If you often fantasize about eating your way through Greek pastries (and why wouldn't you?), you're going to want to get acquainted with one of our favorite baking secret weapons: phyllo (AKA filo) dough. This flaky, delicate pastry dough is key to our spanakopita, of course, but also fancies up a weeknight dinner or two. And yes, phyllo is an incredibly versatile if not slightly (very?) finicky ingredient to work with. It often tears and can be hard to wrangle for more labor-intensive recipes, like baklava. These recipes, however, couldn’t be easier, and even if the phyllo rips, it often doesn’t even matter! We love a forgiving dough, which is why we can't stop baking these 10 phyllo dough recipes.
First things first, you're going to want to know a few phyllo-handling tips to help you achieve the apple strudels of your dreams. To keep the tissue-thin layers of phyllo intact as you layer them for that scrunch bread, you're going to want to keep your sheets of dough safe under parchment paper, plastic wrap, or waxed paper (followed by a damp towel) to keep them from drying out. Similarly, melted butter is the delicious glue that'll adhere those thin layers together for baklava, so don't be shy with your pastry brush.
You might be wondering: Can I use phyllo dough instead of puff pastry? And the answer is a resounding "yes!" especially if you like your results to be on the crispier side. Puff pastry is on the buttery end of the dough spectrum (which leads to fluffy, light results), while phyllo will keep things delicate and crispy, which we especially love for savory pies, like our vegan pot pie and tuna spanakopita pie.
Crispy Feta Pockets
Baked brie fans, you’ve got to try our newest baked cheese recipe: crispy baked feta. Saltier and more tangy than brie, feta brings a new flavor profile to the baked cheese category, and it’s irresistible wrapped in a crunchy, Greek-inspired phyllo dough shell with a nice drizzle of honey for sweetness. Serve it with pita or crusty bread for an impressive appetizer, dessert, or anytime sweet and savory snack.
Get the Crispy Feta Pockets recipe.
Walnut & Pistachio Baklava
Sticky and rich, baklava is a dessert made of layered sheets of phyllo dough, nuts, spices, sugar and/or honey. It’s served all over the Middle East, Turkey, and Greece. This version uses walnuts and pistachios but feel free to use whichever nuts you like the most.
Get the Walnut and Pistachio Baklava recipe.
Scrunch Bread
This bread gets its name from scrunched-up layers of phyllo and a spanakopita inspired filling, resulting in a stunning, pleated spiral shape; fresh dill, feta, and spinach make it a grand slam. We recommend using the larger 13"x18" sheets of phyllo. But if you can only find smaller ones that’s totally fine, just repeat the steps to create the folds until you can fill your springform pan.
Get the Scrunch Bread recipe.
Best-Ever Spanakopita
Spanakopita is a popular savory Greek spinach pie frequently served as cut pieces from a whole slab pie, but we made individual pockets to save you the waiting time between baking, cooling, then slicing. As soon as they pop out of the oven, they're ready to be plated and devoured by your hungry guests, no knives necessary.
Get the Best-Ever Spanakopita recipe.
Vegan Mushroom Pot Pie
When the temperatures drop and the days get shorter, we can't help but crave something that looks like it came straight out of a Charles Dickens short story. We're talkin' steaming hot pot pie filled with creamy, flavorful gravy, sweet and tender veggies, and topped with a shatteringly flaky crust. Sure, normally there's meat, a la chicken pot pie, but for an infrequent meat-eater, it's not a necessity.
Get the Vegan Mushroom Pot Pie recipe.
Apple Strudel
We know what you're thinking. What even is a strudel?! We'll tell you because we're obsessed and its honestly pretty simple: Strudel is a layered pastry with a gooey filling. It can be done with all types of filling but the most popular is apple and this one is made even more delicious with the addition with cinnamon, lemon zest, and raisins.
Get the Apple Strudel recipe.
Tuna Spanakopita Pie
Love spanakopita, but less fond of folding individual triangular pastries? This take on the Greek classic is the exact right recipe for you. We added rich, savory chunks of yellowfin tuna in olive oil to the spinach-and-feta filling. It’s a simple twist that’s guaranteed to satisfy.
Get the Tuna Spanakopita Pie recipe.
Jammy Brie Cups
Create cute cups by pressing puff pastry into muffin tins and dolloping jam (apricot, raspberry, and fig are tasty!) and cubes of gooey brie on top. Could anything be better? We think not.
Get the Jammy Brie Cups recipe from Good Housekeeping.
Apple Strudel
Warm spices, golden raisins, and melt-in-your mouth apple filling make this strudel the ultimate comfort food. Oh, and did we mention the dough is made from flaky phyllo? No crazy pastry-making degree required!
Get the Apple Strudel recipe from The Pioneer Woman.
Spanakopita
This Greek spinach pie is made with a filling of spinach, feta cheese, and herbs, and topped with lots of flaky layers of phyllo. It's perfect for an appetizer or a main course (it's that good).
Get the Spanakopita recipe from The Pioneer Woman.
Mackenzie Filson is a food writer and contributing digital food producer at Delish. Her favorite ice cream flavor is chocolate-pine and if wine was an astrological sign she'd be a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. She's never met a bag of Spicy Sweet Chili Doritos she didn't eat in one sitting.
