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This golden, crispy and irresistibly gooey fried cheese is one of Greece’s most beloved appetizers! This Saganaki recipe takes just three ingredients and is ready to serve in less than 10 minutes. Quick and easy to make, you’re going to fall in love with this famous Greek fried cheese!

The term saganaki refers both to a variety of Greek appetizers as well as the pan in which they’re cooked (a two-handled heavy frying pan). The most popular saganaki dish is cheese saganaki which is made by frying cheese that has been lightly breaded so that it’s crispy on the outside and gooey on the inside. Salt, pepper and lemon juice are traditional seasonings. It’s commonly served as an appetizer with other Greek favorites or is served atop or along with a leafy green salad, with bread, or a light drizzling of honey. In Greek restaurants in the U.S. it’s often splashed with some brandy and flambéed at the table for a dramatic effect, then extinguished with a squeeze of lemon juice, a tradition that started in Chicago’s Greektown.

You only need 3 ingredients to make saganaki cheese, with some optional ingredients I’ll discuss below. Here is what you’ll need to make it:

The key to the perfect saganaki lies in choosing the right cheese. Important considerations are that it must be firm enough to hold its shape when fried but soft enough to melt inside for that nice gooey texture. There are a few cheeses you can choose from depending on your flavor and texture preference, with some being gooier than others and some having a milder or stronger flavor profile. Here are some traditional options to choose from as well as some popular alternatives:

Let’s get started!

The first step is to prepare the cheese. Slice the cheese into 1/2 inch thick slices. Avoid slicing them any thinner or they will melt too quickly while you’re frying them.

Briefly rinse each slice under running water then gently blot them with a paper towel, leaving them moist so that the flour adheres to the cheese.

Place the flour in a shallow dish, adding some salt and pepper as desired, and dredge the cheese in the flour, coating all sides. Shake off excess flour.

If you’re breading the the cheese with breadcrumbs, next you’ll want to dip the cheese slices in lightly beaten egg and then dredge them in breadcrumbs, shaking off the excess.

Heat the oil in a non-stick pan over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, fry the cheese on the first side until it is golden brown.

Carefully flip over the cheese and fry on the other side until it’s golden brown. Lower the heat if it’s browning too quickly.

Serve immediately. Squeeze some lemon juice over the cheese as desired.

Optional: If you’d like to flambé your saganaki, pour a small amount of brandy over the cheese and carefully ignite it. You can then douse the flame by squeezing some lemon juice over the cheese.

There are a number of potions for serving saganaki cheese. Here are just a few suggestions:

As with most fried foods, saganaki is best eaten immediately. It does not store well because the coating gets soggy and its crispy-melty texture is lost. If you do have leftovers, store them in the fridge for up to 5 days and reheat them in the pan with some oil or in an air fryer.

Enjoy!

Let us know how it was!