Easy Turkish Borek with Spinach and Feta

Spinach and Feta Cheese Borek (or boerek) is a Middle Eastern dish of  Turkish origin. Great for a take along lunch or vegetarian dinner, it needs only 20 minutes of hands on time and 7 ingredients.

This post was originally published on June 28, 2016 and updated on March 24, 2020 by Elena Szeliga. 

If you’re looking for a recipe that doesn’t take a lot of time, but has a gourmet result then you’ve found your winner.

Turkish Borek (also spelled boerek or börek) is a traditional dish throughout the Middle East and Balkan nations.

It makes a simple lunch or appetizer, as well as a great dinner paired with your favorite salad.

What Is Borek?

Borek is a delicious and savory pastry treat filled with creamy cheese and spinach.

In the Middle East and Balkan countries, borek can be filled with anything, but most traditionally it is a creamy cheese similar to feta and spinach.

It’s made by layering flaky dough (natively called yufka) that you can easily sub for ready made phyllo dough – which is excellent, as it’s challenging to make from scratch.

Börek Ingredients

One of the best things about this simple spinach borek recipe is that you only need 7 ingredients to make it (if you don’t count olive oil, salt and black pepper, that I assume you already have in your kitchen).

Here’s what you need:

• Phyllo dough
• Spinach
• Garlic
• Onion
• Feta cheese
• Milk
• Eggs

This recipe is really approachable because most of the ingredients you probably have at home and the phyllo dough is pre-made and rolled in large sheets for you.

How To Make Turkish Borek

Because you’re using pre-made phyllo dough, most of the prep work is already done for you.

You only need about 20 minutes of hands on time and then comes the hard part: waiting 25 minutes to taste it while it bakes.

The idea is to lay the phyllo dough sheets in the middle of a smaller and well-greased baking dish, folding the ends inside and creating waves of dough.

To soften the dough, smear each layer with a mixture of milk, eggs, olive oil, salt and pepper.

Next comes the spinach feta filling. It’s made by sautéing minced garlic, chopped onion and spinach in a bit of olive oil and combining it with crumbled feta cheese.

Alternatively, you can use any other kind of collard greens like kale and spring greens, bok choy or even ground meat.

My favorite is still spinach, but I’d love to know if you make it with another filling, so please make sure to leave a comment below.

Next, spread half of the filling over the softened phyllo dough and then cover it with another layer of phyllo dough.

Fold the ends and smear with the milk mixture, following by the rest of the spinach feta filling.

The third and the last layer of phyllo dough is put on top of the filling. The edges are folded and the rest of the milk mixture is poured on top.

Lastly, bake it in the preheated oven for 25-30 minutes. You’ll see that it’s ready when the top of the borek is golden-brown, just like in the pictures.

Serving Your Borek Recipe With Middle Eastern Flair

So how should you serve your Turkish borek recipe once you make it?

It pairs perfectly with ayran, a Middle-Eastern yogurt drink, which is also very easy to make at home.

You could also pair them with Georgian eggplant rolls, for more regional deliciousness.

Green Shakshuka is also an easy skillet meal (usually breakfast, but you can make it for lunch or dinner, too) that would taste amazing with borek.

Obviously, you can’t go wrong with serving it with a spring-inspired side salad like asparagus radish salad, shaved asparagus salad or Greek orzo salad.

Of course, borek can stand alone for an easy, grab and go vegetarian treat, too. Enjoy!

Cook’s Tips

• You can use a rectangular, a square or a round baking dish for this recipe.
• Feel free to use frozen spinach instead of fresh. Make sure to drain it well after thawing to get rid of the extra liquid.
• This recipe is perfect for meal prep. Bake it in a tin foil dish and freeze for up to 3 months. To reheat, warm in the oven for 25-30 minutes.
• Store leftovers in the fridge for up to 4 days. To reheat, simply microwave it or warm it in the oven.
• Serve it with ayran (Turkish yogurt drink), shakshuka, or a side salad (see suggestions above).

Recipe Variations

• Use any other kind of collard greens like kale, spring greens, bok choy, Swiss chard or scallions instead of spinach.
• Ground mozzarella can be substituted for feta cheese.
  
• To make this recipe vegan, use flax eggs, nut or soy milk and vegan cheese.