Recipe
🍳 BREAKFAST
Manakish Za'atar
Flatbread baked with a fragrant za'atar-and-olive-oil topping, the Levantine morning staple.
Lebanese · medium · serves 4
prep 25 min · cook 15 min
~367 cal · 10g protein · 74g carbs · 2g fat · 3g fiber · 1g sugars · 0g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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Manakish is the breakfast bread of Lebanon and the wider Levant, a soft round of dough spread before baking with a paste of , the beloved blend of wild thyme, , and toasted sesame loosened with plenty of olive oil, then baked until the base is soft and the edges crisp.
It is inseparable from the neighbourhood furn, the local bakery, where trays of it are baked fresh each morning and sold hot to a steady stream of customers. Folded in half like a book or rolled up, it is eaten on the way to work or school, the everyday grab-and-go breakfast of the region.
is the classic, but a manoushe comes in many guises: cheese (jibneh), spiced minced meat (lahm bi ajin), or a mix of the two. Fragrant, herby, and warm from the oven, manakish is quite literally the smell of a Beirut morning.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally vegetarian, vegan and dairy-, egg-, nut- 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
3 cups flour
1/2 cup spice blend
1/3 cup olive oil
2 tsp yeast
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
as needed warm water
Instructions
1
Make a soft dough with the flour, yeast, sugar, salt, and warm water; let it rise.
2
Mix the za'atar with the olive oil into a loose paste.
3
Roll the dough into rounds and dimple them.
4
Spread the za'atar oil over each and bake at 450°F for 8-12 minutes until the edges crisp.
5
Serve warm, folded, with tomato, cucumber, and olives.
Beirut tradition.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Beirut. Beirut sets the Levant's most generous mezze table, hummus, tabbouleh, kibbeh, and manakish, eaten slowly and shared widely. Mountains, sea, and a cosmopolitan history flavor the Lebanese capital.
🗺️
Lebanon. Lebanese cooking is the generous heart of the Levant, famous for its mezze, dozens of small plates like hummus, tabbouleh, and kibbeh meant for sharing. Olive oil, lemon, garlic, and fresh herbs brighten a table where hospitality means abundance.
🌍
Asia. Fermentation is the thread that runs the whole way across: soy sauce and miso, Korean doenjang and kimchi, Southeast Asian fish sauces, the soured batter behind an idli. Chilli is the newcomer among them, arriving only after 1500 with Portuguese and Spanish traders, which makes the heat in Sichuan, Thai and Korean cooking far younger than the fermenting underneath it.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from Lebanon
MujadaraLentils and rice under a deep pile of slow-caramelized onions, the Levant’s humble masterpiece.
FalafelCrisp herb-flecked chickpea fritters tucked into pita with tahini, pickles, and salad, a Levantine street classic.
KnafehMolten sweet cheese under a crisp orange semolina or shredded-pastry crust, drenched in syrup, a Levantine breakfast-dessert.
Browse all Lebanon recipes →
Good to know
You’ll need: Oven.
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 Lebanon meal
JallabDrink
KnafehDessert
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Frequently asked questions
What is Manakish Za'atar?
Flatbread baked with a fragrant za'atar-and-olive-oil topping, the Levantine morning staple.
Where does Manakish Za'atar come from?
Manakish Za'atar is a Lebanese dish from Beirut, Lebanon.
Can Manakish Za'atar be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Manakish Za'atar 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 Manakish Za'atar 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 Manakish Za'atar take to make?
About 40 minutes total (25 minutes prep, 15 minutes cooking), serving 4.
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