7 Ways With Phyllo Dough

You may have used this store-bought pastry dough to make simple appetizers or desserts, but it can do so much more. Buy frozen phyllo dough, then haw it overnight in the refrigerator, and use it for savory or sweet pies, strudels, and appetizers. It flakes, and tastes, just like homemade.

Make an easy meatless appetizer stuffed with veggies. The filling is a mix of ricotta, Parmesan, sun-dried tomatoes and spices that's packaged jelly-roll fashion with small sheets of phyllo. Soak the tomatoes in advance, or substitute well-drained oil-packed sun dried tomato strips.Recipe: Spinach, Sun-Dried Tomato, and Parmesan Rolls

Top a layer of phyllo with a vibrant filling of brown sugar, graham cracker crumbs, cherries, and apricots. They bake in 15 minutes and freeze easily in zip top plastic bags, so make extra to save time when the next craving hits.Recipe: Cherry-Apricot Turnovers

Fancy enough for company but easy to pull off on a weeknight, this no-fuss entrée is made by wrapping sheets of phyllo around whole pork tenderloin. Check to make sure your oven is calibrated to the right temperature if you want the phyllo to brown nicely. Serve with hot mango chutney to bring out the sweet flavor of the phyllo.Recipe: Pork Tenderloin in Phyllo

To make this pie quick enough for a weeknight, use leftover or rotisserie chicken and microwave frozen potatoes and veggies for the filling. The phyllo crust is simplicity itself–just sheets of phyllo layered on top. One assembled, bake time is a quick 30 minutes.Recipe: Chicken Pot Pie

This pretty apple dumpling-like dessert is made by stuffing diced pears, pecans, and a splash of brandy into cored Granny Smith apples and then wrapping each one with a sheet of phyllo sprinkled with cinnamon sugar. No cutting or elaborate twisting required. Add a dollop of whipped topping and serve.Recipe: Apples Baked in Phyllo With Pear-and-Pecan Filling

While plenty of spinach and feta pies are passed off as Greek inventions, this flavorful vegetarian main dish is the real thing. A combination of spinach, tangy mustard greens, sweet fennel, feta and herbs, its flavors are sinfully lush. Even better, the phyllo sheets don't need to be cut or wrapped. This recipe requires a little bit of preparation, but the show-stopping result is a guaranteed pleaser for family dinners or nights when company's coming.Recipe: Greens-and-Cheese Pie (Hortopita)

Why mess with old-fashioned pastry dough when you can make an easier and healthier strudel with sheets of phyllo dough? Even better, the filling is super simple to make with just six ingredients: apples, butter, sugar, golden raisins and cinnamon.Recipe: Apple Strudel