This is an easy gozleme recipe using two different fillings. Try this traditional, easy to make Turkish flatbread that's packed with so much flavor!
We love Turkish food in general but breakfast items have a special place in our hearts. You can find Turkish breakfast recipes such as simit, pide, menemen (eggs and tomatoes) and cilbir (Turkish eggs and yogurt) on the blog. Today I want to show you one of my favorite Turkish classics: gozleme. It's a stuffed flatbread that's made with the easiest dough (only three ingredients, no yeast!) and very delicious fillings!
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What is gozleme?
Gozleme is a traditional Turkish flatbread that's stuffed with different fillings, the most popular being spinach and potatoes. The dough used to make this Turkish flatbread is usually made without any leavening agents and is thinly rolled out using a thin rolling pin called oklava, then filled with different fillings, folded, sealed and cooked in a pan.
This Turkish flatbread is usually made on a traditional large pan called sac. The sac is very large and almost flat. Turkish cooks grease sac pretty well before cooking gozleme. If sac isn't available, it's possible to make this recipe in a nonstick pan without any oil and then brush butter or olive oil on the pastry when it's fully cooked.
Authentic Turkish gozleme used to be made and served mostly in villages and rural areas in Turkey, but in the last twenty years or so it has become commonplace in Istanbul and other Turkish cities. You can find this classic dish in many cafes or restaurants. I love getting mine at a weekly farmers markets in Istanbul, made by Turkish grandmas and aunties!
Filling variations
You can find traditional gozleme with many different fillings. Some of the most known fillings are:
- Peynirli: Peynir is Turkish for cheese! You can use different types of cheese such as kasar or feta to make cheese gozleme.
- Patatesli: One of my favorites, this one is made with a delicious spiced potato filling. We're talking carbs on carbs, so good!
- Ispanakli: Made with fresh spinach, feta and other greens, this is one of the most popular varieties of gozleme.
- Kiymali: The three fillings above are all vegetarian. However, if you're looking for yours to be even heartier, try kiymali gozleme. It's made with a mixture of onion and ground beef with mild spices.
Why this recipe works
This is my favorite flatbread recipe for a few reasons:
- Easy dough: Even a novice cook can make this recipe easily. The dough calls for only 3 ingredients and is pretty forgiving. You can easily patch up tears and your rolled out dough doesn't need to be a perfect circle.
- Different fillings: From spinach and cheese to potatoes, there is something for everyone to love!
- Perfect breakfast: This dish is so good for breakfast or brunch. It's simple, easy and keeps well in the fridge.
Such a simple and satisfying dish, gozleme doesn't require you to have any special culinary skills. It's a very homey dish and it's pretty much all hands-on. You can make it with your family and friends over the weekend and have everyone choose their favorite fillings to enjoy in the coming days.
Ingredients
Like many other Mediterranean recipes, gozleme is also made with simple and fresh ingredients. To make the dough, you need flour, oil and water.
As for the spinach filling, you need the following ingredients:
- Onion - One large onion adds such great flavor to the filling.
- Spinach - Turkish cuisine uses a lot of spinach in different dishes.
- Dill - Fresh dill would work best for this recipe.
- Parsley - Finely chopped fresh parsley is added to the spinach.
- Feta cheese - It's best to use a block of feta and crumble it yourself.
To make the potato filling, you only need a few ingredients:
- Potatoes - Yukon gold or russet potatoes work best for this recipe. You need to boil and mash them.
- Onion - This would be the base of the filling.
- Tomato paste - You only need a little bit of tomato paste because it's pretty dense in color and flavor.
Instructions
Making gozleme involves three steps: preparing the dough, making the filling, and assembling it all together. Be sure to watch our video for step by step instructions.
Prepare the dough
- Place flour, a pinch of salt, water and oil in a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer and knead until it comes together and forms a ball of dough.
- Cover and let it sit for 30 minutes. This will make the dough easier to roll out.
- As the dough is resting, make the fillings.
Make the fillings - choose your favorite!
Spinach and feta
- Heat olive oil in a pan and sauté onion until translucent.
- Add spinach, dill and parsley. Cook until the spinach is wilted.
- Stir in feta cheese, season with salt and pepper if desired.
Potato
- Wash and peel the potatoes, then cut them in half.
- Boil the potatoes in water with some salt until fork tender.
- Heat some olive oil in a pan and sauté onion until translucent.
- Add in the tomato paste and cook for a minute.
- Mash the potatoes and add them to the onion. Stir and cook for a couple of minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
Roll out, stuff and cook
- Once the dough has rested and the fillings are prepared, it's time to assemble and cook. Divide the dough into 8 balls.
- Roll out one of the balls pretty thinly into a semi-circle shape.
- Spread the filling on half of the dough, then fold the other half on the filling and seal the edges. Try to make sure there aren't many air bubbles in the pastry. The fewer air bubbles in your gozleme, the crispier it is going to be.
- Heat some oil in a large pan over medium high heat.
- Once the oil is hot, transfer the flatbread into the pan and let it cook for about 2-4 minutes, once it's golden and crispy, flip and cook the other side.
- Transfer onto a plate lined with a paper towel to absorb excess oil.
Frequently asked questions
As noted above, this traditional gozleme recipe is made on the stove top in a pan called sac. You can also bake it following these instructions:
Preheat the oven to 450ºF and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Assemble the gozleme and place them on the baking sheet.
Once the oven is hot, place the baking sheet in the oven and bake for 8 minutes.
Flip and bake for another 8 minutes or until the pastry is completely cooked and crispy.
Traditionally speaking, gozleme can be pretty large, especially if it's made by rural women (who, by the way, are masters of Turkish cooking and have often been making the same gozleme recipe for decades). When making it at home, this flatbread should be as small as the pan you're going to fry them in because you don't want the edges to hang.
Turkish people don't usually freeze gozleme and prefer to have it fresh. However, you can freeze cooked and cooled gozleme. Wrap each tightly in a plastic wrap and then in aluminum foil. You can freeze these for up to 2 months. To reheat, unwrap it completely and place it on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Heat in the oven at 280ºF for about 20 minutes until completely heated through.
Serving suggestions
Gozleme is a breakfast item that can also be served as a filling snack through the day. Being a full treat on its own, it can also be served with a simple side of sliced cucumber and tomatoes drizzled with lemon juice and olive oil.
You can slice it into pieces to grab or roll it into a wrap. You can also serve this classic Turkish flatbread with pickles such as spicy peppers or cabbage. However you serve this stuffed Turkish flatbread, you're going to love it!
Gozleme vs borek
If you have traveled in Turkey, especially Istanbul, you probably have seen borek shops on almost every corner. Borek is another popular Turkish food (more on that later) and it's different from gozleme. Borek is made from layers of yufka dough whereas a single layer of a different type of dough is used for gozleme.
Notes and tips
- Gozleme is not supposed to be completely crispy so if yours softens a bit after sitting out for a while, it's completely okay.
- You can make this recipe using only one filling or two fillings.
- To save time, make the fillings in advance and simply make the dough and assemble when you're ready.
- Store the leftovers in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 3 days. You can reheat them in a pan or in the microwave.
Looking for more Turkish recipes?
- Turkish lentil meatballs (mercimek koftesi)
- Lahmacun (Turkish pizza recipe)
- Turkish zucchini fritters (mucver)
- Turkish bulgur salad (kisir)
- Turkish rice pilaf with orzo
- Karniyarik (Stuffed eggplant)
Step-by-Step Recipe
Gozleme recipe (Turkish Stuffed Flatbread)
Ingredients
Gozleme dough
- 3 ½ cup all purpose flour
- ⅓ cup vegetable oil or olive oil
- 1 ¼ cup warm water
Potato filling
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 potatoes washed and peeled
- 1 onion chopped
- ½ tbsp tomato paste
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
Spinach filling:
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion chopped
- 4 cups baby spinach
- ½ cup dill
- ½ cup parsley
- ½ cup feta cheese
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
Instructions
Gozleme dough
- Place all the ingredients in a large bowl and mix using a wooden spoon until combined.
- Transfer the dough to a floured surface and knead until the dough comes together. (You can use a stand mixer with a dough hook to make the dough)
- Cover the dough and let it rest for 30 minutes.
Potato filling
- Fill a sauce pan with water and place it over medium heat. Add a generous pinch of salt.
- Cut the potatoes in half and boil them in water until fork tender. Drain and let them cool for a few minutes. Mash the potatoes in a bowl and set it aside.
- Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a pan and saute onion until translucent.
- Add tomato paste and cook for a minute.
- Add in the mashed potatoes and mix well until all ingredients are well combined. Season with salt and pepper. Turn the heat off.
Spinach filling
- Heat olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Saute onion until translucent.
- Add in spinach, dill and parsley to the onion. Mix and cook until spinach is wilted.
- Add feta cheese and cook for a couple of minutes.
- Season with salt and pepper. Turn the heat off.
Assemble and cook
- Once the dough is rested for 30 minutes, divide it into 8 pieces.
- Working with one piece at a time, roll out the dough thinly into a circle (make sure the circle is not too big) and top half of it with some of the filling (spinach or potato). Fold and seal the edges. Repeat this step with the remaining dough and filling.
- Heat about 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil in a pan large enough to fit a gozleme in it.
- Once the oil is hot enough, carefully place the gozleme in the pan, let it fry undisturbed for 4-5 minutes until crispy.
- Flip and fry the other side for 4 minutes until cooked.
- Transfer to a plate lined with paper towel to absorb excess oil.
- Serve warm with a side salad or roll it into a wrap.
Video
Notes
- Gozleme is not supposed to be completely crispy so if yours softens a bit after sitting out for a while, it's completely okay.
- You can make this recipe using only one filling or two fillings.
- To save time, make the fillings in advance and simply make the dough and assemble when you're ready.
- This recipe makes a great breakfast dish. It's filling and makes a great grab and go breakfast.
- Store the leftovers in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 3 days. Reheat in a pan or in the microwave.
- To freeze, wrap each cooked gozleme in a plastic wrap and then aluminum foil. Freeze for up to 2 months. To reheat, unwrap the flatbread and place on a baking sheet. Heat in the oven at 280F for 20-30 minutes until heated through.
