You never hear much about Greek food. It’s not as popular as Italian (my favorite), Chinese or Mexican, but I sure do love it. While traveling through Greece, I have definitely fallen in love with some favorite dishes and also watched my husband eat some questionable ones (octopus). And while we have a few Greek restaurants here in Miami, I haven’t found any to be as authentic as the food in Greece. Here are my top 10 favorite Greek dishes:
Galaktoboureko This has to be my favorite Greek dessert (yes, let’s start with the desserts, why not), and it’s actually not very easy to find. Everytime I’m in Greece I specifically browse the menus of most recommended places, and I have only come across this heavenly treat in a small cafe in Oia. Galaktoboureko, is a divine combination of creamy custard and flaky phyllo dough that is baked to golden perfection then drenched with a lemon and orange infused syrup. I used to work with a Greek friend who told me her mother makes it from scratch. I never tried making this, as to me the recipe seems a bit above my experience level…LOL. But if you are brave enough to try, make sure to eat it the same day, as the custard tends to harden once it’s refrigerated.
Loukoumades Continuing with desserts, my husband loves these little bite-sized sweet honey puffs, essentially the Greek version of donut holes, which are deep fried to golden and crispy perfection. Loukoumades are traditionally served soaked in hot honey syrup, sprinkled with cinnamon and garnished with chopped walnuts or toasted sesame seeds. I’ve also seen them accompanied with a scoop of ice cream. Either way, delicious!
Halvas Yet another dessert (I promise I will get to the food soon). A semonlina, almond, cinnamon based dessert, which I ended up liking more than what I had anticipated. There are two different sweets called halvas in Greece. One is wet pudding made of semolina powder, olive oil and sugar. The other type is very similar to a nougat made of sugar and sesame powder, similar to Spanish turron. I was also served halvas ice cream one night…amazing!
Fried Feta with Honey and Sesame Seeds Many of you that know me know of my love affair with cheese, ANY type of cheese! But I really love feta cheese and usually have loads of it when I’m in Greece. However, this fried feta covered in sesame seeds and honey is on another level. The sweet and salty combination of flavors is absolutely delicious!
Tzatziki This yummy Greek sauce is always served with grilled meats or as a dip. Tzatziki is made of strained yogurt mixed with cucumbers, garlic, salt, olive oil, lemon juice, and dill, mint, or parsley… always served cold.
Dolmadakia Typically served as an appetizer or side dish, dolmadakia is a favorite dish throughout Greece. Grape leaves, stuffed with long-grain rice and herbs like thyme, dill, and fennel. My husband loves these, definitely something to try!
Greek Salad Famous all over the world, but the Greeks make them best! Crunchy cucumber, juicy ripe tomato, olives, red onion and a giant slab of feta on top, covered with olive oil, vinegar and lemon juice. It’s an absolute staple with every meal.
Gyros Yes, these are the ones typically found in your local state fair or neighborhood festivals, but boy are they yummy! Pita bread, grilled meat, fresh salad, sauce (usually tzatziki), and many times they also include french fries inside. Depending on the restaurant, they may also be served as a platter with the pita bread on the side. Either way, I love them.
Spanakopita These are Greek pastries, filled with spinach and feta cheese folded in layers of phyllo dough. Most of the time, you will see them folded into triangles, but it can also be made as a pie or in a pita. Cheese pies of all types are very popular all over Greece. I usually eat these as an appetizer or a snack, but they can be enjoyed at any time of the day.
Pastitsio Also referred to as Greek Lasagna, Pastitsio, is made of luscious layers of juicy minced beef, cooked in a tomato based sauce, with pasta and creamy béchamel sauce, all baked together until golden perfection.. simply irresistible! This is one of my favorite dishes in Greece, I always make sure to have it at least once on every trip.
Have you tried Greek food, and if you have what are your favorite dishes? I’m curious…
Around here, most of the local pizza places are owned by Greeks, so we can get it pretty easily. I love Gyros!!
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You just made me hungry! Your pictures are amazing.
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I have never reallu explored Greekfood but I have to admist all of that looks like somthing I would like!
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We have a few fave Greek restaurants but I’ve never made Greek dishes. I think it’s time I did.
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Now that the pictures have enticed my sweet tooth (and the savory one) I guess I’m gonna have to go to a greek restaurant soon! Thanks so much for posting.
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Each of those items look really yummy, although I’m not sure how my tummy would do with all of that cheese. Still the fried feta with honey and sesame seeds looks totally worth it!
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I love the spinach pies. We have a place in a town near us that we go to get them. You just made my mouth water …. now I want one.
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I have not had much Greek food in my life, but that fried feta looks amaaaazing!! I’d love to try it!
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I do enjoy greek food – it’s such a different flavour than I’m used to, and we don’t have it very often. We really should!
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I love mousaka as well
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Me too!
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Some day I would love to go to Greece! I love their food and always like to try new dishes anyways! The Fried Feta with Honey and Sesame Seeds sounds and looks so good!
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All those dishes look so delicious but I would love to try the pastitsio. Thank you so much for sharing ^_^
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I LOVE Greek food but there are no restaurants here. The closest if over an hour away! Me and the husband like to go there for our anniversary.
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I’ve tried some of these when I was in Greece, but I haven’t heard of most of them! Greek food is always so good thought, I will have to branch out and try some more! 🙂
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I am not overly familiar with greek food but i do love the gyros its simple to make and its so delicious. Thanks for the intro to the other foods going to Greece this year so i will definitely check it out
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Wow, I just got hungry looking at all of that!
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I’ve actually had a lot of these dishes, except for the desserts. They are popular items in restaurants in the Detroit area. I don’t like the grape leaves, but everything else is yummy.
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I love greek food but haven’t had some of these! I’ll need to try them!
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Oh my goodness! I’ve never had any of this, and I haven’t even heard of some! I am clearly living under a rock
These look so good!
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We have a greek resturant in town called Taverna’s. I’m not sure how authentic it is. But I’ve enjoyed some of the food. The Loukoumades look almost pancake like. All the foods look delicious.
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My husband loves Greek food. He always orders it when we go out to eat. He would love all these dishes.
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Wow! I’ve been totally in the dark. I need to either make these or find a restaurant that serves them!
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I love good Greek food. I’m not even Greek but you would think I was the way I pound the stuff, it’s probably my favorite food after Mexican.
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These are some amazing dishes! I need to check out how to make some of them to see if I can adjust the recipes to be allergy friendly. I think my family would love them!
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Definitvely you and me should go out eating together pronto! I would add moussaka to this list
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Yes I love moussaka too!
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I think I had greek food …. once. I think I’m gonna need to change that.
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Greek food is one of my favorite cuisines. Gyros are my favorite, but Greek salad is tasty too.
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You are definitely speaking my love language here. I love Greek and Greek style food! It is so flavorful and delicious! I really need to try Loukoumades now!
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Gosh it has been a long time since I have had any Greek food, you have definitely got me in the mood to try some again though.
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WOW, now I am starving thanks to your amazing images. Which is your favorite Greek restaurant in Miami. I might have to take my wife out to try some of these amazing dishes. Thanks for sharing.
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In Miami I would have to stick to Mykonos on Coral Way.
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I really like greek food, but I admit I never really had a greek dessert. They look really tasty!
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We were just in Greece this past year and loved the food while we were there!!! These are great choices, we also love to hit up the greek festivals here to.
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I love Greek food and the closest Greek restaurant is 20 minutes away and I hardly ever get to it. This food looks amazing.
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I so rarely get to eat Greek food and it’s too bad cuz I love their unique flavors!
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We love spanakopita and tzatziki in our house. I find making the spanakopita ahead of time in a big batch and freezing works well for when you have an upcoming party (to save time later). Thanks for sharing the dessert ideas. We love greek food but I haven’t made greek desserts before. I’ll have to give it a try.
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We love Greek food. It’s my kiddos favorite especially when we visit Pittsburgh. thanks for sharing!
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It all looks great. My favorite is gyro’s! I have been in the mood for one for awhile..
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Oh, can I come to your house for dinner? I love Greek food and all of this looks amazing!
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Looks like I need to be trying Greek food. They all look so good
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Short of a Greek salad, I have never tried any of these dishes. My hubby always goes out for gyros with his work friends, but the place he goes to doesn’t smell too good to me, so I haven’t been. I’d really love to try that fried feta though!
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These are some pretty interesting dishes!!!! I absolutely love gyros myself!!! Yummy 😉
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Oh my gosh, what are you doing to me?! I love the Greek food I’ve tried, but I haven’t tried several of these. My mouth is watering!
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I can’t remember if I ate Greek food when I was in Greece. I should give it a try. Looks great!!
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OMG! you are making me hungry! I love Greek food!
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Oh gosh. They look so mouthwatering. Why haven’t I tasted greek food before?
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I’ve only tried a few Greek dishes. Out of the ones that you mentioned, Spanakopita and Dolmadakia. They all look so good! I need to bookmark this page for when I go out to a Greek restaurant.
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I love greek food 🙂 But I haven’t tried any desserts yets. Here in Italy it is almost impossible to find Greek restaurants, I usually eat it when I am in Germany. So next time I’m there I’ll look out for the sweets.
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I’ve never had Galaktoboureko but it looks amazing and I really want to try it now
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Oh my goodness — those pictures are making my hungry! We don’t cook a lot of Greek food. Maybe we should start. 🙂
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Gyros for sure but everything looks so so good :).
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