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
This recipe was lacking in flavor. It needed salt, more cinnamon, and the syrup needed a longer simmer in my opinion.
Hi Jules, did you make sure to add the lemon juice or change anything else in the recipe? Normally there’s plenty of flavor here
We use your recipe every year and it comes out amazing. This year we are trying pistachios because I’ve developed an allergy to walnuts. I bought raw, unsalted pistachios, should I roast them before using them? Thanks!
Hi Michele! I would lightly roasting pistachios before using them in baklava, they’ll have better flavor.
Hi there, I guess you can also use half walnuts and half pistachios as well, right?
Hi Vera! Some of my viewers have reported good results using or mixing in pistachios too.
Tried baklava before this one was the best. Two of my close friends , one egyptian and the other lebanese both said it was the best they ever had!
That’s wonderful, Terri!
What measuring cups did you use in this recipe
I like the shape of the one you used in this video
Hi Nyla, I have my favorite kitchen tools including these cups in my Natasha’s Kitchen Amazon Affiliate Shop! I hope you love what you find!
This has been my go to recipe for years and people beg me to make it and bring it to them! But I’m not a big walnut fan so I always switch it up to pecans because I always have plenty of those in my freezer. It’s perfect either way! Thank you
You’re very welcome, Teresa! I’m so glad to hear these were a hit!
The recipe looks perfect – just how my mother and mother-in-law made it. I haven’t made it yet because the filo dough I got from the supermarket has 20 sheets to the pound. I’m sure it’s going to rough and chewy. Do you have any suggestion to improve it?
Hi Mary, I’m so glad to hear this recipe brings back those special memories – that’s alwyas the best compliment. It’s hard to say following the recipe. I hope you love it.
Hi Natasha … I donot comment . This is the best ever . It deserved to be the most top rated on google . Sweetness is superb . Perfect . I switched the sugar with purex sugar and used Avocado oil spray ( we are fasting for Christmas . Oriental church) I donot bother with dimensions wrinkled some . And it still came out more than perfect . I am afraid my husband won’t have any by time he is home . I am Coptic live in Florida . May our God Jesus Christ bless ur family and mine . Many many thanks and kisses .
Thank you so much for yoru lovely comment and feedback, Neveen! I’m so happy you loved this Baklava recipe. Blessing to you and yours.
Sounds wonderful. I have a grandson that is allergic to tree nuts. Do you think almonds would work with this recipe. I would use organic fresh almonds and then put them in a food processor.
Hi Reena, does the 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.
Hi Natasha. After seeing this recipe (which I’m going to try soon!) I was wondering if you would ever do a spanakopita video? I love your recipes.
Hi Maggie, I haven’t tried it but if I come up with something great I’ll be sure to share it. Thanks for the suggestion!
Hi, The ingredient walnuts says “unprocessed”, at the end, what does that mean?
Hi Katie, unprocessed walnuts are raw, natural walnuts that haven’t been roasted, salted, flavored, or treated with preservatives. I hope this is helpful.
So delish! Just what i was craving. Used monk fruit sweetener with honey for a less Glycemic Index impact and really good French butter. My partner is allergic to butter so next batch will be dairy free.
Thank you for sharing that with us! I’m glad it worked out well.
Hi there, In South Africa our phyllo comes in 2 rolls inside a box and has 10 sheets. It weghs 500 g . How do I now divide the sheets ? Your ecipe has 40 sheets in total. Length of the sheets are 40cm long and 30cm wide. Please can you advise
Hi Yvette, I don’t have experience with your specific product but here is what I was able to research and I hope it’s helpful: My phyllo sheets were about 9×14 inches (roughly 23×36 cm), and I trimmed them slightly to fit a 9×13-inch pan. Your sheets are about 40×30 cm, so they’re actually a bit larger than mine and will fit a standard pan with no problem — you can trim the edges the same way. Since you have 20 sheets total, just use 5 sheets per layer, brushing each one generously with butter.
I have always heard baklava were tedious and hard to make. I made these for the first time for Friendsgiving and they turned out perfect! The recipe and instructions were easy to follow. Thank you so much Natasha, for sharing your incredible recipes!
My daughter wanted cream puffs so I’ll be making those next using your recipe. 😋
I’m glad you finally decided to give this recipe a try! So glad you enjoyed it!
So delicious. Tedious buttering each layer but well worth the work.
Hi! I’m currently trying this recipe, but I ran out of phyllo dough/butter half way through… am I doing something wrong? Because of that I only used half of the nuts and half of the syrup and have no idea where I went wrong :/
Hi Mila! I’m sorry to hear that you’re having issues with the phyllo dough. I mentioned it a few different times through out the recipe above that my phyllo dough package had 2 rolls with a total of 40 sheets. You’ll need to verify this on your package because if can differ between brands.
I’ve made this Baklava Recipe about 4 times a year and it’s always a hit. Love all the other Natasha recipes too. My one problem is that the top 2 phillo dough layers tend to “flake off” after baking, and the lower dough layers tend to get soggy. I wish I knew of a way to keep all layers almost equally infused with the honey syrup mixture. I’ve even tried not making the cuts all the way down, but that didn’t work.
Hi Dan! Are you letting the syrup cool to room temperature before pouring it on? It needs to be poured on right after baking while baklava is hot (hot baklava + cold syrup). You could also try brushing a little more butter on the top sheets to see if that helps them adhere. Sometimes the top layers don’t get enough butter brushed between them. Make sure to pour the syrup on quickly and evenly- that should help avoid excessive soggy layers at the bottom.
I’ve made this and love it! Now I’m wondering if I could tweak it into an apple Baklava? Using an apple compote. Or might that be too heavy in the layers?
Hi Jenni. I’m not sure how that would work but definitely let us know if you experiment.
I’ve made something very similar to that, I subbed half the nuts for diced apples, and it came out great!
Someone used to bring this treat to our office Christmas party every year. It was so delicious and was gone soon after it arrived.
Awesome, glad you found out about this recipe. Enjoy!
We tried making this and everything was great until about the 4th sheet of the phyllo. From there everything went down hill. The Phyllo kept sticking and tearing. I followed all of the instructions on thawing it and I made a point to make sure that the tea towel was damp at all times. I’m not sure what we were doing wrong. I like all of your other recipes, and the picture looks great.
Hi Jeff. I’m sorry to hear that. Phyllo is extremely delicate and dries out in seconds if not handled correctly. It could be a quality or brand issue but since it didn’t happen until later, it may be due to drying out or even if the sheets got a little too wet. If that was the case, plastic wrap on top of the phyllo, then the towel over that — it prevents direct moisture contact.
I have been making baklava my whole life. I learned from my grandmother. Helpful hints I have learned. Try not to buy frozen filo. I buy it from a Greek or Mediterranean grocery store. But the best filo comes from a Greek bakery. If you’re lucky, they will sell it to you, by the pound. Frozen filo might work, but most of the time, it sticks together, or dries out and breaks. This could be because it defrosts and refreezes. You want the filo to be soft and ‘stretchy’. Otherwise, this is a wonderful recipe!
That’s so great to know! I’m not sure that we have a Greek or Mediterranean grocery store in Idaho but I need to look into that.