowl.
Next, mix all the filling ingredients (spinach, onion, pine nuts, olive oil, lemon juice, sumac, and optional pomegranate molasses). Mix well to incorporate. If you want, taste the mixture and adjust the seasoning.
Shape and assemble the pies: When the dough has doubled in size, it’s ready to roll – it should be very fluffy and airy. At this point, you can preheat the oven to 350ºF/175ºC and grease a baking tray with some oil.
Roll the risen dough thinly using a rolling pin (or glass bottle), about 1/8th inch (2-4 mm). Then, cut out circles. Depending on the size of the fatayer you want to make, you can use large cookie cutters, a mug, or a bowl to help you make the shapes. I like to make mine about 4 inches (10 cm) in diameter. Collect the extra dough, knead it to make a uniform ball, and roll it out to cut out more circles.
Next, add 1-2 tablespoons of the vegetarian fatayer filling to each circle and fold in a triangular shape. Pinch two sides together, then fold over the third side and pinch it all together carefully so the pastry doesn’t come loose in the oven.
Bake: Brush each pie with some oil. Then arrange them in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet and bake at 350ºF/175ºC for 15-20 minutes until golden brown. The fatayers are ready when they turn golden brown and are heated through. You can enjoy them right away or at room temperature.
Recipe tips
- Squeeze the salted spinach: Salt will help remove the water content from the spinach leaves (and season it, too). Once salted and macerated, squeeze it hard. This ensures the spinach pies don’t become soggy while baking.
- The dough should be thin! The dough should be thin! The key is to roll it out as thin as possible to ensure a crispy texture.
- For large batches: Divide the dough into portions and keep unused ones covered with a damp towel or plastic wrap. This will prevent the dough from drying before you’re ready to roll and shape it.
FAQs
Fatayer are great for parties (finger food everyone will enjoy) or as a quick snack (you can even eat it cold). You can enjoy them with a refreshing side of homemade yogurt, ayran, cucumber yogurt salad, or even tzatziki sauce. And, of course, they are perfect to add to a mezze spread.
Fatayer is great for meal prepping and can be made ahead of time. To store, place the pies in an airtight container or a sealable bag and keep them in the fridge for up to 5 days. If you want to keep them longer, freeze them for up to 6 months. When you’re ready to enjoy, reheat them in the oven at 300°F/150ºC—10 minutes for fresh fatayer or 15 minutes for frozen—until they’re warmed through and crispy.
You can use frozen spinach, too. Make sure to thaw it first and squeeze out all its liquid before you proceed with the recipe as usual.
More Lebanese dough recipes
If you try these fatayer Lebanese spinach pies, let me know how it goes in the comments below. I’d appreciate a recipe card rating and would love to see your recipe recreations – tag me on Instagram @Alphafoodie!
Fatayer (Lebanese Spinach Pies)
Ingredients
For the dough
- 8 cups white flour plain white or white bread flour
- 1/2 cup cornstarch
- 1 Tbsp salt
- 2.5 cups water lukewarm
- 2 tsp dry yeast
- 2 Tbsp sugar
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
For the filling
- 2 lb spinach
- 4 tsp salt
- 9 oz onion 2 small red or yellow
- 4 Tbsp olive oil plus more for greasing
- 4 Tbsp lemon juice from 1 large lemon
- 2 Tbsp sumac
- 2 Tbsp pomegranate molasses optional
Instructions
Make the dough
- In a small bowl, combine the water, sugar, and dry yeast. Set aside for 5-10 minutes to activate the yeast.
- In a large bowl, sift together the flour, cornstarch, and salt. Add the yeast mixture and the oil and mix well until a sticky dough forms.
- Knead the dough for 5-10 minutes till soft and elastic.
- Place it in an oiled bowl and rub some more oil on top of it. Cover the bowl with a kitchen towel or muslin cloth. Leave it to rest for 45-60 minutes in a warm location to rise.
Make the filling
- Wash well and chop the spinach finely. Transfer it to a bowl and sprinkle with the salt. Set aside for 10-15 minutes.
- Finely chop the onions and, if needed, juice the lemon.
- Squeeze the salted spinach with clean hands and remove as much of the liquid as possible.
- In a large bowl, mix well the spinach, onion, olive oil, lemon juice, sumac, and optional pomegranate molasses.
Shape and assemble the pies
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF/175ºC. Grease a baking sheet with oil.
- Roll the risen dough thinly using a rolling pin (or glass bottle) to about 1/8th inch (2-4 mm). Then, cut out circles of about 4 inches (10 cm) in diameter. Collect the extra dough, knead it to make a uniform ball, and roll it out to cut out more circles.
- Add about 1-2 Tbsp of the spinach mixture to each circle (make sure to leave a margin) and fold in a triangular shape. Pinch two sides together, then fold over the third side and pinch it all together carefully to secure the pastry.
Bake the pies
- Brush the pies with some olive oil and arrange them in a single layer on the baking sheet.
- Bake the fatayer at 350ºF/175ºC for about 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.You can enjoy them right away or at room temperature.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
These look so good, can’t wait to try them! Are they crispy when baked, or is the yeasted dough softer like a pizza crust? Do you think it would work with sourdough?
Hey Stephie! The dough is definitely softer like a pizza crust when baked, but they still have a nice bite to them. And yes, you can totally use sourdough! It’ll add a lovely flavor. Let me know how it turns out!
Delicious, my husband and family loved them! And so easy
Thank you for your comment. So happy you enjoyed the recipe!
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Do we need to activate the yeast ? Add it to warm water and sugar for 10 minutes ?
Hi there,
No you can just mix all the dry ingredients for the dough together and then add the warm water and oil and mix well. Make sure to follow the correct steps from here on. I hope this helps 🙂
I’ve been craving tangy spinach fatayer for a while, so decided to try making my own and they were delicious! I’ve never made my own dough or cooked with dry yeast before, but this recipe was so simple and easy to follow. Thanks for posting! I’m definitely making this recipe again.
Thank you for your comment, Merryn. So glad you enjoyed the recipe 🙂
My boyfriend and me just tried this Fatayer recipe for dinner and are absolutely amazed with the results, Samira! We will definitely do them again very soon, Thank you so much for sharing!
Thank you so much, Maria Gabriela! I am so happy you two enjoyed the recipe.