This Tiropita with Homemade Dough recipe produces delicious little hand pies that are stuffed with feta cheese filling. These Greek cheese pies are perfect as an appetizer or snack!
Greek cuisine is popular for many of its delicious dishes. Among the most famous Greek dishes are all the varieties of savory pies. Spanakopita (Greek Spinach Pie), Prasopita (Greek Leek Pie), Kolokithopita (Greek Zucchini Pie), and Hortopita (Greek Mixed Greens Pita) are only some of the many delicious savory pites Greeks love to enjoy.
Of all of these savory pies, tiropita is definitely one of the most popular and beloved treats amongst the Greek population. It is without a doubt one of my favourite things to eat in any and all cuisines. My husbands too.
Tiropita or tiropitakia (when they are made into small portion sizes) is comprised of a delicious feta cheese filling enveloped in a savory dough. That dough is traditionally filo pastry (or phyllo pastry) dough though you can certainly use other options. I have already shared my Greek Tiropita with Puff Pastry which is a great time saver and easier to work with than filo dough. The easy recipe I am sharing with you today uses a dough that is more bread-like.
No messing around with thin sheets of dough that rip on you. No need to layer sheets of filo. This homemade dough is easier to handle and super tasty too! It also comes together pretty quickly too.
Ingredients in this Tiropita Recipe with Homemade Dough
- Active dry yeast
- Milk: used in the dough. The milk should be warm but not scalding.
- Butter and oil: Used to enrich the dough. Use a mild tasting oil such as vegetable or grape seed vs a strong tasting one like olive oil is preferable but you can certainly use olive oil if you want to.
- Sugar: Used in the dough. Helps to “feed” and activate the yeast.
- Eggs: Used to enrich the dough as well as in the filling.
- Flour : I use all purpose flour but you can also use a bread flour.
- Cheese: I use two types of cheeses in this recipe: Feta cheese (the main ingredient and star of this tiropita) and ricotta cheese. The ricotta cheese helps to make the filling creamier and balances out the salty and tangy feta cheese.
- Dill: Adding dill to the filling adds to its flavour. You can use frozen or fresh dill. If you are using fresh dill, you will use 2 tablespoons. If you use dry dill, use 2 teaspoons instead since it is more potent.
- Seasoning: salt and black pepper. If the feta cheese is salty, omit extra salt altogether.
Note: Recipe quantities and full instructions are in the recipe card at the end of this post.
Preparing the dough for this tiropita recipe
1. In a large mixing bowl, add the yeast, warm milk, butter and sugar together. Let it sit for about 5 minutes until the yeast activates and begins to foam.
2. Next, add the oil and eggs to the yeast mixture and mix it together.
3. Begin by adding 4 cups of flour to the mixture and mix it in. Slowly add flour 1/2 a cup at a time until the dough comes together and is soft and elastic.
4. Separate the dough into 8 portions. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit while you make the filling.
Make the cheese pie filling:
1. In a large bowl, add the feta, ricotta, eggs, dill, salt and pepper.
2. Mix the filling ingredients together until well incorporated.
Assembling the tiropita
1. Working with one portion at a time, roll the dough out into a circle about 1/8 inch thick.
2. Cut the dough out into 8 triangle portions. I do this by cutting the circle into quarters and then cutting each quarter in half, similar to how you would cut a pizza. I use a pizza cutter to make this easier but a sharp knife works as well.
3. Working with one portion at a time, place a small scoop (about a heaping teaspoon) of cheese mixture towards the wider end of the triangle, but leaving a bit of a border along the edges. Roll the wide edge of the triangle over the cheesy filling and continue to roll the triangle up to make a crescent shape. Gently press on the two sides to seal them and prevent the filling from leaking out. Place the tiropita on a parchment lined baking sheet.
4. Repeat this process with the remaining portions until a baking sheet is filled, leaving space between each tiropita to allow for them to rise and expand. Let the tiropites rise for 30 minutes while you continue to work with the other portions.
5. Using a pastry brush, brush the unbaked tiropita with the egg wash and sprinkle them with sesame seeds.
6. Bake the tiropites in the middle rack of a preheated oven for about 25-28 minutes or until they are golden brown. Since this recipe makes 60 tiropites, you will have to bake these in batches.
How to store Tiropita with Homemade Dough
Once cooled, this Tiropita with Homemade Dough can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge. It can be stored this way for a few days.
Can you freeze this recipe?
This savory Greek cheese pie recipe is perfect for freezing. In fact, I highly recommend you do freeze a portion of this recipe for future enjoyment. Since this recipe makes about 60 snack sized pieces of this cheesy Greek pie, you can have plenty to enjoy now as well as freeze.
To freeze this tiropita, bake them as instructed in the recipe card. Then allow the tiropita to cool completely. Once it is cooled, transfer the tiropita to an airtight container that is freezer safe or a freezer bag. Place the tiropita in a single layer and use parchment paper to separate layers if you are stacking them to prevent sticking. You can store it in the freezer for several months. When you want to reheat, there is no need to defrost. Just pop them in the oven at 350F until they are heated through.
I hope you enjoy this Tiropita with Homemade Dough recipe as much as I do! These traditional Greek cheese pies are the perfect little snack and since they come in perfect individual portions, they’re the perfect party food or addition to any mezze platter.
Kali orexi!
-Cathy
You may also like:
Vegetarian Mezze Platter
Dolmades (Greek Stuffed Grape Leaves)
Keftedakia – My authentic recipe for Greek Meatballs
Tirokafteri (Spicy Greek Feta Dip)
Tiropita with Homemade Dough (Greek Cheese Pies)
Ingredients
For the Dough
- 4 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
- 1 cup warm milk
- 2 tablespoons butter melted
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 cup oil mild tasting such as vegetable or grape seed
- 5 large eggs
- 6 – 6 1/2 cups all purpose flour or as much as needed until a soft, elastic dough comes together
For the filling:
- 2 cups feta cheese
- 1 1/2 cups ricotta cheese
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tablespoons fresh dill chopped (if using dry, use 2 teaspoons).
- salt and pepper (if feta cheese is salty, omit extra salt)
Topping
- 1 egg + 1 tablespoon water (for eggwash)
- sesame seeds for topping
Instructions
To make the dough:
- In a large mixing bowl, add the yeast, warm milk, butter and sugar together. Let it sit for about 5 minutes until the yeast activates and begins to foam.
- Next, add the oil and eggs to the yeast mixture and mix it together.
- Begin by adding 4 cups of flour to the mixture and mix it in. Slowly add flour 1/2 a cup at a time until the dough comes together and is soft and elastic.
- Separate the dough into 8 portions. Cover with plastic food wrap and let sit while you make the filling.
To make the tiropita filling:
- In a large bowl, add the feta, ricotta, eggs, dill, salt and pepper.
- Mix the filling ingredients together until well incorporated.
Assembling the tiropita
- Working with one portion at a time, roll the dough out into a circle about 1/8 inch thick. Note: Ensure the other portions remain covered to prevent them from drying out.
- Cut the dough out into 8 triangle portions. I do this by cutting the circle into quarters and then cutting each quarter in half, similar to how you would cut a pizza. I use a pizza cutter to make this easier but a sharp knife works as well. [Note: you can modify this to create larger tiropites if you prefer. For example by cutting each circle into only 4 portions.]
- Working with one portion at a time, place a small scoop of filling towards the wider end of the triangle, but leaving a bit of a border along the edges. Roll the wide edge of the triangle over the filling and continue to roll the triangle up to make a crescent shape. Gently press on the two sides to seal them and prevent the filling from leaking out. Place the tiropita on a parchment lined baking sheet.
- Repeat this process with the remaining portions until a baking sheet is filled, leaving space between each tiropita to allow for them to rise and expand. Let the tiropites rise for 30 minutes while you continue to work with the other portions.
- Preheat oven to 350F. Brush the tiropites with the egg wash and sprinkle them with sesame seeds.
- Bake the tiropites in the middle rack of the oven for about 25-28 minutes or until they are golden brown. Since this recipe makes 60 tiropites, you will have to bake these in batches.
Note: Metric ingredient measurements are provided as a courtesy using a third-party calculator and are rounded to the nearest unit. The recipes provided on this site have not been tested with metric measurements and their accuracy cannot be verified.
Nutrition
The nutritional information provided is based on third-party calculations and is an estimate only. Accurate nutritional facts will vary based on the particular brands used, portion sizes, measurement accuracy and more.
60
I love all cheese pies. And seems to me that I will love this as well 🙂 thank you for sharing 🙂
They’re my favorite too! 🙂