While there’s plenty of delicious Jewish desserts and pastries to choose from, sometimes we want something on the savory end instead. Various Jewish communities including Ashkenazi, Sephardi, Bucharian, and more have their own unique savory pastries making up the perfect finger food. With their different flavors and stories, you will want to try them all.
Bourekas
Jewlish
These savory pockets are hugely popular in Israel, and can be found in almost any bakery in the country. Its origins come from Turkish Jews, who later brought the food with them when they immigrated to Israel. Made with a flakey filo or puff pastry dough, bourekas are commonly filled with cheese or potato, but the possibilities for fillings are endless. To make your own bourekas, give this recipe a try here.
Pastelles
Tori Avery
Pastelles are Sephardi meat pies that are similar to bourekas, and may have even been part of the inspiration for bourekas when Sephardi Jews fled to Turkey. Made with flakey dough and filled with spiced ground meat, these meat pies aren’t just a snack or side dish, but can be a full meal on their own. To make them yourself, try this recipe.
Knish
Jewlish
When it comes to Jewish savory pastries, it would be impossible to leave out the knish. It’s a well known Ashkenazi food, originating in Poland, and now a staple in every New York Jewish deli. It’s essentially a pocket of dough with various fillings, including potato. But if you’re far from a deli, don’t worry, you can make your own knish here.
Samsa
Jewish Food Society
Samsas are a traditional food made by Bukharian Jews, particularly those from Uzbekistan. While Uzbekis might use butter or ghee on the samsa dough, Bukharian Jews adapted the recipe for kosher laws, using non-dairy substitutes. This baked savory pastry is typically in the shape of a triangule, and there are many variations on fillings, including meat and onions or pumpkin. Give samsa a try here.
Burriche
Silvia Nacamulli
Burriche is an Italian Jewish pastry that seems like a cross between an empanada and a boureka. There are both savory and sweet options for filling these light pastries, and could be anything including eggplant, chicken, or fish. Make it for yourself with this recipe here.
Filikas
Foodish.org
Filkas are cheese pies that have roots with Turkish and Bulgarian Jews. These savory triangles are made with Turkish yufka dough, filled with some kind of cheese filling, and usually fried. For spinach and cheese filkas, check out this recipe here.
Bichak
Foodish.org
Bichak is a special Bukahrian Jewish pastry usually only made for special occasions, like New Years. It has a delicious crispy dough and a mushy center, traditionally filled with pumpkin and onion or butternut squash. You can try Bichak for yourself with this recipe here.
Mugabbana
Foodish.org
These Sephardi cheese pies trace their roots all the way back to Toledo in Medieval Spain. The name Mugabbana comes from the Arabic word for cheese, “ğban,” and it’s similar to an empanada, resembling a stuffed purse stuffed with savory cheese. To learn more and make your own, check it out here.
Tutmanik
Foodish.org
Tutamnik is a Bulgarian pastry that veers a little more towards bread. These yeasted cheese bourekas are sort of like savory cinnamon rolls. Learn how to make your own tutamnik here.
Cochin-Style Pastel
Jewish Food Society
These pastels developed in the Cochin Jewish community in India, which brings together Cochin’s ancient Jewish community as well as the Sephardi influences from those who fled the Iberian peninsula and ended up in India. Usually eaten for Shabbat, these savory pastries look similar to empanadas and are traditionally filled with a combo of potatoes, chicken, and hard-boiled eggs. You can give them a try for yourself here.
