This savoury tangy Fatayer Sabanekh (Spinach Pies) are soft and pillowy. Made with a warm tangy spinach filling. A classic Arabic breakfast appetizer to enjoy over a weekend brunch.

About the Recipe

• Soft and pillowy

• Tangy spinach filling

• Naturally vegan

• Savoury bake

What is Fatayer?

Fatayer means “pies” in Arabic. The word refers to a range of small homemade savoury pies – not the dessert type. Usually stuffed with a filling then shaped into traditional shapes of circles, triangles, and anything in between.

One common Fatayer is the savoury spinach filling (Spinach is Sabanekh in Arabic). Made with crunchy bits of walnuts, aromatic onions, and tangy flavours.

Ingredients

For The Fatayer Dough

• Flour: Sifted and weighed

• Vegetable oil

• Water: Room temperature

• Instant yeast

• Salt

• Sugar

For The Spinach Filling

• Spinach: Use fresh or frozen. Make sure it’s roughly chopped, and liquids are squeezed out.

• Onions: Finely diced for best results

• Walnuts: Chopped down to bits

• Olive oil

• Pomegranate molasses: Find it at local Middle Eastern grocery store

• Sumac: Adds a hint of tang to the filling

• Cayenne pepper: optional for a kick of spiciness

Fatayer Dough

The dough used in making Fatayer Sabanekh (Spinach Pies) is the same Homemade Dough used in making Manakeesh (breakfast flatbread). It can also be used in making many other types of savoury Fatayer, pizza, and more. You can find the full recipe here (also copied in the recipe card at the bottom of this post).

Making The Spinach Filling

Soak the spinach in a bowl with lemon juice and salt to extract all the water. Squeeze by hand to drain out excess liquid from the spinach, before mixing the rest of the ingredients. Combine in a bowl and set aside for later.

How To Shape Fatayer

Once the dough is ready and cut into equal balls of 25g each, flatten down on a clean surface into a thin circle. Flip to the other side (helps make sealing easier), then add a tablespoon of the spinach filling to the centre. Lift up two sides of the circle, bringing them to the centre. Pinch to seal both sides into a line – go back and forth a few times to make sure it’s closed off. Grab the remaining side of the circle and bring it towards the centre. Continue pinching its edges with the two sides from before. Repeat for the rest of the dough balls, keeping the shaped pies covered under a clean kitchen towel.

Baking The Fatayer

Gently and generously cover the spinach pies with olive oil. It takes about 10 minutes to bake in the oven (or air fryer). They should be nice and golden, with a crispy edge and a soft & pillowy inside.

FAQs

Why is my Fatayer opening up when baking?
The filling needs to be as dry as possible. Otherwise the pies could open up when baking due to extra moisture inside. Make sure to squeeze out all the water from the spinach before mixing in the remaining ingredients.

Why is the dough difficult to work with?
The Fatayer dough (same as Manakeesh dough) needs to be properly kneaded and rested. Using the correct temperature for the water is essential. Make sure it’s lukewarm (not any hotter) to allow the yeast to work its magic.

Related Recipes

Fatayer Sabanekh Recipe

If you have any questions about this recipe, or gave it a try, I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments section below. Remember to rate the recipe with ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. This will help us sustain Plant Based Arab.

Snap a photo of your dish, and tag us on Instagram @PlantBasedArab, so we can see and share your remake!

Vegan Fatayer Sabanekh (Spinach Pies)

Recipe by Waseem HijaziCourse: Breakfast, Brunch, BakingCuisine: Arabic, Middle EasternDifficulty: Easy

Servings

18

pies

Prep time

50

minutes

Baking time

10

minutes

Resting time

1

hour 

15

minutes

Total time

2

hours 

15

minutes

This savoury tangy Fatayer Sabanekh (Spinach Pies) are soft and pillowy. Made with a warm tangy spinach filling. A classic Arabic breakfast appetizer to enjoy over a weekend brunch.

Ingredients

• For The Dough

• 2 cups (250g) all purpose flour, sifted

• 1 1/2 tsp instant yeast

• 1 tsp salt

• 1 tsp sugar

• 1/4 cup (50ml) vegetable oil

• 1/2 cup (115ml) water, lukewarm

• For The Spinach Filling

• 3 cups (250g) spinach, roughly chopped

• 4 tbsp lemon juice + 1/4 tsp salt

• 1 medium onion, finely diced

• 1 tsp salt

• 1 tsp sumac

• 1 tbsp olive oil

• 1 lemon, juiced (about 2 tbsp)

• 1 tbsp pomegranate molasses

• 4 tbsp walnuts, chopped/blended – optional

• Pinch of cayenne pepper – optional

Directions

• Preparing The Dough
• Add the sifted flour to a large bowl. Mix in the instant yeast. Add the salt and sugar and whisk again, making a well in the centre.
• Add the oil to the centre. Cover the flour on top and rub by hand to coat it all in oil. Go in with the water and knead to combine until smooth.
• Gently push down with your fist to flatten down into the bowl. Cover with food wrap and kitchen towel. Rest in a warm place (inside the pantry cupboard), allowing it to rise for an hour to double in size.
• Making The Spinach Filling
• Add the roughly chopped spinach to a large bowl with 4 tbsp of lemon juice and 1/4 tsp of salt. Mix and cover for 15 minutes to extract the water out of the spinach.
• Squeeze the spinach by hand to remove all the liquids. Do this a few times to dry it up completely – See Notes (1).
• Add the squeezed dried spinach to a bowl with the remaining ingredients. Mix to combine then set aside until ready to use.
• Shaping The Fatayer
• Once the dough is ready, punch down and roll into a giant ball. Cut into 4 quarters, then continue cutting into 18 equal parts. Use a kitchen scale to weigh each for best results. Should be about 25g each – See Notes (2).
• Form each into a ball, pinching the bottom and rolling to smoothen out.
• Place separated on a flat plate, and cover in food wrap to rest for 15 minutes.
• Take one out – keeping the rest covered. Gently push with your fingers to flatten down.
• Roll out into a thin circle using a rolling pin. Flip it, then add a heaping tablespoon of the spinach filling to the centre – See Notes (3).
• Lift up two sides of the circle, bringing them to the centre. Pinch to seal both sides into a line – go back and forth a few times to make sure it’s closed off.
• Grab the remaining side of the circle and bring it towards the centre. Continue pinching its edges with the two sides from before. Repeat for the rest of the dough balls, keeping the shaped pies covered under a clean kitchen towel.
• Baking Spinach Pies
• Place the Fatayer on a sheet pan or air fryer basket. Generously but gently brush each pie with good quality olive oil.
• Bake in a preheated oven (or air fryer) on middle rack for 8 minutes at 400F (or 205C), then move to top rack for 2 more minutes to give it a nice golden colour – See Notes (4).

Notes

• (1) Make sure to remove as much water from the spinach as possible. The spinach has to be somewhat dry before adding the remaining ingredients. This helps prevent the pies from opening up when baking.
• (2)  I recommend weighing each ball of dough on a kitchen scale to get consistent size and shape for the Fatayer (pies).
• (3)  Flip the dough circle before adding the spinach filling to help seal off the pies. It’s the stickier side.
• (4)  Oven vs. Air fryer: I don’t have a working oven. So I use my air fryer (at the bake option). Because of its smaller basket size, timing may slightly vary for your own oven/air fryer. Adjust accordingly. Add 2 extra minutes at a time until the top is golden.

In This Post: