Easy Baklava Recipe

You won’t be able to stop eating this Easy Baklava Recipe. Crunchy, sweet, and an overall knock-out dessert.

Who doesn’t love baking during the holidays? Instead of another cookie, how about switching it up with this Easy Baklava Recipe?

Layers of phyllo dough brushed with butter, crunchy nuts, and drizzled with a sweet honey glaze, you can’t go wrong bringing this to any family gathering. I also like to give slices as gifts because it lasts a long time and everyone just loves them!

What is so great about this baklava recipe is how versatile it is. You can use any nuts you like to suit your tastes, but we love the mixture of pistachios, almonds, and walnuts.

I know what you must be thinking, this is one intimidating-looking dessert. But trust me on this, it’s totally not!

All you do is layer phyllo dough sheets, brush each one with butter (yum!), layer your nut mixture on top, and repeat. You bake it up and while it’s still hot, drizzle on the irresistible syrup, let it cool, and that’s it. I told you this is one Easy Baklava Recipe!

Some of my other favorite nut recipes that we have on our site include: Fudge with Nuts, Baked Brie with Walnuts and Honey, and Slow Cooker Peanut Clusters.

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS: 

• It is easier than it looks and a total show-stopping dessert. 
• You can customize the nuts to your taste.
• It keeps for a long time.

INGREDIENTS NEEDED (FULL RECIPE BELOW): 

• Water
• Granulated sugar
• Honey
• Lemon juice
• Cinnamon Stick
• Whole Cloves
• Vanilla Extract
• Mixture of nuts
• Ground cinnamon
• Phyllo dough
• Salted butter

HOW TO MAKE EASY BAKLAVA RECIPE:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
2. Make the syrup first by adding the water, sugar, honey, lemon juice, cinnamon stick, and cloves to a small saucepot. 
3. Place the pot on medium-low heat and constantly whisk until the sugar is dissolved. Bring to a simmer, place on low heat, and simmer for 20 minutes. Take off the heat and set aside.
4. While the syrup is simmering, assemble the baklava. Place the nuts into a food processor and process until they are finely chopped.
5. Place the chopped nuts and cinnamon in a large bowl and stir until combined.
6. Unroll the phyllo dough and place a damp clean kitchen towel on top, so it doesn’t dry out.
7. Brush a 9×13 baking dish with some of the melted butter. 
8. Fold one sheet of the phyllo dough in half and place it into the baking dish. Brush the top with butter. Place 7 more sheets of phyllo dough, folded in half, into the baking dish, and brush each sheet with more butter with every layer. You may need to stagger the pieces, so they cover the baking dish.
9. Add a heaping ½ cup of the nut mixture evenly on top of the phyllo. Repeat the same layering process (7 folded sheets of phyllo dough, brush each layer with butter, and heaping 1/2 cup of nuts) until you have used up all of the phyllo and nuts, you will end with a layer of phyllo on top. Brush generously with butter. You may have some butter leftover, that is okay, we want to make sure there is enough.
10. Score through all the layers to make a diamond pattern. You will make 3 parallel lines down the length of the baking dish, followed by diagonal lines to make the diamonds.
11. Bake for 32-37 minutes until golden brown on top. Immediately spoon the syrup all over the hot baklava, it will sizzle. 
12. Allow the baking dish to sit at room temperature, uncovered, for 4-6 hours or up to overnight. This will ensure it is nice and crisp. Slice down the scored lines again, and serve immediately.

DO I HAVE TO MAKE THE SYRUP FIRST?

Yes, the syrup has to simmer for 20 minutes.

So I suggest making the syrup first, and once it is at the simmering stage, that is when I start to assemble the baklava.

CAN I ADD ANY ADDITIONS?

Yes! I love to add garnishes on top of the baklava after it has been baked and cooled. 

My favorite toppings include:

1. A dusting of powdered sugar
2. Melted chocolate drizzle
3. Honey drizzle (I like to do this to serve over each slice!)
4. More chopped nuts

WHAT NUTS SHOULD I USE?

You can use any nuts you like for this Easy Baklava Recipe, that is what makes this so versatile and customizable.

My preferred ratio is equal parts shelled pistachios, sliced almonds, and walnuts. 

HOW TO STORE: 

Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks. It can also be frozen for up to 3 months.

The longer it sits, the less crispy and more chewy it will become but still edible and still totally delicious. You can also store it in the fridge for up to 3 weeks, but it will be even less crispy.

TIPS AND TRICKS: 

• Use any mixture nuts you like, just make sure it is the same ratio as listed in the recipe. We like pistachios, almonds, and walnuts.
• This can be frozen, see above on how to do that.
• You can add garnishes to this recipe, see some of my ideas above.
• Double the cinnamon for extra flavor.
• It makes a great gift since it keeps for a long time.
• It’s all about the layering, don’t be intimidated!

This is the recipe you are looking for to wow your friends and family. My Easy Baklava Recipe will have them begging for more!

If you like this recipe you might also like: 

• • Creamy Baklava Bites
  • From Scratch Pecan Sticky Buns Recipe
  • Pistachio Lush Cake

If you’ve tried this EASY BAKLAVA RECIPE let me know in the comments how it turned out! You can follow me over on PINTEREST, INSTAGRAM OR FACEBOOK to find some more of our mouthwatering recipes!