🍳 BREAKFAST
Pastizzi
Diamond-shaped flaky pastries filled with ricotta or mushy peas, Malta's favorite savory bite.
Maltese · medium · serves 6
prep 30 min · cook 25 min
~378 cal · 16g protein · 43g carbs · 16g fat · 2g fiber · 1g sugars · 8g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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Pastizzi are the national snack of Malta, small, flaky, diamond-shaped parcels of paper-thin pastry that shatter into buttery shards at the first bite. There are two classic fillings, and the Maltese know them by heart: tal-irkotta, seasoned ricotta, and tal-pizelli, a savoury mushy-pea mixture with a gentle curried warmth.
They are cheap, everywhere, and sold hot from the tray at the pastizzeriji, the little shops that specialise in them, and from countless bars and kiosks from early morning onward. Watching them being made, the pastry rolled and coiled into that ridged shell, is part of their charm.
They are quintessential eat-on-the-go food, a breakfast or a mid-morning bite grabbed with a cup of tea or coffee, wrapped in a scrap of paper and eaten in the street. Hot, crisp, and deeply savoury, the pastizz is Malta's favourite everyday indulgence.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally vegetarian and nut- and pork-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
🐖 Pork-Free
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.
Ingredients
US
Metric
Serves 6
- 1 lb flaky pastry (or filo and oil layers)
- 2 cups ricotta (or seasoned mushy peas)
- 1 egg (to bind the ricotta)
- a handful parsley
- to taste salt
- to taste black pepper
Instructions
- 1Mix the ricotta (or mushy peas) with the egg, parsley, salt, and pepper.
- 2Cut the pastry into squares.
- 3Spoon filling onto each and pinch into the classic diamond shape.
- 4Bake at 400°F until puffed and deep golden, about 22 minutes.
- 5Cool slightly and eat warm with coffee.
Valletta tradition.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Valletta. A fenkata is the occasion rather than the dish. Rabbit is cooked long in wine and garlic and comes in two courses, the sauce first tossed through pasta and the rabbit itself after. Pastizzi, the diamond-shaped pastries sold from hatches in the wall, are filled with ricotta or mushy peas, never meat.
🗺️
Malta. The fenkata is the occasion rather than the recipe: rabbit stewed slowly in wine and garlic, traditionally served in two courses, the sauce over pasta first and the meat afterwards, and eaten in company that stretches across an afternoon. One account links its rise to the lifting of hunting restrictions after the Knights left in the late eighteenth century, which is a theory worth attributing rather than stating.
🌍
Europe. European cooking is built on the land and the seasons, wheat, butter, and cured pork in the north; olive oil, tomatoes, and seafood around the Mediterranean; preserved vegetables and hearty stews through long winters. Centuries of peasant tradition, guild craft, and royal courts refined techniques from French mother sauces to Italian fresh pasta and Central European baking. Regional identity runs remarkably deep, with a single dish often changing from one valley to the next.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from Malta
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Stuffat tal-Fenek (Rabbit Stew)Malta’s national dish: slow-braised rabbit in red wine, tomato, and bay, the centerpiece of a village fenkata feast.
FtiraA crusty ring of Maltese bread filled with tuna, tomato, capers, and olives, the island's sun-soaked sandwich.
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Good to know
You’ll need: Oven.
Storing it: Store in an airtight container. Most keep 2 to 3 days at room temperature, and longer refrigerated.
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Frequently asked questions
What is Pastizzi?
Diamond-shaped flaky pastries filled with ricotta or mushy peas, Malta's favorite savory bite.
Where does Pastizzi come from?
Pastizzi is a Maltese dish from Valletta, Malta.
Can Pastizzi be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Pastizzi recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions. Treat the substitutions as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Pastizzi safe for people with food allergies?
Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we still count coconut as a tree nut to be cautious, although the FDA stopped listing it as one in 2025), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.
How long does Pastizzi take to make?
About 55 minutes total (30 minutes prep, 25 minutes cooking), serving 6.
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