Arayes (Authentic Middle Eastern Meat Stuffed Pitas)

Arayes tray with stuffed pita quarters and a tahini dipping sauce.

5 from 6 votes

Arayes (Authentic Middle Eastern Meat Stuffed Pitas)

Arayes is a popular Middle Eastern dish that consists of stuffed and grilled (or baked) pita bread filled with a mixture of minced meat, typically beef or lamb, along with various seasonings and spices. This incredibly easy-to-prepare recipe includes 2 cooking methods to suit your preferences, as well as a dipping sauce.

Prep Time15

Cook Time15

Total Time30

Course: Appetizer, Main Course, Side Dish

Cuisine: Levantine, Middle Eastern

Servings: people

Author: Luay Ghafari

Cost: $10

Equipment

Cast iron grill pan - Optional

Ingredients

1 Medium white onion - Roughly chopped
¼ cup Fresh parsley
1 ½ lbs Extra lean ground beef - You can use ground lamb or chicken too
1 tbsp Baharat (7-Spice) - or 1 teaspoon cumin, 1 teaspoon coriander, 1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tsp Garlic powder - Use more if you like garlic
1 tsp Sumac
Salt and Black pepper - start with 1 teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper. You may need more.
3-4 Thin pita breads
Olive oil for brushing

Tahini Dipping Sauce (Optional)

2 tbsp Tahini
2 tbsp Lemon juice
Cold water to thin the sauce - as much as you need to reach desired consistency
Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Process: In a small food processor, pulse the chopped onion and parsley until fine.
Mix: In a large mixing bowl, combine the ground beef, onion and parsley mixture, sumac, 7-spice, garlic powder, salt and black pepper. Mix really well. I encourage you fry up a small tablespoon of the mixture and taste for seasoning. Adjust if necessary.
Prepare Pita: Cut your pita breads in half and very carefully open them up. You can use your fingers to open them up or a butter knife. Make sure the pocket remains intact.
Scoop: Using an ice cream scoop, scoop about 2 portions of the ground beef mixture into each pita pocket.
Spread: Using a butter knife, spread the meat filling evenly and all the way around.

Cooking Method 1: Grill Pan

Grill: Lightly oil the stuffed pita halves and grill them on both sides in a grill pan or cast iron skillet set on medium-high heat until the meat is cooked through and you have nice grill marks on the bread, about 4-5 minutes on each side.

Cooking Method 2: Oven or air Fryer

Bake: Preheat your oven to 375F/190C. Lightly oil the stuffed pita halves and place them on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Bake until cooked through, about 12-15 minutes.

Make the Tahini Sauce (Optional)

In a small bowl, combine the tahini and lemon juice and whisk. This will form a paste. Add cold water 1 tablespoon at a time until you reach the desired dipping sauce consistency. Don't make it too runny. Season with salt and pepper.

Notes

Refer to the post above for step-by-step recipe photos.

Ingredient notes:

Ground Meat: I recommend that you use Extra Lean ground beef (90/10) as it will have the least amount of fat. Too much fat in your arayes kafta mixture will cause the bread to get soggy.
Pita Bread: Traditionally arayes are made with a thin Lebanese-style pita. This type of pita is sold in bundles at most grocery stores. I recommend you use the freshest pita possible, as it will be much easier to open them up. Stale pita will crack and you’ll end up having issues spreading the kofta mixture. I don’t recommend using thick Greek-style pita, but if you want to, see my Expert Tips section above in the blog post for more insights.

If baking, use an optional wire rack: Though not necessary, you can bake the arayes on a wire rack to help juices drip away from the pita and reduce the chance of soggy bread.

These meat-stuffed pitas can be served as either an appetizer or in a larger portion as a main course.

Serve your Arayes with fresh salad (like my Jerusalem Chopped Salad), Batata Harra (spicy potatoes) and Vermicelli rice.

Make Ahead: This recipe in its entirety is not ideal for making ahead, but you can certainly make the meat mixture ahead of time and store it in the fridge for up to 1 day or in the freezer for 6 months.

Nutrition