Vegan Arayes: Tempeh Stuffed Pitta Bread
Crispy on the outside, juicy and flavoursome on the inside, these vegan arayes are a brilliant way to enjoy tempeh. Packed with plant-based protein and full of bold, savoury flavour, they make a super healthy, quick and easy midweek meal. And they’re great for lunches too. Serve with tahini yoghurt sauce and a fresh chopped or green salad for a satisfying plate that hits all the right notes.
Dive Right In
- Why You’ll Want To Make Vegan Arayes
- Vegan Tempeh Arayes
- Ingredients, Additions And Substitutions
- How To Make Vegan Arayes With Tempeh
- Serving Tips
- Other Tempeh Recipes You Might Like
- Keep In Touch
- Pin It
- The Recipe
Arayes are effectively toasted sandwiches where a spiced lamb and onion filling is cooked inside pitta bread pockets. They’re both delicious and satisfying. I make this vegan version quite a lot.
Why You’ll Want To Make Vegan Arayes
- Crispy, succulent and packed with flavour – The golden toasted pitta gives way to a savoury, well-seasoned filling that’s anything but boring.
- Fresh twist on a classic – A creative vegan take on a Middle Eastern favourite street food. It keeps the spirit of arayes while making it totally plant-based.
- Healthy comfort food – You get all the crispy, satisfying comfort of stuffed pitta without deep frying or heavy ingredients.
- Plant-based and protein-rich – Tempeh brings a hearty, satisfying texture along with a good hit of protein. It’s ideal for vegans and vegetarians looking for something substantial and a bit different.
- Quick and easy – Perfect for busy weeknights, this recipe comes together fast and doesn’t require any complicated steps.
- Versatile: Delicious hot from the pan for dinner or reheated for lunch the next day. It works well with a variety of sides and sauces.
Vegan Tempeh Arayes
The stuffing inside arayes is basically raw kofta. Instead of cooking the kofta as individual balls, you cook it flattened inside a pitta bread. When toasted in a dry frying pan the pitta becomes crispy and the filling gets cooked and succulent.
These sorts of toasted, grilled or baked stuffed flatbread recipes are classic street food found all over the middle east. Lebanese arayes are probably the most famous. In Egypt they’re called hawawshi, but are generally made with whole wheat flatbreads called aish baladi and contain peppers and different spices in the filling.
You can make the stuffing up to three days ahead, so it’s a great recipe for meal prep. Once made, all you need to do is stuff your pitta breads and toast.
As well as a quick midweek dinner or satisfying lunch, vegan arayes are a great addition to any meze spread. They’re fairly inclusive, tasty and provide a hot element to the meal. The amount I’ve given in the recipe, if cut in half, will give sixteen pieces.
Ingredients, Additions and Substitutions
The ingredients needed to make vegan arayes are actually very few. Because we’re replacing the traditional lamb with tempeh, I’ve added a little fat and a little umami to the mix. And if you can’t see them in the image below, it’s because I forgot to add them.
Alliums
Juicy onion plays a big part in making good arayes. Whether you grate your onion or use a mini food processor to chop it really finely, it’s the juice that makes all the difference. Make sure you don’t lose any of it.
Ordinary brown onions are best for this recipe. They have the most robust flavour. You’ll also need some garlic – it is a Middle Eastern recipe after all.
Bread
Pitta bread is the easiest type of bread to both find and make yourself. But most types of Middle Eastern flatbreads will work. You just need one that has a pocket.
I use wholemeal pitta breads, either homemade or shop bought. If you make your own sourdough, you might be interested in my recipe for sourdough pitta breads.
Parsley
Parsley adds freshness as well as flavour to the arayes. It’s one of those essential Middle Eastern herbs that gets used in just about everything. I use curly leaved parsley as that’s what grows best in our garden, but flat leaf parsley is more traditional.
Spices
Baharat (Lebanese seven spice) is a wonderful aromatic mix of spices and it’s traditionally used to flavour arayes. However, if you can’t find it, you can use a mix of ground cumin, coriander, allspice and smoked paprika instead. A pinch of cinnamon helps too.
Although not at all traditional, I like to add a little chilli to the mix. A hot green chilli is a good one to use as the the colour is similar to the parsley. The green flecks in the “mince” make it look more appealing somehow.
You can leave the chilli out altogether, or swap it for a red one or a little ground cayenne powder if that’s what you have to hand.
Tempeh
Tempeh is one of the best replacements for meat such as lamb and beef as it has a sort of meaty texture. It has the additional benefit of being uber healthy too and as a fermented product, is good for your gut.
However, it needs a fat and flavour boost. Tempeh contains zero fat, so I add a little extra virgin olive oil to make up for it. This also helps hold everything together.
The other addition I make is tamari which gives some umami elements to the mix. Tamari is the queen of soy sauces, but go ahead and use your favourite instead if you don’t have any.
If you’re not a fan of tempeh or can’t get hold of it, try firm tofu instead. Just makes sure it’s well pressed. You might need to add a little more seasoning to it as it’s much blander than tempeh.
Additions
For additional umami and a bit of colour, add a teaspoon of tomato paste, if liked.
I sometimes add a grated carrot and / or a stick of very finely chopped celery to the mix. It’s a good way of getting a few extra veggies into the meal.
How To Make Vegan Arayes With Tempeh
These vegan tempeh arayes are great for an easy meal with little in the way of washing up. Just mix the filling, stuff it into pitta pockets and it cooks as the bread toasts.
Please refer to the recipe card at the bottom of this post for cooking temperatures and quantities of ingredients used.
Step 1. Prepare Filling Ingredients
Start by grating the onion into a medium sized mixing bowl. Grate it directly over the bowl so that you don’t lose any of the juice that comes out. I use a box grater. It doesn’t take long to do, but it does make your eyes water.
It’s fine to use a mini food processor or chopper instead, but make sure it’s very finely chopped and you don’t lose any of the juice.
Using the same grater, grate the tempeh block and add to the onion bowl.
Finely grate the garlic and finely chop the parsley and chilli, if using. The chilli heat will depend on the type of chilli you use. If you have a hot one, you may want to remove the seeds first. Add them all to the bowl.
Top Tip
If you use a mini food processor or chopper to chop the veg, you can do the onion, garlic, chilli and parsley all at the same time.
Step 2. Mix Filling
Add the spices, salt, tamari and oil to the bowl and mix until everything is thoroughly combined and mostly sticks together. Hands are actually a really good tool for this particular job, but you can use a wooden spoon if you prefer.
Divide the mixture into four more or less equal portions.
Step 3. Stuff Pitta Pockets
With a bread knife, halve the pitta breads widthways so that you have two pockets.
Divide one of the tempeh portions in two and spoon one half into one pocket and the remaining half into the other. Level the filling out with a wide bladed knife so that the mix is flat and covers the whole pocket more or less evenly.
Don’t worry if the bread tears a little, once cooked, the filling will hold it all together.
Top Tip
My top tip for opening up the pitta breads is to warm them a little before cutting in half. I put mine in the toaster until they start to puff up. It works a treat.
Step 4. Toast Arayes
Heat a good non stick frying pan to a medium heat, there’s no need to oil it as dry frying works brilliantly. Place the two pockets you’ve just filled in the pan.
Flatten them gently with a fish slice or similar and let them toast until they’re cooked through and golden on the outside. Flip them over and repeat the process.
Whilst the first two are cooking, stuff the remaining breads. Then toast in batches, according to how many you can fit in your pan.
I can only get three pitta pockets into my frying pan, but if you can manage four, you’ll get them done much faster.
Either eat straight away, or put them in a warm oven to keep them hot whilst you cook the others.
Top Tip
If you prefer, you can bake or grill the arayes instead of toasting them in a pan. You can also use an air fryer. Personally, I like the pan method as you can see what’s going on and press the pittas as they toast to ensure they’re as flat as possible and hold together.
Serving Tips
Serve these vegan arayes freshly cooked whilst the pittas are still warm and crisp on the outside.
- Dips and sauces – The classic tahini yoghurt sauce is perfect for dipping, but you could also try a drizzle of zhoug, a spoonful of chilli and tomato chutney or just a squeeze of lemon for extra zing. A more straightforward tahini sauce works well too and is naturally vegan.
- Salad pairings – Serve with a simple chopped salad. Think cucumber, peppers, tomato, parsley and lemon juice. I have a good recipe for one in my homemade falafel post. It also goes surprisingly well with Waldorf salad. Alternatively, for a fresh contrast, go for a green salad with a zingy lemon and sumac dressing.
- Pickles and extras – Add some pickles, olives or crunchy radishes on the side to brighten the plate. Pickled turnips are traditional, but I have a fabulous recipe for carrot pickles which pairs beautifully.
- Make it a meal – Arayes are filling on their own, but you can round things out with meze-style extras like hummus, baba ganoush, roasted vegetables or even chips for a fuller spread. Or serve them with a simple bowl of vegetable soup. If serving as part of a meze, cut the arayes into halves once cooked.
- Pack for later – Vegan arayes reheat well in a pan, air fryer or sandwich press. This makes them a great option for packed lunches or next-day leftovers. Just store in an airtight container for up to two days.
Other Tempeh Recipes You Might Like
- Courgette tempeh hash
- Marinated tempeh with roasted grapes & fennel
- Sticky gochujang tempeh
- Tempeh curry with leeks
- Tempeh on toast
- Ukrainian dumpling soup
Keep in Touch
Thank you for visiting Tin and Thyme. If you make these vegan arayes, I’d love to hear about it in the comments below. Do you have any recommendations or tips for making them?
Please rate the recipe too. And do tag me @choclette8 on Instagram with your images, I love to see your take on my recipes.
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If you’d like more Middle Eastern recipes, follow the link and you’ll find I have quite a lot of them. All delicious and nutritious, of course.
Choclette x
Vegan Arayes. PIN IT
Vegan Arayes: Tempeh Stuffed Pitta Bread
Ingredients
- 4 pitta breads
Filling
- 200 g tempeh grated
- 1 small onion grated or very finely chopped
- 1 clove garlic finely grated
- 1 green chilli (optional) – finely chopped
- 4 sprig fresh parsley finely chopped – enough to make 2 tbsp
- 1 tsp baharat (Lebanese seven spice)
- ¼ tsp fine sea or rock salt
- 1 tsp tamari (affiliate link) or your favourite soy sauce
- 2 tsp extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
- Place all the filling ingredients into a mixing bowl and mix until everything is thoroughly combined and mostly sticks together. Hands are actually a really good tool for this particular job, but you can use a wooden spoon if you prefer.
- Divide the mixture into four more or less equal portions.
- Halve the pitta breads widthways so that you have two pockets. Divide one of the portions in two and spoon one half into one pocket and the remaining half into the other. Level the filling out with a butter type knife so that the mix is flat and covers the whole pocket more or less evenly.
- Heat a good non stick large frying pan to a medium heat, then place the two pockets in the pan. Flatten them gently with a fish slice or similar and let them toast for 3-4 minutes. Flip them over and repeat the process.
- Either eat straight away, or put them in an oven set to 60℃ (140℉) to keep them warm whilst you cook the others.
- Whilst the first two pitta pockets are cooking, stuff the remaining breads. Then toast in batches, according to how many you can fit in your pan.
This looks excellent – interesting that you don’t need to cook the tempeh first – makes it look so much quicker! I am always on the look out for great tempeh recipes and this one is good to have with my tempeh averse daughter who could have something else in the pita. BTW I was very excited to buy 7 grain tempeh from the farmers market recently – wonder how this would go in it – it was great fried!
Ooh interesting Johanna and lovely to hear from you too. CT used to make fava bean tempeh, which was great. But it’s a bit of a faff and I haven’t managed to persuade him to do it in recent years. But have never heard of making it with grains. Arayes are just brilliant for a quick mix, load and toast – no need to pre-cook anything – yay! Maybe your tempeh averse daughter might be able to cope with it done this way as it’s sort of disguised.
THANKS for this delicious recipe!
Glad you like it and thanks for letting us know. It’s one of our favourite quick recipes.