Need a new Greek meal? You’ll love this pita mozz, feta dressing, and pita dinner! It’s my spin on a Keifer’s copycat meal.
If you’ve ever been to Jackson, MS, you’ve probably eaten at Keifer’s, the best Greek restaurant ever. Tom and I went to college in Jackson, and Keifer’s was one of our favorite places to eat. In fact we’ve missed it so much since moving, that one time we planned a trip to Jackson just to eat at Keifer’s. Well, Sal & Mookies and Broad Street were on the list too. Making my own Keifer’s meal is a hell of a lot cheaper than flying to Jackson to go on a culinary adventure!
While this isn’t authentic Greek, I think it is better! The owners put their own spin on everything from the feta dressing to the pitas made in Chicago just for Keifer’s. Every few years I get a craving for pita mozz and I do a Pinterest search to find the perfect recipe. After 8 years of living away from Jackson, I’ve finally mastered the art of cooking a Keifer’s meal. I enjoy my knock off meal, but it’s nothing like the real stuff. I’d much rather go to the source. If you don’t live near Jackson you need these recipes for pita mozz, feta dressing, cottage fries and BLT pitas.
It took me a long time to find the best recipe for a pita mozz. I finally found this one from Sarah and Ryan:
Pita Mozz
Toufayan flatbread works better than pita, use pita in a pinch
Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
Feta Dressing (next recipe)
Heat non-stick or cast iron pan over medium-high heat — do not use a stainless steel pan!
Place pita bread in pan and sprinkle mozzarella cheese on top. Leave on this side until cheese starts to get soft and melt.
Flip pita so the cheese side is down. Let cook a couple of minutes, until the cheese gets a good brown crust on it. Quickly slide the spatula under and move to a plate, cheese side up. Serve with feta dressing.
Next you’re going to need some feta dressing. The best recipe I’ve found is from The Supermom Chef:
Homemade Feta Sauce
1 1/2 cups mayonnaise (use the real stuff for this, folks!)
1 cup crumbled Feta cheese
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon olive oil (or more, depending on how thin you like your sauce)
pinch of dried basil
pinch of dried oregano
In the bowl of a manual food processor (DO NOT use an electric food processor, it will chop the Feta up too small), mix together the mayonnaise, red wine vinegar, garlic, Worcestershire sauce, olive oil, oregano, and basil. Process until completely combined. Add Feta; process a few times until the cheese is evenly distributed but not completely broken down into tiny pieces. You want some bigger pieces of Feta left in the mixture. Chill until ready to serve with crackers, on fries, or on your favorite pita or gyro.
Once you’ve finished your pita mozz, you need to start on your cottage fries.
Cottage Fries
2 russet potatoes (one potato per person)
2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
sea salt
Cut your potatoes into 1/2 inch slices and coat generously with olive oil. Sprinkle on some sea salt and roast on 400 degrees for 30 minutes or until golden brown. Toss halfway through. Add more salt if needed.
Finally, you need to make your pita! My favorite way to do this is to make another pita mozz, and then stuff it with all your favorite sandwich fillings and top it with feta dressing.
I like to make BLT pitas. Here is my recipe:
BLT Pita (serves 2)
2 pita mozz
feta dressing
8 fried bacon slices
4 tomato slices
2 handfuls of lettuce
As soon as you finish your pita mozz, stuff it with a handful of lettuce, 2 slices of tomato, 4 slices of bacon and a generous heap of feta dressing. Roll us in wax paper or a thin cloth napkin to keep it all together while eating.
Don’t waste your leftovers! Use these ideas:
- we use the rest of the bacon to make a breakfast casserole
- extra pitas and feta dressing are fun for snacking, add some carrots to make it a little healthier
Have you ever been to Keifer’s? Are you as obsessed as I am? What’s your favorite recipe from a restaurant that you like to do at home?
Will you make these when I come visit?!?
Of course! When are you coming?
Im obsessed with kiefers! I’ve been trying to mimic their honey mustard for years.. I’m so going to do this feta dressing though
Awesome! Kiefer’s is the best! It’s always fun to find someone else who loves it!
Big fan of Keifer’s! I ate their all the time when I was in college in Mississippi. Just curious what brand of mayonnaise did you use?
I love Duke’s! It’s the only brand I buy!
I grew up eating Keifers and like you craved it when I moved away after college! I have been making these recipients for years with slightly different ratios on the dressing with good success (am going to try yours today). For those who love them here is a recipe for the marinated cucumbers as well.
3 cucumbers striped and cut into 1/4 inch rounds.
1 onion sliced thinly
1/2-1 Tbs dried basil.
1/2 cup sugar dissolves in 2 cups white vinegar.
2.5 cups water.
Put into large bowl and let sit at least 12-24 hours prior to eating with some pita bread and feta dressing ;).
Amazing! Thank you so much. Can I do a follow up blog post with this recipe?
Thanks! Any recipes for the hummus? The cucumbers are great with the hummus!
Not yet, but I’ll have to look into it. Great idea!
OMG!!!! I didn’t learn about Keifers until college! But oh my their food has been a fond memory of life in Jackson!!!! Sooooo amazing!!! Makes me want to jump in the car for a weekend getaway!!! But until then I’m going to try out these great copycat recipes!!!! So excited !
Yes! I’m always tempted to go to Jackson just to eat!
Oh my goodness! Thank you for posting this. I went to Belhaven and miss the food in Jackson all the time. I’ll be making some Pita Feta ASAP!
Oh yay! I’m so happy to help. We miss the food in Jackson so much too!
Yes. Sorry. Never saw this.
I LOVE Keifers! I went to school in Jackson and miss their tuna melts terribly. So terribly that I’ve been making them myself for 20 years and was glad to see you do your pita mozz the same. What kind of mozzarella cheese do you use?
Hi Lisa! I try to get the freshest mozzarella I can find. I don’t stick with a particular brand. I’ve used bagged, shredded before and it works okay too. I just happen to prefer the taste of the fresher kind!
This was EXACTLY what I was looking for! My husband and I both grew up in Jackson, and Keifer’s was one of our favorite places! All of all of our kids were born right across the street. We moved to Dallas, TX about 5 years ago and can’t find anything here that hits the spot the way Keifer’s does, since it’s what we grew up eating, it’s our gold standard. In my attempt to create a suitable substitute, my husband reminded me that any attempt was useless if it didn’t include his favorite, Cottage Fries! So thank you for this post, it made my meal planing sooo much easier!
Thanks! We feel exactly the same way. You just can’t find anything like Keifer’s anywhere else. It’s a gem!
Yummy dressing! Can you figure out their shrimp salad
Oh, fun idea!
Hi, and thanks for the recipes!! I live in Ridgeland (did you know Keifer’s has a Madison location AND bottles their feta dressing for purchase now?? I’ll bet you do! ;) and make a wee tweak to your dressing recipe that gets rave reviews: make it with half mayonnaise and half sour cream (or whole Greek yogurt) instead of 100% mayo. It’s a “secret” that never fails And works magic on any mayo-based dressing recipe ~ I hope you like it!
That is so smart! I’ll try it!