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Let's make a truly authentic gozleme — Turkish flatbread with fillings! This is our family recipe that was passed down for at least five generations. No yeast, all-flavor with three tasty filling options: spinach-feta, plant-based mince, or spicy potato! Incidentally vegan with a gluten-free option.
Jump to:
- 📋 What is gözleme and where does it come from?
- 🧂 The dough
- 🍄 Gözleme fillings
- ❗Top Tip
- 🥙 Assembling
- 🍽 Cooking, serving, and storing gözleme
- 🎥 Gozleme step-by-step video
- 💭 Other Turkish recipes...
- 📖 Recipe
- 💬 Comments
📋 What is gözleme and where does it come from?
Think of gözleme as Turkey’s response to a quesadilla. It is a no-yeast flatbread with fillings. Simple and delicious.
The main reason why you will always be able to find a gozleme stand no matter where you are in Turkey has to be how absolutely delicious it is although being super simple to make and endlessly versatile. Have flour, water, and salt? The dough is done. Have anything to fill it with, like potatoes or greens or cheese? Gozleme is sorted.
We don’t know exactly how long it’s been around, but the oldest reference to the word is from a Persian-Turkish dictionary (Lugat-i Halimi), published in 1477. The word itself comes from közleme — meaning “to cook on embers”. This is exactly how my lovely great-grandmother Saniyecan cooks hers with the help of a saj.
It is my go-to comfort food. Nothing reminds me of home more, mainly because it is what Saniyecan made for us every single time we visited the village. Her mother, my great-great-grandmother, did the same before she passed.
I bring Saniyecan's gozlemes with me back to the US each time I travel. I try not to think about the food safety risks of the 24+ hour journey from our Aegean village to southern California.
This recipe is also an absolute crowd-pleaser. When I made it around the Holidays this past year, everyone got a second helping and my brother-in-law dubbed it the best vegan food he's ever had!
🧂 The dough
We'll simply mix and knead flour, water, and salt at 65% hydration. You could use a stand-mixer for it, but be careful not to overmix the dough.
The dough for gozleme is traditionally unyeasted, but we still need to rest it for about half an hour to relax the gluten. The relaxed dough should minimally bounce back when poked.
Some gözleme recipes also add olive oil into the dough. When I tried this, the result was still absolutely delicious, but the gozleme was softer and surprisingly less crispy. However, it made working with the dough much easier. So it is completely up to you—traditionally, most Turkish cooks will not add oil into this dough.
You may substitute with gluten-free flour if needed, Bob's Red Mill and King Arthur brand GF flours are the best options in my opinion.
Have a Turkish market nearby you? Grab some frozen yufka, and you can get gozleme ready in a matter of minutes!
🍄 Gözleme fillings
Gozleme can be made with pretty much any filling that goes well together.My personal favorite filling for it is stinging nettle, and my husband recently suggested we make them with a samosa filling (potato and peas with spices)... so the possibilities are pretty much endless! Try it with:
- chard
- mushrooms
- kale
- eggplant
- taco "meat"
- beet
- vegan cheese
- ...or feed your sweet tooth with a Nutella filling & fruit!
Below are the three classics, veganized:
Spinach & Feta
This is the most popular gozleme filling everywhere, for sure.
I like to use frozen spinach because just like our phyllo borek recipe, it makes it very easy to get rid of the water since the freeze-thaw process breaks down cell walls—and this lets you incorporate more greens! Simply thaw the spinach, season with a bit of salt, and squeeze out most of its water.
On the other hand, my great-grandma always uses fresh, chopped spinach, so you certainly can do that as well. I just found that when you’re making a smaller-sized gozleme on a skillet and not a saj, most of the fresh spinach doesn’t get a chance to cook through.
We'll then crumble up vegan feta, and mix into the spinach. You may use any store-bought plant-based feta— just be aware that if the base of it is a type of oil, most of it will melt during cooking and become invisible when hot.
Mince
This is possibly the second most popular filling and super simple to veganize! I love using vegan mince like Impossible or Beyond Meat, but you could certainly use whole plant-based foods to substitute. E.g. a walnut-mushroom or lentil mince.
We'll heat up some olive oil, add the onion, season with salt, and cook it down a bit. Then add the mince, and cook for a little longer.
I like to use this one along with a plant-based mozzarella. This is definitely the richest gozleme filling I've ever had!
Potato
I can never say no to carbs on carbs! Especially when it involves potatoes. And Aleppo pepper.This is my husband’s favorite and for good reason.
The main trick with this one is to make sure to start boiling the potato in cold, unsalted water. In fact, all starchy vegetables should be boiled starting in cold water.
Set aside the boiled potatoes, chop scallions, and prepare a spice mix. We’re adding salt, pul biber (Aleppo pepper), paprika, and cayenne. It’s quite spicy but I love it that way! Feel free to modify to suit your palate, if you don’t have any Aleppo pepper, regular chili flakes will do.
❗Top Tip
All starchy vegetables should be boiled starting in cold, unsalted water. When my mom told me this years ago, I thought it was one of those Turkish cooking myths (we do have many) and completely ignored her.
Then I happened to read the same advice in Harold McGee's "On Food and Cooking" with a complete breakdown of the food science behind it. Basically, if you start with hot water, the starchy vegetables' outsides will get mushy before the insides get a chance to cook through. Salt has a similar effect, so season your starchy veggies after they're boiled. This is one of those few times where the old advice to season your food at every stage to increase flavor doesn't apply.
🥙 Assembling
When the fillings are cooling/ready, we'll start rolling out the dough. Simply divide the rested dough into eight, each ball will weigh ~82grams. This is perfect for small gozlemes cooked on a regular skillet, however, if you indeed do have a saj or a large skillet—feel free to divide it into larger balls!
Roll out each ball into an approximately 8-in diameter and make sure it's super-duper thin. 1/32in (1-2mm) is ideal. The edges don't need to be perfect as they'll be folded in.
Keep in mind that if you are folding the gozleme to make squares, layers of dough underneath will take longer to cook through. Cook it on lower heat so that the outside doesn’t burn.
Alternatively, you can assemble them into half-moon shapes, which are more traditional but harder to work with on a regular-sized skillet.
🍽 Cooking, serving, and storing gözleme
We'll heat a bit of olive oil on a skillet over medium-high heat. Get multiple pans going to shorten the cooking time.
Then, cook gozleme on each side for 3-5 minutes until golden and crispy on both sides. A little charring is totally okay—most authentic gozleme will have it!
Serve immediately plain, or with pepper spread on the side. Lemon wedges are actually not popular with gozleme in Turkey, but they do go quite well in my opinion! Turkish tea or ayran would be delicious with gozleme as well.
Although best when enjoyed fresh, our authentic gozleme will keep for a few days in the refrigerator and you may freeze it in airtight bags for up to three months. Reheat on a skillet the same way, or heat up a large batch in the oven at 375°F for 12-15 minutes.
🎥 Gozleme step-by-step video
💭 Other Turkish recipes...
Looking for other Turkish recipes? Try:
- Ispanakli borek (spanakopita / spinach pie)
- Stuffed bell peppers (dolma)
- Zucchini fritters (mucver)
Don’t forget to let me know in the comments if you make this authentic gozleme recipe. I make sure to respond to each one. Afiyet olsun (bon appétit)!
You can also save it for later onPinterest, and keep in touch with me onYouTube,Instagram, or by sending anemail.
📖 Recipe
Gozleme
- Author: Gonul
- Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
- Yield: 8 Gozlemes 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Description
Let's make a truly authentic gozleme — Turkish flatbread with fillings! This is our family recipe that was passed down for at least five generations. No yeast, all-flavor with three tasty filling options: spinach-feta, plant-based mince, or spicy potato! Incidentally vegan with a gluten-free option.
Ingredients
Scale
Dough (makes 8 small gozlemes, as pictured)
- 2.75 cups (400g) all-purpose flour (Note 1)
- ½ tsp (3g) table salt, double if using kosher
- 1 cup + 4 teaspoon (260ml) water
- extra flour for shaping and rolling the dough (½ cup)
Choose One Filling (each option makes enough filling for 8 small gozlemes)
Spinach:
- 4 cups (900g / 32 oz) frozen spinach, thawed and strained (Note 2)
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 cup (200g) plant-based feta (Note 3)
Mince:
- 1.5 cups (300g) plant-based ground beef (Note 4)
- 1 large onion (300g), finely chopped
- ¼ tsp salt
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- Optional: ½ cup plant-based mozzarella shreds
Potato:
- 4 medium Russet potatoes (800g), boiled and peeled (See Note 5)
- 2 bunches of scallions (~10 stems), chopped
- 2 tbsp Aleppo pepper (See Note 6)
- ½ tsp paprika
- ½ tsp cayenne
- ½ tsp salt
For Cooking & Serving:
- ½ tsp olive oil per each gozleme
- lemon wedges
Instructions
Dough:
- Add flour, salt, and water into a large bowl and mix with a wooden spoon until well combined, usually takes 1-2 minutes. Hand-knead for about 10 minutes (or 4 minutes with stand-mixer on medium-speed) until the texture is no longer sticky and becomes smooth.
- Cover and rest for at least half an hour for the gluten to relax.
- The relaxed dough should minimally bounce back when poked. Divide into 8 pieces and shape them into balls using your palms. Set aside the balls until it’s time to roll them out.
Fillings:
Each filling option ingredients are listed to be enough for 8 small gozlemes (82g ball of dough each); so choose only ONE, or make ½ or ⅓ batches to try more filling options!
Spinach:
- Squeeze out most of the water from the thawed spinach and season with salt.
- Crumble up vegan feta and mix into the spinach.
Mince:
- Heat the olive oil in a large skillet on medium-high heat. Add the onion, season with salt, and cook it down for about 5 minutes.
- Add the mince, and cook for another 5 minutes or so.
- Cool before using. Mix in the plant-based mozzarella if desired.
Potato:
- Grate the boiled and peeled potatoes into a medium-sized mixing bowl after they are cooled.
- Mix in the chopped scallions, Aleppo pepper, cayenne, paprika, and salt.
Assembly:
- Liberally dust the work surface and rolling pin with flour and roll out each ball as thinly as you can. 1-2mm thickness is ideal. The original recipe that calls for 82g balls can be rolled into an 8-in (20-cm) diameter circle. The edges don’t need to look perfect since they’ll be folded in.
- Spread filling into the middle of the dough in a square shape. Fold all sides over like a parcel and lightly press down the edges to seal.
- Sprinkle flour on a cutting board or pizza paddle. Slide the gozleme onto the board to make transferring onto the cooking surface easier.
Cooking & Serving:
- Over medium-high heat, heat up ½ teaspoon of olive oil in a skillet. Get as many pans going as you have space for on the stovetop to shorten the cooking time.
- Place gozleme into skillet. Cook on each side for about 3-5 minutes until golden and crispy on both sides. A little charring is common.
- Serve them immediately plain or with a pepper spread on the side. Although not popular in Turkey, some like to squeeze lemon as well. I recommend enjoying them with Turkish tea or vegan ayran.
- Although best when enjoyed fresh, gozleme will keep for a few days in the refrigerator and you may freeze it in airtight bags for up to three months. Reheat on a skillet the same way, or heat up a large batch in the oven at 375°F for 12-15 minutes.
Notes
- Can be made with gluten-free flour. If necessary, I highly recommend using King Arthur or Bob’s Red Mill measure-for-measure GF flours. The small-sized gozlemes are perfect if you make them GF as the dough will be more prone to tears while kneading due to a lack of robust structure traditionally provided by gluten. 65% hydration is ideal for both regular and gluten-free versions.
- Can be substituted with fresh spinach by tripling the volume measurement (cups) and cooking it down. Freezing and thawing makes it easy to squeeze out the excess water. My great-grandmother always uses fresh spinach, but she also cooks gozleme on a sac with lots of surface area where the filling can perfectly cook through. However, I found that on a regular-sized skillet, most of the spinach stays raw. If using mature fresh spinach with hard stems, make sure not to add them here.
- I like the Violife or Trader Joe’s brands if using store-bought vegan feta. However, when heated through as with this recipe, they both melt due to their first ingredient being coconut oil. You can make your own with a tofu or almond base as well.
- Any store-bought plant-based mince would work. In my experience, Impossible Meat tastes closest to the real deal. You can use my walnut and mushroom vegan mince recipe for a healthier and more accessible option as well!
- Always boil your root vegetables by starting them in cold, unsalted water. This ensures that the inside can cook through before the edges of the vegetable become mushy. I like the starchy Russet for gozleme, but feel free to substitute with any type of potato you like.
- Aleppo (aka pul biber) is a bright, fruity type of chili flakes commonly consumed in the Eastern Mediterranean. If you ever decide to build a Turkish pantry, make sure to start with Aleppo or Urfa pepper flakes—ideally both. Feel free to substitute with regular chili flakes if not available.
- Prep Time: 1 hour
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Turkish, Snack, Lunch, Dinner, Breakfast
- Method: Cook
- Cuisine: Turkish
