Arayes are Lebanese street food that deserve far more space in Danish kitchens: pitta breads filled with spiced lamb mince, pressed flat and baked until the bread crackles. The filling cooks inside the bread, so the meat juices and fat seep into the crumb and make the inside soft and full of flavour, while the outside turns golden brown and crisp.
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Traditionally they are grilled over charcoal, but the air fryer handles the job just as well and far more practically for everyday cooking. At 190 °C the whole dish is ready in 27 minutes — 15 minutes to mix the filling and fill the breads, and 12 minutes in the basket. It is lunch food that fills you up like dinner, and you can make it while the coffee brews.
Estimated reading time: 4 minutes
Table of Contents
Why I love arayes in the air fryer
Arayes solve a problem most people know from minced meat: it turns dry when it is fried loose in a pan. Here the filling sits between two layers of bread that work as a lid and a base. The fat cannot run away — it is soaked up by the crumb, and the result is a sandwich where every bite has both crunch and juice.
The air fryer also has the advantage that the heat hits the bread from every side at once. You do not need to press with a pan or turn them three times to get an even colour; one turn halfway through is enough. And you get no smoke in the kitchen, which you certainly do if you try to imitate the charcoal grill in a griddle pan.
Why lamb and not beef?
Lamb has the fat percentage and the faintly sweet flavour that carries cumin, cinnamon and parsley. If you want to use beef, choose 15-20 per cent fat — lean mince does not cut it here, because the whole point is that the fat should travel out into the bread along the way. A mixture of lamb and beef is entirely legitimate too, and it is used a great deal in Lebanon.
My kitchen test of arayes
I have made arayes in my Cosori Dual Blaze a handful of times, and 190 °C for 12 minutes is the point where the bread is crisp all the way through without going bone dry right to the middle. I turn them once around halfway, so both sides get the same colour.
The core temperature in the filling was 70 °C when they came out of the basket — that is the number I aim for, because lamb mince has to be cooked all the way through, and because the filling sits hidden and cannot be judged by eye. Push the meat thermometer in from the side through the edge of the bread, and you hit the middle of the filling without ruining the surface. In an ordinary oven the same arayes take noticeably longer at the same temperature, because the oven does not blow the heat down into the bread in the same way.
Brush the outside of the bread with a thin layer of oil before it goes into the basket. That is the difference between golden brown and grey.
Tips and tricks from the author: Morten Jensen
The typical mistakes and how you avoid them
The first mistake is too much filling. The mince has to be spread out in a thin layer with a free edge all the way round, otherwise it is pressed out at the sides and burns on the basket while the middle is still raw. The second is a filling that is too wet: grated onion gives off plenty of liquid, and that liquid steams the bread soft from the inside, so squeeze the juice out before you mix. The third is impatience with the temperature. If you turn it up to save time, the bread browns long before the filling is cooked through — stick to 190 °C and aim for 70 °C in the middle instead.
How to serve arayes
Arayes are rich and spiced, so the sides should ideally bring acidity and freshness:
- Cool garlic yoghurt or a thin tahini dressing for dipping
- Pickled red onion or quick-pickled cucumber that cuts through the fat
- Tomato and parsley salad with lemon juice and olive oil
- Fresh mint leaves and lemon wedges on the side
- Chilli sauce or harissa if you want some heat
Storage and reheating
Arayes keep for a couple of days in the fridge in an airtight container. Reheat them in the air fryer at the same 190 °C as for the baking, but only briefly — enough for the bread to turn crisp again and the filling to be piping hot all the way through. The microwave is the one thing you should stay well clear of: it makes the bread chewy rather than crisp. Baked arayes can also be frozen, and they thaw nicely in the fridge overnight.
Arayes are one of those dishes where the air fryer is not just a shortcut, but actually gives a better result than the pan. Crisp bread, juicy filling and the smell of cumin all through the kitchen. Put them on the table with a bowl of yoghurt and let people tear them in half themselves.
FAQ
Yes. Choose mince with 15-20 per cent fat so the filling does not turn dry. The fat is what seeps into the bread and makes the inside juicy. A mixture of lamb and beef works fine too.
It is almost always down to a filling that is too wet. Squeeze the juice out of the grated onion, and avoid filling the breads too thickly. A thin layer of oil on the outside also helps the bread to brown and crisp up.
Measure the core temperature in the filling by pushing the thermometer in from the side through the edge of the bread. It has to reach 70 °C. Minced meat cannot be judged by the colour from the outside when it is hidden inside the bread.
Recipe
Arayes in the Air Fryer
Cooking Guide
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Cost of the dish
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Our estimate is based on average food prices for the current year 2026.
Estimated price for the whole dish:
Airfryer size
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Shopping list
Ingredients
Spiced lamb filling
- 500 g lamb mince
- 1 pcs onion (Finely chopped)
- 2 clove garlic (Crushed)
- 20 g flat-leaf parsley (Finely chopped)
- 1 tbsp tomato purée
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp paprika
- 0.5 tsp ground allspice
- 0.5 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp salt
- 0.5 tsp black pepper (Freshly ground)
Bread and brushing oil
- 4 pcs pitta breads (Large and round)
- 2 tbsp olive oil (For brushing)
To serve
- 150 g Turkish yoghurt
- 1 pcs lemon (Cut into wedges)
- 1 tsp sumac (For sprinkling)
How to make it
Preparation
- Put 500 g lamb mince in a bowl together with 1 pcs onion, 2 clove garlic and 20 g flat-leaf parsley. Add 1 tbsp tomato purée and knead the mince together well with your hands until it is evenly combined.
- Season the mince with 1 tsp ground cumin, 1 tsp paprika, 0.5 tsp ground allspice, 0.5 tsp ground cinnamon, 1 tsp salt and 0.5 tsp black pepper. Mix the mince through until the spices are evenly distributed.
- Cut 4 pcs pitta breads in half so you have eight half-moons, and carefully open them into pockets without tearing the edges.
- Divide the mince between the eight pockets and press it out into an even layer about 1 cm thick, right to the edges. A thin layer is cooked through exactly when the bread turns crisp.
- Brush both sides of the filled breads with 2 tbsp olive oil. The oil is what gives them the golden, crisp crust.
Cooking in the air fryer
- Preheat the air fryer to 190 °C fan.
- Place the breads in a single layer in the basket so they do not overlap, and bake them for 12 minutes at 190 °C. Turn them after 6 minutes so both sides turn crisp.
- Check with a meat thermometer that the filling is cooked through: the core temperature must be at least 70 °C. Give them 2-3 minutes more at 180 °C if the bread is crisp but the meat is not quite done.
Serving
- Let the arayes rest for 2 minutes, sprinkle them with 1 tsp sumac and serve them hot with 150 g Turkish yoghurt and 1 pcs lemon cut into wedges to squeeze over.
Our notes for the recipe
Press the mince out into a thin, even layer right to the edge — that way the meat is cooked through exactly when the bread turns crisp. Never stack the breads on top of each other in the basket; they need air all the way round to turn really crisp. Extra crispy:
If you want them as crisp as possible, brush the breads with an extra thin layer of oil before you turn them, and give them the last 2 minutes at 200 °C. Variation:
Swap the lamb mince for beef mince, or mix the two half and half for a milder flavour. A tablespoon of finely chopped mint in the mince gives a fresher note. Serving:
Serve with tahini dressing or garlic yoghurt, a simple tomato and cucumber salad and pickled vegetables. Portion size:
If your air fryer is on the small side, you can cook the dish in two batches and keep the first batch warm in the oven at 80 °C.
Your notes for the recipe
Nutrition per serving (Guideline)
Important about shelf life and nutrition
Nutrition per serving (guideline): Calculations are based on data from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Shelf life (guideline): Shelf life data is provided, as far as possible, by public institutions, including national food authorities. Our information is therefore only indicative, and it is your responsibility to obtain and calculate accurate information about shelf life and nutrition for all recipes on airfryerkogebogen.dk
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