Greek Breads and Pies
Tyropita Epirus Recipe (Epirus Hand-Rolled Cheese Pie)
Τυρόπιτα Ηπείρου tee-ROH-pee-tah ee-PEE-roo · Tyropita Ipirou
Photo: Tiropita Greek dish.jpg by Tanya Bakogiannis, CC BY 3.0. Placeholder until original photography is shot.
In short
Tyropita Epirus is the region's own take on Greece's most common cheese pie, using hand-rolled phyllo in far fewer, thicker sheets than a commercial pie, with a rich, custardy filling of feta, egg and milk. It reflects Epirus's wider reputation as the strongest hand-pie tradition in Greece.
Where a supermarket tyropita is built from many paper-thin sheets around a relatively modest amount of filling, the Epirus version flips that ratio, using just two or three thick, hand-rolled sheets to hold a genuinely deep, custardy layer of cheese and egg. It reflects the region's wider reputation, discussed elsewhere on this site through its courgette pie, as home to Greece's most serious hand-pie tradition.
The filling here is closer to a baked custard studded with cheese than the drier, more crumbled feta filling common in a thinner, many-layered pie, since the thicker crust structure can support and bake through a wetter, richer mixture without turning the whole pie soggy.
Shop-bought phyllo, layered several sheets thick in place of one genuine hand-rolled sheet, is a reasonable and much faster substitute for a home cook without the specific rolling skill this regional style traditionally demands.
Key preparation steps
- Make or approximate a thick, hand-rolled-style phyllo base and top.
- Whisk a rich, custardy filling of feta, egg and milk.
- Assemble with just two or three thick layers rather than many thin ones.
- Bake until deeply golden and the custard has set.
The thick phyllo approach
Genuine Epirus phyllo is rolled by hand into thick, large rounds, and a pie traditionally uses only two or three of them, one or two for the base and one for the top, rather than the dozen or more thin sheets a commercial pie calls for. This gives the finished pie a heartier, more substantial crust that can support a genuinely wet filling.
To approximate this with shop-bought phyllo, layer four or five standard sheets together, brushing each with oil, to build up something closer to the thickness of a single hand-rolled sheet, using this thicker stack for both the base and the top.
The custardy filling
Whisk crumbled feta with a generous amount of egg and a splash of milk or cream, until it becomes a loose, pourable mixture rather than a dry, crumbled one, closer to a quiche filling than a typical tyropita's drier feta and egg mix. This wetter filling is exactly what the thicker phyllo base is built to support.
Assembling and baking
Layer the thick phyllo base into an oiled tin, pour in the custardy filling, then top with the second thick phyllo layer, brushing generously with oil or butter throughout. Bake until deeply golden and the custard has fully set with no wobble in the centre, which takes a genuine forty to forty-five minutes given the depth of filling.
Rest for at least fifteen minutes before cutting, since a wetter filling like this needs real time to firm up enough to hold a clean slice.
Tips from my kitchen
Layer several sheets thick to approximate hand-rolled phyllo
Genuine Epirus phyllo uses far fewer, thicker sheets than a standard pie. Stacking shop-bought sheets gets you closer to that structure.
Make the filling genuinely loose
This regional style wants something closer to a pourable custard than a dry, crumbled cheese filling.
Give it real resting time
The deep, wet filling needs at least fifteen minutes to firm up enough to cut cleanly.
Tyropita Epirus Recipe (Epirus Hand-Rolled Cheese Pie)
Τυρόπιτα Ηπείρου · by Kalliopi Andreou · updated 2026-07-31
- Prep
- 1h
- Cook
- 45m
- Total
- 1h 45m
- Serves
- 8
Ingredients
For the filling
For the pie
Method
- Heat the oven to 190C fan 170C. Oil a 28 cm round or 30 x 22 cm rectangular baking dish.
- Whisk the feta, eggs, milk and a good grinding of pepper together until loose and well combined, closer to a pourable batter than a dry mixture.
- Layer 5 sheets of phyllo into the dish, brushing each with oil or butter, to form a thick base.
- Pour in the cheese and egg filling, spreading evenly.
- Layer the remaining 5 phyllo sheets on top, brushing each with oil or butter, and tuck in the edges.
- Brush the top generously with any remaining oil or butter and score into portions.
- Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, until deeply golden and the filling has fully set with no wobble.
- Rest for at least 15 minutes before cutting along the scored lines.
Nutrition, per 1 slice
- Calories
- 386
- Protein
- 16 g
- Carbs
- 22 g
- Fat
- 26 g
- Sat fat
- 11 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 Tyropita Ipirou
How is Epirus tyropita different from a standard cheese pie?
It uses far fewer, thicker phyllo sheets and a considerably wetter, more custard-like filling, giving a heartier, more substantial pie than the typical many-thin-layers version.
Can you use shop-bought phyllo for this recipe?
Yes, layering several standard sheets together to approximate the thickness of genuine hand-rolled Epirus phyllo is a reasonable and much faster substitute.
Why is the filling so wet compared with other tyropita?
The thicker phyllo structure can support and bake through a richer, more custardy filling without turning soggy, which is exactly the effect this regional style is built around.
