Bosnian meat burek

Name: Bosnian meat burek
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 1 h 25 min
Ingredients: 450 g filo pastry; 600 g ground beef; 2 onions, very finely chopped; 1½ tsp salt; 1 tsp black pepper; 90 ml sunflower oil; 60 ml water; 500 ml yogurt (optional)

Non-vegetarian

Burek

A coiled pie of thin pastry wrapped around peppery minced beef and onion, baked until crisp. In Bosnia only the meat version is called burek; the others are simply pita.

Bosnian meat burek is a Bosnian savoury bake from Bosnia and Herzegovina, ready in about 1 hour 25 minutes and made with filo pastry and ground beef. It serves 6 and is rated intermediate to cook.

Start cooking

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Prep: 30 min
Cook: 45 min
Rest: 10 min
Total: 1 h 25 min
Serves: 6
Level: Intermediate
Calories: 577

Ingredients

6 servings

450 g Filo pastry (opens in a new tab)Traditionally hand-stretched dough (jufka); thick-style filo is the easiest substitute.Contains wheat, gluten
600 g Ground beef (opens in a new tab)Swap: Ground lamb (Or half lamb.)
2 (220 g) Onions (opens in a new tab), very finely chopped
1½ tsp (9 g) Salt (opens in a new tab)
1 tsp (2.5 g) Black pepper (opens in a new tab)
90 ml Sunflower oil (opens in a new tab)
60 ml Water (opens in a new tab)
500 ml Yogurt (opens in a new tab) (optional)Plain yogurt or kefir to drink alongside.Contains milk

Equipment

Method

1
Step 1
Mix the beef, onion (opens in a new tab), salt, pepper (opens in a new tab) and water with your hands until evenly combined. Do not pre-cook it.
- 5 min
How it looks · Photo: Magda Ehlers on Pexels
2
Step 2
Heat the oven (opens in a new tab) to 200 °C and oil a 28–30 cm round tin. Lay out two filo (opens in a new tab) sheets, brushing each with oil, and spread a line of the meat along one long edge. Roll into a loose sausage.
- 15 min
- 200°C
3
Step 3
Coil the first roll in the centre of the tin and keep making rolls, wrapping each around the last to form a spiral.
- 10 min
- Baking dish (opens in a new tab)
4
Step 4
Brush the top with the remaining oil and sprinkle with a little water. Bake for 40–45 minutes until crisp and deep golden.
- 45 min
- 200°C
- Oven (opens in a new tab)
Food safety: Raw minced filling must be cooked through — at least 71 °C.
How it looks · Photo: Klaus Nielsen on Pexels
5
Step 5
Cover with a clean towel for 10 minutes, then cut into wedges and serve with cold yogurt (opens in a new tab).
- 10 min
How it looks · Photo: Willians Huerta on Pexels

About this dish

Origin: Bosnia and Herzegovina · Commonly attributedDescended from Ottoman layered pastries (börek); Bosnia's coiled meat version is the best-known form in the region.Also popular in Serbia, Croatia, MontenegroMore food from Bosnia and Herzegovina
Dish: Breakfast · Lunch · Snack · Pizza & savoury pies · Street food
Cooking method: Oven-baked
Taste: savoury, peppery, mild
Diet: No nut ingredients · High-protein
All labels
Non-vegetarian · Egg-free · No nut ingredients · No added sugar · Alcohol-free · Pork-free · High-protein
Without the optional extras: Dairy-freeWorked out from the ingredients. How labels work
Good for: Street food · Portable / lunchbox · Freezer-friendly
Cook more with: Filo pastry · Ground beef · Onion
Techniques: Baking

Allergens

Contains, can be adapted: Milkfrom yogurt
Contains: Wheatfrom filo pastry
Contains: Glutenfrom filo pastry

Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.

Nutrition

577 kcal per serving

Calculated

1 serving ≈ 237 g · recipe makes 6

Where the energy comes from

Protein 17%
Carbohydrate 30%
Fat 53%

Nutrition per serving and per 100 g
Nutrient	Per serving	Per 100 g*
Energy	577 kcal	243 kcal
Protein	24.4 g	10.3 g
Carbohydrate	43.1 g	18.2 g
Net carbohydrate	41 g	17.3 g
Sugars	1.7 g	0.7 g
Added sugars	0 g	0 g
Fibre	2.2 g	0.9 g
Fat	33.3 g	14 g
Saturated fat	8.2 g	3.5 g
Trans fat	—	—
Cholesterol	68 mg	29 mg
Sodium	1013 mg	427 mg
Salt equivalent	2.5 g	1.1 g

Vitamins & minerals per serving

Potassium: 410 mg
Calcium: 35 mg
Iron: 4.6 mg
Magnesium: 34 mg
Vitamin A (RAE): 4 µg
Vitamin C: 3 mg
Vitamin D: —
Vitamin B12: 2.2 µg
Folate (DFE): 116 µg

How these numbers were made

Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
*Per 100 g of combined raw ingredients; the cooked dish may weigh more or less.
Optional ingredients are not included: yogurt.
“—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.

Good to know

Tips

Leaving the onion raw and very finely chopped keeps the filling juicy.

Common mistakes

Packing the filling in thickly — a thin line of meat cooks through in the time the pastry takes to crisp.

Serve with

A glass of plain yogurt is the classic partner.

Storage

Refrigerate up to 3 days; freeze baked burek up to 2 months.

Reheating

Reheat in a hot oven to re-crisp.

Variations

Sirnica (Bosnia and Herzegovina): The same coil filled with fresh cheese and egg.
Zeljanica (Bosnia and Herzegovina): Filled with spinach and cheese.
Krompiruša (Bosnia and Herzegovina): Filled with grated potato and onion.

Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added 27 Oct 2026 · Updated 8 Nov 2026

Recipe DNA

How this dish is built

Compare with

Grouped by each ingredient’s role in the dish. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.

What the dish is built around

Main ingredient

Filo pastry450 g
Ground beef600 g
Yogurt (optional)500 ml · 520 g

Used in steps 1, 2, 5

Baker’s notes

Customise in Bread & Bakery

Timeline and readiness cues

Mix and knead · about 30 min
Knead until smooth and soft; it should feel like an earlobe.
Rest · about 10 min
Covered so it doesn't dry out; relaxed dough rolls and shapes without springing back.
Bake · about 45 min at 200 °C
Puffed with golden-brown spots on both sides.
Start to finish: about 1 h 25 min. Times are a guide — warmth changes everything; follow the cues.

If something goes wrong

Pale crust
Likely causes
- Oven too cool
- Too little sugar or no milk/egg for browning
- Over-fermented (yeast ate the sugars)
What to do
- Check the oven with a thermometer
- Brush with egg wash or milk
- Shorten the fermentation
Burnt bottom
Likely causes
- Tray too close to the heat
- Dark tray absorbs more heat
- Too much sugar in the dough
What to do
- Bake on the middle shelf
- Double up trays or use a light-coloured one
- Lower the temperature 10–15 °C and bake a little longer
Crust too hard or thick
Likely causes
- Baked too long at too low a temperature
- No steam at the start
What to do
- Bake hotter for a shorter time
- Add steam for the first 15 minutes (tray of boiling water, or a covered Dutch oven)
- Cool under a tea towel for a softer crust

Reviews & corrections

Reviews come from signed-in cooks and appear after a moderator checks them. We never show made-up ratings.

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