Greek Baklava Recipe

A plate of homemade baklava stacked on top of each other.

4.88 from 40 votes

This Greek Baklava recipe makes a crispy and impressive sweet dessert! With walnuts and cinnamon layered between flaky phyllo dough brushed with melted butter, it's baked and then drizzled with sugar and sweet syrup!

Prep Time1

Cook Time1 15

Total Time2 15

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Greek

Servings: slices

Calories: 213kcal

Author: Amy Nash

Ingredients

Baklava Pastry & Filling

16 ounces phyllo dough thawed according to package instructions
1 ¼ cups salted butter melted
1 lb finely chopped walnuts about 4 cups
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Syrup

1 cup granulated sugar
¾ cup water
½ cup honey
2 tablespoons lemon juice

Instructions

Pastry

Thaw phyllo dough completely by placing it in the fridge overnight. Let the package of phyllo sit the next day, unopened, on the counter for 1 hour prior to making your baklava so it can come all the way to room temperature.
Butter the sides and bottom of the baking dish (9x13-inch). Trim phyllo to fit in the bottom of the pan, if necessary. Keep the trimmed dough covered in a damp cloth so it doesn't dry out.
Chop walnuts in a food processor by pulsing 10-12 times until coarsely ground or chop with a sharp knife until very finely chopped. Stir together the walnuts and cinnamon until combined.

Syrup

Prepare the sauce before assembling the baklava so it has plenty of time to cool completely before pouring over the baked phyllo dough.
Combine the sugar, water, honey, and lemon juice in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves.
Reduce heat to medium-low and continue to boil for 4 minutes more without stirring. Remove from heat and cool completely.

Baklava Assembly

Heat oven to 325°F.
Layer 10 sheets of phyllo pastry into the bottom of the pan, brushing a thin layer of melted butter between each layer and keeping the unused phyllo dough covered with a damp cloth to prevent it drying out.
Sprinkle approximately ⅕ of the chopped walnuts and cinnamon (roughly ¾ cup) in a thin, even layer over the first 10 pastry sheets.
Repeat 4 more times but with 5 sheets of phyllo dough instead of 10, brushing each with melted butter before adding the next sheet. Sprinkle ¾ cup of the chopped walnut mixture after every 5 layers of buttered phyllo dough.
Finish the baklava with a final, top layer of phyllo dough brushed with butter between the layers using the remaining 6-10 sheets of dough. Brush the top sheet of phyllo dough with butter as well.
Carefully slice the baklava into 1 ½-inch wide strips lengthwise, then slice diagonally to create diamond-shaped baklava. Or just slice squares if you prefer.
Bake in the 325°F oven for 1 hour and 15 minutes, until the baklava is golden brown. Remove from the oven and immediately drizzle all of the cooled syrup over the baklava.
Let the baklava cool completely at room temperature for 4-6 hours without being covered so the baked pastry can soak up all of the syrup.

Notes

Order of assembly

10 phyllo sheets, brushed with butter between each sheet, then ¾ cup walnut mixture;
5 phyllo sheets, brushed with butter between each sheet, then ¾ cup walnut mixture;
5 phyllo sheets, brushed with butter between each sheet, then ¾ cup walnut mixture;
5 phyllo sheets, brushed with butter between each sheet, then ¾ cup walnut mixture;
5 phyllo sheets, brushed with butter between each sheet, then ¾ cup walnut mixture;
10 phyllo sheets, brushed with butter between each sheet and on top of the final sheet.

Storage

Store: Baklava can be stored on a plate just covered with a clean tea towel for 1–2 weeks at room temperature.
Freeze: Baklava can be frozen for up to 4 months. Wrap small batches of cooked baklava with plastic wrap. Then put them in an airtight container or a freezer bag, and store in the freezer. I usually do 10-12 pieces per frozen batch so we can have a couple of pieces each as dessert whenever we like. Thaw at room temperature before eating.

Nutrition