Cheese Borek is a crispy, light, and delicious Turkish filo pie filled with tangy cheeses and aromatic herbs. You can serve these baked pastries as an appetizer for Christmas or as a light meal for dinner with a bowl of Turkish Lentil Soup.
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Turkish cuisine is well known for its countless selection of savory pastries filled with a variety of fillings such as meat, vegetables, or cheese. They are usually made with either yufka (round-shaped, thin, unleavened flatbread) or filo pastries. My Cheese Borek recipe recalls for filo pastry but you can use yufka instead and shape them like Kiymali Borek (Meat Borek).
Why This Recipe Works?
- These filo pies are crispy, flaky, buttery and filling, same as my other Turkish borek recipes.
- You can make them a couple of days ahead and bake when you need them!
- It is a classic vegetarian Turkish dish that is ready in just 45 minutes.
- It is very easy to make them with step-by-step pictures and instructions.
Ingredients and Substitutes
- Filo Pastry - Filo is a very thin unleavened dough used for making pastries such as baklava and borek in Turkish and Mediterranean cooking. I used 2 packs of filo dough, 20 sheets in total. You can substitute with 3 pieces of Turkish yufka sheets.
- Cheese - I use a mixture of halloumi, Kasar and feta cheese to make these delicious savory pies. You can use cheddar, mozzarella, gruyere, gouda or any other cheese you have in hand.
- Yoghurt - I use plain or natural yoghurt with no sugar & flavour added. Yoghurt gives the borek a fluffy and light texture.
- Eggs - They give colour as well as flavour to the borek. You can omit and add extra oil and/or yoghurt to the sauce.
- Oil - It adds an extra crispness to the borek. You can substitute it with melted butter, olive oil, sunflower oil or rapeseed oil.
- Vinegar - A little amount of vinegar will help your borek to be softer inside while it's crispy outside.
- Sesame or nigella seeds - They give extra crunch to borek or pastries. They are commonly used in sweet or savoury Turkish bakeries.
- Herbs - Parsley, mint and dill are my favourite herbs to pair with cheese but you can use basil, oregano, thyme, chervil or chives instead. If you want to use dried herbs, use ⅓ of the amount.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Making these scrumptious Turkish cheese boreks is very easy and straightforward. However, to achieve the best results, you need to follow a few simple steps:
- Prepare the cheese filling - Grate the halloumi cheese and Kasar cheese in a bowl. Add the crumbled feta, chopped herbs, freshly ground black pepper and chilli flakes (if using) to the bowl. Mix them all using a fork or a spoon, set them aside.
- Prepare the sauce and build the borek - Place the egg in a small bowl and lightly whisk it. Add the yoghurt, oil and vinegar, whisk well. Preheat the oven to 180 °C. Place one sheet of filo on your work surface and drizzle 1-1 ½ tablespoon of the sauce, spread it evenly using a brush. Lay another sheet of filo on top and then drizzle some more sauce, spread it evenly. Repeat the same steps until you have three sheets of filo. Cut it into three equal-size strips. It's ok if they are a little uneven. Put one tablespoon of the cheese mixture at the end corner of one strip.
Take the opposite corner and fold diagonally over the filling, forming a triangular fold. Fold again along the upper crease of the triangle.
Continue folding in this way until you reach the end of the strip. Brush the seam with the sauce to seal the end. Place it onto a parchment-lined baking sheet seam side down and repeat the same with the rest of the filo sheets.
Brush the borek pieces with the rest of the sauce and sprinkle on sesame seeds or nigella seeds (or both). Place the baking sheet in preheated oven and bake the boreks for 20-25 minutes, until they are golden and crispy.
Related Recipes
Check my other Borek recipes if you love these savory pastries!
Borek was first invented by Central Asian Turks and brought to Anatolia in the middle ages. It is then developed by the Ottomans in Istanbul and now it is very popular in Turkey, the Balkans, and Middle Eastern countries.
The calories depend on the filling of the borek but it usually is between 150 and 450 kcal per piece. This cheese borek recipe has 285 kcal per borek.
Cheese Borek is traditionally served with a cup of Turkish tea if having it for breakfast/brunch. You can also serve them with a bowl of soup such as Red Pepper and Tomato Soup, Turkish Lentil Soup or Ezo Gelin Corba for a light and tasty lunch.
Top Tips From The Chef
- You can keep unbaked boreks in the freezer for up to 3 months. Simply bake them in the preheated oven straight from frozen. Add an extra 5 to 10 minutes to the baking time.
- Don't overfill the pastries as the cheese filling may leak out while baking them.
- Filo pastries are very fragile and dry out quickly if you don't keep them covered with a damp kitchen cloth.
I hope you enjoy the process of making this filo pastry recipe as much as you enjoy eating it! 🙂
Bon appétit! / Afiyet Olsun!
Cheese Borek
Equipment
- 1 Grater
Ingredients
For the Cheese Filling
- 200 g halloumi cheese (grated)
- 200 g feta cheese (crumbled)
- 200 g kasar cheese, mozzarella or cheddar cheese (grated)
- ⅓ cup chopped parsley
- ¼ cup chopped dill
- ¼ cup chopped mint (or 1 teaspoon dried mint)
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon chilli flakes (optional)
For the Sauce
- ½ cup Greek yoghurt or natural yoghurt
- ½ cup vegetable or sunflower oil
- 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar
- 1 egg
For the Borek
- 2 packs filo pastry (12 sheets and 250 grams each)
- Sesame seeds or Nigella seeds
Instructions
Preparing the Cheese Filling
- Grate the halloumi cheese and Kasar cheese in a bowl.
- Add the crumbled feta, chopped herbs, freshly ground black pepper and chilli flakes (if using) to the bowl.
- Mix them all using a fork or a spoon, set them aside.
Preparing the Sauce
- Place the egg in a small bowl and lightly whisk it.
- Add the yoghurt, oil and vinegar, whisk well.
Building the Borek
- Preheat the oven to 180 °C.
- Place one sheet of filo on your work surface and drizzle 1-1 ½ tablespoon of the sauce, spread it evenly using a brush.
- Lay another sheet of filo on top and then drizzle some more sauce, spread it evenly. Repeat the same steps until you have three sheets of filo.
- Cut it into three equal-size strips. It's ok if they are a little uneven.
- Put one tablespoon of the cheese mixture at the end of one strip. Take the opposite corner and fold diagonally over the filling, forming a triangular fold. Fold again along the upper crease of the triangle. Continue folding in this way until you reach the end of the strip.
- Brush the seam with the sauce to seal the end. Place it onto a parchment-lined baking sheet seam side down and repeat the same with the rest of the filo sheets.
- Brush the borek pieces with the rest of the sauce and sprinkle on sesame seeds or nigella seeds (or both).
- Place the baking sheet in preheated oven and bake the boreks for 20-25 minutes, until they are golden and crispy.
Nutrition
FOOD SAFETY
- Cook to a minimum temperature of 165 °F (74 °C)
- Don’t leave food sitting out at room temperature for extended periods
- Never leave cooking food unattended
- Use oils with high smoking point to avoid harmful compounds
- Always have good ventilation when using a gas stove
See more guidelines at USDA.gov.
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Did you make this recipe?
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Brian
I love this recipe. Thank you for sharing!