Cheese Lovers Samosas (Samboosak)
A stringy, ooey, gooey mixture of mozzarella, feta and cream cheese wrapped in a crunchy samosa dough pocket. These fun-filled triangles are the perfect appetizer for cheese lovers. Could be made with phyllo. Freezes impressively well!
It’s savory recipe time y’aaaaaaall! Finally!
Which meeeeeans…cheese has got to be involved!
Ofcourse. What else?
If you’ve been following along through my baby 8 months of blogging, you’ve probably noticed a pattern here. Out of the 4 lonely savory recipes I’ve shared, 100% of them include cheese.
Can you blame me? Gooey, molteny, cheesy mess is just too hard to resist. Evidence here, here, here and here.
And now comes this…
CHEESE LOVERS SAMOSAS…because one type of cheese, just won’t do. We’re going with THREE!
Mozzarella. Cream cheese. Feta.
Cradled in the crunchiest, pastry pocket.
Can we just cut to the chase and deem this the real “Love Triangle” already?
Samosas, or as we call them in Egypt, Samboosak, are these thin pastry triangles filled with yummy stuff, then fried (or baked, if you wanna go the innocent route) until golden and crunchy. The filling is usually savory, like minced meat or vegetables, but I’ve tried sweet fillings and OMG yum! How are sweet samosas not a thing?! Let’s make it a thing!
Samosas are believed to have originated in Central Asia, but they’re also super popular in South Asia, the Arabian peninsula, the Mediterranean and some parts of Africa.
They are the nicest appetizer year round, but for some reason, they’re mostly associated with the fasting month of Ramadan. Most often than not, you’ll find a platter of some type of samosa highlighting an Iftar (meal of breaking fast) spread. At least around these parts.
My mom has made a habit of making these incredibly delicious cheese samosas, whenever we’d go over for dinner. Ramadan or not. She knows we love them so much, because they’re always the first thing to disappear. Plus…they’re always a hit with the kiddos!
Ofcourse I had to ask her for the recipe to give it to you, because we’re friends by now. Right? Bless her heart, she was more than happy to share.
The inside of the samosa will remind you of slightly saltier cheese fries. Oh yeah…we’re not kidding around here. But you know how cheese fries become so rubbery after they cool down to the extent of being inedible? Yeaaaaah…well these don’t do that! How awesome is that?! Cream cheese is the key here.
The addition of cream cheese to the mozzarella, keeps the filling nice and soft and creamy, even upon cooling. Just a tiny bit of feta adds saltiness and depth of flavor so it’s not mild and blah. You could use any salty, creamy white cheese of your choice instead or omit it all together. Alternatively, you could swap the mozzarella with any similar melty cheese combo you prefer, like Tex Mex! Feel free to spice the mixture up if you’re in the mood. Italian seasoning, mint, or some heat would be perfect here.
But for your base, here’s what you’ll need:
Samosa sheets (or phyllo. Or spring roll wrappers!), mozzarella, cream cheese, feta, and an edible glue made by combining flour with a little water.
You’ll start by combining the 3 cheeses together.
And now you’re all set to fold!
Now it might seem a little tricky at first to get that perfectly shaped triangle, but I promise you’ll get the hang of it after ruining trying a couple. Here’s a great tutorial that really helped me out; I highly recommend you check it out.
But I’m still bombarding you with step-by-step pictures, nevertheless.
Laying the samosa sheet flat, you’ll grab the top right corner of the sheet, and fold it halfway down to the left side.
Add some of the flour paste to adhere the fold that has formed to the long sheet. Add a little more paste to the right hand side of the sheet. Why so much glue you ask? It traps your cheese filling inside so it doesn’t go anywhere as you fry.
Now bring the triangle that has formed on the left side, down to the right side, landing on the paste you just added. A cone shape should now be formed. You’ll wanna make sure that the corner of the cone is nice and tight and doesn’t have a big hole, so the filling doesn’t escape during frying.
Now cup that cone in your hand and start filling with the cheese mixture using your other hand. A tablespoon and half is a good amount. You don’t want to skimp on the filling, but you don’t want to overfill it either or it could ooze out during frying. Tip: Use a small ice cream scoop to fill; makes releasing the cheese mixture a breeze.
Now lay the filled cone/sheet back onto the working surface, and lightly flatten the filling with your hand. Dab some more of the flour paste on all the remaining sides.
Now all there’s left to do is fold down the filled cone to the left side, then fold down once again to the right side. See that little tail sticking out? Just stick it to the triangle. Perfect! No? Didn’t quite get it? Then keep scrolling for a little GIF…
Flip, stick, flop, fill, stick, flip, flop, flip…Done!
Now keep them nice and cold in the freezer until you’re ready to fry, or save them in there for a rainy day! Freezing is a little extra insurance that the cheese will not seep out while frying, but you could still fry right away if you want:)
Here’s the thing; we’re not deep frying here…we’re only using juuuuust enough oil to cover less than half way up the samosas. This will prevent the cheese filling from getting all rebellious and wanting to escape. Also…makes it diet food…teeehhheeee:)))
A few minutes on each side and VOILA!
All ready to grace the iftar table. Now bring on the dates and karkadeh (a traditional Ramadani hibiscus drink).
Oh my Gosh! Yum!
Remember when I said it will remind you of the inside of cheese fries?
Which brings me…Ummm…WHERE’S THAT MARINARA DIP?!!!
Three Cheese Samosas (Samboosak)

A stringy, ooey, gooey mixture of mozzarella, feta and cream cheese wrapped in a crunchy samosa dough pocket. These fun-filled triangles are the perfect appetizer for cheese lovers. Could be made with phyllo! *Consider doubling the recipe and storing them in the freezer for whenever you need some.
Ingredients
- 22 samosa sheets, about half of a 500g package (could be substituted with phyllo dough or spring roll wrappers. *See note), thawed
For the filling:
- 350g/ 12.4oz (3 cups) mozzarella cheese (similar melty cheese may be substituted), shredded
- 8 squares Kiri or 113g/ 4oz cream cheese, softened
- 1 1/2 tablespoons (21g/ 3/4oz) creamy, salty white cheese, like creamy feta, barameely or istanboli
To seal the dough:
- 2 1/2 tablespoons (19g) all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons water
For frying:
- Neutral tasting oil like vegetable, sunflower, corn or canola oill
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, mash together with a fork the cream cheese and salty white cheese until smooth. Add the mozzarella cheese and stir together until well combined. Set aside.
- In a small bowl, stir together the flour and water until smooth and form a paste similar in consistency to white glue.
- Working with one samosa sheet at a time, keep the rest covered under a tea towel, to prevent from drying out. (*If using phyllo or spring roll wrapper, please see note below)
- To fold and fill the sheet, follow the instructions on the back of package or please refer to the pictured instructions in the post above or watch this tutorial. Start by bringing the top right corner of the sheet, halfway down to the left side. From the top, you should be able to see a triangle forming underneath. Add some of the flour paste to adhere the fold that has formed to the long sheet. Add a little more paste to the right hand side of the sheet.
- Now bring the triangle that has formed on the left side, down to the right side, landing on the paste you just added. A cone shape should now be formed. Make sure that the corner of the cone is tight and doesn't have a big hole, so the filling doesn't escape during frying.
- Lift the samosa sheet from the working surface and let it rest on the palm of your left hand. With your right hand, using a spoon (I prefer to using a small ice cream scoop for easy release), stuff the cone with about 1 1/2 tablespoons of the cheese mixture.
- Place the filled cone/sheet back onto the working surface, and lightly flatten the filling with your hand. Dab some of the flour paste on all the remaining sides.
- Fold down the filled cone to the left side, then fold down once again to the right side. You should now have a perfect triangle with a little tail sticking out. Bring the tail up and adhere it to the triangle. Now you have a perfectly shaped samosa triangle. Repeat with the remaining sheets.
- Keep the wrapped samosas cold in the freezer until you're ready to fry (at least until you heat the oil) or fully freeze and store in zipper lock bags for up to 1 month. Just let them thaw slightly, for 10 to 15 minutes before frying.
- To fry the samosas, fill a skillet with enough oil just to cover the bottom of the skillet. DO NOT deep fry the samosas in lots of oil or the cheese will ooze out. Heat over medium heat until shimmering.
- Place enough samosas to fill the skillet without overcrowding it. Fry for about 2 to 3 minutes on the first side until golden brown in color, then turn them to the other side and cook for another minute or two until nicely browned as well.
- Transfer to paper towels to drain then arrange on to a serving platter to serve. Best enjoyed while still warm, so the cheese is still ooey and gooey. When cooled, the cheese filling will remain nice and soft but not melty and oozy.
Recipe Notes
- If using phyllo dough, cut each sheet in half from the long side. Working with one half sheet at a time, cover the remaining phyllo with a damp cloth to avoid drying out. Fold each half sheet in half, so you have a double layer, thin rectangular sheet, similar in size to the samosa wrappers. Proceed with step 4. Note that the phyllo fries a lot faster than samosa wrappers.
- Similarly, if using spring roll wrappers, cut accordingly to form a long, thin triangle.
- Filled (not fried) samosas keep really well in the freezer for up to 1 month. You could double (or quadruple) the quantity and store in the freezer in zipper lock bags until needed. Just allow to thaw a little, for about 10 to 15 minutes, until you heat the oil, before frying. They fry really well from frozen.
Measurements Note: All recipes of this site have been developed using weight measurements. Although US volume measurements have been included for your convenience, it is highly encouraged that you weigh your ingredients using a kitchen scale to get the best possible results. Due to the sensitive nature of baking, kitchen scales are proven to yield more accurate and consistent results than measuring cups. Enjoy!
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Let me just say something. You and your mum are brilliant. How have I never thought of folding the pastry into a triangle then filling it?? Whenever I make samboosik the filling flies everywhere during the first fold (especially if the filling is minced meat/chicken/vegetables). And that glue. Brilliant brilliant brilliant. I’ll inform everyone in the family of the this process right away 😉
Jinan! I’ve always thought that the back of the samosa package folding instructions was the only way to go too! That is until I saw a friend fold it this way, but of course I forgot it almost immediately. YouTube came to the rescue! I’m so happy you like this method:)
La verdad es que cuanto más maravillas haces más convencida estoy que tienes unas manos que ya las quisiera yo, soy una simple novata embelesada viendo todo lo que haces. Estas Samosas….simplemente deliciosas. Tomo nota
Besos
Thank you so much Mayte:) Your comments are always so flattering and kind.
Amazing as always..
I tried a sweet samosa recipe before that you are gonna love.. First you cut the samosa vertically, then u fill it with Philadelphia cheese.. You fry it and then you put it in syrup (like katayef syrup) it tastes really good and the size is unbelievably cool
Oh my God Esraa I just ate some of those very ones you’re talking about today! My mom got the recipe for these teeny tiny sweet ones last year & have been making them for us almost everytime we’d go visit in Ramadan. I was actually planning on sharing the recipe here but time got so tight, so will save it till next Ramadan ISA. You are absolutely right…they’re addictive & because they’re so incredibly small, you can’t stop before you’ve eaten 10!
Thank you dear for sharing:)
Very nice! I have a similar recipe pending posting for day after tomorrow. I love these so much. But I made mine with an addition of an egg inside the cheese batter. Not as stringy but still tastes good. I will need to try yours out soon!
I’m sure they’re amazing! Anything with cheese is awesome in my book! I can’t wait to see your recipe:)
These samosas look SO CHEESY and GOOEY! I wish I can pop a few in my mouths now! Thank you for a detail step by step for the wrapping. That is really helpful.
Oh maaaaan…I feel ya! I always have the hardest time trying to stop at just one!
Happy you like the step by step photos:)
No freaking way! Egyptians are just as obsessed about samosas as me!. …wow I think I love you even more! We have qeema (beef mince) filling, potato filling, and sweet samosas filled with coconut, ground almonds, ground pistachio, and raisins! Here is the best part…we even make the samosa leaflets at HOME and we use the same glue to fold it up! For us no Ramadan is complete without samosas. Love love love your post. Keep them coming!
What?!! You make the samosa sheets at home?!!! Whooooaaaa you guys have the skills:)))
The ones with the mince meat happen to be one of my favorite versions. And oh my gosh you make sweet samosas? Turns out I’m not crazy for attempting stuffing them with chocolate after all. Your mixed nut filling reminds me of something we make here called katayif. We stuff this mixture in pancakes, close it up, fry it and drench it it sugar syrup. Heavenly.
OMG this looks like everything I need and more!! How amazing does that ooey gooey stretchy cheese look?! Drooooling and can’t wait to make this soon! x
Oh yeah these are a must make for sure! We just had them again yesterday & our guests just loved them. It’s the gooey versus the crunchy that gets people.
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NOOOOOO i just finished my cheese this morning! oh well what is money for if u dont use it.
Guess its time to restock on the cheese 😀
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Can you be any coooler just fond your blog today and i already looooove you btw am egyption too (iskandaraniya)
Hahahaaaaa thank you Dahlia! I’m glad you think I’m cool lol? I’m so happy you found my blog! Welcome abroad & welcome to all Alexandrians…agda3 nas ??
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I just found your blog and I think i’ve already gained 10lbs!!! Inshallah I can make these and have them actually taste good!! Thank you for the recipe!
Maha I’m so happy you found your way here! I hope you like everything and get a chance to bake along with us. These samboosaks are an indispensable part of our Ramadan table but my mother makes them for us year long. They’re so good! I hope you love them as much as we do ?
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Thank you so much for sharing this amazing recipe… I will try to make them fot this Ramadhan In Sha ALLAH. 🙂
For*
You’re most welcomed Layla! I’m so excited for you to try them. Enjoy:)
Thanx a lot for that new filling method!
We love Sambousak at home but i make the filling using equal amounts of Mozzarella cheese+ Roumy cheese+ Jalapeno Cheddar cheese.
Other times i also make an Indian spicy potato filling.
U should try both and i think u’ll like them more if u like حاجات حرشة ?
I love anything 7eresh? I’ll definitely need to try the mozzarella, roumy & jalapeño cheddar. Sounds like a dynamite combo. Yum! Thanks for sharing.
OMG, this looks amazing. I am gonna make these this weekend 🙂
Thank you Sean! They are a must must try! My biggest advise to you though, is to make sure they’re very well sealed, freeze them beforehand & use as little oil as possibly to fry. All these tricks will help avoid the cheese from oozing out and splattering as you cook them. Enjoy:)
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Hey Tasbih,
Last thursday my classmates Ahreen and natalia came to my house. I tried with your cheese samosak asthier tea time snack and need to ssay it was a sparkling bomb. Eventhough they were not a cheeselovers still your recipe was a big hit. I did a small twist here I added vegetables (carrot,broccoli,beets) so as to make the consisitency more rich enough for them.
I had made them Blue cocktail as thier welcome drink and chicken kabsa for thier lunch and yes,both went good.I will share for you with both links:
http://healthrecipess.weebly.com/recipes/jack-frost-cocktail-recipe
http://www.nestle-family.com/recipes/english/chicken-kabsa_8177.aspx
Yum yum! What a feast?! Everything sounds so delicious! I LOVE kabsa! Thank you so much for sharing the links…so sweet of you. I’m so happy you loved these samosas & I absolutely love your twist. I just can never have enough samosas.
Salam there!
MAshallah your website is just amazing! The pictures are soo impressive mashalah! Yesterday I tried your knafeh with cream and it turned out soooo amazing! I was thrilled as I lived in the middle east for few years and miss the cheese knafeh and all the middle eastern’s mezzeeeeeess ( oh and by the way, your idea of mozarella instead of nabulsi or akkawi just made my day as I was crying out loud for the cheeeeezy knafeh!) So my next recipe will be the cheese knafeh nchalah!
Sorry to post that here, I m actually going through your blog and came accross these wonders! and it reminded me of the karkadeh drink. I Was wondering if you could post karkadeh drink recipe please? I have some and never found a proper recipe. Keep up the good work it s amazing mashallah!
Salam Nanou! It’s so wonderful to hear that your cream knafeh turned out a success. I hope you like the cheesy one just just as much.
I’m so embarrassed so say that I’ve never tried making karkadeh…it’s one of those things that it’s just readily available in Egypt & that actually tastes good. I promise you though, I’ll keep it in mind & experiment with making it from scratch & once I hit the jackpot then I’ll definitely post it here.
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These samosas look SO CHEESY i hope the taste was too awesome.
Thank you! Hope you love them ?
I have always been zeal to make some thing different,we always listen Samosa with Potato stuff, but i had no idea that one day i listen about Cheese Samosa,and after seen, this was how to make it in a professional way. It looks too very delicious.
You Really nice work on it.
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Thank you! I LOVE potato samosas…really itching to make them soon. I hope you get a chance to try this one too.
I have always been enthusiasm to make something different and do some experiment with Samosa’s. As usually we all heard samosa with Potato Stuff. But one day i eat the cheese corn stuff samosa, i really can’t explain, this was the best moment when i ate this type of Samosa and i ate almost 3 samosa, i wish you also would try this in your blog and tell about your experience with the visitors.
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Oh yum! Cheese and corn samosa sounds incredible! I’ll definitely try and get more information about it and make it one day. Thanks for the suggestion 🙂
Hi Tasbih
Your Sweet welcome, and yes, i am also waiting, when you will try this, And its my pleasure to given you a suggestion. 🙂
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I just found your blog and your instagram. I saw that you haven’t been feeling the best and I just wanted to send my well wishes to you. Your recipes all look amazing and I am excited to try out some Egyptian desserts and sweets.
You are the sweetest! Thank you so much for stopping by and leaving your well wishes. I hope you love everything you try from the blog. Enjoy ?
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I like its very clear step step by step
How about using akawi cheese or nabulsi
How to deal with this kind of cheese nabulsi or akawii.
Thank you
I like its very clear step by step
How about using akawi cheese or nabulsi
How to deal with this kind of cheese nabulsi or akawii.
Thank you
Thank you Ahmed! Yes you can use akkawi or nabulsi in place of all or some of the mozzarella. Just soak them in some water first to remove some of the salt because they’re usually super salty. Enjoy ?
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Thanks Guys, Your Recipe Was Too Fantastic. Me and My Family Loved it. I Will Share your Rrecipe with my friends. Hope they will love it too.