These easy feta cheese appetizers are a crispy savory bite that's sure to impress your guests at your next party.
What's not to love about appetizers with feta cheese? Made with just 4 ingredients these crispy, baked feta bites are ready in under 45 minutes. A perfect, low stress, appetizer for a crowd, your next party, or holiday gathering.
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Ingredients
See the recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and quantities.
- Feta cheese. We used crumbled for this recipe but you can also cut a brick into small pieces or slices.
- Hot honey. This is sweet and spicy made by infusing honey with chili peppers. It adds another layer to these baked feta appetizers.
- Phyllo dough. Athens Phyllo Dough is our go-to brand, it's available in most grocery store freezer sections. There are other brands available, so use what you know, can find, and like.
Phyllo or Filo?
Which is correct? They both are. They're just different spellings of the same word and refer to paper-thin pastry dough. The word comes from the Greek word phyllon and means "leaf". Phyllo is the common spelling in American English and filo is the common spelling in British English. Both spellings are accepted, however, phyllo is becoming the more widely used spelling. The pastry is the same no matter how it's spelled!
Substitutions and Additions
- Cheese. Use a block of feta instead of crumbled. If using block feta purchase blocks that are stored in the brine solution which helps prevent the feta cheese from drying out and helps it stay fresh. Substitute goat cheese for the feta.
- Honey. Use regular or other flavored honey instead of hot honey.
- Phyllo dough. Use a premade phyllo cup instead of folding dough into a triangle. You will need to adjust the bake time - bake until the cheese is warm and the tops of the cups are golden brown.
- Additions. Sprinkle some dried or fresh chopped herbs (parsley, dill, thyme, rosemary, oregano), red pepper flakes, spinach, roasted red peppers, or chopped chicken over the feta crumbles before folding the phyllo dough into triangles. Sprinkle some dried herbs over the phyllo triangles right after they're brushed with butter.
Steps to Making Baked Feta Bites
Thaw the unopened, frozen phyllo dough overnight in the refrigerator, let dough come to room temperature for at least 30 minutes and up to 2 hours before using.
Gently lay one sheet of phyllo dough on a cutting board and cut into three strips lengthwise.
Add about a tablespoon of crumbled feta to one side on the end of each strip. Top the cheese with a drizzle of hot honey.
Fold into a triangle. Take the bottom corner of the strip and fold it diagonally over the filling so the bottom edge aligns with the opposite side, forming a triangle. Then fold the triangle up straight and continue folding the phyllo dough alternating side to side (like folding a flag) to keep the triangle shape.
When you reach the end, brush the last flap with melted butter and fold over to seal. This method completely encloses the feta and honey inside layers of pastry, keeping it sealed and crisp during baking.
Place the seam side down on your baking sheet.
Brush the tops of each triangle with melted butter and bake until golden brown. Remove from the oven.
Serve these warm as an easy feta appetizer or as an easy, crispy feta snack.
Make Ahead of Time and Time Savers
These appetizers with feta cheese are great for everything from an intimate dinner party to a large gathering. Make them up to a day in advance and store in the refrigerator in an airtight container. For extra protection against drying out, drape a lightly damp towel over them before placing lid sealing the container. Bake fresh as needed, or bake ahead, store in the fridge, and reheat in a 350 °F oven until warmed through.
To save time and still have the same great flavors and texture, use a a pre-made phyllo cup instead of folding the phyllo dough into triangles. Adjust the baking time as needed to crisp the cups and heat the cheese.
Love feta cheese? Try one of our other favorite feta recipes
Feta Cilantro and Roasted Red Pepper Spread
Festive, colorful, and easy - this is another perfect holiday recipe!
Saving Leftovers
The FDA recommends discarding any perishable food that has been out at room temperature for more than 2 hours.
If you are within the FDA recommendations, these feta cheese appetizers will last in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. Storing longer can lead to a soggy outside that is unable to crisp up in the oven.
To reheat, preheat the oven to 350°F. Place the baked feta bites on a sheet pan, lightly cover the bites to prevent over-browning, and place in a preheated 350°F oven. Heat for 4-6 minutes, remove the cover and heat an additional 3-5 minutes or until the phyllo is crisp and the cheese is heated.
Other Favorite Cheese Appetizers
Some FAQ's
No. Puff pastry is a laminated dough, meaning it is made up of layers of alternating dough and butter that puff up when baked creating a light, flaky, airy texture. Phyllo dough is ultra-thin sheets that you can layer (or fold like in this recipe) and brush with butter creating a crisp, delicate crunchy result. Puff pastry is tender and rich while phyllo dough is light and crisp.
Unroll the sheets of phyllo dough and remove one sheet at a time. Immediately recover remaining sheets until ready to use.
Many recipes do call for layering sheets of phyllo dough with butter between each sheet to give a crispy, flaky texture. Since we are folding the phyllo dough many times over on itself, we'll get that same crisp, flaky texture in our feta bites.
📖 Recipe
Baked Feta Bites in Phyllo Dough
- Total Time: 38 minutes
- Yield: 24-30 pieces 1x
Description
These crispy, savory feta cheese appetizers are a simple yet impressive appetizer your guests will love. With only 4 ingredients, they come together in about 45 minutes - perfect for entertaining with low stress.
Ingredients
- 8 ounce crumbled feta
- 2 Tablespoons hot honey
- 8-10 Phyllo sheets
- 2 Tablespoons melted butter
Instructions
- Heat oven to 375°F.
- Keep phyllo sheets covered until ready to use as they dry out very quickly.
- Lay out 1 sheet of phyllo dough and cut into 3 strips lengthwise, they should be approximately 3 inches wide by 10-12 inches long. Work with one sheet of phyllo dough at a time and keep the others covered with a damp towel to prevent drying out.
- Add 1-2 teaspoons of feta cheese near the bottom corner of the strip, leave a little space around the cheese so it doesn’t spill out when folding.
- Drizzle hot honey over the feta.
- Fold the bottom corner of the phyllo strip up and over the filling to meet the left edge, forming a triangle. Line up the edge of the pastry with the side.
- Now, fold the triangle upward, keeping the triangle shape (like folding a flag).
- Keep folding the triangle from side to side and up until you reach the top of the strip.
- Brush the top edge with melted butter and fold over the other dough to seal pastry together.
- Brush top of phyllo triangle with melted butter and place on a lined baking sheet.
- Repeat with remaining phyllo dough strips and feta cheese until all the cheese is used.
- Bake at 375°F for 8-10 minutes or until the pastry is golden brown and crisp.
- Remove from oven and serve warm with a dish of hot honey or fig jam on the side.
Notes
Substitutions and Additions. Use block feta instead of crumbled. Cut the block into ¼” thick slices and cut each slice to fit inside the strips of phyllo dough. Add herbs, red pepper flakes, chopped spinach, roasted red peppers, or chopped chicken to the cheese mixture. Sprinkle herbs, sesame seeds, or poppy seeds on top of the folded phyllo triangle after it's brushed with butter.
Prepare up to 1 day in advance and keep unbaked bites in an airtight container in the refrigerator. To prevent drying, place a slightly damp towel over them before sealing the container. Bake just before serving. You can also bake in advance, refrigerate, and reheat in a 350°F oven until hot and crisp.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 8 minutes
- Category: Appetizer
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 triangle
- Calories: 52
- Sugar: 1.6 g
- Sodium: 103.9 mg
- Fat: 2.9 g
- Trans Fat:
- Carbohydrates: 4.8 g
- Protein: 1.6 g
- Cholesterol: 9.4 mg
Rhonda says
I thought these might to time consuming or messy to make but it went very fast, they were easy, and SO GOOD! Definitely going on my company list.