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Pastiera Di Grano Napoletana is a traditional Italian Easter Grain Pie that’s made with tender cooked wheatberries (grano cotto), creamy ricotta cheese, fragrant orange blossom water, candied citrus, sugar, eggs, vanilla and citrus zest all nestled in a pie crust. It’s a must-have dessert at many Italian and Italian-American Easter celebrations. While every family has their own unique twist on this cultural staple, you’ll find my streamlined version below. Read on for more!
Pastiera Napoletana, which is sometimes referred to as pizza grana, is a traditional sweet and aromatic, Italian Easter pie.
If you prefer savory, ricotta-based Easter pies, though, check out Pizza Rustica Meat and Cheese Pie and Torta Pasqualina Spinach Pie.
Pastiera pie hails from Naples in southern Italy. Tradition dictates that it must be made a few days in advance of Easter, on either Holy Thursday or Good Friday, so that all of the flavors, textures and aromas have a chance to develop and meld.
Plus, it really does taste better at least one day after it’s baked!
There are a few pagan-based legends about the creation of pastiera (pronounced pah-stee-eh-ra). One involves offerings to a siren named Partenope, the supposed founder of Naples, and another sacrifices to the sea by fishermen’s wives for the safe return home of their husbands.
It’s more likely, though, that Italy’s famous Easter grain pie was first made in a convent by nuns to celebrate the joyous occasion of Easter. The ingredients were probably chosen for their strong symbolic values. Wheat and eggs symbolize resurrection and new life, while the orange blossom represents the arrival of spring. Pastiera is now a Christian tradition all over Italy.
While at first glance, this recipe may seem complicated, it’s actually a quite simple preparation that doesn’t take very long. Traditionally made with a homemade pasta frolla (Italian shortcrust pastry), I’ve made my streamlined pastiera di grano with a pre-made frozen pie crust, which cuts down the recipe’s time and effort tremendously and still yields the most delicious dessert.
There are a few unique ingredients in this pastiera recipe, though, that you likely don’t already have in your pantry, namely the grano cotto (pre-cooked wheatberries), candied citrus and orange blossom water. They’re worth seeking out, as the result is, quite honestly, divine!
Having said this, I offer alternatives below, along with a quick recipe for the rice variation of this classic, called pastiera di riso.
Pastiera’s enticing aroma of the orange blossom water combined with the texture of the wheatberries and candied citrus along with the smoothness of the ricotta and overall bright, fresh flavors create a potent sensory experience for sure! Hope you make it one of your delicious new traditions with your family and friends this Easter. Buona Pasqua!
Ricotta cheese is also the star ingredient in another Italian Easter favorite–delicious Sicilian Cheesecake with Orange and Almond!
Main Ingredient Notes
Pastiera Napoletana contains a few unique ingredients that you might not have in your pantry and may need to seek out in an Italian specialty market or order online.
- Cooked Grains: Also known as grano cotto in Italian, these are pre-cooked wheatberries that can either be purchased in cans or jars at Italian specialty stores around Easter time or online. They are very convenient, make this recipe much more streamlined and are worth tracking down. But you can start with whole dried wheatberries if you prefer. See Frequently Asked Questions below for more on this.
- Pie Dough: For convenience, I used a frozen, pre-rolled pie crust for a 9” pie. Find this in the freezer section of the grocery store. Be sure to thaw it properly before using. If you prefer to make homemade dough, use your favorite pie crust (pâte brisée) or pasta frolla (Italian sweet shortcrust pastry dough) recipe.
- Ricotta Cheese: Whole milk ricotta will give you the creamiest version of the filling and is recommended.
- Candied Fruit: I used only candied orange peel, but you can use a mixture of candied citron (cedro in Italian) or candied lemon and orange if you prefer and have it available. (Citron is a large, fragrant citrus fruit with a thick rind and dry pulp that looks like a large, roughly-textured lemon.)
- Orange Blossom Water: This is also known as orange flower water and is a very fragrant and floral liquid, giving the signature essence to Easter pastiera di grano. It’s very strong, so stick to the amount in the recipe so that it doesn’t overpower the other ingredients. Find it either online or at Middle Eastern specialty food markets. If you don’t have any or can’t find it, use either ¼ tsp orange extract or zest of ½ additional orange in place of it.
- Citrus Zest: Both orange and lemon are used in the recipe for incredible, fresh citrusy flavor.
- Ground Cinnamon: Cinnamon is optional. Leave it out if you don’t like it, but its flavor is very subtle in this recipe.
- Vanilla Extract: Just a touch for a bit of vanilla flavor.
- Milk: Use whole milk and not low fat–this is dessert!
- Sugar: Use granulated or superfine sugar as the sweetener for pastiera pie.
- Eggs: Use large eggs at room temperature. They help in setting up the grain pie and are also used for the egg wash on the dough top before baking.
How to Make Pastiera Di Grano
- Prep and gather all ingredients. Place a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat oven to 350°F. Make sure the dough is thawed and able to be rolled out. Strain excess moisture out of the ricotta, if needed. Beat 3 of the eggs.
- Place the cooked grains, milk, sugar, orange and lemon zest and cinnamon in a saucepan over low heat and stir well. Cook until the mixture is creamy, soft and smooth (a bit like oatmeal), stirring frequently and breaking up the pieces of grains as you mix. Once the mixture is done, transfer it to a shallow bowl and set it aside to cool completely.
- PRO TIP: Be sure to keep the heat on low so that the milk doesn’t burn or break.
- Combine the ricotta, eggs, vanilla extract and orange flower water in a bowl and stir until well-combined. Set this mixture aside.
- Next, grease the bottom and sides of the springform pan with butter and set aside. Then, place the thawed dough on a lightly-floured surface. Dust a rolling pin lightly with flour. Then, roll the dough out gently as needed with rolling pin until it is large enough to line the pan.
- Carefully roll the dough onto the rolling pin, then transfer and unroll it over the center of the pan. Gently press in the dough on the bottom, corners and sides so it hugs all corners of the pan.
- PRO TIP: Use extra/random pieces of dough to patch holes if needed. This is a rustic pie so there’s no need to be very precise. Let excess dough just hang over the sides at this point.
- Then, place the second dough sheet on the lightly floured surface and roll it out a bit with the rolling pin if needed. Using either a ravioli/pastry cutter or a knife, slice the dough into 10 strips that are ¾ to 1” wide each. These will be used for the lattice pie top.
- Once the grain mixture has cooled, combine it with the ricotta mixture and candied orange peel and mix well. Then, fill the dough/pan with this mixture and spread it out evenly.
- Arrange the dough strips into a crisscross lattice design on the top of the pastiera di grano, or into whatever design you like. Trim off excess dough with a knife or kitchen shears, then fold the dough sides over the top and press pastry edges to lattice strips to seal.
- Beat the last egg with 1 Tbsp water until frothy to make an egg wash. Use a pastry brush to brush a thin even layer of this egg wash onto the lattice dough strips and the edge of the dough.
- Bake the pie on a rack in the middle of a 350°F preheated oven until the dough is golden brown and a cake tester inserted into the pie comes out clean.
More Spring Favorites
- Spinach and Mushroom Lasagna with Béchamel
- Artichoke Sausage Pasta with Lemon and Basil
- Sausage Stuffed Artichoke Bottoms
- Baked Artichoke Hearts
- Pasta Con Sarde ~ Sicilian Sardine Pasta
- Lemony Pasta with Peas and Ricotta
- St Joseph’s Pasta ~ Spaghetti with Anchovies and Breadcrumbs
- Lamb Meatballs with Pistachio Mint Sauce
- Slow Cooked Lamb Ragu
- Mediterranean Lamb Shoulder
Dough Tips
- For convenience, I used a frozen, pre-rolled pie crust for a 9” pie in this pastiera di grano. Find this in the freezer section of the grocery store.
- Thaw it according to the package directions. I thawed mine at room temperature for about 3 hours one day prior, then stored it in the refrigerator overnight.
- I then took the dough out of the fridge about 90 minutes before starting the pastiera to bring it to room temperature so that it would be easy to work with.
- Dust the work surface and the rolling pin lightly with flour to prevent sticking.
- Use a rolling pin to gently roll out the dough to the desired size. The dough should remain about 1/8-¼” thick.
- You can use dough ends and random pieces to fill in holes or corners as needed.
- Leftover/extra dough can be refrozen. I suggest rolling it in parchment paper and then plastic wrap.
- If you prefer to make homemade dough, use your favorite pie crust (pâte brisée) or pasta frolla (Italian sweet shortcrust pastry dough) recipe.
Frequently Asked Questions
If you can’t find grano cotto or just prefer to start with the whole dried grains themselves, buy “soft” wheatberries if possible, and soak them in water for a few hours or up to overnight.
Then, change out the water and cook them at a hard simmer/light boil until very soft and tender, about 90 minutes or so. They should only have the very slightest bite left to them. In reality, you need to overcook the wheatberries to achieve the very soft texture needed for this pastiera pie.
If you can’t find wheatberries, barley is a good substitute.
NOTE: “Hard” red/winter wheatberries are not ideal as they don’t really get as soft as needed for this recipe. Plus, they require up to 3 days of soaking with a daily change of water before cooking for several hours.
Yes. You can use a single, premade and preformed pie crust for this recipe, just like my Spinach Quiche and Ham and Cheese Quiche recipes. The filling recipe below will fill two regular frozen pie crusts. In this case, it would be a single crust pie without the lattice dough top.
Take the frozen pie crust out of the freezer about 15 minutes before getting started. (They don’t take very long to thaw.)
Also, take note that the cooking time will be significantly less for two smaller pies versus one deeper pie. I suggest checking the pie after about 30/35 minutes to get an idea if where it’s at.
You can make pastiera Napoletana up to 3 days before serving and hold it in the refrigerator covered tightly with plastic wrap. You can also freeze for up to 3 months! To freeze it, wrap the chilled pie tightly in plastic wrap then a layer of foil and/or place it in a freezer bag. You can also wrap and freeze individual slices. Thaw in the refrigerator before serving.
Although you can enjoy this Italian Easter grain pie while warm or later at room temperature on the day it’s baked, it’s a great idea to make it 1 to 2 days prior to serving it. This will allow the filling time to set. Pastiera di grano is usually served at room temperature or lightly chilled on Easter Sunday and it’s traditionally made 2 to 3 days prior, on either Holy Thursday of Good Friday.
Italian Easter Grain Pie is best served at room temperature or slightly chilled.
I’ve heard of an Italian Easter rice pie. Is that similar?
Yes! Actually, pastiera di riso is also a beloved Italian Easter pie that is almost identical to this wheat pie with one big exception–rice (typically, arborio rice) is used instead of wheatberries (grano). The same base ingredients and flavors are maintained. The use of rice changes the texture and appearance of the pie a bit.
To make it, use the following cooked arborio rice filling in place of the finished/seasoned grain mixture:
- Combine ¾ cup arborio rice with 1 cup water and 1¼ cup whole milk in a small saucepan and bring it up to a simmer.
- Cook gently until most of the liquid is absorbed and the rice is tender, creamy and thick.
- Stir regularly to generate starch and to prevent sticking.
- Once the rice is tender, stir in ¾ cup sugar, zest on one orange, zest of one lemon and ½ tsp ground cinnamon and cook another few minutes, until the sugar has dissolved.
- Then, transfer the rice mixture to a shallow bowl and set it aside to cool.
- Once cooled, it can be added to the ricotta mixture.
PASTIERA DI GRANO TOP TIPS
The most important thing to consider in making pastiera di grano is to plan ahead. For both the ingredients (as some are unusual) and also because this Italian Easter grain pie actually tastes better at least one day after making it, giving the orange blossom water and candied fruit a chance to intensify and meld with all the other ingredients.
- Cooked Grains: For convenience, I use already cooked grains, a.k.a., grano cotto, which are very soft, cooked wheatberries that are sold in both cans or jars.You can start with dried wheatberries if you prefer. They need to be soaked and cooked (simmered in water) for a fair amount of time to become very soft. This can be done a couple days before making the grain pie.
- Ricotta: Remove excess moisture from the ricotta, if needed, by straining it in a colander, with or without cheesecloth, for at least a few hours or overnight.
- Cooling/Resting: Be sure to cool the pastiera di grano a bit before slicing it. Cooling time allows the ricotta cheese to set so that it can be sliced without falling apart.
- Serving: Pastiera Pie is best served at room temperature or slightly chilled.
- Make in Advance: You can make this Neapolitan wheat pie up to 3 days before serving and hold it in the refrigerator covered tightly with plastic wrap. You can also freeze for up to 3 months! To freeze it, wrap the chilled pie tightly in plastic wrap then a layer of foil and/or place it in a freezer bag. You can also wrap and freeze individual slices. Thaw in the refrigerator before serving.
- Both the grain and ricotta fillings can be made one day in advance and held in the refrigerator overnight, covered. Just bring them both to room temperature before using.
- Variations/Substitutions:
- Candied Citrus Peel: I used ½ cup diced candied orange peel, but you can use ¼ cup candied orange and ¼ cup candied citron (cedro in Italian) or candid lemon if you prefer and have it available.
- If candid citrus is not available, increase both the lemon and orange zest a bit.
- Orange Blossom Water: Orange flower water is not a common ingredient and you may not want to purchase it just for this recipe. Use either ¼ tsp orange extract or zest of ½ additional orange in place of it.
- Cinnamon is optional. Leave it out if you don’t like it, but its flavor is very subtle in this recipe.
- Candied Citrus Peel: I used ½ cup diced candied orange peel, but you can use ¼ cup candied orange and ¼ cup candied citron (cedro in Italian) or candid lemon if you prefer and have it available.
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Pastiera Di Grano Napoletana ~ Italian Easter Grain Pie
Equipment
- Pastry/Ravioli Cutter (optional)
- Cooling Rack (optional)
Ingredients
- 1 (14.8-ounces) can grano cotto (cooked wheat berry grains) (See Notes.)
- ¾ cup whole milk
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- Zest of one orange
- Zest of one lemon
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- 20 ounces whole milk ricotta cheese at room temperature, drained of excess moisture (See Notes.)
- 4 large eggs, divided (1 egg is for the egg wash)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1½ tsp orange blossom water (See Notes.)
- ½ cup diced candied orange peel (about 3 ounces; see Notes.)
- Butter for greasing pan
- 2 sheets frozen pie dough for 9” pies, thawed, or homemade dough (See Notes.)
- All-purpose flour (for rolling out dough)
- Powdered sugar, for serving (optional)
Instructions
- Place a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat oven to 350°F. Prep and gather all ingredients according to specifications above. Make sure the dough is thawed and able to be rolled out. Put the ricotta in a strainer or fine mesh sieve propped over a bowl and let it drain out excess liquid for 1 to 2 hours at room temperature, if needed. (You can line it with cheesecloth if you have it.) Discard the liquid and transfer the strained ricotta to a large bowl and set aside. Beat 3 of the eggs.(Please see the section above in the blog post forStep-By-Step instructions with photos.)20 ounces whole milk ricotta cheese, 2 sheets frozen pie dough for 9” pies,
- Place the cooked grains, milk, sugar, orange and lemon zest and cinnamon in a saucepan over low heat and stir well. Cook until the mixture is creamy, soft and smooth (a bit like oatmeal), stirring frequently and breaking up the pieces of grains as you mix. (A potato masher may help with this!)1 (14.8-ounces) can grano cotto (cooked wheat berry grains), ¾ cup whole milk, ¾ cup granulated sugar, Zest of one orange, Zest of one lemon, ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- This may take 5 minutes or so. Be sure to keep the heat on low so that the milk doesn’t burn or break. Once the mixture is done, transfer it to a shallow bowl and set it aside to cool completely.
- Combine the ricotta, 3 eggs, vanilla extract and orange blossom water in a bowl and stir until well-combined. Set this mixture aside.20 ounces whole milk ricotta cheese, 1 tsp vanilla extract, 1½ tsp orange blossom water
- Next, grease the bottom and sides of the springform pan with butter and set aside.
- Place the thawed dough on a lightly-floured surface. Dust a rolling pin lightly with flour. Then, roll the dough out gently as needed with rolling pin until it is large enough to line the 9×3” springform pan bottom and about ⅔ of the way up the sides with ½” extra for folding over (at least 14-15” circle diameter). Adjust the size if you’re using a different pan.
- Carefully roll the dough onto the rolling pin, then transfer and unroll it over the center of the greased pan. Gently press in the dough on the bottom, corners and sides so it hugs all corners of the pan. Use extra/random pieces of dough to patch holes if needed. This is a rustic pie so there’s no need to be very precise. Let excess dough just hang over the sides at this point. (See photos above.)
- Prick the bottom of the dough with a fork in several places and set it aside.
- Then, place the second dough sheet on the lightly floured surface and roll it out a bit with the rolling pin if needed. Using either a ravioli/pastry cutter or a knife, slice the dough into 10 strips that are ¾ to 1” wide each. These will be used for the lattice pie top. Set aside. (See photos above.)
- Once the grain mixture has cooled, give it a stir. Then combine it with the ricotta mixture and candied orange peel and mix well.½ cup diced candied orange peel
- Then, fill the dough/pan with the ricotta/grain mixture and spread it out evenly. Make sure the filling is spread evenly into the corners of the pan.
- Arrange the dough strips into a crisscross lattice design on the top, or into whatever design you like.
- Trim off excess dough with a knife or kitchen shears, then fold the dough sides over the top and press pastry edges to lattice strips to seal, as shown in the photo above. Don’t worry about being too precise here. Again, rustic.
- Beat the last egg with 1 Tbsp water until frothy to make an egg wash. Use a pastry brush to brush a thin even layer of this egg wash onto the lattice dough strips and the edge of the dough. Be careful not to let egg wash pool on the surface. If this happens, use a paper towel to gently absorb the excess.NOTE: The entire egg wash will not be used.
- Place the pie on a rack in the middle of a 350℉ preheated oven and set the timer for 75 minutes. Rotate the pie about halfway through the baking process.
- After 75 minutes, check the pie’s doneness with a cake tester, thin skewer or toothpick inserted into the center of the pie. (It will likely need more time to finish, but it’s good to check it at this point.) If it comes out clean with no streaks of batter (a few small crumbs are ok), then the pie is done. If there’s clinging batter, continue to bake, testing every 10 minutes or so.The dough should be golden brown and the filling firm when ready. (If the crust is getting too brown during the baking process, reduce the oven temperature to 325℉ and cook it a bit longer.)
- Once the pie has tested done, turn the heat off, but keep the pie in the oven for 5 more minutes with the oven door propped open. (This last step is optional, but I like to do it as it helps the pie from sinking.)NOTE that the baking time is an approximation as all ovens vary. The pie took exactly 95 minutes in my electric oven, but may take less or more time in your oven.
- Then, remove the pie from the oven and let it cool at room temperature for about 1 hour or so before releasing it from the springform pan. If you have a wire rack, place the pan on it.
- Enjoy pastiera di grano at room temperature or slightly chilled with a dusting of powdered sugar–as you please! It is traditionally made on Holy Thursday or Good Friday and served on Easter morning or as a dessert for Easter brunch. Buon Appetito!
Notes
- For convenience, I use already cooked gains, a.k.a., grano cotto, which are very soft, cooked wheat berries that are sold in both cans or jars.
- I used one (14.8-ounce) can of cooked grains.
- If you have a larger jar of grano cotto, just measure out the amount needed.
- If you can’t find grano cotto or just prefer to start with the whole dried grains themselves, buy wheatberries. (Choose “soft” wheat, if available.) Soak them in water for a few hours or up to overnight. Then, change out the water and cook them at a hard simmer/light boil until very soft and tender, about 90 minutes or so. They should only have the very slightest bite left to them. In reality, you need to overcook the wheatberries to achieve the very soft texture needed for this pastiera pie. This can be done a couple days before making the grain pie.
- If you can’t find wheatberries, barley is a good substitute.
- For convenience, I used a frozen, pre-rolled pie crust for a 9” pie. Find this in the freezer section of the grocery store.
- Thaw it according to the package directions. I thawed mine at room temperature for about 3 hours one day prior, then stored it in the refrigerator overnight.
- I then took the dough out of the fridge about 90 minutes before starting the pastiera to bring it to room temperature so that it would be easy to work with.
- Dust the work surface and the rolling pin lightly with flour to prevent sticking.
- Use a rolling pin to gently roll out the dough to the desired size. The dough should remain about 1/-¼” thick.
- You can use dough ends and random pieces to fill in holes or corners as needed.
- Leftover/extra dough can be refrozen. I suggest rolling it in parchment paper and then plastic wrap.
- If you prefer to make homemade dough, use your favorite pie crust (pâte brisée) or pasta frolla (Italian shortcrust pastry) recipe.
- The perfect pan to use for this recipe is a 9”x3” deep springform pan.
- But, you can also use a 2 quart glass round casserole dish or any deep dish pie pan.
- Note that the ricotta/grain mixture will fill the springform pan about 2/3 of the way or so. So, you can use a smaller pie pan for this recipe if you prefer.
An Easter traditional that my family and I love!