Straight from my Egyptian kitchen, this hawawshi recipe is made with crispy pita pockets that are stuffed with a tantalizing meat mixture with onions, hot peppers and fresh herbs. Think of it as Egypt’s answer to a hamburger but on steroids!
Watch my video below to see how to make hawawshi step-by-step.
As an Egyptian (born and bred), nothing excites me more than sharing childhood favorites. And today is all about a famous street food we call hawawshi. Think of it as Egypt’s answer to a burger, or a next-level ground beef pita sandwich.
What is hawawshi?!
Hawawshi! Say it with me: ha-WOW-shi.
Hawawshi is a popular Egyptian street food, particularly in Cairo and Alexandria (where they call it baladi). It is basically dough (or pita) stuffed with a mixture of ground beef that is seasoned with tantalizing warm spices, onions, garlic, hot peppers and fresh herbs.
Legend has it that one butcher by the name of Ahmed Al-Hawash in Cairo’s Tawfeek Souq came up with this sandwich back in the early 1970s and gave it his name. The idea has traveled throughout parts of Africa and the Middle East (in Lebanon, another version of this sandwich is called Arayes).
Homemade hawawshi shortcut
In Egypt, hawawshi pitas are typically made to order so they’re fresh out of the oven when you get them. When local Egyptian restaurants, particularly in Cairo or Alexandria, make it, they start by making a special dough (similar to the dough used for pita bread) and then they wrap the dough around the meat mixture and cook it in their large ovens (some use clay ovens or pizza ovens).
In this shortcut version, I skip making the dough and use ready pita pockets, which become nice and crispy when heated. No special equipment is needed but a large sheet pan or two and your oven.
High heat (around 400 degrees F) is best for baking hawawshi sandwiches, which take about 15 minutes to bake.
What’s in it? And how do you make it?
There are three components to making this hawawshi beef patty sandwich recipe:
- Hawawshi seasoning
It’s not a hawawshi sandwich without the unique seasoning or spice mixture of coriander, allspice, paprika, black pepper, cumin, cardamom, and a pinch of cinnamon (find these spices and more at our online shop).
- The meat mixture
Lean ground beef combined with finely chopped vegetables including garlic, onion, bell pepper, hot pepper like jalapeno (optional), and finely chopped parsley. The hawawshi seasoning is added to this mixture and combined before cooking (kinda like how you would prepare meat for meatballs, except in this case you do not form the meat into balls). - Pita pockets
Like I mentioned earlier, this is the shortcut version which uses already available pita pockets (I do bake my own pita often, here’s my recipe for homemade pita bread). The seasoned meat mixture is spread in the pita pockets and then baked until the meat is fully cooked through. It will take about 25 minutes or so in a 400 degrees F heated oven.
The key is to cook the pita on both sides so it’s nice and crispy.
How to serve it?
This satisfying sandwich is typically served hot without much else to accompany it, but I like adding some sliced veggies or quick pickles and a side of tahini sauce (which is awesome drizzled in the sandwich). And it’s never a bad idea to add a big salad like this lazy Mediterranean salad, fresh bean salad, or even Greek salad.
Leftovers & storage
This recipe makes 12 pita pockets, so you can easily feed a crowd of at least 6 people. But I often make it for our little family of four and save the leftovers in the fridge for lunches.
Fully cooked hawawshi sandwiches can be stored in the fridge in a tight-lid container for 3 days or so. Warm them up in a medium-heated oven.
You can also freeze fully cooked hawawshi. To freeze for later, I typically wrap up the individual pita sandwiches in foil that’s been lined well with wax paper or parchment (or you can use freezer bags or containers). You can warm them up from frozen.
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Egyptian Hawawshi Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 large yellow onion quartered
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 green bell pepper cored and cut into large chunks
- 1 jalapeno halved and seeded (leave some of the seed if you like heat)
- ½ ounce fresh parsley stems trimmed (cut most of the stem but leave some for extra flavor)
- 2 lbs lean ground beef
- 3 tbsp tomato paste
- Kosher salt
- Extra virgin olive oil
- 6 loaves of pita bread you need the kind with pockets
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 400 degrees F.
- In a small bowl, add the spices and mix to combine.
- Put the onion, garlic, bell pepper, jalapeno, and parsley in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a blade, pulse a few times until finely chopped. Transfer the mixture to a sieve to drain excess liquid (it helps to push with the back of a spoon).
- Transfer the onion mixture to a large mixing bowl. Add the ground beef and tomato paste. Mix to combine. Add the spice mixture and a dash of kosher salt. Mix again until the mixture is well combined and the spices are well distributed within the meat mixture.
- Cut the pita loafs in halves to create 12 pita pockets.
- Prepare a large sheet pan brushed with a bit of extra virgin olive oil.
- Stuff each pita pocket with 1/3 cup of the meat mixture. Using the back of a spoon, spread the meat mixture inside the pita pockets.
- Arrange the pitas in the prepared sheet pan. Brush the pita pocket tops with a bit of extra virgin olive oil.
- Bake in the heated oven for 15, then carefully turn the pitas over and cook on the other side another 5 to 10 minutes until the meat is fully cooked and the pita is crispy on both sides.
Video
Notes
- Visit our Shop to browse quality all-natural and organic spices used in this recipe, olive oils and more.
- To bake your pita from scratch, follow my homemade pita bread recipe
- To store leftovers cooked hawawshi in the fridge: cool completely and transfer to tight-lid containers. Refrigerate for 3 days or so. Warm up in a medium-heated oven,
- To freeze leftover cooked hawawshi: You can also freeze fully cooked hawawshi. To freeze for later, I typically wrap up the individual pita sandwiches in foil that’s been lined well with wax paper or parchment (or you can use freezer bags or containers). You can warm them up from frozen.
so good we made them with half grund beef half lamb omgosh so good even the grandkids loved them
Thanks so much, Barbara!
served with tahini sauce, tzatziki and harissa mayo on the side. SO delicious!
I don’t understand the instructions for the parsley, and I don’t know what a pita loaf is.
Hi, Deborah. For the parsley, I recommend cutting and discarding the long part of the stems with no leaves on them. Then chopping the upper parts of the stems with the leaves. A pita loaf is a round piece of pita bread.
ha WOW shi! Tried recipe but a little different. I forgot the cardamom and had no parsley. So i used dill instead. forgot the tom paste so i added a little once I stuffed the pita. That adds a lot of flavor. Every thing else as recipe calls for. Even put a slice of cheese on top once cooked. These are great! I ate three! Saved one for my mom (a great cook) , she could not believe how great it tasted! She is on your website as of now! Will definitely make again.
Awesome! So glad you enjoyed the recipe, Mitch!
This was awesome and better than American burgers. We didn’t have any pitas so I made homemade tortillas and folded them over. I also cooked them in our pellet grill as it was too hot to turn on the oven. Absolutely wonderful. Will definitely be making again!
Thanks for sharing your adaptations, Rachel! Sounds great!
So good! Reminds me of our Canadian meat pies my parents used to make. Was forced to do it the old fashioned way with pizza dough since our tiny store didn’t have pita. But Pillsbury pizza dough comes in big squares and 2 of them made a huge stuffed sandwich and it came out crispy and brown.
Thanks for sharing, Mark!
Can you do the same thing with fish
Haya
Hi, Haua! Not sure I can recommend that. If you’re looking for some great “fish sandwich” ideas, here are a few we love: https://www.themediterraneandish.com/grilled-cod-recipe-gyro/ and https://www.themediterraneandish.com/mediterranean-salmon-burger-recipe/
I spent a year in Egypt as a peace keeper with the Canada Army in 1958-59. I spent two months in Port Said and while there was introduced to many new foods. One dish I have tried to duplicate was either a zucchini or a cucumber hollowed out and filed with a spicy meat mixture. Could you help??
Old Jim
it is stuffed zucchini with either meat mixture or rice and herbs. it is called “mahshi kousa” (stuffed zucchini in English). The word mahshi means stuffed and the word kousa means zucchini 🙂
This recipe sounds amazing and I can’t wait to try it! Can these be made ahead of time, and reheated before serving? What would be the best method to reheat?
I really enjoy your recipes, thank you!
Hard to say, Cathy. I’ve never tried that personally…. I prefer this one fresh out of the oven, myself. If you give it a go, please stop back and let us know if you have any tips!
Made this today. I had an issue with the thin part of the pocket getting soggy. 🙁 any suggestions? Love your videos and recipes! I used ground Turkey and put them on a rack to cook. Flipped halfway through.
So so yummy! Definitely a deviation from what we often make but so refreshing and fun to try something new! Will be making again for sure!
Wonderful! Thanks, Eryn!
I made these tonight for me and my daughter and served them with your Tahini sauce and a side salad. I bought pita bread but will try making them from scratch next time since they broke easily. This was another really yummy recipe and I will for sure make it again. Thank you for making my life easier and healthier!
My pleasure, Cecilia! So glad you enjoyed the recipe!
Usually the type of pita we use for hawawshi is the Egyptian pita which has a different texture than other pitas and doesn’t break as easily. if you can, I recommend going to an Arabic store and buying Egyptian pita 🙂
Made these tonight and my Egyptian husband gave me a double thumbs up – I agree that they’re delicious! I was concerned about other reviewer’s comments about the pita getting soggy, so I used 91% lean ground beef and then flipped the pitas halfway thru cooking. I had no issues with a wet pita. In fact, the pita was slightly crispy from the olive oil brushed on the outside and the meat was cooked to perfection. I served these with a side of tzatziki sauce and tahini sauce. Thank you!
Thanks for sharing, Kris! So glad you both enjoyed the recipe!
This recipe came out divine! The taste was incredible and I have plenty of left-overs for lunch this week. Great recipe for meal prepping.
Thanks, Wes!!
We made the Hawawshi recipe last night and it was incredibly delicious! A huge hit! We used 93 percent lean ground beef and it cooked perfectly. We enjoyed leftovers today. We had some roasted cauliflower with zaatar on the side. Definitely going into our weekly rotation. Thank you Suzy for another great recipe!
So glad you enjoyed it, Lynn!
My family is now obsessed with this recipe! Mine got nice and crispy following the instructions. I used grass-fed 93/7 beef and there was little juice on the sheet pan. I can’t wait to eat leftovers today!
That is great to hear, Sherry! So glad you enjoyed the recipe!