Tiropita (Greek Cheese Pies)

Greek

Greek Tiropita Recipe (Mini Cheese Pies)

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Prep

30 minutes

Cook

20 minutes

Yield

24 pieces

This tiropita recipe is so delicious. It's the perfect appetizer. They're little pockets of cheesy goodness.

Ohhhhh I promise you that you’re going to love this Greek Tiropita Recipe. Essentially these are little mini cheese pies. They’re made with layers of butter phyllo and filled with a cheese and egg mixture. It can be very similar to Spanikopita but it’s made with feta and a hard Greek cheese.

❤️ Why You’ll Love Tiropita

  • Crowd Pleaser: This recipe is incredibly crowd-pleasing. Make them for the holiday season, for an appetizer, or a dish to bring to a potluck
  • Easy: People often get intimidated when they hear the word “pastry” but I promise this tiropita recipe is an easy one to put together

🍲 Ingredients

Phyllo – Phyllo is a very thin unleavened dough used for making pastries. You’ll often find it in the frozen food section where you’ll find other pastries like pie shells or puff pastry.

Graviera Cheese – Graviera is a Greek hard yellow cheese, it closely resembles Swiss gruyere but uses goat’s and sheep’s milk.

👩‍🍳 How to Make Tiropita

1. The night before making your individual tiropita, make sure to remove your phyllo dough from the freezer. Allow to thaw in the fridge.

2. In a large pot, heat 2 tbsp butter on medium heat for around 30 seconds.

3. Add the onions and saute until softened about 4-5 minutes. Stir often to avoid burning.

4. Once the onions have softened, remove from the heat.  Add them to a bowl with the crumbled feta, shredded graviera cheese, egg, cream, salt, and pepper. Mix together to combine.

5. Preheat the oven to 375F and prepare 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

6. Melt 1/2 cup butter and set it aside. Have it ready with a brush to gently coat your phyllo.

7. It is best to keep your phyllo dough moist, so I suggest laying it out flat and then covering it with a damp cloth.

8. Gently place one sheet of phyllo dough onto a large cutting board or flat surface. This is a very delicate ingredient, so be patient.

10. Using your brush, coat the whole thing with melted butter. Use a pizza cutter or knife to cut the layered phyllo dough into 4 long strips.
11. Scoop approximately 1 heaping tbsp of the filling 1 – 2 cm away from the edge of one strip.
12. Roll the phyllo dough directly over the filling to fully cover it.

13. Roll the phyllo dough directly over the filling to fully cover it.

14. Next complete a diagonal fold towards one side, to begin a triangle formation.

15. Continue this type of diagonal fold down the entire strip, making sure to alternate the sides of each fold.

16. Arrange onto the baking tray and lightly brush with any of the leftover melted butter (if there isn’t any use olive oil). Top each with a pinch of sesame seeds.

17. Complete these steps until all of the filling is used.

18. Bake for 20 – 25 minutes, until golden brown and crisp. Drizzle with honey and sprinkle on some chili flakes if desired. Enjoy!

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Hand grabbing tiropita of parchment paper

🪄 Tips and Tricks

  • Make Ahead: You can make these tiropitas ahead of time and then freeze them so they’re prepped to be baked. This is a great option for before the busy holiday season
  • Graviera Cheese: This can be found at most local Greek stores, but if you have any problems, you can substitute it for gruyere cheese or even parmesan cheese
  • Phyllo: The trick to working with phyllo is to keep it moist, and use lots of fat like butter to brush each layer. You’ll also want to ensure it’s properly defrosted before using it


🗒 Substitutions

  • Cheese: You can substitute with grated parmesan, gouda, or gruyere, just make sure you buy good quality cheese vs. mass-produced cheese for the best texture and flavor
  • Butter: You can also use olive oil instead of butter if you prefer to brush your phyllo dough


🗒 Best served with

👝 How to Store Leftovers

You can make and then freeze these so they’re all prepped to be baked for a great make-ahead appetizer! Make the tiropita triangles (except for brushing butter on top of the triangles) and lay on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Freeze fully on the baking sheet. Once fully frozen, transfer to a freezer bag and freeze for up to one month.

To bake from frozen, preheat the oven to 375F. Lay the tiropita on parchment-lined baking sheets. Brush the tops with melted butter or olive oil. Sprinkle sesame seeds on top and bake for 30-35 minutes until golden brown. Let them cool for a few minutes before serving topped with a drizzle of honey and chili flakes.

🤔 Common Questions

What is the difference between spanakopita and tiropita?

The main difference is spanakopita includes spinach and feta, sometimes only spinach, but tiropita includes cheese only.

What is tiropita in English?

Translates to cheese pie. What could be better?

Is phyllo pastry the same as puff pastry?

The puff pastry has a more airy (or puffed) texture, whereas phyllo does not. It’s much thinner. They provide very different textures to recipes.

Greek Tiropita Recipe (Mini Cheese Pies)

5 from 1 vote
This tiropita recipe is so delicious. It's the perfect appetizer. They're little pockets of cheesy goodness.
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes
Course Appetizer
Cuisine Greek
Servings 24 pieces
Calories 108 kcal
I’m Your Mommy Now

Your Greek mommy that is. 😍 Step into my kitchen to learn how to make yummy Greek food. 🍽️💃

Ingredients
  

  • 6 defrosted phyllo sheets
  • 2 tbsp unsalted butter
  • 500 g feta cheese crumbled
  • 200 g graviera cheese shredded
  • 1/2 white onion diced
  • 1 egg
  • 1/4 cup 10-18% cream
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp ground pepper
  • 1/2 cup melted unsalted butter
  • for garnish: sesame seeds and chili flakes

Instructions
 

  • The night before making your individual tiropita, make sure to remove your phyllo dough from the freezer. Allow thawing in the fridge.
  • In a large pot, heat 2 tbsp butter on medium heat for around 30 seconds.
  • Add the onions and saute until softened, about 4-5 minutes. Stir often to avoid burning.
  • Once the onions have softened, remove from the heat.  Add them to a bowl with the crumbled feta, shredded graviera cheese, egg, cream, salt and pepper. Mix together to combine.
  • Preheat the oven to 375F and prepare 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
  • Melt 1/2 cup butter and set it aside. Have it ready with a brush to gently coat your phyllo.
  • It is best to keep your phyllo dough moist, so I suggest laying it out flat then covering with a damp cloth.
  • Gently place one sheet of phyllo dough onto a large cutting board or flat surface. This is a very delicate ingredient, so be patient.
  • Using your brush, coat the whole thing with melted butter.
  • Scoop approximately 1 heaping tbsp of the filling 1 – 2 cm away from the edge of one strip.
  • Use a pizza cutter or knife to cut the layered phyllo dough into 4 long strips. Roll the phyllo dough directly over the filling to fully cover it.
  • Next complete a diagonal fold towards one side, to begin a triangle formation.
  • Continue this type of diagonal fold down the entire strip, making sure to alternate the sides of each fold.
  • Arrange onto the baking tray and lightly brush with any of the leftover melted butter (if there isn't any use olive oil). Top each with a pinch of sesame seeds.
  • Complete these steps until all of the filling is used.
  • Bake for 20 – 25 minutes, until golden brown and crisp. Drizzle with honey and sprinkle on some chili flakes if desired. Enjoy!

Video

Notes

  • You can make and then freeze these so they’re all prepped to be baked for a great make-ahead appetizer! Make the tiropita triangles (except for brushing butter on top of the triangles) and lay on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Freeze fully on the baking sheet. Once fully frozen, transfer to freezer bag and freeze for up to one month.
  • To bake from frozen, preheat the oven to 375F. Lay the tiropita on parchment lined baking sheets. Brush the tops with melted butter or olive oil. Sprinkle sesame seeds on top and bake for 30-35 minutes until golden brown. Let them cool for a few minutes before serving topped with a drizzle of honey and chili flakes.
  • Graviera cheese can be found at most local Greek stores. In a pinch, you can substitute with gruyere cheese or parmesan cheese.

Nutrition

Calories: 108kcal | Carbohydrates: 3.5g | Protein: 4.7g | Fat: 8.4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2.3g | Cholesterol: 30.9mg | Sodium: 376.4mg | Sugar: 0.8g
Review This Recipe Let us know how it was!
Lesley

5 stars
Definitely a crowd pleaser my friends love this

Maria Koutsogiannis

THEY ARE SOOO GOOD

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