Invented in pursuit of more interesting ways to use chicken mince, today’s recipe is a SOS take on lahmacun, Lebanese pizzas made with flatbreads topped with a thin layer of meat. Astoundingly fast to make, and extremely versatile – use any ground meat, add vegetables, and endless topping options!
Dear Lebanese nationals
Dear Lebanese nationals,
Please don’t be offended by this recipe I’ve called a “Lebanese pizza.” I know they’re actually called manakish (among other names), made with homemade dough and comes with various toppings.
I adore them all – I’d have the za’atar ones with every meal, the cheese ones stole my heart, and the meat ones (called lahmacun in Turkish) – wow. Just wow!
So I don’t present today’s recipe as the real deal, but wanted to give a nod to the inspiration behind it, hence the name. Think of it as a SOS version of lahmacun for all those nights you’ve got no time to cook.
And an interesting way to use chicken mince, which can be so dull and bland!
Ingredients for 8 minute Lebanese pizza
The speed of the recipe relies on a no-chop mince meat topping, store bought Lebanese bread for the base, and toppings that call for nothing more than opening a jar.
But the main point I want to make here is versatility. There are loads of substitution options, and it’s hard to go wrong!
1. Spiced meat topping
Here’s what you need for the meat topping. The recipe was born on a day I was trying to think of interesting ways to use chicken mince, so that’s what I’ve used. It’s delicious as is, and I’m glad to have another great chicken mince recipe in my arsenal, but frankly, even better with fattier meats – lamb or beef.
Chicken mince (ground chicken) – I’ve used chicken here but you can use anything you want – lamb (Lebanese favourite!), beef, turkey, even pork. The spicing for the topping works with everything, and the cook time remains the same.
Baharat (aka Lebanese 7 Spice) is the shortcut spice here. It’s a spice mix used in Middle Eastern cooking that is made with – yup, you guessed it – 7 spices! Cinnamon forward (very Middle Eastern), usually with cumin, coriander, all spice and pepper, then the other spices vary between paprika, cloves, nutmeg, and cardamom. I’ve popped a homemade version in the recipe notes.
Find it at some large grocery stores (I get mine from Harris Farms, same price as dried herbs), fresh produce stores, Middle Eastern stores. Don’t fret if you can’t find it, substitute with any Middle Eastern or Moroccan spice mix (sold at all grocery stores), something more exotic like an Egyptian or African spice mix, Harissa paste, or even a Shawarma spice mix (from this recipe).
Tomato paste – Used in the meat mix for traditional Lebanese pizza. Adds a touch of colour and flavour. I substituted ketchup in an emergency. It wasn’t exactly the same, but it worked!
Garlic – Because we love how much the Lebanese love garlic.
Parsley or coriander/cilantro (OPTIONAL) – I added it because I had it, for a touch of colour and flavour. But it is by no means essential.
Tip: try adding shredded zucchini and carrot into the mixture, to sneak some vegetables in and make the meat go further!
2. lebanese bread for the base
Are you familiar with this large pita bread? It’s a staple at every grocery store here in Australia! Don’t worry if you can’t get it. This recipe will work with any flatbread. Or even tortillas!
Lebanese bread – this is a type of flatbread that is sold in every grocery store here in Australia. It’s like a large pita bread – about 30cm / 12″ in diameter, a thin double layer of bread that can be separated. It’s not bready, like this type of pita pocket, which is why it cooks up crispy quite quickly.
Other suitable flatbreads – Anything fairy thin but not paper thin (won’t be sturdy enough) that will go crispy when pan fried.
Tortillas will work, though they won’t be quite as crispy. I’d make then quesadilla style (spread with meat, toppings, fold then fry).
Greek pita bread, the thin kind not bready kind (like Golden Top brand, pictured in Lamb Souvlaki) is ideal.
3. TOPPING OPTIONS
I can’t stress enough though – toppings are essential, else it’s a little boring. I really recommend at least feta and olive oil, or anything that serves a similar purpose – goats cheese, labne, drizzle of yogurt mix with lemon, or even sour cream.
Feta – I like to use Danish feta because it gets a bit smeary, though the more crumbly Greek feta is just as good. Goats cheese is extra excellent! Got leftovers from last weeks’ Goat Cheese Risoni?
Other ideas – Labne, yogurt, sour cream, avocado sauce (yes!), tahini sauce or whipped tahini yogurt sauce would also be fabulous. Essentially, a crumble or drizzle of something a little creamy goes a long way here.
Extra virgin olive oil – Chicken mince is so lean, so this too is highly recommended. Though, if you use a creamy drizzle sauce in place of feta, you mightn’t need it.
Everything else pictured is recommended but not essential! Here’s some notes on each:
Toasty pine nuts – or sesame seeds (za’atar vibes), or almonds (chopped, flakes, slivers), walnuts or pistachios (pretty!)
Red pepper flakes – Because a little fiery heat makes everything more interesting!
Parsley or coriander/cilantro – For some fresh green and herby touch. Substitute with dried oregano (sprinkle it on top, like we do Greek Salad).
Lemon – Nice fresh finish, channeling the tangy touch you get from sumac in real Lebanese Pizza.
More ideas!
Sprinkles – Za’atar, dukkah, sumac or other spice mixes
Chilli crisp or other chilli sauce – a swish of sriracha would totally work!
Salsa like pico de gallo or even a bit of finely chopped tomato
Olives or other pickled veg, chopped / finely sliced
Rocket / arugula – Just a small handful (think – Rocket Prosciutto Pizza)
I have to stop here, else this post will be lengthy!! But you get the idea. 🙂
How to make this 8 minute Lebanese Pizza
4 minute prep, 3 minute cook, 1 minute toppings. YOU GOT THIS!
Mix the spiced meat topping ingredients in a bowl.
Trim the Lebanese bread so it fits in your pan. Only trim along one side so the bread stays together.
Pan size – I use my large non-stick pan which is 30cm/12″ wide (this one).
Spread the meat all over the bread, like you would peanut butter on toast! It will be and should be fairly thin.
Pan fry the meat side down for 1 1/2 minutes on high heat until there are some golden patches. No longer – chicken mince dries out in a flash!
(PS Don’t skimp on oil when pan frying, else the bread will just burn rather than go golden and crispy).
Crisp base – Turn with tongs (the meat sticks!) then pan fry the bread side for 1 1/2 minutes until crispy, lowering the heat slightly if needed so the bread doesn’t burn.
Sprinkle with toppings. Baseline is feta or goats cheese + olive oil, everything else just makes it even better.
Cut like pizza then devour!
Also – proof it’s crispy enough to pick up:
Final words
Cooked Lebanese pizzas will keep for a few days, but I recommend reheating by pan frying to re-crisp the base and a fresh drizzle of olive oil to rejuvenate the chicken.
And final words of advice – don’t get hung up on having the exact ingredients listed. This recipe is more of a blueprint for you to use and make your own with what you’ve got!
Hope you can find 8 minutes in your day to give this a go. 😉 I promise you won’t regret it. – Nagi x
PS Some of you may have picked up that this recipe is like an open-faced Arayes, Lebanese meat stuffed pita breads, pan fried until crispy. Funnily enough, that’s where this recipe started! See Development Woe tales in the FAQ section below. 🙂
8 minute Lebanese pizza FAQ
None for this actual recipe but plenty leading up to it! This came into existence because I was determined to expand my chicken mince repertoire. It’s so lean, it overcooks so easily and I usually resort to adding cheese or serving with loads of sauce to compensate.
So, faced with a packet of expiring chicken mince, I had what I thought was a brilliant idea to try a chicken mince version of Lebanese Arayes, a recipe I shared a couple of years ago where raw spiced lamb mince is stuffed inside pita breads then pan fried until crisp.
In theory, it should’ve worked. In reality, it was bland. Chicken mince is way less flavourful than lamb mince, so cooking it inside bread where it doesn’t get browned just lacked flavour. I tried twice, dialling up the spicing, but it was still no good.
Recognising that the lack of meat browning was the problem, I then flipped to the Lebanese pizza idea where the meat is exposed so I could get colour on it. And it worked! It was so, so delicious, and kept getting more delicious the more toppings I put on it. 😂
So actually, it originally came about as an “open faced Arayes” but then I realised it had re-routed to be a variation of Lebanese pizzas, so I changed the name!
This recipe was a cinch! It’s a low-risk fast recipe so I didn’t need to do much testing on the cooking process. I made the same recipe with beef and pork to make sure they were still tasty using the same quantity of spicing and salt (which they were). I didn’t do lamb because it’s similar to beef in terms of amount of flavour it can take / needs – and I know it’s the best because lamb is a natural protein choice for Lebanese food and flavours. 🙂
Watch how to make it
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8 minute Lebanese Pizzas (Lahmacun!)
Ingredients
- 1 x ~30cm/12" Lebanese bread , (sub other thin flatbreads, Note 1)
Spiced Chicken Mince spread:
- 125g / 4 oz chicken mince (ground chicken) (Note 2)
- 2 tsp tomato paste
- 1 tsp Baharat spice mix (aka Lebanese 7 spice) (Note 3 subs)
- 1/2 tsp paprika , sweet (or smoked)
- 1 garlic clove , crushed using garlic press
- 1/4 tsp cooking salt / kosher salt (halve for table salt)
- 1 tbsp finely chopped parsley or coriander/cilantro, totally optional (sub 1 tsp dried oregano)
- 1 1/2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil , for cooking (or regular olive oil)
Toppings – essential! (Note 4)
- Extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tbsp Danish feta or goats cheese , crumbled (or regular feta)
Toppings – optional (makes it even better!)
- Lemon juice , just a light drizzle
- Dried chilli flakes / red pepper flakes
- ~1 tbsp toasted pine nuts , roughly chopped (sub pistachios, almonds, sesame seeds)
- 1 tsp finely chopped parsley or coriander/cilantro
Instructions
ABBREVIATED RECIPE:
- Trim bread to fit pan, mix filling, smear on bread. Heat oil on high, pan fry 90 seconds meat side down, then bread side 90 seconds until crispy. Top, cut, eat!
FULL RECIPE:
- Use a large 30cm/12" non-stick pan. If needed, use scissors to cut one side of the Lebanese bread so it fits in your pan (Note 4)
- Mix the Chicken Spread ingredients in a bowl. Spread all across the surface of one side of the bread like peanut butter – use it all! It will be a fairly thin layer.
- Cook meat side – Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in the pan over high heat. Place the bread in meat side down and cook for 90 seconds, pressing down lightly to encourage colour. The meat will stick to the bread!
- Crisp bread – Turn with tongs (there should be some golden patches) and cook the bread side for 90 seconds until golden and crispy (lower heat if browning too quickly).
- Toppings – Slide onto cutting board, sprinkle with feta, drizzle with extra virgin olive oil. Sprinkle with other toppings you choose. Cut into 8 like pizza, enjoy!
Recipe Notes:
1 tsp EACH ground all spice, cinnamon
3/4 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp cumin powder
1/8 tsp each ground cloves, nutmeg powder Based on this recipe from Silk Road recipes, tweaked to align with store bought I use. 4. Toppings – So many options! Read in post for suggestions. Nutrition per pizza assuming only the feta and 1 teaspoon olive oil is used for drizzling (that’s all you need). It also assumes 1 tablespoon of the 1 1/2 tbsp of oil used for cooking ends up being consumed. You can reduce the cooking oil to 1 tablespoon but the bread won’t crisp quite as well and may burn a bit instead of going golden.
Nutrition Information:
Similar stuffed crispy bread-type-things
Clumsy heading. But you know what I mean!
Life of Dozer
No dogs allowed on the couch.
No dogs allowed on the couch!
So simple but so good. Super easy to whip up and scoff down! I used lamb mince and it was super tasty. Next time I think I’ll try adding chilli Persian fetta as I love a little bit of spice 🙂
I’m going to have to work on this one. 3 stars is because of me. The meat side stuck onto the pan and parts came away. I like the concept. I have more bread, chicken mince etc to try again. Watch this space 👩🍳
I went to the supermarket to buy dried coriander for the spice mix but there are two options! I grabbed ground coriander seeds but there was also ‘leaves’, did I buy the wrong one?
Fun fact, coriander seed is a spice, the leaves are a herb. You got the right one!
And it’s literally called ‘spice mix ‘ so I should have been able to work that out lol thank you for helping my clueless self.
There’s freezer dried coriander in the refrigerator section with vegetables. I don’t use fresh coriander much, this is my best option.
We just finished this eating this delicious new recipe. It is definitely be a keeper. I made it exactly as you instructed. Fabulous. Thank you Nagi
Yum , yum , yum .
Crispy base and delicious.
I can’t wait to try this! I never buy ground chicken because really, what to do with it 🤷 this is great! I’ll have to try other flavor profiles for other versions of this bc I am the only one in our house who likes that 7 spices type seasoning, and goat cheese, nobody else will eat either of those. That’s okay bc it will be all mine, and they can have their own with seasonings they like 😆
Hi Nagi, the recipe states to use a non-stick frying pan over high heat. I hear that’s bad to do for health reasons, any other suggestions? Why wouldn’t stainless steel work?
Oiled stainless steel does work, it’s all I use. Heavy-clad bottoms work much better than thin pans to prevent sticking/burning. “Forever chemicals” are in almost everyone’s blood and that’s not good:
https://www.cancer.org/cancer/risk-prevention/chemicals/teflon-and-perfluorooctanoic-acid-pfoa.html
Do you have a heavy – clad bottom skillet brand you would recommend that isn’t too terribly expensive?
I’m sorry, no. I live like Nagi’s friend Geoffe, the beach guy, so I have very little space. I sprung for some nesting Magma pots that work very well for me. They’re not cheap, the people who popularized them are mainly sailors:
https://magmaproducts.com/collections/cookware-sets
Oh- I don’t know if this works, it claims that you can “season” stainless steel:
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=1376ITxF1Oc
Maybe I don’t have much trouble with sticking because I rarely use dish soap, just wipe and water. Look in the comments where some claim that you should put oil in after your pot is hot. Wouldn’t hurt your pot to try it.
If the pan is coated with Teflon, it certainly wise to be wary! A number of diseases, especially cancers, seem to be caused by it!! And Teflon fumes can be very dangerous.
This was INSAAAAAANNNEEEE!!
Can’t believe how good this was.
I made my own baharat with toasted whole spices (smug yes, but wait) which may have helped BUT also had no cumin seeds (epic fail) and it was still incredible.
I also used a Simsons hi protein hi fibre large wrap instead of the bread and while the mince didn’t stick, it was still easy enough to manoeuvre in the pan.
Toppings: labneh, parsley, Aleppo chilli flakes, hot sauce, no need for the extra oil for me.
39g protein and 12g fibre for breakfast!!! But much more importantly – INSANELY TASTY!!!! I can’t get over it!!!
Hi Nagi, looks really good. I will make a version of this tonight however I will use beef in a gozleme style spice mixture with a garlic yoghurt swirl and topped with za’atar. Yum. Thanks for the inspo
I totally love Dozer . ❤️
Loved it!
I had everything already at home so it was perfect for me to try and use up as much as I can. My only complaint was it needed more goats cheese! When I had the leftovers I dotted the goats cheese all over the top as that creaminess is so extra! I couldn’t get enough. Sadly my partner wouldn’t try it as he has a mental block with dishes that don’t have meat. His loss.
I’m so confused by this comment. This is literally meat smeared on bread. Did you leave out the meat?
Omg! It’s meant to be for the risoni recipe in the last email. PLEASE IGNORE THIS COMMENT, 😂
😂
Five-star idea! Thanks, Nagi. I’m going to try it in my air fryer. I recently began making grilled cheese in the air fryer and it’s amazing! Crisp!
Another home run Nagi! Wow, fast, easy, versatile and delicious. No dogs allowed on the couch – LOL. Besides being the surpreme Goddess of the kitchen you and Dozer photograph well. Thanks
Made this tonight and was so delicious. Glad I doubled the recipe as my partner and I scoffed down a whole one each! Subbed Baharat for Ras el Hanout spice mix as I had it on hand. Looking forward to trying this next time with Lamb and Baharat. Delicious and so fast and simple.
Oh the picture of you and Dozer, made my heart melt, I tell my cat he´s not allowed on window sills anymore because he breaks things, it´s the first place he goes when I leave the house. That pizza looks so tasty, I´m making your sweet and sour pork tonight xx
Another wonderful adaptable nutritious recipe. THANK YOU NAGI! We currently make an XXL version by using Afghan or Persian wood fired flat bread to feed a veey hungry athlete. These huge breads cover a regular oven tray and when loaded and baked calm the hungry person instantly – but speed is of the essence – no procrastination just heat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius, use ketchup or any tomato sauce on hand and of your liking as a base spread on the flat bread, add herbs from the garden or dry herbs from the pantry, mix and place torn or chopped baby spinach with leftover allready cooked protein from the fridge ontop of the sauce ( You could also use torn meat from a cookedrotisserie chicken) and top this with any cheese or cheese mixes you have on hand. On occasion I even add some other crazy vegies like coliflour or stir-fried kale…. Anyway bake the tray with the flatbread for aprox. 20 minutes until the cheeses is melted to your hungry persons liking and all is heated through! You could use during the assembly phase additional spices to give you meal a theme. Top with more fresh herbs post baking if available, otherwise use toasted seeds or carefully add a sprinkle of more spices. My hangry person always appreciates additional fresh coriander but is not yet prepared for a frew speks of fresh chillies yet – so please do you and add what works in your home.
Tu es GENIALE. Demain j’achette des Pitas,et ayant tout le reste, je vais me régaler. Pour moi, ce sera avec coriandre. Grosse bises de la France, et des caresses à NOTRE toutou, car il nous appartient un peu; Chris 06 France
Câlins et bisous transmis et reçus avec plaisir ! J’espère que tu apprécieras, Chris. Reviens et dis-moi ce que tu en penses ! – Nagi x
Nagi you usually put the nutritional vales on your recipes, can’t see it for this. Would you happen to have it please?
Look divine. Thank you.
I entered every single ingredient from Nagi’s recipe, including all the herbs, spices, etc into my food tracker. For the whole flatbread*, I got the following:
Calories: 3110kj/743cal
Protein: 37.8g
Fat: 42.2g
Saturated fat: 9.3g
Carbs: 48.6g
Sodium: 1248mg
Hope this helps.
* bread was 1 large round flat bread 85g
Thank you.
Yikes! Onto it now, thanks Kathy! – N x
That’s better mom. That ‘no dogs allowed on the sofa’ was just a bit of temporary insanity wasn’t it.
BA HA HA! I literally almost choked on my drink when I read this 😂
Hi Nagi, I am making this right now!
I think you forgot to list the garlic in the recipe. I added it to mine anyway and then saw you had put it in the video.
Thanks for all your recipes and videos- you are the equivalent of one of my favorite cookbooks!
YIKES! Thanks for flagging that Chris, fixing it now. Glad you included it!!! N x