Tiropita – Greek Cheese Pie

This Tiropita, also known as a Greek Cheese Pie, is a traditional and popular European treat! A cheese pie made with bechamel sauce, feta cheese, and ricotta between flaky, buttery layers of phyllo dough.

We all have our weaknesses when it comes to food, cheese pies are mine. For some reason they are not as popular in North America! They’re more of a European treat, which is disappointing because savory cheese pies are to die for!

I have made a few versions of cheese pies, but this time I’m giving you a Greek version known as tiropita with bechamel sauce and 2 different cheeses! Made with just a handful of simple ingredients, you’ll be ranting and raving about how delicious and easy this pie is!

Why Make This Tiropita Recipe

• Easy To Make
• Simple Ingredients
• Rich, Delicious, Comfort Food
• Uses Store Bought Phyllo Dough

The filling for this pie is a mixture of bechamel sauce with feta cheese, ricotta cheese and eggs. Another reason why I love this recipe is that you don’t have to worry about fussing around making the dough, it’s store bought so it’s super simple to use!

Ingredient Notes

Bechamel Sauce

For more information on how to make this bechamel sauce, check out my recipe here.

• Flour – I used all-purpose flour.
• Nutmeg – Just a pinch!
• Butter – Unsalted
• Milk – Use your preference, dairy or non dairy.

Cheese Pie

• Cheese – I used both feta and ricotta cheese. I like to add a bit of ricotta because the feta is too salty in my opinion, so the ricotta balances out that saltiness.
• Eggs – The eggs are in the filling and act as a binder, so I wouldn’t recommend skipping it.
• Phyllo dough – You can find it at your local grocery store! It’s important to note that I have made this with puff pastry as well and both versions are equally delicious.
• Butter – You’ll need lots of melted butter to brush the phyllo sheets.

How To Make Tiropita

Make Bechamel Sauce:

1. Whisk Butter: In a saucepan melt the butter and add the flour. With a whisk, whisk in the flour. Keep whisking for about 2 to 3 minutes.
2. Add Ingredients: Add the milk, nutmeg and salt and whisk everything together. Cook for another 5 minutes and whisk as necessary. Let it cool.

Make The Tiropita:

1. Make Filling: To a large bowl, add the ricotta, feta cheese and bechamel sauce. Stir well. Add the eggs one at a time into the cheese mixture stirring well after each one.
2. Preheat Oven: Preheat oven to 375°F.
3. Prep Phyllo and Pan: Generously brush melted butter on a 9×13-inch baking pan. Take out the phyllo sheets from the package and lay them flat on your work surface, then cover them with a clean damp kitchen towel, this will prevent the phyllo from drying out.
4. Assemble the Bottom: Place one sheet of phyllo at the bottom of the dish, then butter the top of the sheet. Place another sheet on top of it and brush the top again with butter. Repeat this until you have half of the phyllo sheets done, you can omit brushing butter over the top sheet.
5. Assemble the Top: Spread the cheese filling evenly over the buttered phyllo sheets. Layer with another phyllo sheet and butter it well. This sheet will be a bit more difficult to brush. Repeat this until you finished with all the sheets.
6. Finish the Pie: Butter the top phyllo sheet with butter as well. Using a sharp knife cut the pie into 8 equal pieces, or however many pieces you want. You don’t have to run your knife all the way through, but this will make it easier to cut the pie after it’s baked.
7. Bake: Transfer the baking pan to the oven and bake for about 45 min or until golden brown.
8. Finish: Take a sharp knife and run it through the cut pie again, just to make sure we can easily take out each piece. Serve and enjoy!

FAQs & Expert Tips

FAQs

Tips

• You can also make this into triangles, just like spanakopita. If you choose to, simply follow the steps for my spanakopita.
• In Greece, it is not uncommon to see signs in coffee shops advertising a breakfast combo of coffee and cheese pie. Serve your homemade pie as is, with a hot cup of joe for a true greek inspired breakfast experience!

Leftovers

Store leftover tiropita wrapped tightly in the fridge for 3-5 days.

Freezing

You have two options here: assemble and freeze the whole pie before baking or bake the pie, let it cool completely and cut into individual slices. Wrap the slices tightly in saran wrap and place in a freezer bag for convenient grab and thaw pieces. Your cheese pie will last 3-6 months in the freezer.

More Related Recipes

• Greek Flatbreads
• Greek Chicken Pasta
• One Pot Greek Chicken Orzo
• Greek Salad
• Skillet Chicken Pot Pie