Pizzapitakia phyllo pizza pockets

Mini phyllo pizza pockets made with three different fillings, amazing pizzapitakia.

Mini phyllo pizza pockets made with three different fillings, amazing pizzapitakia


Pizzapitakia, phyllo pizza pockets. If we’re going to be honest, we have to admit that sometimes we impress ourselves. Every once in a while we come up with a recipe idea, or a concept that just makes us so happy! Our latest, these mini pizza pockets made with phyllo dough. We call these pizzapitakia or phyllo pizza pockets- like spanakopitakia, but instead of a filling of spinach and feta, the inside of these triangles is full of pizza goodness. We are in love!

Mini phyllo pizza pockets made with three different fillings, amazing pizzapitakia.

We have bought pizza pockets from the frozen food aisle of the grocery store once in our lives. We love the concept, but didn’t love the sodium, fat and price that went along with it. A few weeks ago, as we were thinking about fun and delicious food fit for a Super Bowl we had a revelation. We could use phyllo dough (always on hand) and make our own hand held pizza snacks. Guys, these are not only fun to make, but they are absolutely amazing to eat!

You can fill your pizzapitakia with any filling you like. We chose to make three different types of phyllo pizza pockets. We made one vegetarian (which can easily be vegan if you omit the cheese), one with pepperoni and cheese and the other a Hawaiian pizza inspired version. All were delicious, and all were gone within minutes – literally.


Pizzapitakia or phyllo pizza pocket variations

  • Add chopped cooked bacon and sausage to the pepperoni pizza pocket for a meat lovers version
  • Omit the cheese in our vegetarian option for vegan pizzapitakia – we tried these and they were delicious
  • Go all out with the cheese. Ever had a 3-cheese pizza? Make a 3-cheese phyllo pizza pocket. Combine equal amounts of shredded mozzarella, ricotta and cheddar or feta. Blue cheese would be great too!

Are phyllo dough and puff pastry the same thing?

There are several recipes that we saw for homemade pizza pockets using puff pastry. Phyllo dough and puff pastry however are not the same thing. Both are delicious, but phyllo dough is lighter (and healthier than puff pastry). Phyllo dough (also known as filo dough) is typically made of flour, water and sometimes oil that is rolled out extremely thin. Puff pastry on the other hand contains butter. It is what is referred to as laminated, meaning that butter is folded into the dough several times, creating layers of dough and butter. When it is baked, this results in several flaky, buttery layers.

Is it hard to work with phyllo dough?

Phyllo dough is delicate and paper thin. It also dries out very quickly so it is best to keep any sheets of phyllo dough that you are not using covered. If your phyllo dough tears a little bit, don’t worry about it. The good thing about shaping these pizzapitakia or phyllo pizza pockets into triangles is that any rips or tears can potentially be covered up. You only need to be sure that the triangle itself is closed up, so that the filling does not leak out as it bakes.

Is it possible to overstuff your pizzapitakia?

Yes! As with tyropitakia, you have to be careful not to fill your phyllo pizza pockets too much. You also have to be careful not to fold the triangles too tightly. If you do, as they bake, they may break open and your filling will escape.

Do you have to shape your pizza pockets as triangles?

No, you don’t! We like the triangles because each one is about 2 or 3 bites (or 1 very large bite!). They make a great hand held snack this way. However, you can also shape them as cigars, as we do for our saragli. You can even make larger phyllo pizza pockets. You can shape them the way we make our bougatsa.

Mini phyllo pizza pockets made with three different fillings, amazing pizzapitakia.

Can you freeze your phyllo pizza pockets?

You can! You can freeze your pizzapitakia before baking them. Freeze them on a baking sheet and then transfer to a freezer bag. To bake, allow to thaw for 10 minutes and bake as instructed. You may need to increase the cooking time by 5 to 10 minutes.

Mini phyllo pizza pockets made with three different fillings, amazing pizzapitakia.

Use toppings to identify your pizza pockets

If you are going to make all three versions of our pizzapitakia, you may want to be able to identify which is which. We like to use toppings to do so. We put everything bagel seasoning on our vegetarian ones, paprika on the pepperoni pizza pockets, and we left the Hawaiian ones plain. You can use any toppings you like, or don’t use any at all and have each bite a surprise!

Mini phyllo pizza pockets made with three different fillings, amazing pizzapitakia.

The best way to reheat your pizzapitakia, phyllo pizza pockets

Through much trial and error, we have found that the best way to reheat anything made with phyllo is to use the air fryer. If you have one, use it for reheating your pizzapitakia – you will not be disappointed. Set your air fryer to 300 degrees Fahrenheit and place a layer of the phyllo pizza pockets in the basket. Heat for about 3 – 5 minutes. Check them often and they are ready when the phyllo has crisped up once again.

If you do not have an air fryer, reheat them in your oven set at 300 degrees Fahrenheit for about 5 – 7 minutes.


If you like this fun way to use phyllo, we think you’ll like these recipes too:

Mini apple pies with phyllo or milopitakia (Μηλοπιτάκια)

Fried phyllo wrapped feta

Mushroom and chestnut phyllo triangles (Πιτάκια με μανιτάρια και κάστανα)

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Mini phyllo pizza pockets made with three different fillings, amazing pizzapitakia.
Mini phyllo pizza pockets made with three different fillings, amazing pizzapitakia.

Pizzapitakia, phyllo pizza pockets

Mini pizza pockets made with three different fillings, amazing pizzapitakia
5 from 2 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Appetizer, Light meal, Snack
Cuisine: American, Greek
Prep Time: 45 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
Servings: 45 pieces
Calories: 77kcal
Author: Mia Kouppa

Equipment

Ingredients

  • 1 pound phyllo dough
  • ¼ cup olive oil
  • 1 cup grated mozzarella cheese

For the vegetarian filling

  • 1 tsp olive oil
  • ¾ cup finely chopped mushrooms
  • ¼ tsp pepper
  • 1 cup chopped broccoli
  • cup diced bell pepper
  • 3 tbsp chopped olives
  • 1 tbsp chopped red onion
  • 1 tsp Italian seasoning
  • ¼ tsp chili flakes
  • 4 tbsp pizza sauce

For the pepperoni filling

  • 1 cup chopped pepperoni
  • ¼ cup chopped bell pepper
  • 1 tbsp chopped red onion
  • ½ tsp Italian seasoning
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • tsp pepper
  • 3 tbsp pizza sauce

For the Hawaiian filling

  • 1 cup chopped ham
  • cup pineapple tidbits, canned drained well
  • 1 tsp finely chopped jalapeno pepper
  • ½ tsp Italian seasoning
  • 3 tbsp pizza sauce

Optional toppings - optional

  • 1 tsp paprika
  • 1 tsp everything bagel seasoning
  • 1 tsp sesame seeds

Instructions

For the vegetarian filling

  • Heat olive oil in a frying pan over medium heat and saute the mushrooms for approximately 5 minutes, or until all the liquid released has evaporated and the mushrooms are caramelized. Season with pepper.
    1 tsp olive oil, ¾ cup finely chopped mushrooms, ¼ tsp pepper
  • In a medium size bowl combine all of the ingredients and mix well.
    1 cup chopped broccoli, ⅔ cup diced bell pepper, 3 tbsp chopped olives, 1 tbsp chopped red onion, 1 tsp Italian seasoning, ¼ tsp chili flakes, 4 tbsp pizza sauce

For the pepperoni filling

  • Combine all ingredients in a medium size bowl and mix well.
    1 cup chopped pepperoni, ¼ cup chopped bell pepper, 1 tbsp chopped red onion, ½ tsp Italian seasoning, ¼ tsp salt, ⅛ tsp pepper, 3 tbsp pizza sauce

For the Hawaiian filling

  • Combine all ingredients in a medium size bowl and mix well.
    1 cup chopped ham, ⅓ cup pineapple tidbits, canned, 1 tsp finely chopped jalapeno pepper, ½ tsp Italian seasoning, 3 tbsp pizza sauce

To assemble the pizzapitakia or phyllo pizza pockets

  • Preheat oven to 350 °F
  • Unroll your phyllo dough.  It will likely be rectangular shaped.  Place the long end of the rectangle from left to right on your work surface, and the shorter end, top to bottom.  Starting at the top, cut out strips of phyllo which are 3 inches wide.  Pile the strips one on top of the other, to help keep things organized.
    1 pound phyllo dough
  • Once you are ready to start making the pizzapitakia triangles, take a double layer of phyllo and lay it in front of you.  Brush with some olive oil (you don’t want to soak it through, and it does not need to be brushed with olive oil all over).  A good tip is to soak your pastry brush in the oil one time and use that to brush on the strips.
    ¼ cup olive oil
  • Place approximately 2 teaspoons of either the vegetarian, pepperoni or Hawaiian filling at the bottom of the phyllo strip. Top with a generous pinch of grated mozzarella cheese. You are now ready to start making your triangles.  
    1 cup grated mozzarella cheese
  • Take the bottom, left hand corner of your phyllo strip and fold it over the filling, bringing it to the right hand edge, just above where your filling ends.  Then, take what is now the bottom right hand corner, and fold it over so that it reaches the left hand edge.  Now move again to the left hand corner, and bring that to the right hand edge.  Keep repeating.  You will see that after a few movements, your triangle will start to take shape. We have included step by step photos, and a video to help explain the process. Place your pizzapitakia on a parchment lined baking tray and repeat until you have used all your filling.
    Watch video here. and pictures above.
  • Brush olive oil on the top of each pizzapitakia triangles. If you are making all three versions of these phyllo pizza pockets and want to differentiate which is which, use the optional toppings to help you do so. For instance, we like to sprinkle the tops of the vegetarian pizzapitakia with everything bagel seasoning, the pepperoni ones with paprika etc... Other topping options would be sesame seeds, poppy seeds or Italian seasoning.
    1 tsp paprika, 1 tsp everything bagel seasoning, 1 tsp sesame seeds
  • Bake on bottom rack of oven for about 10 minutes and then move the baking sheet to the middle rack of the oven for approximately 10 more minutes.  Your pizzapitakia are done when the phyllo (filo) has crisped up and taken on a beautiful and toasty tan colour.
  • Enjoy!

Notes

Nutritional values: Please note that these values are a very rough estimate, based upon all of the ingredients listed for all 3 versions of pizzapitakia.
Each filling is enough to make approximately 15 - 18 phyllo pizza pockets.
Omit the cheese in the vegetarian version to make them vegan.

Nutrition

Calories: 77kcal | Carbohydrates: 6g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.04g | Cholesterol: 7mg | Sodium: 191mg | Potassium: 61mg | Fiber: 0.5g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 159IU | Vitamin C: 7mg | Calcium: 20mg | Iron: 1mg

Thanks for sharing!

7 Comments

  1. ajeanneinthekitchen says:

    What a great idea. I love it!

    1. miakouppa says:

      Thank you! We’re pretty proud of this one 🙂

      1. ajeanneinthekitchen says:

        As you should be. 🙂

  2. Absolutely delicious!!!

    1. miakouppa says:

      Yay!!! So happy you think so! 🙂 We are loving these! xoxo Helen & Billie

  3. Sophia Mantas says:

    Such a brilliant idea! I need to make these for my grandkids! Yummy!!

    1. miakouppa says:

      Thank you Sophia!!! We hope your grandkids love them! Let us know; it thrills us to hear that little ones enjoy our recipes 🙂 xoxo Helen & Billie

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