My Cookbook: Souk to Table 
Kunafa Recipe with Mozzarella Cheese (Easy!)
This Kunafa recipe will introduce you to my favourite Middle Eastern dessert—crispy, buttery kataifi pastry filled with gooey cheese, all soaked in a fragrant sugar syrup. Also known as Knafeh, this show-stopping dessert needs just 15 minutes of prep time and is surprisingly easy to make at home. I’ll walk you through every step to get that perfect golden crunch.
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5-STAR READER REVIEW
“I made this and it was amazing! There are only two of us so I cut it into portions and took it to some of my neighbours with little pots of syrup. Everyone loved it! ”
—Debbie
Kunafa: The Dessert I Will Go On A Hunt For
I feel like everyone has a food that they will crave and literally go on the hunt for on occasion. Mine is Kunafa. I’ve gotten into an argument with my husband about my need for a kunafa…. right now.
It’s a star amongst middle eastern desserts, better than baklava in my opinion, and much easier to make than favourites like qatayef and luqaimat (no frying means easy!).
Now the main barrier to entry for people when it comes to making kunafa at home is the type of cheese used, and the pastry required. Many traditional recipes for kunafa call for Akawi cheese, which is quite hard to find.
I’ve tested my recipe with regular mozzarella cheese (I prefer the fresh mozzarella which has less salt), simply to make it easier for folks to make, and it’s even better than Akawi. It has a very subtle saltiness which ends up balancing the sweet sugar syrup beautifully.
As for the kataifi – no substitutions there! You need to get your hands on it. It’s shredded phyllo dough that’s easily found in the freezer section of your middle eastern or international grocery store.
Let’s Make Kunafa
Grab your ingredients!
The cream or ashta I add to the cheese mixture is simply for extra richness. If you can’t find these little cans pictured below – feel free to skip it or use ricotta instead.
The first step is to make your simple syrup and set it aside to cool.
Next, prepare your kataifi dough. If it is frozen, make sure that you thaw it overnight in the fridge, and take it out an hour or so before you plan to use it.
Finally, spread over the rest of the kataifi dough to cover the cheese completely and press it down lightly. Bake it in a preheated oven at 350F for about 40-50 minutes, until the edges and top are deeply golden. To serve, flip it over onto a serving platter, drizzle with a lot of the simple syrup and garnish with crushed pistachios.
Mini Kunafa or Kunafa Cupcakes
If you want to make these really cute mini kunafas, you simply follow the exact same recipe but just use a muffin tin and make individual ones. This recipe would make roughly 12 pieces. They’re great for individual servings. Make sure you decrease the baking time.
Pan sizes
This specific recipe makes a 9 inch large kunafa on the thick end (see picture), as well as 6 individual muffin sized ones. You’ll have to think about your preference here – I like a good amount of pastry so I can feel the crunch, with a good amount of cheese inside. Some people like it really thin with a lot of cheese.
You can make the same amount as me (9 inch one and 6 small ones), or you can use a larger 12 inch circular pan to make one big one. If you don’t have a larger circular pan, you can also use a rectangular pan.
Other dessert recipes you will love
If you tried these recipes, please consider leaving a star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating in the recipe card below and/or a review in the comments section further down the page – I’d love to hear from you! You can also hop on over to Instagram and say hello!
Crispy Kunafa with Mozzarella Cheese (Easy!)
Ingredients
For the Simple Syrup
- 2 1/2 cups sugar
- 1 1/4 cups water
- 1 tablespoon rose water or orange blossom water, optional
- 1 squeeze lemon juice
For the Kunafa
- 454 g Kataifi Dough, (shredded phyllo dough)
- 1 cup melted butter
- 600 g mozzarella cheese, high moisture, at least 50%
- 170 ml thick cream, (see photos in post)
- 1/2 cup crushed pistachios, to garnish
- 2 tablespoons dry rose petals for garnish, optional
Equipment
- Oven
Instructions
For the simple syrup
- In a medium saucepan, combine the water, sugar and squeeze of lemon and place on high heat. Allow it to come to a boil
- Once it boils, lower heat to medium and allow it to simmer for 10 minutes then turn off the heat. It should have a runny syrup consistency (not too thick). Add the tablespoon of rose water at the end if using, and allow it to cool to room temperature on the counter
For the Kunafa
- Take out the frozen kataifi dough and leave it to thaw for an hour or so on the counter. Preheat oven to 350F
- Shred the cheese or cut it up into small cubes, and mix it with the thick cream
- Break up the kataifi dough and place it in a food processor. Whiz it for a few seconds until it is broken up into small pieces. If you don't own a food processor, you can do this with your hands or by cutting it up using a knife.
- Place the shredded kataifi dough in a bowl and pour over the melted butter. Using your hands, massage the butter into the dough making sure you saturate every strand. The better you incorporate it, the more evenly crispy it will be
- Brush the bottom of your pan with a bit of butter. Use a 12 inch pan for one large one or you can make 2x 9 inch ones. (see notes)
- Take half of the kataifi dough and pack it into the bottom of the pan using the flat bottom of a cup. Pack it to form a slight edge around the perimeter
- Spoon the cheese mixture inside and spread it out evenly
- Take the remaining kataifi dough and spread it over the cheese, covering it all and packing it in lightly
- Bake for 40-50 minutes or until the outside is deeply golden and crispy
- Immediately drizzle the kunafa with about 3/4 of the simple syrup, ensuring you cover the full surface. Reserve some syrup to the side for anyone who wants extra
- Allow it to cool and soak the syrup for 10 minutes or so, then invert it onto a serving platter (you can also keep it in the tray), garnish with pistachios, cut into pieces and serve
Notes
- This recipe can make 2x 9″ kunafas or one larger 12″ one. You can also make one 9″ one and 6 mini kunafa using a muffin tin
- Be sure to reserve some of the syrup and not use it all. Some people don’t like it too sweet and the idea is that people can add more to their liking
- Depending on your oven, if you start to notice that the top is browning too fast and the edges are still not golden, you can place a small piece of aluminium foil in the middle to cover it while the rest of it crisps up
This turned out amazing! It was very easy to prepare and assemble. It was crispy and cheesy. The sugar syrup had the perfect ratio of rose water (which can overpower a dish) for floral notes to balance the sweetness in this dessert. I’d definitely make it again. I made one six-inch pan and then prepared two 4-inch pans which I froze to bake at a later time.
Hi Nazia! That is a beautiful kunafa, you nailed it! Thanks so much for leaving us a review 🙂
I made it today, but it did not turn brown as intended. What did I miss?
Hi! I’m sorry to hear that – can you let me know what went wrong so I can help you better?
Just made this tonight and it was delicious! I was wondering how can I heat it up if saving left overs?
So thrilled you loved it! Its best to heat it in the oven to get the kataifi to crisp up again!
I just finished making this, thank you so much for a fabulous recipe 🙂 It’s delicious!
I’m so thrilled you loved it! Thanks for the review Scarlett!