This Baklava is flaky, crisp, and tender, and easier to make than you think. I share my authentic Greek Baklava Recipe below with step-by-step directions that are easy to follow. Make this dessert and be prepared for oo’s and ahh’s, because this is the BEST baklava recipe I have ever tried.
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Helpful Reader Review
“Love this recipe. I am Greek, but my baklava never turned out this good. I made your recipe for my husband’s family reunion. They were so impressed by how delicious it was. They said the syrup wasn’t too sweet like other baklava recipes and it’s the best they ever tasted.” – Tina ★★★★★
Baklava Video
Baklava can be a little tedious to make, but it’s truly simpler than you think. Watch my video, and you’ll be confidently buttering layers in no time! If you want a sneaky shortcut version, try my Baklava Cups.
Best Baklava Recipe
Store-bought baklava has nothing on this, and trust me, I’ve been around the block when shopping for baklava. This baklava recipe is well-loved wherever it goes, and with so many 5-star reviews, it is definitely a reader and family favorite! It’s also make-ahead and freezer-friendly, which is perfect for holiday baking.
My baklava recipe comes out beautifully flaky, buttery, and crisp. The flavor is incredible, since this one is not too sweet. You will love the hint of mellow lemony flavor, which offsets the sweetness and complements the cinnamon. It also keeps well for over a week on the counter, making it a great option to make ahead.
Baklava Ingredients
While this recipe is a Classic Greek Baklava, other varieties, such as Lebanese and Turkish recipes, swap the walnuts for pistachios and include rose water. My Baklava recipe calls for simple ingredients, most of which you can find in your pantry.
- Phyllo (fillo) dough – one 16oz package should have about 40 total paper-thin sheets. Do not use the thick sheets of fillo dough for this recipe. They are sold in the freezer section of the grocery store. Thaw according to the package instructions.
- Unsalted Butter – don’t skimp here! This keeps the fillo dough from peeling away.
- Walnuts – finely chop. You can swap them for almonds, pistachios, or a mix of nuts.
- Cinnamon – adds a great hint of flavor that’s traditional for Baklava
- Syrup ingredients – sugar, lemon juice, water, and honey
- Garnish – drizzle with melted chocolate or Chocolate Ganache, and chopped walnuts
How To Make Baklava
While it takes time to brush each layer, the result is worth every moment! Don’t skim on the butter, and you will be rewarded.
- Thaw phyllo dough in the refrigerator per the package instructions, then place it covered on the counter for 1 hour to bring to room temperature.
- Trim the phyllo dough to fit your 9×13 pan, covering it with a damp (not wet) towel to keep from drying out.
- Grease – use butter to coat the sides and bottom of a 13×9 non-stick baking pan. You can line it with parchment paper so you don’t damage it with your knife when slicing later.
- Make the honey syrup – heat the syrup ingredients in a medium saucepan while stirring until it boils, and then reduce the heat to medium-low and allow to cook for 4 more minutes without stirring. Set aside to cool.
- Chop Walnuts – pulse walnuts in a food processor until finely chopped, and then mix with cinnamon.
How to Assemble the Baklava
- 10 Layers – Preheat oven to 325°F. Start layering the phyllo dough, brushing each sheet with butter as you place it in the pan. Repeat this until you’ve added 10 layers. Then sprinkle 3/4 cup of walnuts over the top.
- 5 Layers – add 5 more sheets, buttering between each one, and then another layer of walnuts. Repeat this 3 more times. Finally, add 10 more layers of buttered dough on top.
- Cut the dessert into strips using a sharp knife, and then cut across to make diamonds. Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes.
- Add syrup – spoon cooled syrup over the Baklava right after removing it from the oven. It should sizzle. Leave it uncovered on the counter to cool completely (4 hours or overnight). Then store covered with a tea towel for up to a week.
Tips for Making the Best Baklava
Follow these simple tips to make homemade baklava easy.
- Use a 13×9 pan with straight corners that fits the pastry to the edges. Avoid pans with angled corners that fan out, as they can cause the syrup to pool at the edges and make the top of the baklava dry. If you choose a larger pan, increase the syrup amount by 25% so you don’t run out. You can also cut the recipe in half using an 8×8 pan.
- Don’t skimp on the butter, especially on the top layers, since that can cause them to flake off. You can melt a few more tablespoons if you run out.
- Sizzle – the sound you’ll hear when you spoon the syrup over the hot pastry. This keeps it from getting soggy.
My Baklava recipe has so many layers of irresistible textures and flavors! The crispy layers of dough are perfectly complemented by the honey syrup and crunchy nuts. I hope it becomes your new favorite dessert.
Baklava Recipe
Ingredients
- 16 oz phyllo dough, thawed by package instructions
- 1 1/4 cups unsalted butter, 10 oz or 2 1/2 sticks, melted
- 1 lb walnuts, finely chopped, about 4 1/4 cups unprocessed
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 Tbsp lemon juice, juice of 1/2 lemon
- 3/4 cup water
- 1/2 cup honey
- Melted chocolate chips & chopped walnuts for garnish, optional
Instructions
Preparation
- Thaw phyllo dough by package instructions (this is best done overnight in the fridge, then place it on the counter for 1 hr before starting your recipe to bring it to room temperature).
- Trim phyllo dough to fit your baking dish. My phyllo package had 2 rolls with a total of 40 sheets that measured 9×14, so I had to trim them slightly. You can trim one stack at a time, then cover with a damp towel to keep from drying out.
- Grease – Butter the bottom and sides of a 13×9 non-stick baking pan. Line the bottom with parchment if desired to protect the pan when cutting later.
- Make the honey syrup – In a medium saucepan, combine 1 cup sugar, 1/2 cup honey, 2 Tbsp lemon juice, and 3/4 cup water. Bring to a boil over medium/high heat, stirring until sugar is dissolved, then reduce the heat to medium/low and boil an additional 4 min without stirring. Remove from heat and let the syrup cool while preparing baklava.
- Chop walnuts – Pulse walnuts 10 times in a food processor until coarsely ground/ finely chopped. In a medium bowl, stir together: 4 cups finely chopped walnuts and 1 tsp cinnamon.
Assemble the Baklava
- 10 layers – Preheat the oven to 325°F. Place 10 phyllo sheets into a baking pan one at a time, brushing each sheet with butter once it's in the pan before adding the next (i.e., place phyllo sheet into pan, brush the top with butter, place next phyllo sheet in pan, butter the top, etc.). Keep the remaining phyllo covered with a damp towel at all times. Spread about 1/5 of the nut mixture (about 3/4 cup) over the phyllo dough.
- 5 layers – Add 5 buttered sheets of phyllo, then another layer of nuts. Repeat four times with the remaining layers of fillo, butter and nuts. Finish off with 10 layers of buttered phyllo sheets. Brush the very top with butter.
- Cut pastry into 1 1/2" wide strips, then cut diagonally to form diamond shapes. Bake at 325˚F for 1 hour and 15 min or until tops are golden brown.
- Add syrup – Remove from oven and immediately spoon cooled syrup evenly over the hot baklava (you'll hear it sizzle). This will ensure that it stays crisp rather than soggy. Let baklava cool and rest uncovered at room temperature 4-6 hours or overnight for the syrup to penetrate and soften the layers. Garnish with chocolate and nuts if desired.
Notes
- 10 buttered sheets, 3/4 cup nuts,
- 5 buttered sheets, 3/4 cup nuts,
- 5 buttered sheets, 3/4 cup nuts,
- 5 buttered sheets, 3/4 cup nuts,
- 5 buttered sheets, 3/4 cup nuts,
- 10 buttered sheets and butter the top.
Nutrition Per Serving
Filed Under
More Pastry Recipes
Homemade pastries always turn heads, so once you try this Baklava, don’t miss these other classic dessert recipes:
- Eclairs
- Croissants
- Cream Puffs
- Apple Turnovers
- Churros
- Fruit Tart
- Rugelach
- Palmiers
- Cheese Danish
- Apple Danish
- Apple Roses
Looks amazing. I’m going to give it a try.
What size phyllo do you use?
Ho Joan, My phyllo dough package had 2 rolls with a total of 40 sheets that measured 9×14.
Love your blog!!!
Must I roasted the walnuts?
Hi Alta, it isn’t necessary since they are baked in the baklava but it wouldn’t hurt. It might enhance the flavor even more. I hope you love it!
Hi, I have never tried Baklava but this recipe looks simple and easy to make so, I am going to do this weekend for my parents. Anyway, can I use Airbake non-stick pan with this? Will it make a difference on how it is going to be cooked? Thank you so much!
Hi Angel, I don’t have any experience with airbake pans so I’m not sure if they do something special to produce better results. I wisg I could be more help. If someone else has experimented, please let us know! 🙂
I have tried a couple of other recipes for baklava recently that both turned out pretty good, but nowhere as amazing as yours Natasha. Until I read your recipe I did not realise that there was filo pastry available thinner than the type that I usually buy from the supermarket. I tracked some amazing filo down in a Turkish store very near to where I live in South London and using it made a world of difference to the finished baklava. I really like the way that the flavour of the nuts comes through because it is not overly sweet. I presented my finished product to friends at a barbecue at our place yesterday and its wonderful appearance drew gasps from everybody, and even more from the wonderful taste and texture. I of course took all the credit, but really it was all down to your amazing, easy to follow recipe. Thank you.
That’s just awesome, Steve!! Thank you for sharing your wonderful review 🙂
Hello Natashia, Your recipe looks amazing and I would love to bake it for my son. Do you think I can substitute butter with a non-dairy margarine?
Hi Luz, I honestly haven’t tried it that way so I’m not sure. Maybe try googling “dairy free baklava” – I wonder if ghee might work (if that’s ok for your son to have). I wish I could be more help! If anyone else has insight into this, please share 🙂
if taste doesn’t matter, you can use margarine or oil, but it will never be the real thing without good quality clarified butter. I suggest try it with pistachios, little costly, but much better.
I use a mix of pistachios and almonds
I made this wonderful treatand it was a pain working with the sheets of pastry but it turned out very yummy. Can I freeze some of it or will it be stale like once it thaws?
Hi Rambie, I have freezing notes in the recipe but yes it is freezer friendly and tastes just as good thawed.
This looks good but my sister has a nut allergy, any way to substitute walnuts for something else?
Hi Bob, Does her allergy extend to pecans (I know they are closely related). You can replace them with different nuts or even use a combination like pistachios, cashews, almonds.
Could the recipe be in grams… cups mean nothing to us Brits!! Sounds a good recipe! Thanks
Hi Denise, We are currently working on adding metric measurements to all of our recipes but it is taking some time as we have to add them one at a time. Thank you so much for being patient! In the meantime, check out our post on measuring which should help.
Google 2 cups = grams and Google will automatically convert for u.
don’t put cinnamon in the Baklava
I always put in extra cinnamon! I love it and can’t imagine the baklava being very good without it.
But everybody has different tastes. I love the recipe just as is.
si pudiera pasar las recetas en ESPAÑOL
Hi Jaime, we currently only provide recipes in English.
U can copy and paste the entire recipe into Google Translate and it will spit it out in Spanish just like that.
https://www.bing.com/search?q=translate+spanish+to+english&form=APMCS1&PC=APMC
Copiar y pegar la receta aquí y se traducirá para usted
This recipe is phenomenal!!! I have gotten nothing but compliments from my coworkers, best they have ever eaten!! As far as thawing the phyllo, I was short on time and just left it to thaw for 2 hours (per the box) and it worked just fine. Thanks for the awesome recipe!!!
Thank you so much for that compliment and the great review, Kylee! I’m so happy you all enjoyed it.
I never bake this before, but seeing your video, I will make it this weekend. I excited to try this. Norma Clarke
I’m so happy you discovered our blog, Norma. Welcome! 🙂
Any substitute for honey?
Hi Mohammed, I haven’t tested anything else but two readers reported good results with using 1/2 cup of agave nectar.
i have to make this for my food tech tomorrow and i found it really great!!
I’m happy to hear that, thanks for sharing! 🙂
Hello Natasha just wanted to say I love your name, and your recipe for baklava as well five stars thanks for sharing,my wife and I have been making baklava for many years we use a bit of alspice as well as cinnamon other than that it’s pretty much the same again thanks for sharing
Hello Thomas, I’m glad to hear you and your wife enjoy the recipe. Thanks for sharing your review and thoughtful comments!
Hi! I just made this recipe last nigth, i tried the baklava today it is Delicius. Thank you so much for sharing an amazing recipe. My family love it.
You’re welcome Luli! I’m glad you enjoy the recipe. Thanks for sharing your excellent review!
hi natasha!
do you know if icing sugar/powdered sugar is an acceptable substitute to the granulated sugar in your syrup recipe?
Thanks!
Alicia
Hi Alicia, usually for 1 cup of granulated sugar you can use 2 cups of powdered sugar but it can make the syrup murky. Without experimenting I can’t make a recommendation.
Powdered sugar contains a small amount of corn starch, but you can take regular sugar (or even Splenda!) and run it through a blender until it is of the same consistency as powdered sugar. I have done this for a fudge recipe.
Hi, Natasha,
I would really like to make your baklava, but in France the fillo sheets are 8 oz per package and a total of 10 sheets. So in order to get 40 sheets following the recipe, I’d need 4 pkgs or 32 oz. So what would you suggest – make it with 40 sheets (32oz) or respect the 16 oz and cut it to 20 sheets?
Thank you!
Hi Ginka, are the sheets super thin and almost transparent? I wonder if they are a different size (dimensions) or different thickness. Its so hard to gauge without using the same product. If someone else has tried with the filo sheets described, please share your insights!
As a baklava lover and first-time maker, I looked at several recipes. I chose this one for it’s authenticity, and it was the right choice.
I did NOT even wait for it to cool and set before eating several pieces.
The good — the lemon gave it a lightness that was very refreshing, and not the least bit too lemony. I usually find baklava far too heavy and way, way too sweet.
The bad — because of the above-named qualities, I have to force myself to stop eating it after 4 pieces!
I’m glad to hear how much you enjoy this recipe Darla! Thanks for sharing your excellent review with other readers!
I’ve made this several times. Everyone loves it especially me. I have a question though. Mine falls apart at some layer or other. I even try to pack it down as I’m going along. Is there a solution to this ? I use plenty of butter. Thank you.
Hi Judy, sometimes using a wider dish could cause this so you might consider increasing the syrup 10-15% if your dish is wider than the one I used or if the walls of the dish fan out rather than going straight up.
I use the same size pan as you do. It is not dry and is very good. Just doesn’t stay together. Most of it does but….
Hi Judy, are you letting it rest overnight before enjoying it? Letting it rest allows the delicate sheets to absorb some of the liquid which helps keep it together.
Yes. I do that too. Thank you for your reply.
Some of mine falls apart too but most of it doesn’t. That’s where a spoon comes in handy after the rest is gone! My husband loves cleaning up the crumbs!