Meat Pie-Kreatotourta is a traditional dish in Chania, Crete. Tender lamb and xinomizithra cheese are enclosed in flaky phyllo and baked in the oven to create a heavenly meat pie. Here, you will find the authentic recipe with great substitutions to make this fabulous dish at home!

If you’re a fan of our delicious Meat Pie from Chania-Kreatotourta, you’re in for a treat with our Cretan Boureki pie, Spinach pie, and Cheese Pie!

A Cretan meat pie Kreatotourta, with a piece taken out.

Why this recipe sings

It’s delicious traditional Cretan food. Tender lamb, xinomizithra cheese and staka are enclosed in flaky pie crust. Then, bake in the oven to create a delicious and decadent meat pie.
It’s easy. This meat pie is surprisingly easy to make. Although we present the traditional recipe with regional ingredients, we also provide great substitutes to make this dish as authentic as possible so you can enjoy the amazing Chania cuisine right in your home.

Here is what you need

A lab shank on a piece of parchment paper, sea salt and pepper, all on a wooden board.

A box with pie crusts, various white cheeses, an egg, sesame seeds, mint sea salt and pepper on wooden table.

Pie crusts—It’s always best, when making a traditional regional recipe, to make your own pie crust. However, there is also a need to be practical when cooking and have choices (necessary for all of us in all aspects of life, especially with women’s healthcare). Please see the ingredients and directions of the traditional recipe for the crust in the recipe notes. Also, check the Cretan technique of opening a pie crust in our kalitsounia recipe. For practicality, I suggest getting two or three packages of good-quality pie crust, preferably made with butter. The one pictured above is a Greek pie crust called kourou, which comes in rectangular pieces. The American pie crusts might come in round pieces, so you need more sheets to cover the pan (please see recipe notes).
Lamb– can be any meaty cut, shoulder or leg with the bone if possible.
Xinomizithra cheese– this is a soft sour cheese from Crete. It’s often used in Cretan savory pies or salads (check our dakos recipe with tomatoes and capers). See below for a suitable substitution.
Tiromalama cheese– a white soft cheese, tough to find even in Athens. It’s like a raw gruyere. Please see below.
Staka– it’s the cream from milk solids mixed with flour. It is exclusive to Crete. Please see below.
Spearmint– the aromatic herb suits this lamb meat pie perfectly.
Butter—to butter the baking pan. Use salted or unsalted, whatever you like.
An egg– lightly beaten to brush the top.
Sesame seeds– to sprinkle on the pie
Sea salt and pepper–simple, humble seasoning with maximum results.

Substitutions & Helpful Tips

Xinomizithra cheese. To mimic this excellent white sour soft cheese, mix three parts whole-fat ricotta with one part strong goat cheese.
Tiromalama cheese. This soft white cheese is like raw graviera-gruyere cheese. Substitute tiromalama with cubed mild, sweet gruyere.
Staka. This exclusive creamy dairy wonder is impossible to get unless in Crete. I substitute with stakovoutiro, which is unfortunately hard to find in the US. Your best bet is good-quality goat butter or cow butter.
Use your leftover lamb roast to make this recipe. Warm a cup of beef stock and add to the lamb while shredding it until it feels moist enough.
Try it with pork. Make our pork steaks and use the meat for this pie. Also, use the leftovers from our pork and beans.

How to make it

Start with the filling

Simmer the lamb over medium heat in a pot of salted water for about one hour until tender.      
Transfer the meat to a platter and shred it into small pieces. Season it with sea salt and freshly ground pepper.

Preheat the oven to 190°C / 375°F

Four images, a buttered pan, a blade cutting dough at the edge of the pan, a pan with crust at the bottom and a blade cutting vertically a piece of crust.

Butter the pan.
Place your pan on one pie crust and trace a circle with a sharp knife.
Transfer the circle to the bottom of the pan.
Take another pie crust and trace rectangular pieces as wide as the sides of your pan.

Four images. A hand pressing dough in a pan, a pan lined with crust, a bowl with lamb and cheese and a pan filled with lamb cheese and crust.

Cover the sides of your pan with the rectangular pieces, pressing lightly to connect where the bottom and sides meet. Patch up any holes with small pieces of crust; it doesn’t have to be perfect.
Lightly brush the crust with butter, add the filling, and spread it evenly.
Place the shredded lamb in a deep mixing bowl with the cheese, staka and chopped spearmint leaves. Mix well. Season with sea salt and pepper.
Add the filling to the pie.

Four images. A pan covered with a piece of crust, brushing egg wash on crust, a pie brushed with butter and sesame, a baked meat pie.

Cover the filling with a piece of pie crust. Trim it with scissors if necessary, leaving about half an inch of extra crust over the pan.
Press with your fingers to join the edges of the two crusts at the edge and create a border. Brush the top with the egg wash.
Sprinkle the sesame seeds all over.
Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until the bottom of the pie is baked.

Serving suggestions

This meat pie is excellent as the main or as a shared dish. Serve it with:

A large green salad like maroulosalata.
Traditional Greek salad with tomatoes, cucumber, and olives.
Horta-Greek boiled wild greens with ladolemono.
Roasted lemon potatoes.
Marinated olives.
Gemista-Greek stuffed vegetables.
Papoutsakia-Roasted Eggplant with tomato bechamel sauce.

Storage suggestions

This Cretan meat pie will keep in the refrigerator for up to three days. Store pie pieces in freezer-friendly containers and freeze for up to three months.