Let’s make the ultimate Crunchy Turkish Börek 🥢✨
Crispy outside, juicy inside!
With a simple chopstick trick and ready-made phyllo (baklava) dough, this börek comes together in minutes. I’m making it two ways: juicy minced meat and melty cheese 🧀💛
Enjoy it with Turkish tea ☕️ or serve it mantı-style with yogurt and butter — either way, it’s unbelievably crunchy 😄
Enjoy & let me know if you try it 🤍
Easy, Crunchy Phyllo Dough Börek
6 sheets baklava yufka (very thin phyllo pastry)
3 tablespoons butter
Beef filling: makes 3-5 böreks
250 g ground beef, preferably a bit fatty, like rib
600–750 g onion, about 3 large, finely chopped
2 good pinches salt, plus more to taste
1 good pinch black pepper, plus more to taste
1/4 whole nutmeg, finely grated
Cheese filling: makes 3 böreks
200 g kaşar cheese, grated (or mozzarella / any mild melting cheese)
For the serving like mantı,
5–6 tablespoons plain savoury yogurt
1 tablespoon butter
2 pinches dried mint
2 pinches red pepper flakes
Parsley leaves, to finish
* Start with the minced meat filling ,the “döner-like” trick, Put the ground beef in a wide pan over medium heat. Break it up and cook just until it turns from red to grey-brown in places.
* Add the onions. Add a good pinch of salt early, lower the heat to low–medium, and cook slowly until the onions melt down and the mixture becomes glossy, juicy, and caramelized—about 25–35 minutes. Stir often so it doesn’t catch.
* Last-minute seasoning matters: When it’s done, add black pepper and grated nutmeg at the end. Nutmeg really changes the game here. Taste and adjust salt.
* Spread the filling out on a plate or tray and let it cool completely. Warm filling softens the yufka and kills the crunch.
* Grate the cheese and keep it ready. Choose a cheese that melts well but isn’t aggressively salty and sharp.
* Baklava yufka dries fast. Keep the stack covered with a slightly damp towel while you work. Don’t leave sheets exposed on the counter.
* Melt 3 tablespoons butter and let it cool slightly. It should be melted but not sizzling-hot. Hot butter makes phyllo go soft/mushy instead of crisp.
* Lightly butter the bottom of a ~15 × 25 cm baking dish.
* Lay out 1 sheet of baklava yufka. Brush or drizzle a little butter over it.
* Add the filling (a handful or two) leaving the very end clean so it seals.
* Place a chopstick along the short side of the phyllo dough. Roll loosely around it—don’t squeeze tight; you want air inside for crunch.
* Gently scrunch from both ends to create natural wrinkles, slide the chopstick out, and place the roll into the dish.
* Repeat, making 2 more rolls with cheese and 3 with minced meat. Drizzle any remaining butter on top—especially over the ridges and corners for extra crunch and to prevent drying.
* Bake at 190°C on top & bottom heat, fan OFF, on the second rack from the bottom for 35–45 minutes. We baked 45 minutes, but ovens vary—start checking at 30 minutes and continue until deeply golden and crisp.
* Rest 5 minutes before cutting.
* Eat it plain (with tea!) or turn it into a “mantı-style” main course:
* Whisk the yogurt until drizzly. If it’s too thin, add a little labneh; if it’s too thick, loosen with a splash of water. Spoon savoury yogurt onto the plate. Plain is great; garlic yogurt is optional.
* Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a small pan until it starts to foam and the milk solids turn lightly golden (just a hint of browning). Then add the red pepper flakes and dried mint and let it sizzle for a few seconds. If you like, finish with a tiny splash of water to help it turn foamy and drizzle easily.
* Drizzle over the börek and finish with parsley. Enjoy with your loved ones!
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40 Comments
I was in Istanbul this fall, and came home and have been making borek weekly. I'm going to use this recipe for my next batch. Looks GREAT!!
Easy and yumy thanks
Can you use more than one cheese? Like mozarella, cheddar and feta togerher?
😂😂😂' was machst du ??!'
Ich mach crunchy börek next week for sure ! 😋😋😋
❤
Thank you Refika bless you all. I hope to make this. I've been craving spanicopita. The Greek version with spinach and feta.
these look delicious thanks for the veg option 💟💟
What a lovely, easy meal.
Delicious. Cant wait to make.😊
Looks delicious!! Always enjoy watching your videos 💕
Glad the puppy got a taste too!
Oh, wow!!!!
Looks delicious! Thank you
Crunch is my favorite texture. These look and sound perfect for me.
I also really like your jacket. I find wearing them with the collar up is very flattering. You look beautiful as usual.
Blessings from Oregon USA.
Beautiful greetings from Aotearoa..New Zealand.. I love your channel and the food is so amazing..the ingredients to purchase here in nz is so expensive to buy unfortunately eg..phyllo olive oil olives nuts especially pistachios and yet I live in a land of abundance…thank you for sharing your delicious recipes 🙏
Kia Ora 🤗
You made my mouth water Refika
I can’t wait to try this! Going to do both options.
That's so cool, I had no idea how that was made – so, my Friends at Refika's Kitchen, what else could I put in these lovely crusty delights? Almond paste with raspberries, perhaps for a sweet treat?? Nuts & raisins with brown sugar or honey? How about some sausage meat or minced chicken with diced mushrooms? You must have a 101-things you create from this concept? Just LOVE your show and your dog is super cute! Have a smashing week, greetings from Tasmania!
Looks amazing!
Holy moly 3 onions..that seems like a lot..can 1 be sufficient? More of an onion borek😂😂😂
😂😂😂 Well, looks like Dost is eager for it!!! Guess I HAVE to try this now!!!!!!! 🎉❤🎉❤
That's amazing 🎉
Lovely & yummy. I make a rough puff w chickpea flour n others because i try to stay away from gluten. 😊 fun fact, The dumpling Manti reminded me that Korea has dumplings called mandu. 😊
Looks so good
Mouthwatering 🤤 Thanks a lot❤
Yarı anlayıp, yarı otomatik çeviri ile burada da takipteyim… 🙂 Mesela bak, thanx a lot… Nasıl ama?
En français, s'il vous plaît je t'aime❤❤❤
In USA phyllo comes from frozen section of grocery store when bringing it home treat it like eggs it is breakable inside. tip 1 thaw it out gently in fridge overnight then 1 hour on kitchen counter tip 2 when opening package be gentle cover with a damp paper towel then a clean tea towel each time you remove one sheet cover the rest of the sheets otherwise it will crumble to a million pieces. Many cooks become frustrated with this pastry due to its brittle nature. With these tricks, It is easy to use. I make many of my böreks since ı can’t make el açma yufka
Delicious 😋
This looks so good! It would easily be a main dish for me because they would come out of the oven and straight into my belly!! No embellishment really necessary! Also, looks like an easy way to make regular sweet baklava with nuts and simple syrup.
We've just have the meat version for dinner! Amaizing !!Thank you!❤
This one is it! I might go buy all the fixings to make that. It looks so good.
That looked easy enough for me to make, might try it!
Looks so delicious. I need to go to Turkey 🇹🇷 and eat everything 😋 Thank you so much for all your great recipes. Lots of love from California ❤❤❤
This seems so doable yet looks so well thought out, almost fancy!
Well done, Rafika!
looks amazing, deffo one I'm going to make
From Minneapolis, appreciate the break.
❤❤❤❤
You should offer cooking classes in your beautiful country. I will participate for sure. Your energy is contagious. I'm now cooking thanks to you (72 here 😅). So, I guess is never too late. May God bless you and thanks for all your fabulous videos. 🎉
I love you recipes! My husband and I love all kinds of foods from around the world and would love to travel, but life circumstances have prevented that for now. So, we travel through our kitchen.
One of the difficulties I face is that I’m an extremely allergic to both gluten and dairy. The dairy is easier to replace with plant based options, I replace bulgur with quinoa, but I really miss all the amazing flat breads. Do you have any recipes that I could make that would be authentic, delicious, and gluten free?
Thank you for your channel and sharing your gifts!