🍢 SNACK
Gibanica (Serbian Cheese Pie)
Sheets of filo crumpled into a baking dish with a mixture of white cheese, eggs, yogurt, oil and sparkling water, baked until puffed, crisp and golden on top and soft inside, eaten warm with yogurt.
Serbian · easy · serves 8
prep 20 min · cook 40 min · plus 15 min hands-off time
~677 cal · 27g protein · 39g carbs · 46g fat · 1g fiber · 5g sugars · 18g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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Gibanica is the Serbian cheese pie, crisp on the outside and soft and juicy inside, and it is on the table for every kind of occasion. In Serbia it is eaten as breakfast, as an appetizer, as a snack at any hour, and made at home for Christmas, Easter and the family's slava, the feast of its patron saint. Similar pies are made all over the Balkans, and the name is linked to the Serbian word gibak, supple, after its soft, springy layers.
It is one of the easiest pies to make, which is part of why it is so popular. White cheese, a crumbly fresh cow's cheese similar to feta, is mixed with eggs, yogurt, oil and a splash of sparkling water, which helps it puff. Sheets of filo are dipped in or brushed with this mixture, crumpled loosely and laid in an oiled dish, the rest of the mixture is poured over, and the pie bakes in a hot oven until golden.
It is served warm, cut into squares, with a glass of yogurt or buttermilk.
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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 8
- 500 g filo pastry sheets
- 500 g white brined cheese (sir) or feta, crumbled
- 5 eggs
- 200 ml plain yogurt
- 200 ml sparkling mineral water
- 150 ml sunflower oil, plus a little for the dish
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt, less if the cheese is very salty
- 500 ml plain yogurt or buttermilk, to serve
Instructions
- 1Heat the oven to 200°C and oil a baking dish of about 23 x 33 cm.
- 2Whisk the eggs with the yogurt, sparkling water, oil, baking powder and salt, then stir in the crumbled cheese.
- 3Lay two sheets of filo flat in the dish as a base, letting them come up the sides. Take the rest one at a time, brush or dip each in the cheese mixture, crumple it loosely and lay it in the dish, filling it evenly.
- 4Pour the remaining cheese mixture over the top, making sure it reaches between the folds, and leave to stand for 15 minutes so the pastry soaks it up.
- 5Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until puffed and golden brown; cover loosely with foil if the top browns too fast. Leave to settle for 10 minutes, then cut into squares and serve warm with yogurt or buttermilk.
Serbian home and bakery tradition.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Šumadija (Belgrade). Autumn is when the year's condiments are made. Roasted red peppers are peeled and cooked down into ajvar in quantities meant to last until spring, plums go into rakija, and the pig is killed later in the season. The grill and the table follow that rhythm for the rest of the year.
🗺️
Serbia. Ajvar is made once a year, not weekly. Red peppers are roasted in quantity in the autumn, peeled while hot, minced and cooked down slowly with oil until it darkens, then jarred for the winter, and households compare batches. Rakija, distilled from plums or other fruit, is poured before the food rather than after it.
🌍
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 Serbia
Pasulj (Serbian Bean Stew)Slow-cooked white beans with smoked pork, onion and paprika, finished with a fried-onion and paprika roux (zaprska) that gives the stew its deep colour and flavour.
Sarma (Sour Cabbage Rolls)Sour-cabbage leaves rolled around spiced meat and rice, braised low over smoked ribs, the dish that anchors every Serbian slava.
ProjaA crumbly Serbian cornbread studded with white cheese, baked until golden and eaten with kajmak.
Browse all Serbia recipes →
Good to know
You’ll need: Oven, Whisk.
Storing it: Store in an airtight container. Most keep 2 to 3 days at room temperature, and longer refrigerated.
Make it a Serbia meal
Šumadijski Čaj (Serbian Hot Rakija)Drink
VaniliceDessert
Similar dishes from around the world
Gougères (Burgundy Cheese Puffs)France
Soparnik (Dalmatian Swiss Chard Pie)Croatia
Topfengolatsche (Austrian Quark Pastry)Austria
Pastechi (Curaçao Fried Cheese Turnovers)Curaçao
Tiropitakia (Greek Feta Cheese Phyllo Triangles)Greece
Kifli me Djathë (Kosovar Cheese Crescent Rolls)Kosovo
Cuisine
Diet
Frequently asked questions
What is Gibanica (Serbian Cheese Pie)?
Sheets of filo crumpled into a baking dish with a mixture of white cheese, eggs, yogurt, oil and sparkling water, baked until puffed, crisp and golden on top and soft inside, eaten warm with yogurt.
Where does Gibanica (Serbian Cheese Pie) come from?
Gibanica (Serbian Cheese Pie) is a Serbian dish from Šumadija (Belgrade), Serbia.
Can Gibanica (Serbian Cheese Pie) be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Gibanica (Serbian Cheese Pie) 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 Gibanica (Serbian Cheese Pie) 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 Gibanica (Serbian Cheese Pie) take to make?
About 1 h 15 min in all: 20 minutes prep and 40 minutes cooking, plus 15 min of hands-off waiting the method needs, serving 8.
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