Recipe
🥙 LUNCH
Lahmajoun
Paper-thin Armenian flatbread spread with a bright, spiced lamb and pepper paste, baked crisp and eaten with lemon.
Armenian · medium · serves 4
prep 40 min · cook 12 min
~504 cal · 25g protein · 76g carbs · 10g fat · 5g fiber · 4g sugars · 4g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
↓ Jump to Recipe
AI-generated illustration
Lahmajoun is the thin, crackling flatbread that Armenians spread with a vivid red layer of minced lamb, tomato, pepper and parsley, then bake hot and fast until the edges char. Non-Armenians call it Armenian pizza, but there is no cheese: the topping is closer to a smeared kofta, brightened with paprika and Aleppo pepper.
The onion and pepper are ground fine and their liquid squeezed out, so the topping stays moist without turning the dough soggy. Rolled out, topped and baked in minutes, lahmajoun is folded around a squeeze of lemon and eaten by hand, a staple of Yerevan bakeries and family tables alike.
Saved recipes and passport stamps are kept on this device. Sign in to keep them across your devices and leave reviews.
Make it yours
✓ Naturally dairy-, nut-, egg- and pork-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
🐖 Pork-Free
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.
Ingredients
US
Metric
Serves 4
2 3/4 cups bread flour
1 tsp instant yeast
1 cup warm water
2 tbsp olive oil
8 oz ground lamb or beef
1 red bell pepper, finely chopped
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 tbsp tomato paste
1/2 cup flat-leaf parsley, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp sweet paprika
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp Aleppo pepper
1 tsp salt
to serve lemon wedges
Instructions
1
Whisk the flour, yeast and salt, then mix in the warm water and olive oil to a soft dough. Knead until smooth, cover, and let rise about 1 hour until puffy.
2
Grind the bell pepper and onion with a little salt, then drain in a sieve for 10 minutes and press out the liquid so the topping is not watery.
✎ Chef’s note
Wet topping is the classic mistake: it steams the dough limp instead of letting it crisp.
3
Mix the drained pepper and onion with the meat, tomato paste, parsley, garlic, paprika, cumin and Aleppo pepper into a spreadable paste.
4
Divide the dough into 6 balls and roll each into a very thin round. Spread a thin, even layer of topping almost to the edge.
5
Bake on the top rack of a 500F oven for 6 to 8 minutes, until the meat browns and the edges crisp. Serve hot with a squeeze of lemon, folded to eat.
Yerevan bakery style.
Ratings & reviews
Cooked it? Rate this dish:
No account needed. Sign in to leave a full review with a comment.
Cooked it?
Kept on this device, no account needed. Sign in to leave a review and keep your passport across your devices.
No reviews yet, be the first to cook it.
🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Yerevan. Yerevan turns autumn into ghapama, a whole pumpkin stuffed with rice, dried fruit, and nuts and baked until collapsing. Armenian cooking rests on lavash bread, apricots, herbs by the handful, grilled khorovats meats, and cracked wheat.
🗺️
Armenia. Armenian food is among the world's oldest, built on lavash bread, grilled meats (khorovats), bulgur, and an abundance of herbs and fruit. Ancient, generous, and preservation-savvy, it centers the family feast.
🌍
Asia. A grain line runs across the continent. Rice dominates the wet south and east, wheat the drier north and west, and the tools follow it: the wok and the steamer where rice is milled, the tandoor and the griddle where wheat is ground. Tea travels the other way, drunk green, black, salted, buttered or with milk depending how far it got from China.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from Armenia
Ghapama (Stuffed Pumpkin)A whole pumpkin packed with rice, dried apricots, walnuts, and honey, baked until the shell is a spoonable bowl.
KhorovatsArmenian barbecue: marinated pork or lamb grilled over vine coals with fire-roasted vegetables.
Zhingyalov HatsThin flatbread stuffed with a dozen or more chopped herbs and greens, griddled until blistered.
Browse all Armenia recipes →
Good to know
You’ll need: Oven, Whisk.
Storing it: Best the day it is made. Wrap well and refresh in a warm oven, or freeze and reheat straight from frozen.
Make it a Armenia meal
Ghapama (Stuffed Pumpkin)Dessert
KhorovatsDinner
Similar dishes from around the world
LahmacunTurkey
ChakhchoukhaAlgeria
NashifChad
Emirati ThareedUnited Arab Emirates
MansafJordan
Qatari ThareedQatar
Cuisine
Diet
Frequently asked questions
What is Lahmajoun?
Paper-thin Armenian flatbread spread with a bright, spiced lamb and pepper paste, baked crisp and eaten with lemon.
Where does Lahmajoun come from?
Lahmajoun is a Armenian dish from Yerevan, Armenia.
Can Lahmajoun be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Lahmajoun recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions, including several at once such as gluten-free and dairy-free together. Treat them as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Lahmajoun safe for people with food allergies?
Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.
How long does Lahmajoun take to make?
About 52 minutes total (40 minutes prep, 12 minutes cooking), serving 4.
Get the Sunday Spin
One dish from somewhere in the world, in your inbox every Sunday. No spam, just dinner inspiration you can cook that day.