Lahmacun, aka Turkish pizza, is a savory treat made with ground meat, Middle Eastern spices, and aromatic vegetables on a crispy dough. This lahmacun recipe has a shortcut so you can enjoy it in about 45 minutes!
There’s something so satisfying about crispy dough paired with a savory filling. It seems like every culture has their own version. Meat filled pita pockets are called Arayes. Crispy fried kreplach can have various fillings like brisket or potato. Then there is this Middle Eastern pizza called lahmacun with its spiced meat and vegetable mixture on a golden brown crust.
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
- The cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and cardamom spices give this dish a sensational flavor.
- Make a traditional lahmacun more easily using a shortcut pizza dough.
- This meat flatbread is a beloved regional dish going back hundreds or thousands of years.
- Cut the Turkish pizza into triangle shapes to make savory hamantaschen for Purim!
- Make mini portions to serve as a part of a fun mezze appetizer.
What is Lahmacun?
Lahmacun is a beloved dish that originated in the Levant region of the Middle East. It's a tasty crispy flatbread topped with spiced ground meat and minced vegetables. It’s a popular street food, and goes by many names including lahmajoun, lahm bi ajeen, lahm bi ajin, Turkish pizza, and Armenian pizza. It’s sometimes referred to as “pizza” but there is no cheese.
Lahmacun means “meat with dough.” My version of this savory flatbread has a few additions like pomegranate molasses, pinenuts, cilantro, and tahini drizzle that take the layers of flavor to the next level of deliciousness!
Read more about lahmacun.
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
See the recipe card below for a complete ingredient list and measurements.
Jump to Recipe- Pizza dough - This dish is easiest to make if you use premade pizza dough that is already sheeted into a flat rectangle or rolled up rectangle. The rectangle shape is easiest for cutting into triangles for Purim. Otherwise, ready made pizza dough circles can be used. A dough ball can be used, but it needs to be stretched out until it is flat and very thin. You can also use homemade pizza dough.
- Meat - Use a flavorful ground meat for best results like beef, lamb, or bison. Some people like to make a combination of lamb and beef.
- Aromatics - Onion, garlic, celery. Alternatively, red peppers are common too.
- Savory ingredients - Tomato paste and lemon juice adds umami and balance to the dish.
- Pomegranate molasses - Adds a sweet and savory flavor that really makes the dish extra special. You can omit it if you don’t have it because there’s plenty of other flavors.
- Ground spices - The spice blend is what gives this dish an authentic flavor. Use the suggested cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and cardamom. Substitute with Middle Eastern 7 Spices seasoning or Baharat seasoning if you'd like to use a spice blend that is already mixed.
- Others - Pine nuts, cilantro, and tahini drizzle are all optional, but I recommend using them. Pine nuts add an extra texture. Cilantro adds a pop of color and flavor. Can substitute with parsley or mint. Tahini drizzle adds a nice creamy touch to the dish.
Step by Step Photos
See the recipe card below for complete directions.
Jump to RecipeSTEP 1: Prepare. Preheat an oven to 450°F (230°C). Line a large baking sheet with foil, and generously grease with olive oil. Add onion, garlic, and celery to a food processor, and mince into a paste. In a separate small bowl, combine the spices, salt, and pepper.
STEP 2: Make Meat Mixture. In a mixing bowl combine ground meat with spice mix, vegetable mixture, tomato paste, pomegranate molasses, and lemon juice (photo 1). Mix well with your hands. I like to wear disposable food grade gloves for easy clean up! Set aside.
STEP 3: Prepare the dough. If your dough is pre-rolled, cut it into squares (photo 2) or triangles (photo 3). If you have a ball of dough, roll out the dough to ⅛ inch (3 mm) thick using a rolling pin. Triangular shaped dough is a great idea for Purim to make savory hamantaschen! Transfer the cut dough to the prepared baking sheet.
STEP 4: Assemble. Next, put a heaping tablespoon of raw meat mixture on each piece of dough and gently flatten the meat leaving a tiny border of dough. Sprinkle with pine nuts and gently press in.
STEP 5: Cook. Bake at 450°F (230°C) until the dough is golden brown and crispy, and the meat is cooked through (photo 4).
STEP 6: Serve. Garnish with a thin drizzle of tahini and a sprinkle of chopped cilantro. Serve warm.
Top Tips for Turkish Pizza
- Use a generous amount of olive oil on the foil-lined baking sheet so the dough cooks up really golden and crispy.
- Although these are traditionally made on a hot stone (or pizza stone), I recommend making them on a rimmed baking sheet. The oil will make the dough crispy and delicious.
- Serve them as appetizers, a casual main course, or as a part of a snacking platter.
Make Ahead
Make the meat mixture up to one day ahead of time. Refrigerate in an airtight container or bag.
The flatbread is best eaten just after it’s baked.
Storage and Reheating
How to store: Best when enjoyed right after making. Store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days in an airtight container.
How to freeze: Surprisingly, I’ve had these after they are frozen, and they taste good. Freeze in an airtight container or bag for up to 3 months.
How to reheat: Reheat in the oven directly from the refrigerator or freezer. Put on a baking sheet at 350ºF (175°C) until they are warm and lightly sizzling.
Serving Suggestions
This Turkish flatbread is great to serve as a party appetizer, for family dinner, or a casual shabbat.
Lahmacun is also a great idea for a Purim party. Traditional hamantaschen, which are sweet triangular cookies, are the main celebratory food served for Purim. I like to take the tradition of serving the triangular dessert and extend it to savory food as well. To make a savory hamantaschen, I cut the dough of lahmacun into triangles. My kids and guests love to have a hamantaschen that’s an appetizer or main course. Serve with other triangular options like Pizza Hamantaschen, Spinach and Feta Bourekas, Kreplach, or Arayes (meat stuffed pitas) cut into triangular wedges.
A popular way to serve lahmacun is to make a full individual size “pizza,” and then to top it with a simple fresh salad, and then fold it to enclose the salad, eating it almost like a taco. It's so tasty whether you make them in a full size or a mini appetizer size.
What to Serve with Lahmacun
Frequently Asked Questions
Even though lahmacun is sometimes referred to as Turkish pizza, it’s not exactly a pizza. While traditional Italian pizza usually contains a tomato based sauce, cheese, and other toppings, lahmacun, or “Turkish pizza” typically is topped with a meat and vegetable mixture with no cheese.
No, you do not need to cook the meat before making the pizza. The raw meat is added to the raw dough, and it all cooks together in the oven.
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Recipe
Lahmacun Recipe (Easy Turkish Pizza)
Equipment
Ingredients
Meat topping
- 1 pound ground beef, bison, or lamb
- 1 medium onion
- 2 cloves garlic peeled
- 1 celery rib
- 1 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- several grinds of freshly cracked black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ground allspice
- ¼ teaspoon ground cardamom
- 2 ounces tomato paste half a tube
- 1 teaspoon pomegranate molasses optional
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon pine nuts optional
Dough
- 1 pound pizza dough room temperature. Ideally, look for one already rolled out in a rectangle or circle.
- olive oil for greasing
Garnish
- 1 teaspoon chopped fresh cilantro leaves or parsley or mint
- 2 teaspoons runny natural tahini to drizzle
Instructions
- Prep: Place oven rack in the middle of the oven or just above. Preheat to 450°F (230°C). Line a large baking sheet with foil, and generously grease with olive oil. Set aside. Put onion, garlic, and celery in a small food processor, and mince into a paste. Set aside. Put spices, salt, and pepper in a small bowl, and stir to mix. Set aside.
- Make the meat mixture: Place ground meat in a medium sized bowl. Sprinkle spice mix on all around the meat. Then add vegetable mixture, tomato paste, pomegranate molasses, and lemon juice on top of the meat. Mix well with your hands- I like to wear disposable food grade gloves.
- Prepare the dough: Spread out the ready to bake dough. Cover the ones you are not working on to prevent the dough from drying out. Stretch the dough a little until it is about ⅛” thick. Take a metal dough cutter or a large knife and cut the dough into rectangles that are about 2x3 inches (or triangles for Purim). It's fine if the shapes are a bit irregular. Move each piece of dough to the oiled baking pan as you work. Keep the pieces separated, but they can be close together as they don't expand much when they bake. You’ll have approximately 40 small pieces of dough.
- Assemble: put a heaping tablespoon of raw meat mixture on each piece of dough, and gently flatten the meat to about ⅓ of an inch thick. Leave a tiny border of dough around the meat. The meat shrinks when it cooks. Lastly, sprinkle the meat with a few pine nuts each. Gently press on any nuts that look like they won't stick.
- Cook: Bake the first sheet of lahmacun in the oven for about 12-15 minutes or until the dough is golden brown on the edges and bottom. The darker the color, the crispier the dough will be.
- Serve: Let sit on the baking pan a couple minutes until they are cool enough to handle and remove with a spatula. Garnish with a thin drizzle of tahini and a sprinkle of chopped cilantro. Serve warm.
- Additional Directions for if you have a ball of dough: divide the dough into thirds. Cover 2 pieces and set aside. Select a work surface like a silicone cutting board. Spread a light amount of oil over the surface. Take your dough and stretch the dough by gently pulling with your fingers. You can also gently push the dough out against the board with your fingers until the dough is about ⅛ of a inch thick everywhere. Aim to stretch the dough into a square or rectangle.
Notes
- Make the meat mixture up to one day ahead of time.
- Store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days in an airtight container.
- Freeze in an airtight container or bag for up to 3 months.
- Reheat in the oven directly from the refrigerator or freezer. Put on a baking sheet at 350ºF (175°C) until they are warm and lightly sizzling.
- Resources: Impossibly Kosher and Simply Lebanese for recipe inspiration.
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
Nutritional information is an estimation only.
Pam says
I made this recently and it was so delicious. My family loved it. A really easy recipe too. I didn’t have ground beef, so I used ground turkey. It was great. Next time I will use ground beef. Thanks for another great recipe.
Dana Shrager says
Pam, so glad to hear that you family loved this recipe. And great to know that this recipe works with ground turkey, thank you!