Today's recipe is straight from my mother’s kitchen: phyllo meat pie recipe (aka Egyptian goulash). Layers of flaky phyllo with a tantalizing meat mixture nestled in between. If you've been looking for things to make with phyllo dough, this easy recipe is a great one to try!
Phyllo
If you've had baklava, you've had phyllo! A popular ingredient in Mediterranean and Middle Eastern cooking, phyllo is made of unleavened paper-thin pastry dough and is used in both sweet and savory recipes. You can find phyllo dough in most grocery stores in the freezer section near things like puff pastry and pie crust. I use phyllo to make all sorts of delicious dishes, like tarts and savory pies -- and I've even used it as a crispy pizza crust!
It can be intimidating to work with phyllo, but it's easier to use than most people think (I have some tips for you below).
One of my favorite phyllo recipes is my mother's Egyptian goulash. This is not the goulash you may know as macaroni noodles with a beef sauce; Egyptian goulash is something entirely different and so worth a try!
Savory Meat Pie (Egyptian Goulash)
This Egyptian-style meat pie replaces your typical pie crust with phyllo dough! It is basically made of layers of flaky phyllo dough with a ground beef mixture, seasoned with baharat and onions, nestled in between. This pie is known as Egyptian goulash, and it's my favorite meat pie of all time!
The recipe is fairly simple to put together, and if you've ever made lasagna or assembled a casserole dish with several layers, making this savory phyllo meat pie is not much different. You'll spread several phyllo sheets and brush them with a mixture of olive oil and butter (or olive oil only, as I do most of the time). You'll add a layer of cooked ground beef, and then finish with a few more phyllo sheets. That's really all there is to it!
Tips for working with Phyllo Dough
When working with phyllo, first, be sure to thaw it properly overnight in the fridge. You'll also want to take it out of the fridge and set it at room temperature for about 1 hour.
But the biggest secret to working with phyllo dough, as you will see in the step-by-step, is to lay the phyllo sheets between two very lightly damp towels. This will keep them moist and prevent them from breaking as you work to assemble the pie. Also, don't skimp on brushing the phyllo layers with olive oil, this is what helps cook the phyllo to crisp perfection!
Ingredients you need for this savory phyllo meat pie
This phyllo recipe comes together with just a few ingredients. Here's what you'll need to make it:
- Phyllo dough - You'll need 1 16-ounce package of frozen phyllo dough, thawed overnight in the fridge in its packaging.
- Egg - Whisk 1 egg into 1 cup of milk.
- Extra virgin olive oil - To generously brush the phyllo dough to keep it from breaking. You can also use ½ cup olive oil combined with ½ cup melted butter.
- Spiced meat filling - Chopped onions, lean ground beef, baharat, and garlic powder.
How to make meat pie with phyllo
While working with filo dough can seem intimidating, it is actually quite simple if you follow my simple tips! Here's how to make Egyptian goulash (print-friendly recipe below):
- Prepare the phyllo dough. To keep the phyllo pastry moist and pliable, lay the thawed phyllo sheets between two clean, lightly damp kitchen towels.
- Make the meat filling. Heat 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil in a large nonstick pan. On medium-high heat, saute 1 cup chopped onions briefly. Add 1 ½ pounds lean ground beef. Cook until fully browned, tossing regularly. Remove the pan from the heat briefly and drain any fat, then return back to the stove. Add in the spices (1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1 ½ teaspoons baharat, kosher salt, and black pepper), and stir to fully combine. Remove from the heat.
- Assemble the Egyptian goulash. lay three to four sheets of phyllo dough on the bottom of a lightly greased 9 ½ x 13 x 2 ¼ inch baking pan. Fold any excess dough in. Brush the top phyllo sheet very generously with extra virgin olive oil. Repeat this step as you lay three to four sheets of phyllo at a time in the baking pan until you have used up ½ of the phyllo sheets.
Now, as you have a nice base for your pie, spread the meat filling evenly on top of the last phyllo sheet.
Layer the remaining sheets on top of the meat repeating the same process as before (again, three or four sheets at a time, fold excess phyllo and butter the top sheet) until the phyllo sheets are used up.
Brush the top sheet very generously with EVOO. With a sharp knife, cut the phyllo pie into 12 squares. Season the prepared milk and egg mixture with kosher salt and black pepper and pour evenly over the pie. - Bake the phyllo meat pie. Place the phyllo meat pie on the middle rack of a 350 degrees F heated-oven for about 45 minutes to an hour, or until cooked through. It should turn a nice golden brown. Be watchful so that the pie does not over bake or burn. Remove from the oven, and serve warm.
Serve it with
Egyptian goulash is a filling meal by itself, but I like to add a big fresh salad alongside for some crunch.
Make ahead tips
To work ahead, prepare the recipe as written until the step where you cut up the phyllo meat pie. After cutting the pie into 12 squares, cover it tightly and refrigerate. When you are ready to bake the pie, pour the egg and milk mixture over. Do not prepare this pie more than one night in advance.
Leftovers and storage
Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Reheat in the oven at 350 degrees F until warmed through. Or you can freeze leftover Egyptian goulash in a freezer-safe container, and reheat from frozen.
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Phyllo Meat Pie (Egyptian Goulash)
Ingredients
- 16 ounce package of frozen phyllo dough, thawed in its package
- 1 egg, whisked in 1 cup of milk
- 1 cup extra virgin olive oil, (OR ½ cup olive oil combined with ½ cup melted butter)
For the meat filling
- 1 cup chopped onions
- 1 ½ pounds lean ground beef
- 1 ½ teaspoon baharat
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- Salt and pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Carefully lay the thawed phyllo dough sheets between two lightly damp kitchen towels.
- Begin with preparing the meat filling. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large nonstick pan. On medium-high heat, saute the chopped onions briefly. Add the ground beef. Cook until fully browned, tossing regularly. Remove the pan from the heat briefly to drain any fat, then return back to the stove. Add in the spices and stir to fully combine. Remove from the heat.
- Now, to assemble the phyllo pie, lay three to four sheets of phyllo dough on the bottom of a lightly greased 9 ½ x 13 x 2 ¼ inch baking pan. Fold any excess dough in. Brush the top phyllo sheet generously with olive oil (or oil and butter mixture). Repeat this step as you lay three to four sheets of phyllo at a time in the baking pan until you have used up ½ of the phyllo sheets.
- Now, as you have a nice base for your pie, spread the meat filling evenly on top of the last phyllo sheet.
- Layer the remaining sheets on top of the meat repeating the same process as before (again, three or four sheets at a time, fold excess phyllo and brush with the olive oil) until all phyllo is used up.
- Brush the top sheet with olive oil (or oil and butter mixture). With a sharp knife, cut the phyllo pie into 12 squares.
- Season the prepared milk and egg mixture with salt and pepper and pour evenly over the pie.
- Place the phyllo meat pie on the middle rack of the 350 degrees F heated-oven for about 30 to 45, or until cooked through. The phyllo should be crispy and it should turn a nice golden brown. Be watchful so that pie does not over bake or burn.
- Serve warm with a side salad! Enjoy!
Video
Notes
- Phyllo tips: Be sure to thaw the phyllo overnight in the fridge. Do not skimp on brushing the phyllo layers as indicated above. Make sure you drizzle or brush a generous amount of olive oil so that each layer is well coated.
- Prepare-ahead option: To work ahead, prepare the recipe as written until the step where you cut up the phyllo meat pie. After cutting the pie into 12 squares, cover it tightly and refrigerate. When you are ready to bake the pie, pour the egg and milk mixture over. Do not prepare this pie more than one night in advance.
- Leftovers and storage: Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Reheat in the oven at 350 degrees F until warmed through. Or you can freeze leftover Egyptian goulash in a freezer-safe container, and reheat from frozen.
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This was sooo good! Turned out perfect! My husband loved it and said it was one of the best things I've made! Thank you for posting this recipe!
Wonderful, Cara! So glad to hear it!
I loved it! Thank you
Awesome!!!
Hi I want to try this great recipe I’ve made many similar dishes like this called borek the turkish version, I usually use puff pasty to make it more decadent do you think I can substitute the phyllo for puff pasty in this recipe?
Hello, Zainab. I have not tried puff pastry in this recipe, but I imagine it would work. Enjoy.
I make Turkish borek all the time for my family. Lots of work !!! This is perfect and delicious !!! Thank you so much for the recipe ❤️❤️❤️
Thanks, Anyah! This is a quicker version that we enjoy 🙂
This looks amazing I can't wait to try it. I was wondering for make ahead have you ever froze prior to cooking. Do you think it would turn out the same? I have pre-made spinach triangles and froze ghee then thawed and coowed? Thanks for your imput
Hi Tara. Great question, and so sorry I just saw it. I know some folks have prepared this were able to freeze it and cook from there. I haven't tried it that way myself.
Hi Suzy
Thanks for the great recipes. Tonight I made the Egyptian goulash It was good; next time (there will be a next time) I will add fresh garlic, green bell pepper and maybe some tomatoes. But all in all a good dish!
Great, Daryl! Thanks for giving it a try! Sure, adding bell peppers and garlic would be great! Sometimes, I throw in a handful of baby spinach too. Enjoy!
what exactly is in the milk egg mixture? I don't seem to see what ingredients are in the mixture that you pour over the top?
Hi there, on the ingredient list, see the third ingredient listed: 1 egg, whisked in 1 cup of milk, that's the mixture we pour over.
This is delicious! It was the perfect way to use up some phyllo dough. I made a half recipe in an 8 x 8 inch pan because that's all the phyllo I had. The pie was a little tricky to eat in that it was hard to cut through and the top was apt to separate from the bottom crust. My kids finally picked their servings up and ate them like sandwiches. Does this happen with yours? (Of note, I used olive oil cooking spray instead of the butter/olive oil mixture because my husband is on a cholesterol lowering diet. Perhaps this affected the texture.)
Thank you!
Jocelyn, thank you so much for your kind feedback! The cooking spray may have affected it slightly, but probably was still great. Yes, we eat this pie by hand most of the time...too impatient for fork and knife 🙂
It taste just like my mother in law makes it! Especially the allspice gives this recepy the authentic taste.
Love it!
Awww, that's awesome! Glad you liked it!
Did you use both roles of Phyllo in the 16 oz box for this recipe?
Yes, I used the entire package here, Jill.
Greetings from Honduras ??, I saw this recipe by accident, and OMG it was amazing, I added yellow, red and green Bell Peppers, and a dash of mustard and worcesteshire sauce to the meat to make it a bit more Spicy and it turned out heavenly, thank you so much for posting this, I conquered my fear of phyllo, my husband absolutely loved it and it made my Sunday easier and more delicious!!!
Hello, Maria! Welcome to The Mediterranean Dish! So glad you found our site! Thank you for giving this a try! Love your version with the addition of bell peppers etc. Hope you'll try other recipes here!
Hi Suzy! This is my first time using phyllo dough and it was really fun! The dish is baking in the oven as we speak! I used a decent amount of oil and butter like you had suggested and I ended up adding a bit of green and red peppers along with some brown sugar and paprika to the meat..my husband came home from work and said the house smelled delicious! Can't wait to try it once it's finished!! Thanks for a great and easy recipe!! ❤️
Awesome, Krystal! I hope you all enjoyed it!
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This was, as we were told, easy and really tasty, BUT what do I do with the leftovers? We are 2, this made 12 large portions. Also, unless the filling is supposed to be more than an inch thick, 1.5 lbs. of ground beef is way too much. Now, I use only organic, grass fed, 85/15 beef, that may make the difference. No fat to drain off. I also added extra seasoning, the cooked meat was pretty bland. But, we liked them and my real only question is, what do I do with the leftovers and how do I serve them (reheat? or serve room temp. or from the fidge?) Thanks.
Great to hear it, Barbara! Leftovers keep just fine in the fridge for a few days. I typically reheat mine in the oven for just a few minutes before serving. If you have too much leftovers, you can certainly freeze them. Thaw overnight in the fridge, and heat in the oven before serving. Enjoy.
Thanks for the recipe. We liked it! We aren't used to using allspice so I only used 1/2 tsp. I had to grind the whole allspice so I figured it would have a stronger flavor because of that too. One thing, my milk mixture pooled above the phyllo when I poured it over and I had to cook it 10-15 minutes more to cook off the liquid because it seemed soggy still when I checked it. Should I have used less?
Last question- can leftovers be frozen?
Hi Courtney. Thanks for stopping in and for your good questions. So I have not experienced the milk mixture "pooling" in this way. Assuming you used the entire amount of phyllo dough, and a deep baking pan? Once you pour the milk/egg mixture on top of the phyllo, simply hold your baking pan and move it gently about to make sure the mixture spreads. And the baking time can vary, as you discovered, depending on the oven...so it's just fine to bake a few extra minutes. Yes, the leftovers can be frozen and thawed out in the fridge, then simply heat in the oven (do not microwave...it's not the same).
Hi, I am going to try your meat pita. My Ya Ya and Papou emigrated from Greece in the early part of last century to a small Greek community in Manchester NH. As a child I remember eating a delicious meat pita made with lamb and custard. I can still taste it! Somehow in my mind I associated it with New Years since my aunt who made it put a coin in the pita for good luck to the person who found the coin. (Of course it was always her oldest son who got the coin...) She has past away and the only recipe for new years pita I have found is actually a sweet cake. Your pita comes the closest...but is not as custardy and made with ground beef instead of chopped roasted lamb. Do you have or know of such a pita? I would love to find the recipe.
Hello, Carol! Thanks so much for stopping in and for sharing. The Greek meat pita you describe sounds wonderful! I do not currently have a recipe for that one, but will keep it in mind for future posts. This phyllo meat pie is an Egyptian version...hope you enjoy it!
Hi, there! I know it's totally cheating, but when I use phyllo for baklava, spanakopita, etc. (BTW, this recipe was AMAZING! The meat tasted like what I use for pastitsio, but without tomato! Yum!!), I spray it with olive oil Pam. It gets super-crisp and amazing, but with pretty much negligible calories (as in, basically, zero). I haven't noticed a difference in flavor. Thanks so much for sharing, and I'm just tickled that I stumbled upon your blog! Can't wait to navigate the rest of your site and see what's cooking!!
Hi Chrissie...yes, you can certainly do all olive oil in this recipe! So glad you're enjoying the recipes here. Let me know if you try more of them!
Hey Suzy! *grin* I didn't mean that I use "olive oil." I meant that I use Olive Oil PAM - the non-stick cooking spray! It's basically zero calories a spray, but still makes the phyllo layers delightfully crispy and indulgent! Love your site! ~Chrissie
Gorgeous pics, I'm so hungry right now 😉
Thank you, Hella! Hope you try it!!!
Easy and delicious recipe. I was short on time and after letting the phyllo sit out for about an hour, put the package in the microwave for 30 second defrost.
Great! Thanks for sharing!!!