Traditional Hawawshi Recipe - Egyptian Stuffed Bread

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Cooking With Anadi

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What Is Hawawshi?

Hawawshi, pronounced ha-wow-shi, is an Egyptian stuffed bread where the aromatic filling is stuffed into either pita bread or a traditional Egyptian flatbread dough. I would consider this Mediterranean-style meat bread similar to the Indian Keema Paratha, where we add minced meat (chicken in my keema paratha recipe) into bread. This stuffed meaty bread is one of Egypt’s most famous street-side snacks! From my research, there isn’t a definite origin story of this bread, but one of the speculations is that snack originated in the 1970’s in Cairo by a local butcher named Ahmed Al-Hawawsh.

Now, if you know me, I love all sorts of meat pies and meat breads - there are plenty of other recipes from different cuisines around the world on the blog, and I’m not done making them yet! With that being said, Egypt is certainly a cuisine I’ve never delved into until now. If you’re also a meat pie lover like myself, then I highly encourage you to make Egypt no longer a destination unseen by making this delicious stuffed bread as part of your Live to Cook one-month challenge! Get started on your cooking journey for free today by signing to my email newsletter, plus all of my latest recipes will be sent directly to your inbox!

Be sure to watch the video to follow along as we make these super scrumptious Egyptian meat breads! It would mean a lot to me if you could please subscribe to my YouTube channel if you’t not already, and don’t forget to hit the bell button so you get notified when my video recipes go live with the written ones! Let’s get cooking!

Tools Needed to Make This Hawawshi Recipe

• Mixing bowl
• Cheesecloth
• Blender
• Salt crock
• Garlic press
• Measuring cups
• Measuring spoons
• Plastic wrap
• Olive oil spray bottle
• Baking sheet
• Plastic wrap
• Wire rack
• Gloves
• Chef’s knife
• Cutting board

Ingredients for Egyptian Hawawshi

Scroll to the bottom of this post for the FULL PRINTABLE RECIPE CARD or press the “Jump to Recipe” button to get the full ingredient list and to save the recipe for later! The recipe card will also allow you to scale the recipe based on how many Egyptian meat breads you’re looking to make so that there’s the perfect amount of filling and spice!

For the Baharat Spice

• Cinnamon
• Ground cloves
• Ground nutmeg
• Ground black pepper
• Ground coriander
• Ground cumin
• Ground paprika: Or smoked paprika for depth.
• Ground cardamom

For the Hawawshi

• Ground beef: I used lean ground beef so that these can be super juicy.
• Yellow onion
• Garlic cloves
• Tomato
• Green pepper
• Jalapeño
• Flat leaf parsley
• Baharat spice: From above.
• Salt: As you may have noticed, the Baharat spice does not have any salt, so we’ll need a little bit to bring out all the wonderful flavors in this meat mixture.
• Greek pita bread
• Olive oil: To spray or brush the stuffed breads before baking so that they turn a lovely golden brown.

How to Make Hawawshi

Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).

In a food processor, combine onion, bell pepper, tomato, jalapeño, and garlic. Blend into a smooth purée (add a splash of water if needed).

Transfer the purée to a cheesecloth or clean kitchen towel and squeeze out excess moisture — this step helps avoid soggy bread.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the veggie mixture with the ground beef, parsley, baharat spice, and a generous pinch of salt. Mix until fully combined.

Slice pita breads in half. If they don’t naturally form pockets, carefully use a serrated knife to create an opening.

Stuff each pita pocket with the meat mixture, pressing gently to distribute evenly.

Place stuffed pitas on a baking sheet and brush both sides with oil.

Bake for 14–15 minutes, flipping halfway through for even browning.

Serve hot and enjoy your homemade Hawawshi with a squeeze of lemon or a side of tahini or yogurt dip.

How to Serve Hawawshi

These Egyptian stuffed meat breads are quite satisfying on their own! They’re packed with flavor and have loads of protein, making them filling and hearty. However, if you want to pair these breads with a dipping sauce, then tahini or toum, Lebanese garlic sauce, would be excellent! Furthermore, you could also have some pickled veggies on the side for some added tanginess. If you really wanted to, you can’t go wrong with potatoes as a side dish! I recommend Greek-style baked lemon potatoes, but some air fryer fries or oven-baked fries would also be amazing! On the other hand, if you’d like some greens, then a salad would be perfect, and I highly recommend my light and fresh Arugula Salad with Goat’s Cheese and Roasted Almonds.

Tips & Tricks for Mastering This Hawawshi Recipe

• For the best texture and flavor, be sure to squeeze out as much moisture as possible from the puréed veggies using a cheesecloth or kitchen towel—this keeps the pita from getting soggy while baking.
• Use thick, sturdy pita bread like Greek or Egyptian-style to hold the juicy filling without tearing or leaking during cooking.
• Brush both sides of the stuffed pita generously with oil to ensure golden, crispy results—this mimics the traditional pan-fried texture but keeps things lighter.
• If you like extra flavor and a bit of kick, add finely chopped chili or a touch of chili powder along with the baharat spice.
• Chilling the meat mixture for 15–30 minutes before stuffing makes it easier to handle and pack into the pita evenly.
• Try serving your Hawawshi street-food style by slicing them into halves or quarters and wrapping in parchment paper for a fun, grab-and-go presentation.
• Serve with lemon wedges, tahini sauce, or a cooling yogurt dip to balance the warm spices in the filling.

Reheating Instructions

In my opinion, the best way to reheat these Egyptian stuffed meat breads is by reheating them in an air fryer! Simply place the hawawshi in your air fryer and air fry at 350 F, for about 5 to 8 minutes. Alternatively, you can also reheat over the stove on a non-stick pan. Place the bread on the pan and heat both sides on medium-low heat until the meat filling is warm inside and the bread is crispy.

You can microwave Hawawshi if you want, but I would recommend you microwave it and then heat over the pan. If you reheat only by microwaving, then there is a greater chance of the pita bread becoming soggy, and you don’t want that!

Other Delicious Beefy Handhelds

• Canadian Individual Handheld Tourtières
• Belizean Meat Pies
• Yemeni Beef Murtabak Recipe
• Lahm bi Ajeen - Lebanese Meat Pies
• South African Vetkoek

Baharat, Baladi Bread and the Arayes Connection

Three things give hawawshi its identity, and they are all worth understanding before you make it:

• The baharat. This is the warm Middle Eastern blend doing all the work in the filling — here it is black pepper, ground coriander, cinnamon, cumin, paprika, cloves, nutmeg and cardamom. Blends vary by household and region, and many also carry allspice, so if yours does, that is perfectly authentic.
• The bread. In Egypt this is made with baladi, the puffed wholemeal flatbread sold on practically every street. Greek or Egyptian-style pita is the closest easy substitute and is what this recipe uses — you want something sturdy that forms a real pocket.
• Its cousin, arayes. The Levantine version, common in Lebanon and Syria, uses much the same idea — spiced ground meat pressed into flatbread and grilled or baked — but leans on parsley and mint rather than the deeper baharat spicing, and is more often cooked over charcoal than in the oven.

Brush the stuffed pitas with a neutral oil, or olive oil if you want a little of its flavor in the crust. Serve them hot with a squeeze of lemon, a bowl of tahini or garlicky yogurt for dipping, and a plate of sharp pickles alongside — that combination of rich meat, acid and crunch is how it is actually eaten in Cairo.

The name itself is usually credited to a Cairo butcher, Ahmed El-Hawawshi, in the early 1970s, and the dish has since spread across the Middle East and the Levant in one form or another. What keeps it from being just a meat sandwich is the vegetable base: onion, bell pepper, tomato, garlic and chilies blitzed to a puree, then squeezed dry in a cloth before they meet the beef. That squeeze is not optional — it is what stops the bread going soggy while still letting the vegetables season the meat from the inside.

Practical notes: work with pita half rounds so each one has a proper pocket, and do not overfill or the seam splits as the meat swells. Two halves with a salad and a bowl of soup make a full meal for two. If you are reheating a batch in the oven rather than the pan, wrap them loosely in foil for the first few minutes so the filling warms through, then open the foil to let the bread crisp again, and finish with fresh lemon juice.