Crispy Middle Eastern Meat-Stuffed Pita

Arayes are crispy Middle Eastern pita pockets stuffed with spiced mince – quick to cook, full of flavour, and perfect for mezze or weeknight dinners.

Estimated reading time: 8 minutes

What Are Arayes?

If you’ve never tried arayes, prepare to fall in love. These Middle Eastern meat-stuffed pita pockets are crisp, golden and packed with juicy, spiced filling. They’re the kind of food that looks fancy on the table but takes hardly any effort to make.

Think of them as the Levant’s answer to a toasted sandwich or a quesadilla – quick, satisfying, and bursting with flavour. Perfect for weeknight dinners, mezze platters, barbecues, or even a party snack, arayes are a recipe worth mastering.

At their heart, arayes are stuffed pita pockets filled with a spiced mince mixture, usually lamb (sometimes beef), plus aromatics like onion, garlic and parsley.

Ingredients at a Glance

• Meat: ground lamb (classic) or ground beef. Chicken or turkey also work with a little olive oil added for moisture. Vegan mince is also perfect for vegan arayes. Just double up on the tomato paste and allspice.
• Aromatics: grated onion, garlic, parsley and optional green chilli.
• Spices: I make it simple and use allspice and baharat, providing all the flavours you need. Popular spices include cumin, cinnamon, coriander, allspice, paprika, chilli powder (cayenne), or baharat.
• Concentrated tomato paste: this adds flavour without creating too much liquid. Now y’all know my love of sundried tomato paste, right? So just like in our sfeeha recipe, and shakshuka, that’s what I use here.
• Bread: we use pita for this. And you want one that’s not too big, see the video and images.
• To serve: toum, toum + yoghurt, tahini yoghurt sauce, or even a side of tzatziki.

Cooking Methods for Arayes

Arayes can be pan-fried, oven-baked, air-fried, or grilled on the BBQ – each method changes the texture and flavour, from quick and crispy to smoky and charred.

Each method gives you a slightly different finish and can be easier or quicker, so pick what suits you best.

Traditional Pan-Frying (Quick & Crisp)

1. Heat a non-stick pan over medium to medium-high heat. Use a griddle if you have one, as the ridges create beautiful charred lines on your arayes.
2. Brush the outside of the stuffed pita with oil.
3. Cook for 3 minutes per side, pressing gently with a spatula, until the bread is golden and the meat is cooked through.

Oven-Baking (Hands-Off)

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C (fan 180°C / 400°F).
2. Brush the outside of each stuffed pita with oil.
3. Place on a wire rack over a baking sheet to stop them going soggy. The baking sheet/tray is there to catch any drips so your oven doesn’t get messy!
4. Bake for 12–15 minutes, flipping halfway.
5. For extra crunch, grill (broil) for the final 2 minutes.

Air Fryer (Weeknight Win)

1. Preheat the air fryer to 180°C (350°F).
2. Brush the stuffed pita with oil.
3. Arrange in a single layer in the basket.
4. Air fry for 8-10 minutes, flipping halfway, until crisp and the meat is fully cooked.

BBQ or Grill (Smoky & Charred)

1. Heat the BBQ or grill to medium-high.
2. Brush the outside of the pita with oil.
3. Place directly on the grill grates.
4. Cook for 3-4 minutes per side, pressing lightly with a spatula for even crisping.
5. Close the lid for smoky flavour and check the meat is cooked through.

Arayes Cooking Methods at a Glance

My Favourite Method

My favourite way of cooking Arayes is the pan-fry method. It’s quick and easy especially if I’m making it for just a few people.

But in the summer time, the BBQ or grill method wins every time – that smoky char takes arayes to another level.

The air fryer is the closest thing to BBQ crunch without stepping outside, so if you are an air fryer queen or king, keep at it!

The oven is best for feeding a crowd with little effort, as you can cook a whole lot of them all at once.

Honestly? Each method has its place. Try them all and see which one becomes your go-to.

Arayes vs Hawawshi

Egypt has a cousin to arayes called hawawshi. Both are meat-stuffed pita, with slight variations.

Hawawshi are often baked, while arayes tend to be pan-fried. If you know one, you’ll love the other. And, recipe soon!

How to Serve Arayes

Serve freshly cooked arayes straight away, cut into halves or quarters. I absolutely love them with just a little toum (Middle Eastern garlic sauce) on the side and a green salad if I’m having it for a meal.

But you could also serve it with with tahini sauce (tahini + yoghurt), tzatziki, or plain yoghurt. Add fresh cucumber and some tomatoes, pickles, or olives for some added crunch and fresness.

They work beautifully on a mezze platter or simply as a quick dinner with salad on the side.

Just a quick note: I see suggestions for serving your arayes with lemon juice, and I always think where are you going to squeeze that lemon? I suppose you could tip the cooked arayes up and squeeze the juice over the exposed filling? Because otherwise, squeezing lemon juice on the arayes is going to give you soggy pita, no? Just a thought.

Tips for Keeping Arayes Crispy

• Ensure that your filling isn’t soggy. I’ve seen some online recipes suggesting you grate the onion for your arayes filling because those onion juices add to the flavour. The problem is that this will result in a soggy filling. To prevent that, tip your finely chopped aromatics onto a sheet of kitchen paper and lightly squeeze to get rid of excess moisture.
  ** I find that if you chop your onion instead of grating it, you can skip this step.
• Avoid overstuffing to prevent soggy centres. Spread the filling thinly and evenly, about 1 generous cm thick (half an inch).
• Use a wire rack if baking in the oven.
• Cook on medium to medium-high heat for the best crunch.

Storing and Reheating

Arayes are best eaten fresh, but leftovers can be stored:

• In the fridge: store them in an airtight container for up to 2 days, reheated in a hot oven or air fryer to bring back the crunch.
• In the freezer: freeze before cooking, well wrapped, for up to 3 months. Cook straight from frozen, adding a few minutes extra cooking time.
  You can also freeze the cooked arayes, and reheat in the oven or air fryer.

Arayes FAQs

So there you go. Whether you’re hosting friends, building a mezze table, or just after a speedy dinner, arayes deserve a spot in your repertoire. Crisp, juicy and endlessly adaptable, they prove that the simplest recipes are often the ones you’ll crave again and again.