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    Home » Most Popular Turkish Recipes » Sigara Boregi - Turkish Cheese Rolls

    Published: Jun 29, 2019 · Modified: May 17, 2025 by Zerrin & Yusuf

    Sigara Boregi - Turkish Cheese Rolls

    Jump to Recipe

    Sigara Boregi, Turkish cheese rolls, are crunchy appetizers that satisfy everyone. They are one of the easiest Turkish börek recipes. Prepare them in advance and fry right before serving for the crispiest result.

    Cheese rolls on a white plate served with a yogurt sauce in a small bowl on the side.

    There are several savory pastries in Turkey and they are served either as breakfast food or afternoon snacks. We have shared most of them here on Give Recipe. Gözleme, spinach cheese borek and this sigara boregi are among the most popular ones.

    Jump to:
    • What Is Sigara Boregi?
    • About The Ingredients
    • How To Make The Recipe
    • Tips
    • Serving Suggestions
    • Storage
    • FAQs
    • More Turkish Pastries
    • Other Recipes with Feta Cheese
    • 📖 Recipe

    What Is Sigara Boregi?

    Borek is one of the most loved Turkish dishes. It is the general name in Turkish cuisine we use for savory pastries made with phyllo sheets (yufka) and various fillings. 

    There are LOTS of börek recipes in Turkey and we name them with their fillings inside, their shapes or the method of cooking.  So when you make the filling with potatoes, you call it potato borek. If the filling is with chicken, you call it chicken borek and so on.

    When you cook the phyllo dough in water first, it is called water borek, su boregi. 

    And this sigara börek or cigarette borek have this name because of their cylindiric shape, which is similar to the shape of cigarette or cigar. 

    So what exactly is sigara boregi?

    Filo sheets are cut into pieces, filled with feta cheese, rolled up and then fried in a pan. It is best when they are served warm as they are crispy and the cheese inside is melting. That being said, they are tasty when served cold too.

    These crispy phyllo rolls are one of the most common mezes or appetizers served at restaurants before a main dish arrives. They are also quite popular at Turkish households as a snack to go with delicious black Turkish tea.

    About The Ingredients

    Phyllo dough, grated mozzarella, crumbled feta cheese, parsley and oil in separate bowls on a light background.

    Phyllo Dough: This is a super thin pastry dough that we use very often to make borek recipes. Traditionally, all Turkish boreks are made with a special dough called yufka, which is thin, soft and flexible. 

    Yufka dough is sold at any market in Turkey but you might not find it easily in your area. So the best option to substitute yufka is phyllo dough, also known is filo dough. 

    Unlike yufka, phyllo sheets dry out very fast after they are removed from their pack. So make sure to cover them with a damp kitchen towel to prevent them from drying when you are working with one of them.

    Another substitute for yufka dough to make sigara boregi is spring roll pastries. They are already sold in squares, so you might find it easier to work with.

    Cheese: We use a mixture of feta cheese (Turkish beyaz peynir) and grated mozzarella. They go really well together in these crispy pastries. You can get creative and make a cheese mixture with Turkish cottage cheese called lor peyniri, halloumi cheese (hellim peyniri) and Turkish kasar cheese. 

    It is possible to use cream cheese or labneh too, but they might easily ooze when frying the filo rolls, so we don't prefer them.

    Parsley: It gives a nice herby touch to the sigara börek cheese filling. We do love the combination of cheese and parsley but you can substitute spinach for it if you want.

    Oil: This is to fry these filo cheese rolls. We use either sunflower oil or vegetable oil. Light olive oil is fine too.

    A collage of two pictures showing how to cut triangle filo sheets and rolling them up.

    A Word On Yufka: They are large and round in shape. You can easily cut it into triangles when making sigara boregi. Slice it with a sharp knife or a pizza cutter just like you slice a pizza. And then stuff the yufka triangles with the filling. Alternatively, you might find pre-cut yufka triangles in packs at Middle Eastern markets.

    How To Make The Recipe

    These Turkish cheese rolls recipe has four easy parts: Making the filling, cutting the phyllo sheets, rolling them up with the cheese filling and frying.

    Before starting to make sigara boregi, make sure to thaw the phyllo dough if it is frozen by keeping it at room temperature for 2-3 hours.

    Prepare the filling: In a medium mixing bowl, combine crumbled feta cheese and mozzarella with chopped parsley.

    A collage of two pictures showing how to brush filo sheets with water.

    Cut the phyllo sheets into squares: Place a phyllo sheet on a flat surface. Cover the remaining sheets with a damp kitchen towel to prevent them from drying out. Brush the filo sheet with water. Place another sheet right on this one.

    A collage of two images showing how to cut filo dough sheets.

    Brush it with water as well. Now cut it into 4 equal pieces using a knife. Don't forget to cover the filo sheets with a kitchen towel each time you get one to stuff and roll.

    A collage of six pictures showing how to roll filo sheets.

    Make the rolls: Put a square-shaped filo sheet on the counter like a diamond shape. And put about 1 and ½ tablespoons cheese mixture on the  bottom side leaving some room at each side. Fold the bottom tip over the cheese.

    Then fold both sides on this one and make a tight roll. Brush the top edge with water so that it sticks when rolled. Roll it up and put it aside. Repeat these steps for the remaining phyllo dough sheets. 

    A collage of two pictures showing how to fry filo feta rolls.

    Fry the rolls: Heat oil in a pan (about 2 inches of oil) and fry the phyllo cheese rolls in batches until they get golden on all sides. It takes about 5-7 minutes. Make sure you transfer them on paper towel to remove the excessive oil. Serve them warm. Yummy!

    If you want more ideas with filo dough, check out our Turkish baklava, homemade baklava and all the other filo dough recipes we love!

    Tips

    • Remember to cover the phyllo dough sheets with a damp kitchen towel after removing them from the package so that they won't dry out.
    • Make sure to secure the filling well to prevent the cheese from oozing when frying.
    • Don't overfill the rolls, otherwise the cheese filling will easily ooze.
    • If the cheese starts to ooze when frying your sigara börek, it will splatter hot oil. So be careful not to burn your hands.
    • Don't overcrowd the pan, otherwise the temperature of the oil will reduce and your rolls won't be fried well.
    Cheese rolls served with a small bowl of yogurt sauce.

    Serving Suggestions

    We make this sigara börek recipe quite often since it caters us in many occasions. They make an easy and tasty meze, especially when served with an simple yogurt sauce on the side. 

    We sometimes serve them with a thick cacik and sometimes with a mixture of yogurt, mint and red pepper flakes. It makes a fresh and healthy company to the fried feta rolls at lunch too. You can also serve them with a fresh salad.

    It is often served as a part of meze platter and it is accompanied by kisir salad, biber dolma or cikofte.

    Storage

    The best part of these delicious Turkish cheese rolls is that you can roll up a good batch and store them for later.

    You can keep them in the fridge for a week. It’s really time saving when you have a party at home. Fry them when your guests are about to arrive and serve them warm. Make sure you keep the uncooked phyllo rolls in an airtight container in the fridge though.

    These sigara börek rolls are perfect to freeze uncooked. Place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. They shouldn't be touching one another. Let them sit in the freezer for about 30 minutes. Then put them in freezer bags and store for up to 6 months.

    You don't need to thaw them when you are ready to fry the frozen sigara boregi. Make sure they are stored properly in the freezer and are not icy. Otherwise, the oil will splatter.

    Hands showing the melty cheese inside siaga bore

    FAQs

    Can I change the sigara borek filling?

    Sure, you can. Sigara boregi is traditionally made with a cheese filling but you can make it with boiled and mashed potatoes too.
    If you are one of those folks who likes meat in almost any food, try putting chopped salami, sausage or sujuk and cheese on the phyllo triangles and roll them up!

    What type of cheese for sigara böreği?

    You can use whatever cheese you like. Some of our favorites are Turkish cheeses such as beyaz peynir (feta), tulum cheese, kasar cheese.

    Can I make sigara böreği with puff pastry?

    Turkish people traditionally use fresh yufka sheets, which are similar to phyllo pastry sheets. Although it won't be sigara borek, you can use puff pastry and bake them in oven instead if that's what you want. You will have to brush their top with beaten yolk and bake them at 350F/180C for 20 minutes.

    Can I make them in the oven instead of frying?

    Yes. You can! Bake them in the oven if you want them lighter. This works very well too. Just make sure you brush their top with beaten egg yolk. Bake them at 350F/180C for 20-25 minutes.

    More Turkish Pastries

    • Pide Bread
    • Bazlama Bread
    • Manti (Turkish Dumplings)

    Other Recipes with Feta Cheese

    • Spinach and Feta Grilled Cheese
    • Feta Stuffed Peppers
    • Haydari
    • Pogaca

    As always: If you make this recipe, let us know what you think by rating it and leaving a comment below. And post a pic on Instagram too—tag @give_recipe so we can see!

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    📖 Recipe

    Feta rolls served with a small bowl of yogurt dip in the middle.
    5 from 4 votes

    Sigara Boregi (Turkish Cheese Rolls)

    By Zerrin & Yusuf
    Sigara Börek are crispy filo rolls filled with cheese and parsley. Incredibly tasty snack both for kids and adults.
    Yields: 16
    Prevent your screen from going dark
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    PREP 20 minutes mins
    COOK 14 minutes mins
    TOTAL 34 minutes mins

    INGREDIENTS
      

    • 1 cup feta cheese crumbled
    • 1 cup mozzarella grated
    • ¼ cup parsley chopped
    • 8 pieces phyllo sheets thawed
    • 1 tablespoon water to brush the phyllo sheets
    • ½ cup oil to fry the boreks

    INSTRUCTIONS
     

    • Before starting to make sigara boregi, make sure to thaw the phyllo dough if it is frozen by keeping it at room temperature for 2-3 hours.
    • Prepare the filling: In a medium mixing bowl, combine feta cheese and mozzarella with chopped parsley.
    • Cut the phyllo sheets into squares: Place a phyllo sheet on a flat surface. Cover the remaining sheets with a damp kitchen towel to prevent them from drying out. Brush the filo sheet with water. Place another sheet right on this one. Brush it with water as well. Now cut it into 4 equal pieces using a knife. Don't forget to cover the filo sheets with a kitchen towel each time you get one to stuff and roll.
    • Make the rolls: Put a square-shaped filo sheet on the counter like a diamond shape. And put about 1 and ½ tablespoons cheese mixture on the  bottom side leaving some room at each side. Fold the bottom tip over the cheese. Then fold both sides on this one and make a tight roll. Brush the top edge with water so that it sticks when rolled. Roll it up and put it aside. Repeat these steps for the remaining phyllo dough sheets. 
    • Fry the rolls: Heat oil in a pan (about 2 inches of oil) and fry the phyllo cheese rolls in batches until they get golden on all sides. It takes about 5-7 minutes. Make sure you transfer them on paper towel to remove the excessive oil. Serve them warm. Yummy!

    NOTES

    • Remember to cover the phyllo dough sheets with a damp kitchen towel after removing them from the package so that they won't dry out.
    • Make sure to secure the filling well to prevent the cheese from oozing when frying.
    • Don't overfill the rolls, otherwise the cheese filling will easily ooze.
    • If the cheese starts to ooze when frying your sigara börek, it will splatter hot oil. So be careful not to burn your hands.
    • Don't overcrowd the pan, otherwise the temperature of the oil will reduce and your rolls won't be fried well.
    • To prepare a simple yogurt sauce: Mix Greek yogurt, red pepper flakes and dried mint well. And serve this in a bowl on the side of your sigara borek.

    NUTRITION

    Calories: 110kcalCarbohydrates: 1gProtein: 3gFat: 11gSaturated Fat: 3gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0.03gCholesterol: 14mgSodium: 154mgPotassium: 17mgFiber: 0.04gSugar: 0.1gVitamin A: 166IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 83mgIron: 0.2mg

    Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

    ADDITIONAL INFO

    Course Snack
    Cuisine Turkish
    Tried this recipe? Leave a comment below!

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

      5 from 4 votes

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      Recipe Rating




    1. Zerrin says

      April 05, 2009 at 9:35 am

      Daily Spud - It was absolutely wonderful with beer.

      Stru - Thanks for this information.

      Sophie- Glad you like it. You can try it with the beer you mentioned in your blog.

      lisaiscooking - It is also perfect for watching movies.

      Reeni - So crispy...This is the keyword for these rolls.

      Mely - You're right, I understand that I should write a post on Turkish cheese. I'm planning to add it soon.

      Sophia- Cinnamon and brown sugar is a wonderful idea! Never thought it, bur I should try. I sometimes eat it dipping into yogurt.

      Reply
    2. Sophia says

      April 05, 2009 at 6:14 am

      yummy! I'd bet this will also be good as a sweet snack sprinkled with cinnamon and brown sugar.

      Reply
    3. melycastaneda says

      April 05, 2009 at 4:32 am

      Hi, Zerrin,

      I would love to see a post on greek or turkish cheese.
      Is this goat cheese?

      Thanks!

      Mely

      Reply
    4. Reeni says

      April 04, 2009 at 4:40 pm

      They look so crispy, flaky and delicious! The perfect snack to munch on!

      Reply
    5. lisaiscooking says

      April 04, 2009 at 5:10 am

      These look delicious! Perfect snacks for watching sports. The filling sounds great.

      Reply
    6. Sophie says

      April 04, 2009 at 2:57 am

      MMMMM...Zerrin!! these rolls look so lovely & yummie: I love it!! Thanks!!

      Reply
    7. stru says

      April 03, 2009 at 5:11 pm

      White cheese is just a milk or butter cheese.

      Reply
    8. Daily Spud says

      April 03, 2009 at 2:06 pm

      Those sound like an excellent beer snack - I must remember to keep some phyllo pastry on hand!

      Reply
    9. Zerrin says

      April 03, 2009 at 9:21 am

      Thank you all for your comments. These cigarette boreks were definitely tasty, they didn't last long that night.

      Lauren- I'm not sure how I can describe white cheese except its color. It's a very common cow cheese here, I really don't know how it's made. But you can use any kind of cheese in these cigarette boreks.

      Reply
    10. vrinda says

      April 02, 2009 at 6:29 pm

      Looks delicious and crispy with few ingredients...

      Reply
    11. Sara says

      April 02, 2009 at 5:53 pm

      These look delicious, I love phyllo - so crispy and tasty!

      Reply
    12. OysterCulture says

      April 02, 2009 at 4:48 pm

      oh, these little beauties would get me in trouble. They look so delicious. I'm bookmarking so may of these for when my hubby comes back.

      Reply
    13. Lauren says

      April 02, 2009 at 3:23 pm

      what is white cheese?
      I like this. reminds me of taquitos but way nicer.

      Reply
    14. Diana says

      April 02, 2009 at 2:56 pm

      These would not last long in my home. A nice treat.

      Reply
    15. Natasha - 5 Star Foodie says

      April 02, 2009 at 12:28 pm

      ooo, perfect snack - crunchy and cheesy! Yum!

      Reply
    Newer Comments »

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    Zerrin & Yusuf

    Meet Zerrin and Yusuf Gunaydin: The couple behind this blog. We bring Turkish food into your kitchen! From kebabs to desserts, everything you crave is here.

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    Zerrin & Yusuf

    Meet Zerrin and Yusuf Gunaydin: The couple behind this blog. We bring Turkish food into your kitchen! From kebabs to desserts, everything you crave is here.

    More about us→

    POPULAR RECIPES

    • Chicken seasoning in a glass jar and a small spoon in it.
      Dry Rub For Chicken - Chicken Seasoning
    • Turkish bean stew in a dark colored bowl and a spoon inside it.
      Kuru Fasulye Recipe (Turkish Beans)
    • Roasted tomato soup topped with feta cheese and basil leaves in a white bowl, grilled cheese sandwich dipped into it and more grilled cheese sandwiches behind it.
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    • Turkish chicken dish with a tomato sauce served in a bowl and a fork inside it.
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    • Baked chicken wings on a rack.
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