Tiropita (Greek Cheese Pie)

Ingredients

• 1 package phyllo dough, thawed
• 1 1/2 cups crumbled feta cheese
• 1 cup cottage or ricotta cheese
• 3 large eggs, beaten
• 2 tbsp fresh mint or dill (optional)
• 1/2 cup melted butter, for brushing

Method

1. Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C).
2. Mix the feta, cottage cheese, eggs, and herbs together until combined.
3. Layer half the phyllo sheets in a buttered baking dish, brushing each with melted butter.
4. Spread the cheese filling evenly over the phyllo, then layer the remaining sheets on top, brushing each with butter.
5. Score the top into squares and bake for 30–35 minutes, until golden and puffed.
6. Cool 10 minutes before cutting along the scored lines.

The Tale of Tiropita (Greek Cheese Pie)

Story updated September 18, 2026

Tiropita, whose name simply combines the Greek words for cheese (tyri) and pie (pita), shares its family tree with spanakopita, though its exact ancestry is debated among food historians. Some trace it to ancient and Byzantine Greek dishes like plakous, a layered cheese cake mentioned in classical sources, while others point to a more humble folk origin, a pie improvised by families with little more than flour, oil, and cheese on hand. Its defining technique, the paper-thin, buttery layers of phyllo pastry, most likely arrived via the Ottoman Empire, which ruled Greece for centuries beginning in the 15th century and introduced Central Asian Turkic flatbread traditions like yufka to the region. Greek bakers adapted these methods with local cheeses, typically feta or a blend, wrapped into triangles or rolled into spirals. Rather than one clear origin story, tiropita is best understood as a dish shaped gradually by centuries of Mediterranean and Ottoman culinary exchange, now a beloved everyday Greek snack and breakfast food.