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--no, it's so much more!
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 when heated become nice and crispy. 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 tablespoon 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 ⅓ 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.
Tanya says
I just made this tonight. So SO delicious! I had more liquid come out of my meat when baking, so after flipping, I broiled it for a few minutes. The meat is so flavourful and spiced just right. My kids absolutely devoured it!! Thank you!
Ann Mione says
We love the flavor and juiciness of these gems. I use your pita bread recipe for these (another amazing recipe). We use Beyond meat instead of beef. Oh my goodness, so delicious!
Suzy says
Thanks, for sharing!
Michele says
What sliced veggies do you recommend serving with these? Trying them tonight for my large family... they are already excited seeing them go into the oven 🙂 THanks!
Suzy says
Hi, Michele. I'm so sorry I'm just seeing this. I hope you all enjoyed the recipe! For the future, you can really serve it with whatever kind of sliced veggies you all enjoy. I love tomatoes, cucumber, red peppers, etc. And don't forget some tahini sauce :).
Michelle says
They were soo good! I had to get people out the door for an event and didn't have time for the tahini sauce (which I love!), but served them with a quick tzatziki as I had a bunch to use up. Honestly, these are so good, you could serve them with anything. Thanks for the reply tho--- we'll be sure to mix it up some and see what we like best. 🙂 And, just to say: LOVE your recipes. After 32 yrs of marriage and 24 of parenting (6 kids), my menu was feeling quite "stale". I just found you a month or 2 ago, but am cooking from your site at least 4 times a week now and it is just the breath of fresh air we all needed. I am enjoying the kitchen again, and everyone is asking "what is for dinner?!"... and bringing company! I tell them about your site, too. Love the spices and flavors; thanks SO much! Keep up the great work!
Suzy says
Oh, wonderful, Michelle! I'm so glad you're loving what you find here!
Jeanne Baker says
Hi - can I use ground turkey instead? Probably the 93/7 fat content?
Sounds delicious and I have made so many of your recipes! Thank you!!
Suzy says
Sure! Another reader gave that a try and enjoyed it!
Benni says
You definitely need to change the word, "LOAF", to "SLICE". It stunned me when I read it, then I realized what you were trying say. I can picture ppl going out & buying 6 bags of pita slices. Looks good. I'm going to try this tonight.
Suzy says
Thanks for the feedback, Benni! Hope you enjoyed it!
Festus says
The Hawawshi looks great, but can I use pork and chicken?
Suzy says
Hello! I haven't tested this recipe on with pork and chicken, but I think it could work. Would love to hear your thoughts if you give it a try!
Beverly says
Love your recipes, BUT what is going on with your website. For starters, I sent a comment* September 19 and never received an answer. Lately, your website has made so many changes, I find it difficult to navigate. Is it me, or is anyone else experiencing problems?
*September 19, 2021, I wrote: "When I try to email a recipe, the website appears as the subject, from which I cannot access. So, I have to "cut" the subject and "paste" it in the body. Then I have to "cut" the description from the body and "paste" it in the subject. Is it me--what am I doing wrong?
Suzy says
Hi, Beverly. I apologize for missing your earlier question. Regarding the issue you're having with the email button, you aren't doing anything wrong. Unfortunately, this is the way it is set up, and, at the moment, there isn't a quick fix. I agree it's backwards, and we've asked our website support partner to try to come up with a solution. Despite updates we have to regularly make to our website to keep up with ever-changing requirements, we haven't had anyone else report issues in general with sight navigation. Our team also has not had difficulty finding what they need to on the blog. As you experience a specific problem or glitch (as with the email), please continue to report so we can attempt to find a fix on our end when possible. We always appreciate the feedback. Thanks so much!
Katie Level says
I love the spice mixture! These were so easy, delicious and fun to eat!
barbara a satterwhite says
so good we made them with half grund beef half lamb omgosh so good even the grandkids loved them
Suzy says
Thanks so much, Barbara!
Katie says
served with tahini sauce, tzatziki and harissa mayo on the side. SO delicious!
Deborah says
I don't understand the instructions for the parsley, and I don't know what a pita loaf is.
Suzy says
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.
mitch asher says
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.
Suzy says
Awesome! So glad you enjoyed the recipe, Mitch!
Rachel says
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!
Suzy says
Thanks for sharing your adaptations, Rachel! Sounds great!
Mark Bates says
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.
Suzy says
Thanks for sharing, Mark!
Haua says
Can you do the same thing with fish
Haya
Suzy says
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/
Jim says
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
Sara El Antably says
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 🙂
Cathy says
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!
Suzy says
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!
Connie says
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.
Eryn says
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!
Suzy says
Wonderful! Thanks, Eryn!
Cecilia from Sweden says
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!
Suzy says
My pleasure, Cecilia! So glad you enjoyed the recipe!
Sara El Antably says
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 🙂