Greek Baked Feta Cheese in Phyllo and Honey

June 25, 2014

feta with honey

So as you may have noticed cheese is really important in our home, but also in the Greek diet. Since traditionally Greeks did not eat much meat, cheese played the role of protein to go along with all those vegetable dishes. In fact, according to the USDA and other sources, Greece has the highest consumption of cheese per person in the world (yes more than the French), at 71 pounds a year which corresponds to 3 ounces a day (which isn’t that much really). That’s because it is actually an important component to the meal, especially feta which makes up most of the cheese consumed in Greece.

But cheese sometimes is consumed as an appetizer, such as the saganki which is fried yellow cheese or baked feta and this here recipe is a more fancy version of baked feta. You will see this appetizer in more modern tavernes (taverns) here in Greece and it is delicious. It is very easy to replicate at home. Although usually fried, I made it a bit lighter by baking it and using a bit less cheese.

One of these is an appetizer for 2-3 people, just a few bites each or you can make it for one person and accompany it with a salad for lunch. And while it seems like an indulgent appetizer, one serving is about 100 calories, low carb (the phyllo adds very little) and a good source of calcium.

Baked feta

 

Greek Baked Feta Cheese in Phyllo with Honey

baked feta wrapped in phyllo
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 25 minutes
Course: Appetizer
Cuisine: Greek, Mediterranean
Servings: 2 -3
Author: Elena Paravantes
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Ingredients

  • 3 ounces feta cheese ideally you want the feta to be in the shape of a rectangle or square about 3 X 4 inches, so you can fold it easily
  • 1 phyllo sheet
  • 1-2 teaspoons honey
  • 1 teaspoon of sesame seeds
  • 1 tablespoon of olive oil for brushing

Instructions

  • Preheat oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit (180 degrees Celsius)
  • Toast the sesame seeds. Heat them on the stove to on medium heat for about 1-2 minutes, shaking the pan.
  • Spread the phyllo sheet and brush with olive oil (make sure you have covered the whole sheet with the olive oil.
  • Place the feta in the bottom of the phyllo and fold the sides over and then fold the cheese over until you have reached the end of the phyllo. Brush the outside with olive oil and place with folded sided on the bottom on a pan.
  • Bake for about 20 minutes.
  • Remove from oven drizzle with honey and sprinkle the sesame seeds over it.
DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE? Leave a comment or share on instagram and mention @greekdiet

 

Photos by Elena Paravantes

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25 Comments

  • Reply Rick Langes July 2, 2021 at 11:35 pm

    I really like this recipe and would love to make this for our church meet and greet. Can this be made for about 30 people?

    • Reply Elena Paravantes RDN July 3, 2021 at 9:23 am

      Hi Rick, I would recommend making single servings , instead of a big one. So you could put about 1 ounce cheese and wrap it in a thinner strip of phyllo.

  • Reply Juliana Howard February 26, 2020 at 1:47 am

    Had this in Santorini and decided to make it for my husbands birthday. Super tasty with the salty sweet combo. The only adjustment I wish I had made was to wrap the Feta in more than one Phyllo sheet. I sort of remember it being much thicker/puffier when I first had it in Greece but I don’t believe I was supposed to use puff pastry?!?

    • Reply Elena Paravantes RDN February 26, 2020 at 6:40 am

      Hello Juliana,
      No, puff pastry should not be used in this recipe. Phyllo dough is used here as noted on the recipe ingredients.

  • Reply Eleni December 21, 2019 at 12:07 pm

    Can this be made in advance and frozen, unbaked, then baked as needed, like tiropitakia? Thank you.

    • Reply Elena Paravantes RDN December 22, 2019 at 7:11 am

      Hi Eleni, I don’t see why not. I haven’t tried it, but it should be fine.

      • Reply Myra February 2, 2020 at 10:09 pm

        You use 1 whole sheet of phyllo for each slice of cheese? Or do you cut in half??
        Thanks

  • Reply Kate June 19, 2019 at 1:46 pm

    Hi, I have bought a block of Feta and it weighs 7 ounces… however it is the right shape (3×4 inches). Will I be ok to cook this in one chunk with one sheet of phyllo? Thanks

    • Reply Elena Paravantes RDN June 23, 2019 at 10:13 am

      Can you slice it so it is thinner? If it is the same size but double the thickness it will not soften in that amount of time.

  • Reply caroline Hayes May 27, 2019 at 7:44 pm

    Retsina
    Rosina
    Greek Wines

  • Reply Verena March 17, 2016 at 9:01 am

    Had this at a place in Thessaloniki and fell in love with it! What is the Greek name of this appetizer? Makes deciding which restaurant to go to MUCH easier! 🙂 And I will definitely try to make this at home. Thanks for the recipe!

    • Reply Elena Paravantes RDN March 20, 2016 at 11:40 am

      You are welcome Verena! There is no specific name. Usually feta tulihti se filo.

  • Reply holz0984 November 27, 2015 at 12:24 pm

    this has really helped me for my greek food homework thank you to this website

  • Reply John Bobbin September 2, 2014 at 5:42 am

    This looks beautiful but as I was reading a question popped into my mind. Red wine is synonymous with the Mediterranean Diet, what do Greeks drink?

    Cheers

    John Bobbin MClinSc(LifestyleMed)

    • Reply Elena Paravantes RDN September 2, 2014 at 2:45 pm

      Thanks John. Traditionally they drink wine (red and white) as well as ouzo and tsipouro.

  • Reply Maria July 6, 2014 at 3:16 am

    Elena, this turned out perfectly! I really enjoyed it. Thank you so much!

  • Reply Emily July 5, 2014 at 12:48 am

    Yum! Do you know of a similar recipe but for a dessert? My friend is in Greece right now and said he had an awesome dessert with sesame crumbed feta, fried, then drizzled with honey. I thought the feta would be quite salty for a dessert and wondered if it was a different cheese.

    • Reply Elena Paravantes RDN July 7, 2014 at 5:09 pm

      Thanks Emily! They may have used a milder cheese, but usually it is feta. The phyllo and salt neutralizes the saltiness a bit.

  • Reply Sheila Chapman July 2, 2014 at 2:56 am

    I had this in Mykonos and would love to make it at home but don’t want to have to fry it. THANK YOU for the baked version.

  • Reply George Chacona June 27, 2014 at 5:15 pm

    Thank you for posting this recipe and the nutritional information with it.

  • Reply Zuzanna June 26, 2014 at 2:56 pm

    Thank you for sharing this recipe. I was planning to prepare this dish for some time, because I find very interesing the contrast between a salty cheese and sweet honey.

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