Cheese sambousek is a Middle Eastern fried appetizer with shredded cheese, samosa wrappers, and frying oil. It is freezer-friendly and easy to make—just stuff, wrap, and fry!

What I Love About This Recipe

I love how easy and delicious this recipe is. The cheese stuffing can be customized, and the samosas can be bath prepared and frozen ahead of time. My favorite cheese to use for samosas is a Syrian cheese called msannara. It's a slightly saltier cheese that softens but doesn't melt when heated. It's made with nigella seeds, so the soft crumbly texture of the cheese mixed with the little crunch from the seeds makes a wonderful pair.

Ingredients Notes

Samosa Wrapper: You'll find these thin sheets of phyllo dough in the frozen section of your local supermarket. They come in different shapes and sizes, and I usually like to use thin long strips because they're the easiest to shape. If you can't find them anywhere, you can use spring roll wrappers instead and cut them into strips.
Oil: You'll need any type of oil with a high smoke point. Some options are canola oil, vegetable oil, and frying oil.

Cheese: I usually use Syrian msannara cheese for this recipe, but it's really up to you when it comes to which cheese to stuff these samosas with. Some people like stretchy, melty cheese, like mozzarella, and others like soft and crumbly cheese, like feta.

Here are some cheese options that I love using:

Shelal Cheese: Slightly salty, and melts into the perfectly stretchy cheese pull. It's a very common Syrian breakfast cheese and is usually made with nigella seeds.
Mozzarella: For a more neutral flavor and the ultimate cheese pull. For best results, use fresh mozzarella cut into strips slightly smaller than the size of your spring roll pastry.
Cheddar: If you're a fan of sharper cheeses, cheddar cheese is the way to go. I personally like white cheddar, but you can use any type you like.
Akkawi: A mild white cheese that's one of the most common in Middle Eastern baking (both sweet and savory). It's a really good melting cheese and will give a slightly sweeter taste.
Feta or White Cheese: A non-melting cheese, but the saltiness in feta and other types of white cheese are great on their own, or you can pair them with olives or dried mint for an extra special samosa.
Kashskaval: One of my favorite yellow cheeses. It has a unique flavor with a hint of olive oil so it's great on its own or with some smoked turkey or other cold cuts. It also melts beautifully.

How To Make Cheese Samosas

Thaw the samosa wrappers if frozen. Prepare the shredded cheese or cheese mixture. Prepare the workstation for rolling samosas and get a small bowl with water (to seal the samosa wrappers).

Lay your samosa wrapper flat out in front of you, vertically. Place around a spoon and a half, depending on the size of your wrappers, of your choice of cheese at the end of the wrapper (the end that's closest to you). Fold the wrapper upwards onto the filling so it forms a triangle shape.

Fold again, keeping it in a triangle shape, and repeat until you reach the end of the wrapper. Dip your finger into warm water, wet the end of the wrapper, and seal the samosa.

Heat up the frying oil where if you dip the edge of a samosa inside the oil, bubbles will form. Place the samosas into the frying oil and flip once golden brown. Remove with a slotted spoon onto a paper-lined plate.

Serve immediately hot!

Tips And Tricks

Keep the samosa wrappers covered. Use a towel to cover your samosa wrappers while you work to keep them soft and fresh. They dry out fast and will start cracking if left out for too long.
Don't overfill your samosas. When working with cheese, you really want to stuff them only until slightly full, otherwise, your samosas will explode when they start frying.
Seal samosas with warm water. Have a bowl of warm water to dip your fingers in when you're on the last fold. Wet the end of the samosa wrapper and press the surfaces together. Make sure it's sealed properly so none of the cheese seeps out.
Place the samosas on a paper towel after frying. The paper towels absorb any excess oil. This makes sure your samosas stay crispy and fresh, and avoid getting soggy.
Serve immediately. You don't want a soggy samosa, so fry right before serving. You can make them in advance and store them in the fridge overnight then fry them the next day. Also, these cheese samosas last in the freezer for up to 3 months. Just pull them out, defrost, and get frying.

Substitutions and Variations

I sometimes make a big batch of cheese samosas with different fillings, and I like to use a couple of different cheeses. You can even mix a couple of different cheeses together.
Add some chopped jalapenos or spicy pepper to the shredded cheese for some spice. Or use some chili pepper flakes.

Storage

These cheese samosas can be batch prepared and frozen for up to 3 months. Just don't fry. Roll the cheese samosa wrappers and place them in a freezer-friendly storage container or bag. This way you can pull them out of the freezer, defrost, and fry them to crispy golden perfection whenever you want.

Also, this cheese samosa recipe can be prepared a day ahead and stored in the fridge overnight in an airtight container.

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