Baked Feta Bites (Easy Phyllo Appetizer)

These Baked Feta Bites are an amazing blend of melted tangy feta in crispy phyllo cups drizzled with honey for an irresistible sweet and savory appetizer.

Health-ier Appetizers

Since these are made with phyllo, they are much lower in fat, carbs, and calories than other appetizers that are made with other type of dough. Each one is only 45 calories!

Baked Feta Honey Bites Ingredients

• Phyllo dough: It is paper-thin pastry dough made by rolling together layers of dough and it contains flour and water and none or very little oil. Most likely the phyllo you find will be frozen. Make sure you defrost in the refrigerator before using. Do not try to use phyllo that has not defrosted completely, because it will break. You may be tempted to substitute with puff pastry, it is not the same and you will not have the same result neither in flavor, texture, or nutritional value. Puff pastry is much higher in fat and although it’s supposed to be made with butter, the type you find in grocery stores is typically made with inflammatory vegetable oils such as cottonseed and palm.
  Alternatively, you can use ready-made phyllo shells.
• Olive Oil: Use a good olive oil, make sure it has not gone rancid, otherwise it will ruin the flavor of these appetizers.
• Feta: As you may know feta is a traditional Greek cheese made with sheep’s milk (and sometimes some goats milk), it is not made with cow’s milk, although in many countries outside of Europe you will find cow’s milk “feta”, look for Greek feta to get that authentic tangy flavor, it makes all the difference.
• Honey: A robust honey pairs well with the tangy feta cheese. Look for thyme, pine, or chestnut. But your regular honey will work fine too.
• Sesame seeds: The sesame seeds give a nutty crunch; they are lightly toasted.

How to Make Baked Feta Honey Bites

1. Preheat oven at 350 F (175 C)

2. Place a sheet of phyllo on a working surface and brush with olive oil making sure all surfaces are covered with olive oil (corners too!). Layer 3 more phyllo sheet over the first one and brush with olive oil. Cut in 12 squares about 3X3 inches (7X7 cm) each. Each square with be 4 layers of phyllo.

3. Repeat with 4 more phyllo sheets. If you are using large phyllo sheets, you will only layer 2 sheets and then fold in half. Alternatively, you can use ready-made phyllo shells

4. Coat a mini muffin pan with olive oil and place the phyllo in the pan.

5. Slice feta in cubes about 1 X 1 inch (2.5X2.5 cm) weighing about ¼ of an inch (7 g) each. Place in each phyllo cup and bake for 15 minutes.

6. In the meantime, toast the sesame seeds in a little pan until golden for 1-2 minutes.

7. Once cups are baked, remove from oven and light press feta with a small fork. Remove from pan, place on a serving platter, drizzle with honey, sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve.

Make Ahead

Once baked, do not add the honey, let them cool, close in a sealed container and place in the fridge. They will keep for 1-2 days. When ready to serve, reheat in the oven at 325 F (160 C) until crunchy. Then drizzle with honey and sprinkle with sesame seeds.

You may also be interested in these recipes:

• Saganaki – Authentic Greek Fried Cheese
• Quick and Easy Greek Cheese and Herb Pie – Patsavouropita
• Greek Style Herb Roasted Olives
• Feta and Greek Yogurt Pita Appetizer
• Feta Stuffed Dates
• Authentic Greek Spanakopita – Spinach and Feta Pie
• Parmesan Toasts

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