Kunafa Recipe is known as Queen of Arabic dessert. It is most royal and supreme dessert made up of mozzarella cheese and vermicelli, which gives crisp and crunchy finishing. The Kunafa consist of rose and orange blossom scented sugar syrup and cheesy filling inside.
Kunafa, also known as Knafeh, is a beloved Middle Eastern dessert that is enjoyed throughout the region and beyond. Made with crispy vermicelli noodles, sweet cheese filling, and a fragrant sugar syrup, this dessert is a true masterpiece of sweet and savory flavours. The dish’s origins can be traced back to the Ottoman Empire, where it was traditionally served during special occasions and celebrations. Today, kunafa is enjoyed by millions around the world and has become a staple dessert in many Middle Eastern restaurants and households. In this recipe, we’ll show you how to make kunafa from scratch, using simple and easy-to-find ingredients. Get ready to indulge in this decadent and delicious dessert that’s sure to impress your family and friends!

Believe me it is not a pizzzaaa!!.. Yes its dessert . One of the sweet, crisp and crunchy dessert, infused with mozzarella cheese. The crunchness comes with broken vermcelli messed in melted butter. Kunafa is have many different names such as konafa, kanafeh and knafeh.
You will find it similar to cheese cake but wait, its NOT that even! Here you have crisppzz.. This dish is basically from Middle-Eastern/ Mediterranean. Kunafa recipe have all ingredients in one, like you have sweetness, cheese, sourness, chrunchess, buttery and wait! dry fruits too. Lets begin, easy Kunafa Recipe with Vermicelli Noodles, Sweet Cheese Filling, and Sugar Syrup.
Try some Vermicelli recipes...
Typically, cheese kunafa consist of Nabulsi and Akkawi cheese, these are Arabic cheeses. But the reason why people use mozzzrella cheese is because Nabulsi and Akkawi cheese are quiet salty. To get rid off salt, cheese is soak in water for hours. After every next hour the water is change and fill with new water.
Try some of cheesy and buttery recipes
Homemade cheese from milk / paneer
Baking Alert:
- The cheese in kunafa becomes leathery, once it starts cooling own. To prevent, the cheese must be mixed with something else.
- So, we can mix another type of soft cheese like ricotta or cottage cheese (paneer). These are soft cheese often mixed with kunafa to prevent it from gettting rubbery.
Try our other cheesy recipes :
Kunafa Recipe
Ingredients
Ingredients to make Delicious Kunafa Recipe:
- 250 grams Vermicelli broken ( Seviyan used for making kunafa are thin then regular seviyan)
- 200 grams Butter melted
- ¼ cup Pistachios chopped
For filling of kunafa
- 1 cup Milk
- 1 cup Cream
- 2 teaspoons Corn flour
- 1 teaspoon Rose Water
- ½ cup Cottage cheese grated
- ½ cup Mozzarella cheese grated
- 2 tablespoons sugar
For Sugar Syrup:
- 1 cup Water
- 1½ cups White Sugar
- 1 teaspoon Lemon Juice
- 1 teaspoon Rose Water
Instructions
How to make Delicious Arabic Sweet Kunafa Recipe (Knafeh):
- Take Vermicelli in bowl. Broke them with your finger into smaller pieces.
- Pour melted butter and mix them well with your hands.
Steps for making kunafa filling:
- Take a separate mixing bowl add milk, cream, sugar and corn starch. Mix them well.
- Now turn on the flame, take thick bottom pan add and heat the above mixture on low flame, until it gets thicker. Keep on stirring mixture to prevent it from sticking to the pan.
- Add rose water and mix it, after 2 minutes turn off the flame.
- Add mozzarella cheese and cottage cheese to above mixture and mix it well.
Steps for making sugar syrup:
- Take another pan, add water, sugar and cook it until sugar gets dissolved completely.
- Keep on stirring and cook it until mixture gets thicken.
- When mixture gets ready add lemon juice in it.
Steps for baking kunafa:
- Take a baking pan, make the base with half vermicelli mixture prepared above, press
it to level the dough. - Now pour the cheese mixture on this base formed and spread it evenly with spoon.
- After that, take remaining vermicelli mixture and form another layer above the cheese layer. Its just like sandwich layer.
- Brush the top layer with melted butter, to make it settle properly.
- Pre heat the oven, put the dish in the oven at 200 degree for about half an hour.
- Kunafa is ready when it turns golden and crunchy in the surface.
Notes
- The cheese in kunafa becomes leathery, once it starts cooling own. To prevent, the cheese must be mixed with something else.
- So, we can mix another type of soft ceese like ricotta or cottage cheese (paneer). These are soft cheese often mixed with kunafa to prevent it from gettting rubbery.
Nutrition
How to make Delicious Arabic Sweet Kunafa Recipe | Traditional Kunafa recipe
- Take two an half cup vermicelli in bowl. The kunafa / kunefe vermicelli is different, these are thin and easily breakable.
Tips for Preparing the Vermicelli Noodles for Kunafa.
Please note here, the vermicelli / seviyaan used for making kunafa / kunefe is not same what we use for making seviyaan kheer.
- Broke them with your finger into smaller pieces.
- Pour melted butter. Melted butter will help the vermicelli to have grip together.
- Mix them well with spoon. And keep it aside.
Steps for making kunafa / kunefe filling:
- Take a separate mixing bowl add milk, cream, sugar and corn starch. Likewise, mix them well. Corn starch helps in making the fillings consistence and thick. Moreover, you can use corn flour as alternative if you don’t have corn starch for kunafa .
- Now turn on the flame, take thick bottom pan add and heat the above mixture on low flame, until it gets thicker. Keep on stirring mixture to prevent it from sticking to the pan.
- Add 1 tablespoon rose water and mix it, after 2 minutes turn off the flame.
- Add mozzarella cheese and cottage cheese to above mixture and mix it well.
- Allow the above mixture to cool before you start filling. Note after cooling, the mixture becomes thick which will be more easy for you to fill the kunefe / kunafa.
How to Make the Sugar Syrup for Kunafa
- Take another pan, add water, sugar and cook it until sugar gets dissolved completely.
- Keep on stirring and cook it until mixture gets thicken.
- When mixture gets ready add lemon juice in it.
Steps for baking kunafa:
- Firstly, take a baking pan, make the base with half vermicelli mixture prepared above, press it to level the dough. Make-sure, it is tightly pressed in order to get grip after it is cooked.
- Now pour the cheese mixture on this base formed and spread it evenly with spoon.
- Afterwards , take remaining vermicelli mixture and form another layer above the cheese layer. Its just like sandwich layer. Take care that it is covered properly with no leaking of fillings.
- Furthermore, Brush the top layer with melted butter, to make it settle properly.
- Moreover, Pre-heat the oven, put the dish in the oven at 200 degree for about half an hour. This will allow the environment to be warm enough to proper start the backing.
- At the end when Kunafa is ready when it turns golden and crunchy in the surface. You can take more time than specified if you found your kunafa / kunefe is not cooked properly.
Garnishing Kunafa:
- Firstly, Pour evenly the pre prepared sugar syrup on the top of kunafa layer as soon as it comes out of the oven.
- Likewise, garnish it with pistachio before you serve. You can use any dry fruits of your choice, traditionally crushed pistachio is used for kunafa / kunefe garnishing.
Note:
- Use kunafa vermicelli for making this recipe, which are thinner than traditional vermicelli. You can easily find on amazon.
- Moreover, the consistency of filling is not too thick or thin. You can easily adjust the consistency by adding cornflour or corn starch. Please take care of sugar when you add something extra to filling. Taste is after addition of something extra.
- Kunafa is traditionally served hot. After kunafa / kunefe is cool down or at room temperature it becomes hard. You can reheat before serving kunafa.
- You can freeze the kunafa and cook it later while serving to guest. You just have to skip the backing part and freeze it. Before serving you can bake it freshly 🙂 .
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Hi, after freezing do I need to defrost before baking or I cn directly bake?
Hey Zainab, bake the kunafa directly. Defrosting it can make it soggy.
Making for d second time it self says ur recp is super duper hit …simply luved it …
Hello Salma,
I am glad you liked you, keep visiting 😊
Hello, in the method you have listed sugar for the filling but forgotten to mention the quantity in the ingredients. Please help
Hello Harsha,
Thanks for your observation, I have updated it 😉
Awesome taste
Very kind of sumi to have clarified my doubts
Thank you for your comment pavithra, I am glad you liked it ❤️
In the ingredient section you forgot to mention how much Mozarella cheese is needed. In fact it’s not even listed. 🙃
Thanks @faz for your good observation, we updated it 🙂