These mini baklava cups taste like authentic baklava but are so much simpler! The mini fillo Shells come pre-baked and make the process way easy. I hope this delicious treat becomes a new holiday tradition for you.
Bring these to your Thanksgiving, Christmas or New Year’s party and they will fly off the plate! They are easy to serve and your fingers stay clean.
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Baklava cups are completely cute and the flavor is fantastic! They are loaded with a blend of walnuts and pistachios. Feel free to create your own blend with different nuts like pecans, almonds, cashews, peanuts – any nut really! The syrup is made with honey and lemon which cut the sweetness and make these baklava cups perfectly moist and completely irresistible.
You can make these ahead up to 2 weeks and store refrigerated or at room temperature. See the awesome freezing tip at the bottom – it’s GENIUS!!
P.S. Want to know which tools we used to make this recipe? See the Amazon affiliate links in the instructions below.
Ingredients for Baklava Cups:
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 Tbsp lemon juice (from 1/2 small lemon)
1/3 cup water
1/4 cup honey
2 packages (15 count, each) Athens® Mini Fillo Shells, frozen
2 cups nuts (I used 1 1/2 cups walnuts and 1/2 cup salted pistachios)
1/2 tsp cinnamon
3 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
Melted chocolate chips to drizzle for garnish, optional
How to Make Baklava Cups:
Preheat Oven to 350˚F.
1. In a small saucepan, combine syrup ingredients: 1/2 cup sugar, 1 Tbsp lemon juice, 1/3 cup water and 1/4 cup honey. Bring to a boil over med/high heat, stirring until sugar is dissolved then reduce heat to low and keep at a light boil for 4 minutes without stirring. Remove syrup from heat and let cool at room temperature while preparing baklava cups.
2. In a food processor, pulse together 2 cups of nuts until coarsely chopped then transfer to a medium mixing bowl and stir in 1/2 tsp cinnamon. Add 3 Tbsp melted butter and stir to combine.
3. Arrange 30 mini frozen phyllo cups on a rimmed baking sheet and divide nut mixture evenly between the cups (about 2 teaspoons per cup), patting down the tops with your finger tips. Bake for 10 minutes at 350˚F.
Pro Tip: This mini cookie scoop made the portioning process easy!
4. Once mini baklava cups are baked, immediately spoon cooled syrup over the nuts, adding 1 tsp to each one to let the syrup soak in then repeating with another 1/2 teaspoon of syrup until all of the syrup is used up. Let rest at room temperature for 6 hours or overnight for the flavors to meld and the cups to soften.
Drizzle with chocolate to serve if desired. We like to drizzle on the melted chocolate then refrigerate so it firms up for easier serving.
Make-Ahead Instructions:
Cover and store baklava at room temperature up to 2 weeks. The Athens® packaging makes for excellent storage container of the baklava cups. To freeze: place baklava cups back into plastic tray and slide the tray into the packaging. Seal the ends of the package with tape and wrap the box with plastic wrap then freeze up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature before serving and will be just as good!
If you are looking for another freezer friendly dessert, we have frozen this entire cake. After thawing, it was just as amazing as fresh!
⬇Print-Friendly Baklava Cups Recipe:
Baklava Cups Recipe
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 Tbsp lemon juice, from 1/2 small lemon
- 1/3 cup water
- 1/4 cup honey
- 30 shells (2 boxes, 15 count each) Athens® Mini Fillo Shells
- 2 cups nuts, we used 1 1/2 cups walnuts + 1/2 cup salted pistachios
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 3 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
- 1/4 cup chocolate chips, melted to drizzle for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat Oven to 350˚F. In a small saucepan, combine syrup ingredients: 1/2 cup sugar, 1 Tbsp lemon juice, 1/3 cup water and 1/4 cup honey. Bring to a boil over med/high heat, stirring until sugar dissolves then reduce heat and keep at a light boil for 4 min without stirring. Remove syrup from heat and let cool at room temperature while prepping baklava cups.
- In a food processor, pulse together 2 cups nuts to coarsely chop. Transfer to medium mixing bowl and stir in 1/2 tsp cinnamon. Add 3 Tbsp melted butter and stir to combine.
- Arrange 30 mini phyllo cups on rimmed baking sheet and divide nut mixture between the cups (about 2 tsp per cup), patting down the tops with your fingers. Bake 10 min at 350˚F.
- Once out of the oven, immediately spoon cooled syrup over nuts, adding 1 tsp to each one to let the syrup soak in then repeat with another 1/2 teaspoon of syrup until all syrup is used up. Let rest at room temperature for 6 hrs or overnight for flavors to meld and cups to soften. Serve as is or drizzled with chocolate.
Notes
Nutrition Per Serving
If you make this recipe, I’d love to see pics of your creations on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter! Hashtag them #natashaskitchen
Q: Have you tried the Mini Fillo Shells in any other recipes? We love the taste and texture of these shells and are always looking for new ideas.
P.S. If these mini baklava cups grace your holiday party platters, let me know!!
Natasha Kravchuk
Hi! I'm Natasha Kravchuk. Here you'll find delicious, trusted recipes with easy step-by-step photos and videos. 
I don’t brush shells with melted butter?
Hi Pat, no, we did not need to brush the shells before filling them.
I have never had baklava or used the mino fillo shells, but these turned out great! Easy to make and taste delicious! I made half a batch because I wasn’t sure how they would turn out, but will definitely make again!
Great! I have used the Philo shells to bake brie with apricot jam. They also taste great.
Could I substitute rosewater or orangeflower blossom water for the lemon juice in the syrup?
I have not tested that, but I don’t see why not. Let us know if you experiment.
Do you have to thaw the cups like you do for the dough in the traditional Baklava recipe?
Hi Ashley! The cups have such thin layers that there is no need to thaw – they thaw quickly on their own. I keep them frozen until ready to use.
Making these for Thanksgiving! Does the recipe call for roasted or raw nuts? Will it work if I used already roasted nuts? Thank you!
Hi Irina! We used raw nuts but you can use roasted nuts. Many of my readers commented on making this with roasted nuts. Happy Thanksgiving!
I was wondering where I can buy the mini fillo shells. I live in New Mexico. I checked my stores and no luck.
Hi Diane, I used Athens® Mini Fillo Shells, frozen. You might double-check with your local store website or call to see if they are sold in your country or not. You might check to see if you have sheets of phyllo instead to make traditional baklava.
Amazing!! I’m not much of a cook. These turned out perfect. I’m going to make again for party.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
You mentioned being able to store the Baklava for up to 2 weeks. Is that just the Baklava before you put the mixture into the mini fillo shells? I am planning a get together for 3 days from now and want to prepare the Baklava ahead of time.
Hi Michelle, that’s right. Please see the Make-Ahead Instructions section of the recipe!
I just made these! I haven’t tried them yet, but while baking they small amazing! I am so happy I found your recipe with the phyllo cups! When sitting at room temperature overnight, do I cover them?
Hi Yvette! I hope you love them! I recommend reading through the recipes Make-Ahead Instructions: “Cover and store baklava at room temperature up to 2 weeks.” I hope this helps!
I made these and they are terrific. They also freeze well so you can eat them at your leisure. The only thing I did different is that I added 1 1/2 teaspoons of honey in the nut mixture. This made it easier to fill the cups. Thanks for your recipe.
Hi Joyce! Thank you for sharing. So glad you enjoy this recipe.
I would like to use the unsalted pistachios I have in my pantry. How can I adjust for the salted ones?
I haven’t tried using unsalted pistachios but I think if you do that, you can use salted butter.
Recipe looks delicious. My hubby is allergic to pistachios what else can I use
Hi Connie, that will work. Several of our readers posted other types of nuts they used in place of that. I hope that helps.
If i will make it ahead of time, how do you store it? Is it still crisp when served?
Hi Glaiza, please see this note in the recipe: “You can make these ahead up to 2 weeks and store refrigerated or at room temperature. See the awesome freezing tip at the bottom – it’s GENIUS!!”
Wow! Made these for Christmas! Super easy and extra yummy! I used hot fudge instead of melting chocolate (because my chocolate wasn’t cooperating)…but such a hit!!
Great to hear that it turned out great, Lisa!
I made the baklava cups & the syrup went right through the cup & onto the baking sheet. I followed the directions exactly as shown!
Hi Gale, I wonder if maybe you had some broken cups? Also, make sure to add the syrup after baking and not overfill the cups.
Using fully baked phyllo shells, what should I do with the nut mixture
Hi Lynda, the phyllo shells we used are also fully baked.
Made these for my Christmas baking platter. The shells aren’t available in my area so I made my own from phyllo dough. Love them! Very easy to make.
Yum! That sounds like a beautiful and delicious pkatter! I’m so glad you enjoyed them!
Hi Yvonne,
Did you pre-bake the phyllo before adding the nuts mixture and baking? I can’t find the shells either.
Thanks
Love your cookie recipes Question? Are the phyllo cups pre baked as the picture shows or are they raw and frozen? Do already baked cups endure further baking?
Thanks
Tom
Hi Tom, the cups we purchased are prebaked and frozen. We bake them once we fill them as noted in step #3.