My homemade Baklava recipe is sweet with honey and nutty with pistachios, walnuts, or your favorite nut. Using frozen phyllo dough makes this recipe simple to make, and all the ingredients are easy to find at your standard grocery store. With over 30 sheets of dough layered with melted butter, baklava is a rich, flaky, and undeniably delicious dessert.
This is the best baklava recipe because it combines layers of flaky phyllo dough with chopped nuts and a perfectly sweet honey syrup. The honey syrup with lemon juice soaks into all the layers as the dessert cools, creating a unique and delicious contrast of textures with a syrup nut filling and super flaky, buttery pastry layers. Garnish with additional chopped nuts or drizzle with chocolate and serve for any occasion! For more mediterranean dessert recipes, try my baklava cookies, bougatsa recipe, or koulourakia recipe.
What You Need to Make This Recipe
Honey – any type of honey can be used to make the sweet honey syrup that is poured over the hot baklava. Orange blossom honey is my favorite to use in this recipe. If possible, choose a local or small batch honey for the best flavor.
Lemon – both lemon juice and lemon zest help balance the sweetness of the honey and sugar in the honey syrup. Since you need the zest as well as the juice, a fresh lemon works best for this recipe.
Nuts – walnuts and pistachios are commonly used in baklava, but you can also use hazelnuts or almonds for this recipe. You can use one type of nut or a combination of two types. Select nuts that are raw and unsalted.
Phyllo Dough – these sheets of frozen phyllo dough can be found in the freezer section of most grocery stores near the frozen pie crusts. The dough should be kept frozen until the day before making this recipe. Thaw the phyllo dough fully according to the package instructions before using it. After making the baklava, wrap any remaining sheets tightly in plastic wrap and seal them in a zip-top bag.
Butter – melted unsalted butter is brushed between every layer of dough as the dessert is layered. Be sure to use unsalted butter and drizzle any remaining melted butter on top of the finished layered baklava just before baking.
How to Make Baklava
1. Combine water, honey, and sugar in a saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in the lemon zest and lemon juice and remove from the heat. Let cool while making the baklava. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
2. Place the nuts in a food processor and pulse until finely ground.
3. Transfer the nuts to a large bowl and stir in the sugar and cinnamon until combined.
4. Unfold the thawed phyllo. Trim to fit a 13×9-inch baking pan. Cover with a damp tea towel to keep the dough from drying out as you work. Brush the bottom and sides of a 13×9-inch baking pan with melted butter. Lay a sheet of phyllo dough in the bottom of the pan and brush with melted butter. Repeat 9 more times, creating a layer of 10 phyllo sheets.
5. Sprinkle and spread a third (about 1¼ cups) of the nut mixture evenly over the phyllo.
6. Top with a phyllo sheet and brush with butter. Repeat 5 more times, creating a layer of 6 phyllo sheets. Cover with another third of the nut mixture. Repeat both the phyllo, butter, and nut layers again. Top the nut mixture with 1 phyllo sheet and brush with butter. Repeat 9 more times, creating a top layer with 10 phyllo sheets. Brush with butter.
7. Using a very sharp knife, cut the baklava into 2-inch wide strips. Cut into the same width strips again, running diagonally to the first cuts, creating a diamond pattern. If any melted butter remains, drizzle it all over the pan. Bake for 50 minutes or until golden brown.
8. Right when the baklava is removed from the oven, immediately pour the sweet honey syrup all over. It should make a sizzling sound. Let the honey syrup soak into the baklava for about 6 hours before serving. Garnish with finely chopped nuts, if desired.
Pro Tips For Making This Recipe
- Start with the honey syrup. The honey simple syrup needs to cool before it is poured over the hot baklava, so start this recipe by making the syrup so it has time to sit and cool while you make and bake the baklava. If desired, you can add a few strips of orange peel or 1/2 teaspoon of orange blossom water to the syrup for flavor.
- Try specialty honey for a twist. For extra decadence and flavor, I like to use orange blossom honey or locally made specialty honey from a farmers market.
- Select nuts that are raw and unsalted. Since this dessert bakes for almost an hour, I recommend using raw, not roasted or toasted nuts for this recipe.
- Cover the phyllo with a damp tea towel. To prevent the phyllo from drying as you build the layers in your baking dish, cover the phyllo dough with a damp tea towel before layering it into the dish. Phyllo becomes very brittle when it dries out and will crumble as you try to layer.
- Keep the butter warm while building the layers. To prevent the butter from solidifying as you work, keep it in a small pan so you can easily reheat it while you work if needed.
- Use a straight-edged pan. If you have one, use a 9×13-inch baking pan with straight, not rounded corners. This will help you to evenly stack the layers of phyllo and prevent the stacked layers from shifting when sliced.
- Slice the baklava into the desired shapes before baking. Before baking the baklava, use a very sharp knife to slice it into the desired shape. A sharp knife will allow you to more easily cut through all the layers of dough. Try cutting the baklava into diamonds, squares, or triangles.
- Garnish with nuts. To finish off the top of the baked baklava with a garnish, sprinkle additional finely chopped nuts on top of the baklava after pouring on the honey mixture.
- Allow the dessert to rest for 6 hours before serving. The sweet syrup syrup needs time to soak into all the layers of phyllo dough. Plan to let the baklava sit at room temperature for about 6 hours before serving.
- Use extra phyllo dough for sweet or savory dishes. If you have extra phyllo, you can wrap it around fish or chicken to create a crispy exterior, make spanakopita, or use it as a topping for fruit cobbler by brushing butter a few phyllo sheets and ruffling them up into little piles to place on top fo the fruit. Tightly wrap extra phyllo dough in plastic wrap and store it according to the package instructions.
Frequently Asked Questions
To keep the baklava crisp and prevent it from becoming soggy, store the baklava at room temperature, covered loosely with a tea towel. Avoid wrapping it tightly in plastic wrap or an airtight container, as the layer will become soggy more quickly in a sealed environment. Freeze small batches of baklava for up to 4 months in a sealed freezer-safe container. Thaw at room temperature in a container covered with a tea towel.
Phyllo dough has almost no fat, so when baked, the texture is more delicate and dense than puff pastry but still shatteringly flaky. In this recipe, melted butter is brushed between the sheets of phyllo dough to add flavor and create a layered effect. Puff pastry puffs up in the oven while phyllo dough crisps when baked. They are usually side by side in the freezer section at the store, so make sure you grab the correct dough.
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If you’ve tried this easy baklava recipe, then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how you got on in the comments below, I love hearing from you!
Baklava
Video
Equipment
- 13×9 inch baking pan
Ingredients
Honey Syrup:
- 1 cup water (240mL)
- 1 cup honey (340g)
- ½ cup granulated sugar (100g)
- zest and juice of 1 lemon
Baklava:
- 1 pound chopped nuts walnuts or pistachios (450g)
- ¼ cup granulated sugar (50g)
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 16 ounces phyllo dough thawed (450g)
- ¾ cup butter melted (170g)
Instructions
Honey Syrup:
- Combine water, honey and sugar in a saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in the lemon zest and juice and remove from the heat. Let cool while making the baklava. (Be sure to make this first as the syrup needs to be fully cooled by the time the baklava is done.)
Baklava:
- Preheat the oven to 350F.
- Place the nuts in a food processor and pulse until finely ground. Transfer them to a large bowl and stir in sugar and cinnamon until combined.
- Unfold phyllo. Trim to fit a 13×9-inch baking pan. Cover with a tamp tea towel to keep the dough from drying out.
- Brush bottom and sides of a 13×9-inch baking pan with melted butter. Lay a sheet of phyllo dough in the bottom of the pan and brush with melted butter. Repeat 9 more times, creating a layer of 10 phyllo sheets.
- Sprinkle and spread a third (about 1 1/4 cups) of the nut mixture evenly over the phyllo.
- Top with a phyllo sheet and brush with butter. Repeat 5 more times, creating a layer of 6 phyllo sheets. Cover with another third of the nut mixture. Repeat both phyllo and nut layers again.
- Top the nut mixture with 1 phyllo sheet and brush with butter. Repeat 9 more times, creating a top layer with 10 phyllo sheets. Brush with butter.
- Using a very sharp knife, cut the baklava into 2-inch wide strips. Cut into the same width strips again running diagonally to the first cuts, creating a diamond pattern.If any melted butter remains, Drizzle it all over the pan.
- Bake for 50 minutes or until golden brown.
- Right when the baklava is removed from the over, immediately pour the honey syrup all over. (It should make a sizzling sound.) Let the honey syrup soak into the baklava for about 6 hours before serving. Garnish with finely chopped nuts, if desired.
Notes
- Start with the honey syrup. The honey simple syrup needs to cool before it is poured over the hot baklava, so start this recipe by making the syrup so it has time to sit and cool while you make and bake the baklava. If desired, you can add a few strips of orange peel or 1/2 teaspoon of orange blossom water to the syrup for flavor.
- Try specialty honey for a twist. For extra decadence and flavor, I like to use orange blossom honey or locally made specialty honey from a farmers market.
- Select nuts that are raw and unsalted. Since this dessert bakes for almost an hour, I recommend using raw, not roasted or toasted nuts for this recipe.
- Cover the phyllo with a damp tea towel. To prevent the phyllo from drying as you build the layers in your baking dish, cover the phyllo dough with a damp tea towel before layering it into the dish. Phyllo becomes very brittle when it dries out and will crumble as you try to layer.
- Keep the butter warm while building the layers. To prevent the butter from solidifying as you work, keep it in a small pan so you can easily reheat it while you work if needed.
- Use a straight-edged pan. If you have one, use a 9×13-inch baking pan with straight, not rounded corners. This will help you to evenly stack the layers of phyllo and prevent the stacked layers from shifting when sliced.
- Slice the baklava into the desired shapes before baking. Before baking the baklava, use a very sharp knife to slice it into the desired shape. A sharp knife will allow you to more easily cut through all the layers of dough. Try cutting the baklava into diamonds, squares, or triangles.
- Garnish with nuts. To finish off the top of the baked baklava with a garnish, sprinkle additional finely chopped nuts on top of the baklava after pouring on the honey mixture.
- Allow the dessert to rest for 6 hours before serving. The sweet syrup syrup needs time to soak into all the layers of phyllo dough. Plan to let the baklava sit at room temperature for about 6 hours before serving.
- Use extra phyllo dough for sweet or savory dishes. If you have extra phyllo, you can wrap it around fish or chicken to create a crispy exterior, make spanakopita, or use it as a topping for fruit cobbler by brushing butter a few phyllo sheets and ruffling them up into little piles to place on top fo the fruit. Tightly wrap extra phyllo dough in plastic wrap and store it according to the package instructions.
