Crisp phyllo pastry wrapped around a warm semolina custard, dusted with sugar and cinnamon.

Where does Bougatsa come from?

Bougatsa is a Greek dish from Crete, Greece.

Can Bougatsa be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?

Yes. This Bougatsa recipe includes ingredient substitutions to make it vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, or egg-free — including several of those at once, such as gluten-free and dairy-free together.

How long does Bougatsa take to make?

About 55 minutes total (20 minutes prep, 35 minutes cooking), serving 6.

Bougatsa — a Crete, Greece recipe

Name: Bougatsa
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 55 min
Yield: 6 servings
Cuisine: Greek
Ingredients: 1 lb phyllo pastry; 4 cups milk (for the custard); 3/4 cup + 3/4 cup fine semolina and sugar; 2 + 1/4 cup eggs and butter

Europe → 🇬🇷 Greece → Crete

Bougatsa

Greek · medium · serves 6

prep 20 min · cook 35 min

~234 cal · 7g protein · 21g carbs · 13g fat (estimated, per serving)

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Crisp phyllo pastry with custard, dusted with sugar

🇬🇷 Crete

Bougatsa is a beloved Greek breakfast pastry, especially of the north, where sheets of phyllo are wrapped around a creamy semolina custard and baked until shatteringly crisp. Cut into squares, dusted with icing sugar and cinnamon, and eaten hot from the bakery with a coffee, it is a morning treat worth waking for.

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Make it yours

Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.

🥕 Vegetarian

🌱 Vegan

🌾 Gluten-Free

🥛 Dairy-Free

🥜 Nut-Free

🥚 Egg-Free

Ingredients

Serves 6 —

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1 lb phyllo pastry

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4 cups milk (for the custard)

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3/4 cup + 3/4 cup fine semolina and sugar

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2 + 1/4 cup eggs and butter

Instructions

1

Heat the milk, whisk in the semolina, sugar, and eggs (or cornstarch), and cook to a thick custard; cool.

2

Layer buttered phyllo sheets in a dish.

3

Spread the custard over and cover with more buttered phyllo.

4

Bake at 375°F until golden and crisp, about 30 minutes.

5

Dust with icing sugar and cinnamon and serve warm.

Cretan / northern Greek tradition.

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🌏 While it simmers — know your destination

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Crete. The island whose olive-oil diet made scientists pay attention.

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Greece. Olive oil civilization, from island tavernas to mountain villages.

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Europe. Village recipes guarded for generations.

The story behind this dish is up top — worth a read while the pot works.

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Richard Moore & Kelsey Tucker

Recipes cooked, tested, and researched by the creators of Spin the Globe. How we build our recipes →