This honey baklava is flaky, crisp and tender and I love that it isn’t overly sweet. It’s basically a party in your mouth. I am a huge fan of baklava and this is the BEST baklava recipe I have ever tried. Hands down.
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You will love the hint of mellow lemony flavor which offsets the sweetness and compliments the cinnamon. It’s truly delicious.
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 it is definitely a reader and family favorite!
How to Make the Best Baklava (See Video Below):
Ingredients for Baklava Recipe:
You will need 1 (16 oz) package of phyllo (fillo) dough*; thawed according to package instructions *Fillo dough should be paper thin – even thinner than paper. Each package has 2 rolls with a total of 40 sheets. Do not use thick sheets of fillo dough for this recipe.
Also, don’t skimp on the butter or any part of the syrup (lemon juice, water and honey) since the recipe needs it to moisten and soften the sheets. Otherwise the baklava layers can end up dry and won’t stay together easily.
The chocolate is optional but a nice touch to fancy up a tray of baklava.
How To Make Baklava:
1. Thaw phyllo dough according to package instructions (this is best done overnight in the fridge, then place it on the counter for 1 hour before starting your recipe to bring it to room temp).
2. Trim phyllo dough to fit your baking sheet. My phyllo dough 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.
3. Butter the bottom and sides of a 13×9 non-stick baking pan.
Start with your honey sauce (which will need time to cool as your baklava bakes).
1. 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 med/high heat, stirring until sugar is dissolved, then reduce heat to med/low and boil an additional 4 minutes without stirring. Remove from heat and let syrup cool while preparing baklava
How to Assemble Baklava:
Preheat Oven to 325˚F.
1. Pulse walnuts about 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
2. Place 10 phyllo sheets into 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. etc.).
Keep remaining phyllo covered with a damp towel at all times. Spread about 1/5 of nut mixture (about 3/4 cup) over phyllo dough.
3. Add 5 buttered sheets of phyllo, then another layer of nuts. Repeat x 4. Finish off with 10 layers of buttered phyllo sheets. Brush the very top with butter.
Here’s the order:
10 buttered phyllo sheets, 3/4 cup nut mixture,
5 buttered phyllo sheets, 3/4 cup nut mixture,
5 buttered phyllo sheets, 3/4 cup nut mixture,
5 buttered phyllo sheets, 3/4 cup nut mixture,
5 buttered phyllo sheets, 3/4 cup nut mixture
10 buttered phyllo sheets and butter the top.
4. 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
5. Remove from oven and immediately spoon the 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 completely, uncovered and at room temperature
Tip: For best results, let baklava sit 4-6 hours or overnight at room temperature for the syrup to penetrate and soften the layers. Garnish baklava with finely chopped nuts or drizzle with melted chocolate. Store at room temp, covered with a tea towel for 1 to 2 weeks.
So many juicy layers of flavor! This is hands down, our favorite baklava. Check out the glowing reviews below and add the ingredients to your grocery list. 🙂
Watch Baklava Video Tutorial:
Any baklava is a little tedious to make, but I’ve shared all of my best tips and advise to ensure you are successful in making yours. You will love that this recipe can be made several days in advance of your shindig and keeps beautifully at room temperature for at least a week.
Dessert Recipes to Explore:
- Blueberry Lemon Cake – this went viral for good reason
- Strawberry Layer Cake – loaded with fresh strawberries
- Banana Bread Recipe – moist and fully loaded
- Strawberry Sauce – you’ll want this over every dessert & pancakes!
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
Prep:
- 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 temp).
- Trim phyllo dough to fit your baking dish. My phyllo package had 2 rolls with a total of 40 sheets that measured 9x14 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.
- Butter the bottom and sides of a 13x9 non-stick baking pan.
Start with your honey sauce (which needs time to cool as baklava bakes).
- 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 med/high heat, stirring until sugar is dissolved, then reduce heat to med/low and boil additional 4 min without stirring. Remove from heat and let syrup cool while preparing baklava.
How to make Baklava: Preheat Oven to 325˚F.
- Pulse walnuts 10 times in a food process or until coarsely ground/ finely chopped. In a medium bowl, stir together: 4 cups finely chopped walnuts and 1 tsp cinnamon.
- Place 10 phyllo sheets into 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. etc.). Keep remaining phyllo covered with a damp towel at all times. Spread about 1/5 of nut mixture (about 3/4 cup) over phyllo dough.
- Add 5 buttered sheets of phyllo, then another layer of nuts. Repeat x 4. 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.
- 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 completely, uncovered and at room temp. For best results, let baklava sit 4-6 hours or overnight at room temperature for the syrup to penetrate and soften the layers. Garnish baklava with finely chopped nuts or drizzle with melted chocolate. Store at room temp, covered with a tea towel for 1 to 2 weeks.
Notes
10 buttered phyllo sheets, 3/4 cup nut mixture,
5 buttered phyllo sheets, 3/4 cup nut mixture,
5 buttered phyllo sheets, 3/4 cup nut mixture,
5 buttered phyllo sheets, 3/4 cup nut mixture,
5 buttered phyllo sheets, 3/4 cup nut mixture
10 buttered phyllo sheets and butter the top.
Nutrition Per Serving
♥ FAVORITE THINGS ♥
Shown in this post (Amazon affiliate links):
* Cuisinart 9×13 non-stick cake pan (also great for cakes!)
* Wusthof Cooks knife – an essential knife for any cook
* Zwilling sauce pan distributes heat evenly & handle stays cool
* This Cuisinart 11-cup food processor cuts prep time in half
What are YOU cooking up for Christmas?
If you’ve tried this already and are back for more, I’d love to hear from you in a comment below!
Hello everyone, I only tweeked the butter part. I melted all the butter and put it in a spray bottle. Much easier and faster to do the layers. This is the best “real” recipe I’ve made. Tastes so authentic and good Holiday treat.
Hi Sandy! Thank you for sharing that with us! I’m glad you enjoy this recipe.
I’ve used nonstick butter flavored spray in a pinch. It turned out fine. No one knew. But I felt bad about it. If you’re in a hurry, and need to use the butter spray, just know it’ll all work out..
Not my first baklava but I found this recipe to be very very dry. Baklava should be “wet” with the honey/water mixture. Thanks but I won’t fix this one again.
Hi Elizabeth! We’ve been making this for years and it’s never been dry. Did you use the accurate amount of ingredients? Don’t skimp on the butter or any part of the syrup (lemon juice, water and honey) since the recipe needs it to moisten and soften the sheets. Otherwise the baklava layers can end up dry and won’t stay together easily.
I agree. Mine also comes out dry as the syrup isn’t enough I think. But I forget to make more of it every time haha. I was going to try putting the baklava back in the oven again and make more syrup to pour on it.
This was DIVINE!!! First time making baklava and I couldn’t be happier! Slight tweaks were that I substituted fresh orange juice for the lemon juice. Used half pistachios and half walnuts. And I added 1/2 teaspoon almond extract to the syrup after it cooked. The orange and almond complimented the baklava beautifully. Baked in a well buttered glass Pyrex. No problem removing them. They were done at 65 min. I ran short a few layers so I think I accidentally picked up 2 at a time on a couple of the layers. No problem. I did need an extra 1/4 cup butter to brush on the phyllo I’m serving this to my cooking class after they make gyro meatball pitas and hummus. It’ll be the perfect sweet ending to their Mediterranean recipes. It does take a long time to make. But isn’t hard. I appreciate your detailed recipes, pictures and videos. You are this chef’s go-to, for solid recipes I can count on!! Thanks Natasha.
You’re very welcome, Paulette! Thank you for sharing your experience.
I got so many compliments on this! I did have to melt almost 2 more sticks of butter. I’m sure every sheet of dough was very thoroughly buttered but it was so good! Thank you so much for sharing!
That’s wonderful, Adrianne!
I ended up using almost 2 sticks of butter extra as well. It looks good. I hope I didn’t mess it up and it tastes good. Going to try the spray bottle trick next time. Definitely a labor of love.
Such a delicious, easy to follow recipe! I love baklava so much, I’m so happy I can now make it on my own. I was really intimidated by the labor intensive recipe, but it really was easy to follow and turned out perfect!
I’m so glad you gave this a try, Katie! Thank you for your review.
For beginning bakers, maybe emphasize that you don’t just remove the syrup from the heat to cool, but rather sit it aside until after the baklava bakes! Made the mistake of pouring the cooled syrup over the baklava BEFORE baking. Now waiting to see how badly I ruined dessert for Greek night on our family vacation. 🙁
I’m sorry that happened, Mike. I try to be very clear in my instructions. That is one reason why I recommend to my readers to read the whole recipe blog and instructions once through before attempting the recipe. Thank you for the feedback. I hope it turns out well.
Hi! Can this be made in advance and then Frozen? How would you recommend storing once it is out and room temperature, covered or uncovered? Thank you!
Hi Madison! You can store it at room temp, covered with a tea towel for 1 to 2 weeks or freeze it for up to 3 months by tightly wrapping the dish in several plastic wrap layers and placing it into the freezer. Thaw at room temperature and serve – it will be just as good as fresh and doesn’t take too long to thaw.
Thank you for the thoughtful reply and guidance. Can’t wait to make this!
Excellent simple recipe! I did 1/2 walnut, 1/2 pecan so my mouth didn’t get torn up by the walnuts. I took it to a party by my Greek friend and he said it’s the best baklava he’s had in a long time!
That’s wonderful. I’m so glad it was a hit!
made pretty much exactly as directed, turned out delicious! I would probably rinse the walnuts a bit before adding them next time, they had a bitter taste.
Thanks for the tip and we’re glad that you loved it!
Hello I did not see any explanation of preparing melted butter. Did I miss?
Hi Jeanine, you want to have the butter melted and ready for brushing. I melt it in a small saucepan on the stove.
I just made this for Eid which is tomorrow and it’s delicious . My first baklava . Thank you so much for sharing this recipe.
You’re very welcome, Senada! I’m so glad you enjoyed this recipe.
I have another Baklava recipe that I had always used, but I liked the chart with how many buttered sheets and quantity of nuts to use. It makes it so much easier. So I tried it, and it was absolutely delicious, and the only Baklava recipe I now use! As a matter of fact, I have 2 boxes of Filo dough in my freezer to make for upcoming functions. I also bought a very large pan, (I’m not sure what kind of pan, maybe a lasagne pan?) that I only use for Baklava. I roll up aluminum foil and make borders in the large pan so I don’t have to cut the Fi!o dough. Thanks so much for this recipe!
Hi Carol! You’re very welcome. Thank you for sharing that with us.
Holy moly this Baklava is the bomb! I smashed the walnuts down to almost powder and coated them in cinnamon. I definitely had to use more butter also. This also gets better as it ages! This was better on day 5 than the 2nd day! I will definitely be making this again, sooner than later! Thanks! 😃❤️
You’re so welcome! Sounds yum, so glad that you loved the result!
Loved the recipe. The only hesitation I had was using a sharp knife to cut the dough in my non-stick pan. How about a greased cookie sheet that’s not non-stick?
Hi Dave, that would work fine to use a greased cookie sheet that isn’t non-stick. I hope you love the baklava recipe!
To piggy back on Dave’s question, would a glass baking dish have any different effects versus a nonstick or metal dish?
Hi Laura, a glass pan may work here, to avoid thermal shock you may need to adjust the bake temperature, also ensure your glass pan is safe in the oven to the temperature this recipe requires. I hope this helps, if you test this in a glass pan, please let me know how you like it.
I thought making baklava from scratch, was going to be very intimidating and labor intensive. But I watched your video about three times, and read the recipe thoroughly; following to the letter. It came out, amazing, beautiful, and crispy. I chose walnuts this time, but next time I made you a 50–50 mix of almonds and walnuts. Your video was so very helpful! Thank you again!
Hi Delilah! That’s wonderful. Thank you for trying my recipe. I’m so glad you enjoyed it.
I love this recipe it is so tasty! The only problem I have had is that sometimes my top layers of phyllo want to separate after it has cooked…..and fall off. Am I overcooking it?
Hi Marcey, It’s hard to say what’s causing it to separate without being there, but I recommend ensuring your baklava is not too close to the top of the oven or heating element.
I also have the problem where the top layers of phyllo dough don’t stick to the nut mixture and come off.
The recipe is a huge hit! People request me to make this at work.
Hello Natasha,
Lovely recipe, Can we use pistachio instead of walnuts..lots love from india
Hi Chaitra! Yes, you can also use pistachios.
I just made this, and the dough becomes very gooey and stuck together when i add the syrupy . I was very much looking forward to this recipe. It didn’t after the baklava consistency, nor the taste. What could’ve gone wrong?
Hi Mariam! Did you make any changes or possibly use a different dough? The box should say “phyllo (fillo) dough” (sometimes people confuse this with puff pastry). Fillo dough should be paper thin – even thinner than paper. Each package has 2 rolls with a total of 40 sheets. Do not use thick sheets of fillo dough for this recipe.
The only other thing that comes to mind is the syrup. I would look over the instructions again to see if you used the correct measurements for the ingredients in the syrup. When you remove the baklava from the oven and you will need to immediately spoon the cooled syrup evenly over the hot baklava (you’ll hear it sizzle). This will ensure that it stays crisp rather than soggy. Then let the baklava rest for 4-6 hours or overnight at room temperature. I hope that helps.
My second time making this recipe going to try a date paste drizzle instead of chocolate. Been curious if my baklava obsession could meet my date obsession and make babies!
Sounds great! We’d love to know how it goes.
I made this for the first time a few days ago and it was amazing!! Thank you so much for the detailed instructions. I was so nervous to make baklava because it seems daunting and now I can’t wait to make it again!
That’s wonderful, Sarah! I’m so glad you loved it. Thank you for sharing.
Was such an easy recipe. I love it and my family was most impressed. With the sweet treat. I did Mia pistachios and walnuts for my personal preference. Thanks for sharing it.
You’re very welcome! So glad it was enjoyed.
This was my first time making baklava and I am very happy with the results. It always seemed so intimidating but it is surprisingly easy. I did end up using too much butter but I blame that on lack of experience and my brush, next time I will stick to the recipe but double the syrup recipe and keep the rest the way it is.
I’m so happy you enjoyed that. Thank you for sharing that with us, Anna!
The bones of this recipe are quite good- but it lacked some flavor. The nuts needed salt, the lemon was too strong. If I adjust those things next time I think this recipe is a winner!
Hi, the lemon is supposed to be very mild and subtle but not overpowering or strong. Were you possibly using concentrated lemon juice? I would definitely recommend fresh squeezed for this recipe.