Greek Breads and Pies
Tiropita Recipe (Greek Cheese Pie in Phyllo)
Τυρόπιτα tee-ROH-pee-tah · Tiropita
Photo: Tiropita Greek dish.jpg by Tanya Bakogiannis, CC BY 3.0. Placeholder until original photography is shot.
In short
Tiropita is a Greek pie of feta blended with a softer fresh cheese and eggs, baked between layers of buttered phyllo. The soft cheese is essential: feta alone makes a filling that is both too salty and too dense once baked.
Tiropita is the pie Greeks eat most often, usually standing up, usually before ten in the morning, usually from a bakery window. It is spanakopita's simpler sibling and in some ways the better test of a cook, because there is no spinach to hide behind. It is cheese, egg and pastry, and all three have to be right.
The mistake almost everyone makes is using only feta. Feta alone gives a filling that bakes dense and rubbery and is aggressively salty, because feta contains a lot of salt and very little moisture or fat of the kind that softens a filling.
The traditional fix is to cut it with something soft and mild: anthotyro, mizithra, or ricotta. Roughly two parts feta to one part soft cheese. That single change is the difference between a good tiropita and a disappointing one.
Key preparation steps
- Blend feta with a soft mild cheese, never feta alone.
- Beat in eggs and a little semolina to stabilise the filling.
- Brush every phyllo sheet with butter and oil.
- Score before baking and rest before cutting.
The cheese blend
Two parts feta to one part soft fresh cheese. Anthotyro is the traditional Greek choice, mizithra also works, and well-drained ricotta is the widely available substitute and performs well.
The soft cheese contributes moisture and mild fat, which keeps the filling tender and stops the salt dominating. A little grated hard cheese, kefalotyri or pecorino, adds savoury depth on top of that.
Crumble the feta by hand rather than mashing it smooth. Some texture in the filling is desirable, and a completely uniform paste bakes flat and dull.
Why add semolina or flour?
A tablespoon or two of fine semolina stirred into the filling absorbs any liquid the cheese releases during baking. Without it, moisture pools at the base and softens the bottom pastry.
It also gives the filling enough body to hold its shape when cut, rather than oozing out of the slice.
Some cooks use a spoonful of flour or a little breadcrumb instead. Semolina is the traditional and slightly better option because it does not taste of raw starch.
Eggs: how many and why
Three eggs for 700 g of cheese. They set the filling into something sliceable and give it a lighter, slightly custardy quality.
Beat them separately before adding, so they distribute evenly rather than sitting in streaks. Add them last, after the cheese and semolina are combined.
More eggs than that starts pushing the filling towards a quiche, which is not the aim. Fewer and the pie will not hold together when cut.
Variations worth knowing
Kourou is a version made with a soft yogurt-and-butter shortcrust instead of phyllo, usually shaped into individual triangles or rounds. Completely different pastry, same filling, very good.
Strifti, meaning twisted, rolls the filling into a phyllo cylinder and coils it into a spiral. It gives more pastry per bite and looks impressive for very little extra work.
Individual triangles are the bakery format and are the best thing to do with leftover phyllo. Same filling, folded flag-style, brushed and baked for about 25 minutes.
Tips from my kitchen
Soak the feta if it is very salty
Twenty minutes in fresh water or milk before crumbling takes the edge off without losing the character of the cheese.
Never feta alone
This is the single thing that decides whether the pie is good. Cut it with a soft mild cheese at roughly two to one.
Make triangles with the offcuts
Leftover phyllo strips and leftover filling make bakery-style triangles that freeze raw and bake straight from frozen.
Tiropita Recipe (Greek Cheese Pie in Phyllo)
Τυρόπιτα · by Kalliopi Andreou · updated 2026-07-31
- Prep
- 30m
- Cook
- 45m
- Total
- 1h 15m
- Serves
- 8
Ingredients
For the filling
For the pastry
Method
- Crumble the feta into a bowl by hand, leaving some texture. Add the soft cheese and mash the two together roughly with a fork.
- Stir in the grated hard cheese, the semolina, the herbs if using, the nutmeg and plenty of black pepper. Taste before adding any salt: between the feta and the hard cheese there is usually enough.
- Beat the eggs separately, then stir them through the cheese mixture until evenly combined.
- Heat the oven to 190C fan 170C. Combine the melted butter and olive oil.
- Brush a 30 x 22 cm dish with the fat. Lay in 7 sheets of phyllo one at a time, brushing each and letting the edges overhang.
- Spread the filling evenly over the base and level it.
- Fold the overhanging edges in over the filling and brush them, then layer 7 more sheets on top, brushing each and tucking the edges inside the dish.
- Brush the top generously and scatter with sesame seeds if using. Score through the top layers only into 8 pieces with a very sharp knife.
- Flick a teaspoon of water over the surface, then bake for 40 to 45 minutes until deep golden and crisp.
- Rest for 15 minutes before cutting along the scored lines. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Nutrition, per 1 piece
- Calories
- 512
- Protein
- 20 g
- Carbs
- 34 g
- Fat
- 33 g
- Sat fat
- 17 g
- Fibre
- 1 g
These figures are calculated estimates based on the ingredients listed, not laboratory analysis. Actual values vary with brands, cuts and portion size.
Frequently asked questions about Tiropita
What cheese is used in tiropita?
A blend, traditionally feta with a soft fresh cheese such as anthotyro or mizithra, at roughly two to one, plus a little grated hard cheese. Feta alone bakes dense and too salty.
Can you freeze tiropita?
Yes, and unbaked is best. Assemble, score, wrap and freeze for up to three months, then bake from frozen at 180C adding about 20 minutes.
Why is my tiropita soggy underneath?
The filling released liquid during baking. Stir a tablespoon or two of fine semolina into the cheese mixture to absorb it, and drain any wet ricotta thoroughly first.
What is the difference between tiropita and spanakopita?
Tiropita is cheese only. Spanakopita adds spinach and herbs to a similar cheese base. Same pastry and same technique, different filling.
