Savory authentic spinach fatayer (savory hand pies) are a Levantine staple and popular throughout the Middle East and beyond. These portable pastries are delicious and can be enjoyed any time of day.
They are often served for breakfast alongside other classics like zaatar manakish, homemade labneh, cheese sambousek, Jerusalem bagels and of course hot tea.
Whether you call this spinach fatayer, spinach hand-pies, Lebanese spinach pies, Middle Eastern spinach fatayer, fatayer bi sabanekh, or simply fatayer with spinach, these baked savory pies or pastries are a crowd-pleaser and incredibly popular around the world!
It’s actually not that difficult to make and once you get the hang of it, you’ll be making them over and over again, I promise you that!
The dough for this recipe is based on my master dough recipe (Taboon) which can also be used to make Cheese Manakish, Za’atar Manakish and other variations of fatayer (cheese fatayer and Meat Fatayer).
Ingredients
This recipe comes together with staple pantry and fridge ingredients.
- Flour: Authentic fatayer dough is made with all-purpose flour or unbleached flour. But nothing is stopping you from making them healthier by substituting some of the white flour for whole wheat. You can substitute up to 25% of the flour with whole wheat if you like. You may need to adjust the liquid amount to get a supple dough, so keep that in mind if you adjust the flour type.
- Yeast: I use and recommend instant yeast, but you can use active dry yeast. If you use dry active yeast, keep the quantity the same and pre-bloom it in the warm liquid before adding it to the dry ingredients. You can also use fresh yeast, but do adjust the quantity. When using fresh yeast instead of dry, use double the amount by weight.
- Milk: The warm milk helps keep the final product soft and pliable. If you want to keep this recipe vegan, you can replace the milk with an equal amount of water.
- Spinach: The classic recipe uses fresh spinach, but you can use frozen spinach blocks too. Make sure to let it defrost and squeeze out as much water as possible from it before adding it to your pan. You can also substitute spinach entirely here with Swiss chard or kale. Also try my Greek Spinach Pie recipe.
- Spices: the classic spices used here are sumac and Baharat (Levantine 7 spice blend). You can substitute the 7 spice blend for equal parts cinnamon, cumin and coriander.
- Lemon Juice: The lemon juice brightens up the spinach mixture and helps it retain its color. You can use a splash of vinegar in place of the lemon juice if you want.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
How to Make This Authentic Spinach Fatayer Recipe
I encourage you to read through all the steps first before you start to get a better feel for this recipe.
1. Mix. In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the dough dry ingredients and mix well to combine. Add the warm water, milk and oil. Run the stand mixer with the dough hook until a ball of dough forms, about 5-7 minutes (Image 1).
2. Rise. Rub the dough ball lightly with oil on all sides and let it rise, covered, in the bowl of the stand mixer for 1 hour in a warm place (Image 2a and Image 2b).
3. Spinach filling. While the dough rises, prepare the spinach mixture. To a pan, add 2 tbsp olive oil and the diced onions. Sautee for 2 minutes until translucent. Add the cleaned spinach in batches and wilt it down. Continue cooking until all the liquid has evaporated. Add the spices and lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Set aside to come to room temperature (Image 3).
4. Divide and Shape. After the bread dough has risen to about double its original size, divide it into 12 pieces (for standard size) or 18 pieces (for minis). Shape each piece of dough into a tight ball and rest them on your kitchen counter for 10 minutes, covered, so that the gluten can relax (Image 4).
5. Flatten. Preheat your oven to 425F (220C). Using a rolling pin, flatten the dough balls into a ¼ inch (0.6cm) thick. Place the dough circles on a parchment paper lined baking sheet (Image 5).
6. Fill and Shape. Add some of the spinach mixture to the center of the dough circle. Pich the dough disk in a way to form a triangle shape (Image 6).
7. Egg wash. Place the hand pies on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Brush the dough with egg wash (Images 7a-7c).
8. Bake. Bake in a preheated oven until the dough is golden brown and serve warm or at room temperature (Image 8).
Expert Tips
- Skip the mixer. You can mix this dough by hand in a large bowl if you don’t have a stand mixer. Make sure to knead it for a full 5 minutes after it comes together on your countertop.
- Skip the dough. Not a fan of making your own homemade dough? No problem. Use store-bought pizza dough instead. It won’t be exactly the same but it will be close enough.
- Grease the work surface. If you find that the dough is sticking to your work surface, use a bit of oil instead of flour to keep things loose and moving. If you use flour, it could change the consistency of the dough.
- Flip the disk! You’ll find that after rolling out the disk, the bottom of it will be sticky whereas the top will be smooth. By flipping it upside down (sticky side up), it will be a lot easier for you to seal the seams!
- Use a pizza oven! If you have one, use a woodfired or gas pizza oven to bake the pastries. This will give it a more authentic flavor. You’ll have to adjust the recipe directions accordingly.
Recipe FAQs
A toaster oven, an air fryer, or a standard oven is the best way to reheat fatayer. If you use a microwave they may become mushy and unappetizing.
If you’re looking to save some time, you can make the dough 1 day ahead of time and let it rise in the fridge overnight. This longer, slower rise is actually beneficial in many ways and the result will be a much easier-to-digest bread for those with gluten sensitives. Just use half the amount of yeast if you plan to let the dough rise in the fridge overnight.
These spinach hand-pies can be stored in an airtight container and refrigerated for up to 5 days. Though I am not a fan of freezing, they can also be frozen in a freezer bag for up to 6 months and reheated in a toaster oven.
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Spinach Fatayer (Levantine Savory Hand Pies)
Ingredients
For the dough
- 3 cups All purpose flour – 420 grams
- 2 ¼ tsp Instant yeast – 7 grams
- 1 tbsp Sugar – 12.5 grams
- 1 tsp Kosher salt – 5 grams
- ½ cup Water, warmed – 120 grams
- ½ cup Milk, warmed – 120 grams
- ¼ cup Olive oil – 53 grams
Cheese Mixture
- 2 tbsp Olive oil – 30 ml
- 1 Medium onion – Finely chopped
- 16 Ounces Fresh spinach – Bagged spinach typically comes in 8 oz bags. You will need 2 bags.
- 1 Lemon – Juiced
- 2 tbsp Sumac
- ½ tsp Baharat spice Blend (Optional) – You can use equal parts cinnamon, cumin and coriander spice
- Salt and black pepper to taste
Garnish
- 1 Egg – Beaten
Instructions
- Mix. In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the flour, yeast, sugar, salt and mix well to combine. Add the warm water, warm milk and olive oil. Run the stand mixer with the dough hook until a ball of dough forms, about 5-7 minutes. If you find the dough is sticking to the sides, add more flour, one tablespoon at a time.
- Rise. Rub the dough ball lightly with oil on all sides and let it rise, covered with a tea towel, in the bowl of the stand mixer for 1 hour in a warm place.
- Spinach filling. While the dough rises, prepare the spinach mixture. To a pan set on medium heat, add 2 tbsp olive oil and the diced onions. Sautee for 2 minutes until translucent. Add the cleaned spinach in batches and wilt it down. Continue cooking until all the liquid has evaporated, 5-8 minutes. Add the spices and lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper to taste. It should be slightly sour. Set aside to cool.
- Divide and Shape. After the bread dough has risen to about double its original size, divide it into 12 pieces (for standard size) or 18 pieces (for minis). Use a kitchen scale here if you want your fatayer to be evenly sized. Shape each piece of dough into a tight ball and rest them on your kitchen counter for 10 minutes, covered, so that the gluten can relax.
- Flatten. Preheat your oven to 400F (205C). Using a rolling pin, flatten the dough balls into a ¼ inch (0.6cm) thick. Place the dough circles in one layer on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. You may need to do this in steps or using multiple baking sheets. NOTE: You'll find that after rolling out the disk, the bottom of it will be sticky whereas the top will be smooth. By flipping it upside down (sticky side up), it will be a lot easier for you to seal the seams in the next step!
- Fill and Shape. Add 1-2 tablespoons of spinach mixture to the center of the dough circle. Pich the dough disk to seal it to the middle and then bring the other side of the disk to the center to form a pyramid or triangular shape. Pinch the seams well so that they don’t open while baking (Take a look at the photos above).
- Egg wash. Brush the pastry with a beaten egg.
- Bake. Bake in a preheated oven for 10-12 minutes or until the dough is golden brown. Keep an eye on your oven, you may need to adjust the time and or temperature to avoid burning. Serve warm.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like this recipe? Rate & comment below!
Really delicious and a total crowd-pleaser! I did the overnight fridge rise for the dough, which was a joy to work with. I wanted to make these vegan, so used soy milk in place of the milk in the dough and 2 Tbs soy milk + 1 tsp maple syrup in place of the egg wash. These substitutions worked beautifully. My fatayer opened up a bit while baking, which was absolutely just user error in sealing. Be serious about pinching the seams! They still looked beautiful with the filling peeking out, and it didn’t cause a mess in the oven or during eating, so no problem really.
Thank you for the feedback, Evonne! Yes, it is important to pinch hard so that the shape holds. Or the trick is to use the sticky side of the dough disks. So if you roll out the dough circle you will notice the sticky side is against the counter. Just flip the circle over, fill and pinch it.
delicious! Thanks for the photos (esp how to shape these.) I LOVE this bread dough and these hand pies were yummy and easy.
Thank you Margaret! -Luay