Greek Cheese Pie (Tiropita)

5 from 1 vote

This Greek Cheese Pie has it all! A creamy and savory center, crispy layers of phyllo dough, and a sweet garnish that brings the whole thing together. The pie bakes in under 40 minutes. It’s delicious, filling, and very rewarding to make.

Make this recipe for a mezze platter, for a special occasion Greek-themed dinner party, or pair it with one of my many Mediterranean salad and appetizer recipes to make a complete meal.

Prep Time15

Cook Time35

Total Time50

Course: Appetizer, Breakfast, Brunch, Main Course, Snack

Cuisine: Greek

Diet: Vegetarian

Servings: Servings

Author: Luay Ghafari

Cost: $15

Equipment

11-12 inch round pan

Ingredients

1 ⅓ cups Fresh ricotta cheese
1 cup Greek feta - Crumbled
1 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano - Freshly grated
2 Eggs
2 tsp Dried oregano
2 tsp Fresh thyme leaves

Pie

7-8 Sheets of phyllo - See note
½ cup Salted butter - Melted

Garnish

1-2 tbsp Honey
1 tbsp Toasted sesame seeds
1 tsp Fresh thyme leaves

Instructions

Make the cheese mixture. In a large bowl, combine the ricotta, feta, parmesan, eggs, oregano, thyme leaves and black pepper. Mix well to combine. At this point, preheat your oven to 400F/205C.
Line your baking dish. Brush some melted butter onto the bottom of the pan and lay one sheet of phyllo pastry making sure that the sheet overhangs the side.
Butter. Brush on some more butter all over the phyllo.
Layer and repeat. Add another layer of phyllo pastry, making sure it also overhangs. Repeat this butter/phyllo process until you have 7 or 8 layers of phyllo in your baking dish with overhanging pastry going all around the pan.
Add the cheese. Transfer the cheese filling to the phyllo-lined baking dish and level it with an offset spatula or soon.
Cover. Take the overhanging phyllo and place it over the cheese mixture, making sure to butter between the layers of phyllo as you go around. The cheese mixture should now be completely covered with buttered phyllo. Using a sharp knife, pierce the phyllo so that steam can escape during the baking process.
Bake. Place your prepared cheese pie in the preheated oven on the middle rack. Bake at 400F/205C for 20 minutes, then drop the oven temperature to 375F/190C and bake for another 15-20 minutes. The pie should be golden brown around the edges.
Rest, garnish and serve. Let the pie cool for at least 30 minutes then garnish with honey, sesame seeds and more fresh thyme leaves.

Notes

I recommend you check out the post above for step-by-step recipe photos.

Ingredient Notes:

Phyllo Pastry: I would not recommend that you make your own phyllo dough! Buy it ready made from your grocery store! You will find it in the frozen section next to the puff pastry and pie shells.
Butter: Using melted butter between the phyllo sheets is traditional. I recommend using salted butter (as there is no additional salt in this recipe), but unsalted butter is fine too.
Cheese: For this recipe, I am using a combination of ricotta, feta and parmesan. You could replace the ricotta with cottage cheese if you want a more protein-packed pie, but it’s not something I would do! Grate your own Parmigiano-Reggiano. The packaged stuff isn’t great.
Herbs: I am using a combination of dried oregano and fresh thyme. The fresh thyme is used in both the cheese mixture and as a garnish. Feel free to change up the herbs. You can add some fresh dill, fresh mint or fresh parsley.
Honey: There’s something magical about the juxtaposition of salty cheese and sweet honey. Trust me and trust the process! You won’t be disappointed.
Sesame Seeds: Another classic garnish. Use toasted sesame seeds here, as they will be more flavorful. You can also use black sesame seeds if you have them.

Important notes regarding phyllo sheets:

Phyllo sheets are incredibly delicate. Handle with care and work quickly. Phyllo dries up pretty quickly so cover with a damp towel while you work. You will not need to use the whole package of phyllo sheets, so wrap up the rest and refrigerate.

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