Mediterranean Flatbread Pizza
Update your pizza night with my Mediterranean flatbread pizza recipe. Made with hummus, a seasoned ground meat filling, and plenty of fresh toppings, you won’t be able to resist. Plus, it’s ready in just 30 minutes!
Who doesn’t love pizza?! It’s one of those crowd-pleasing meals that I know everyone will enjoy. We try to do pizza night at least once a week at my house. Sure, sometimes I order in, but most of the time I like to whip something up from scratch! I’ve already shared several pizza recipes with you, like this Turkish pizza called lahmacun and my Thai sweet and spicy shrimp pizza. Today, let’s take things to the Mediterranean.
Many countries in the Mediterranean region, including Lebanon, swap out traditional Italian red sauce, cured meats, and heavy cheeses in favor of lighter, healthier pizza toppings. I have a passion for Mediterranean flavors, and whenever I can add them to one of my favorite dishes, I do. It’s just one reason why I love this recipe!
Preparation: Stovetop
Difficulty: Easy 🥄
Description:
Traditional pizza dough or flatbread dough is pan fried in a heavy skillet. Toppings include hummus, Lebanese spiced ground lamb, toasted chickpeas, feta cheese and drizzles of lemon yogurt and cilantro oil.
INGREDIENT NOTES AND SUBSTITUTIONS
- Pizza Dough – You can feel free to use a pizza dough of your choice. You can definitely use premade dough that you can find at the supermarket. Other options are homemade pizza dough, naan, or flatbread dough like in my zaatar bread (manakish) recipe (my favorite!)
- Ground Meat – I like using ground lamb for this recipe. If you prefer a different protein, ground beef is a good choice. You could even use a leaner protein, like ground chicken or turkey.
- Spice Blend – The spice blend I use for the meat on the Mediterranean pizza is very similar to my homemade Turkish spice blend. If you don’t have any of the Turkish blend already made, use the following spices:
- Salt – Also needed for your herb topping.
- Cumin
- Sesame Seeds
- Black Pepper
- Oregano
- Sweet Paprika
- Sumac
- Cayenne Pepper
- Garbanzo Beans – Also called chickpeas, you’ll toast your beans to make the most of their flavor!
- Hummus – I use plain homemade Mediterranean hummus. If you want to use flavored hummus, garlic would be a good choice.
- Cilantro – Use this herb to add some more freshness to the toppings.
- Olive Oil – You’ll combine the cilantro with olive oil and salt to make a yummy herb oil.
- Lemon Juice & Plain Yogurt – Combine to make a yummy yogurt-based drizzle.
- Feta Cheese – No pizza would be complete without cheese. Since this is a Mediterranean flatbread pizza, feta is the best choice!
HOW TO MAKE MEDITERRANEAN FLATBREAD PIZZA
1. Cook The Meat. Before you get started, mix the spices together in a small bowl and set them aside. Brown the ground meat of choice in a large skillet, along with 2 tablespoons of the spice blend in a bit of olive oil. Break the meat into small crumbles as it cooks. Remove it from the pan and cover to keep warm. Leave the remaining oil in the skillet.
2. Prepare The Toppings. Place the cilantro, olive oil, and salt in a food processor or use an immersion blender and purée. Whisk together the yogurt and lemon juice in a small bowl. Pat the chickpeas dry with a paper towel, then fry in the skillet with the remaining oil. Add a bit of the spice blend and cook the beans until they become crispy. Set all of your toppings aside and turn on your broiler.
Love pizza? Want to try another flavor?
If you want to try pizza recipes from other countries, make some Lahmacun (Turkish pizza) or Thai shrimp pizza. They’re both delicious!
3. Pan Fry The Dough. Divide your pizza dough into 4 equal portions. Then, use your hand to stretch each piece into 8-10-inch rectangles. Using the same skillet that you used to toast the chickpeas, fry the pizza dough for one minute on each side. It should be golden brown and crispy! Remove and place on a paper towel to drain any excess oil. Repeat the process with the rest of the dough.
4. Garnish Your Pizza. Spread 2 tablespoons of hummus on each flatbread. Then, add the ground meat and the feta cheese. Place under the broiler for about a minute to that the cheese melts. Once it’s done, remove from heat and drizzle your lemon yogurt and cilantro oil garnishes. As a final touch, add the pan-fried chickpeas and enjoy immediately!
Are Flatbread And Pizza Dough The Same Thing?
Traditional flatbread doesn’t include any yeast, while pizza dough does. While my favorite flatbreads for this pizza recipe (lavash, babari, pita, naan) are made with yeast, the taste and texture are almost identical to authentic flatbread.
Does Mediterranean Flatbread Pizza Have Sauce?
My flatbread pizza recipe doesn’t include tomato sauce — rather, I use hummus as a sauce! It works wonderfully with the other flavors in the cilantro oil, chickpeas, and feta cheese.
How Do You Heat Flatbread In The Oven?
If you have any leftovers, it’s best to reheat them in the oven! Preheat yours to 350°F. Wrap the pizza in aluminum foil to create a small package, making sure to sprinkle a bit of water on the flatbread so that it doesn’t dry out. Heat for 5-10 minutes, then remove the foil so that flatbread crisps up and cook for 1-2 more minutes.
This post, originally published on Silk Road Recipes August, 2021, was updated with new content, photos and/or video in August, 2022.
Mediterranean Flatbread Pizza
Ingredients
Spice Mixture
- 2 tsp kosher salt
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 2 tsp sesame seeds
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp oregano
- 1/2 tsp sweet paprika
- 1/2 tsp sumac
- 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
Meat Filling
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 lb ground beef or lamb
- 2 tbsp spice mixture (See above)
Toppings
- 1 bunch cilantro
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 lemon juice of half
- 1/2 cup plain yogurt
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 15 oz chickpeas drained
- 1 tbsp spice mixture above
- 1 cup Mediterranean hummus homemade or store bought
- 1/2 cup feta cheese
Pan Fry
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 lb pizza dough See Note 1
Instructions
- Mix together the spices in a small bowl.
- In a large skillet, brown ground lamb (or beef if preferred) and 2 tablespoons of the spice mixture in olive oil and break down into small crumbles. Remove from pan, cover with foil to keep warm and set aside. Leave oil in pan.
- Using an immersion blender or processor, puree the cilantro, oil and salt. Set aside.
- In a small bowl whisk together the yogurt and juice from half of a lemon. Set aside.
- Pat chickpeas dry with paper towel and fry in skillet with tablespoon of olive oil. Season with remaining tablespoon of the spice mixture and cook until crispy. Set aside and turn on your oven broiler.
- Divide the pizza dough into 4 equal portions. Use your hands to latten and stretch each piece of dough into a 8-10-inch rectangle. Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in skillet used for chickpeas. Fry pizza dough for one minute on each side, or until golden crispy and brown. Remove and place on a paper towel to drain. Repeat with remaining dough, using more oil as needed.
- Spread 2 tablespoons hummus on each fried flatbread. Top with browned lamb, crumble feta cheese on top and place on baking sheet. Place under broiler for a minute to warm melt cheese. Remove from broiler, drizzle with lemon yogurt, cilantro oil and sprinkle with pan fried chickpeas. Serve immediately.
Notes
- Feel free to use premade pizza dough (typically sold in bags or plastic containers at local market or specialty stores like Trader Joes) or 1 refrigerated thin pizza crust (such as 11 oz can Pillsbury™ crust). Other options are homemade pizza dough, naan, or flatbread dough like lavash.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
This was absolutely delicious! We found some Lebanese white bread (kind of like a round flat bread, similar in size and shape to a large tortilla) and subbed Impossible burger for the lamb. Enjoyed every bite. The spice mix is really good, and the crispy crust with the cheese and yogurt, mmm. Heaven. Thank you so much, this was perfect!
So happy you enjoyed this one Lisa. Appreciate you taking the time to come back and let me knnow!
I love pizza, but these are out of this world, I have never had anything like them a they were wonderful.
Always appreciate you trying the recipes Dave, and for taking the time to come back and comment!
I made a version of this recipe and it was so good. I have been looking for the recipe and you came to mind fortunately. I would like to try it more like your recipe, but even if I don’t have everything, even with the hummus, chickpeas, and whatever you add to it, it is delicious!
Excellent! Thanks so much Cathy. Always appreciate your input.