Greek Spinach Pie (Spanakopita with Phyllo Dough)

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This Greek Spinach Pie, also known as Spanakopita, is a feast for the senses with crispy layers of phyllo and a savory spinach and cheese center. The pie bakes in under 40 minutes and can be enjoyed for breakfast, brunch, as a snack, or a light lunch or dinner.

Make this recipe for a mezze platter, for a special occasion Greek-themed dinner party, or pair it with one of my Mediterranean salad and appetizer recipes to complete a meal. I encourage you to also try a couple of variations: my Greek Cheese Pie and Tomato Pie!

A recipe by many names, you’ll often see this pie referred to as Spanakopita (its Greek name), Greek Spinach Pie, or Greek Spinach and Feta Pie.

As expected, the recipe will vary from region to region and from home to home. It can be prepared as an actual pie (like my recipe) or in the form of hand pies or phyllo triangles (similar to my Middle Eastern Cheese Sambousek recipe).

This recipe may not be as authentic as your Yiayia’s (grandma in Greek). My recipe includes a little ricotta for added creaminess and both dried and fresh herbs. I hope you will love it!

Ingredients

This savory pie requires a couple of specialty ingredients, namely phyllo sheets (a.k.a. filo sheets) and feta cheese. But this shouldn’t be too difficult for you to find.

Phyllo Pastry (also called filo pastry): I would not recommend that you make homemade phyllo dough! It’s a lot of work (maybe even impossible for the home baker)! Buy it from your grocery store! You will find it in the frozen section next to the puff pastry and pie shells. If you don’t have access to phyllo, but you have access to puff pastry, try my Tomato Puff Pasty Tart recipe instead.
Butter: Using melted butter between the phyllo sheets is traditional. I recommend using salted butter, but unsalted butter is fine too. I don’t recommend using olive oil or other fat. Stick with butter!
Spinach: I am using frozen spinach here because it's ready to use. You might need to chop it up but otherwise, all you need to do is defrost it, drain it and chop it. You can use fresh spinach if you like. A couple of bunches should do the trick. Baby spinach sold in bags or clamshells also works. Fan of spinach? Try my Spinach Fatayer (baked hand pies).
Cheese: For this recipe, I am using a combination of feta and optional ricotta. You could replace the ricotta cheese with cottage cheese if you want a more protein-packed pie, but it’s not something I would do! Use Greek Feta (it is creamy and delicious). Bulgarian-style feta will also work. Just avoid any really hard types of feta in this recipe. You'll find feta in many of my recipes, including Cheese Fatayer (baked hand pies) and Eggplant Bruschetta.
Fresh Herbs: I am using a combination of fresh dill, and fresh parsley. A little fresh mint would also work great here.

Check out the recipe card at the bottom of this page for a complete ingredient list and quantities.

How to Make this Greek Spinach Pie Recipe

This is not a complicated recipe, but there are a few steps to it. I recommend you read through everything and get familiar with the process so that you won't run into issues.

Recipe steps showing the sauteing of the onion, garlic and spinach.

Step 1. Sautee spinach. Set a large frying pan or large skillet on medium-high heat and add the olive oil. Fry the chopped onions and garlic until translucent, about 2 minutes (Image 1). Add the defrosted, squeezed and chopped spinach to the pan and sauté until all excess water has evaporated from the pan (Image 2). Transfer to a large bowl to cool.

Recipe steps showing the mixing of the prepared spinach with the cheese and other ingredients.

Step 2. Make spinach and feta filling. To the filling bowl, add the crumbled feta, optional ricotta, chopped parsley, chopped dill and dried oregano (Image 3). Mix well to combine.
Step 3. Taste, adjust and then add the egg. Taste the mixture and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper. Once you are happy with the flavor of your filling mixture, add one egg to it (Image 4). Mix well to combine (Image 5). At this point, preheat your oven to 400F/205C.

Recipe steps showing the buttering of the pan, the layering of the phyllo dough with overhand and the buttering of each later.

Step 4. Line your baking dish. Using a pastry brush, brush some melted butter onto the bottom of the pan and lay one sheet of phyllo pastry making sure that the sheet overhangs the side (Image 6).
Step 5. Butter. Brush on some more butter all over the phyllo (Image 7).
Step 6. Layer and repeat. Add another layer of phyllo pastry, making sure it also overhangs. Repeat this butter/phyllo process until you have 7 or 8 layers of phyllo in your baking dish with overhanging pastry going all around the pan (Image 8).

Recipe steps showing the filling being added to the phyllo pie shell and the prepared pie ready for baking.

Step 7. Add the spinach mixture. Transfer the spinach and cheese mixture to the phyllo-lined baking dish and level it with an offset spatula or soon (Image 9).
Step 8. Cover. Take the overhanging phyllo and place it over the spinach mixture, making sure to butter between the layers of phyllo as you go around. The filling mixture should now be completely covered with buttered phyllo (Image 10). Using a sharp knife, pierce the phyllo so that steam can escape during the baking process (Image 11).

Recipe step showing the finished bake and a slice of pie on a marble slab.

Bake. Place your prepared spinach pie in the preheated oven on the middle rack. Bake at 400F/205C for 20 minutes, then drop the oven temperature to 375F/190C and bake for another 15-20 minutes. The pie should be golden brown around the edges (Image 12). Let the pie cool for at least 30 minutes before serving (Image 13).

Expert Tips

Squeeze and Squeeze some more. Thawed spinach will be extremely wet. Make sure to squeeze out as much excess moisture as possible with your hands or in a sieve.
Handle with care. Phyllo sheets are incredibly delicate. Handle them with care and work quickly. Phyllo dries up quickly too, so cover it with a damp kitchen towel while you work. You will not need to use the whole package of phyllo sheets, so wrap up the rest and refrigerate. Use within a few days. Try making one of my other phyllo-based recipes: Tomato pie or Tiropita.
Round baking dish. My preference is to use a round baking dish or pie dish. But you can also use a rectangular rimmed baking sheet or baking tray. The trick is to make sure you have enough overhand around the edges so that you can cover the spinach mixture completely.
Watch the salt. Feta can be quite salty, depending on the type and brand. Make sure to taste your filling. The last thing anyone wants is a salty pie!
Use a serrated knife or sharp knife to cut. Cutting into phyllo can be tricky. You can either use a serrated knife and cut back and forth slowly or use a very sharp chef’s knife and cut down in one quick and confident motion.
Make individual hand pies. If you want to, you can make small appetizer-sized spinach pies in the same way I outline in my cheese sambousek recipe. Just make sure to bake the spanakopita triangles.

Recipe FAQs

Can I make this spanakopita recipe in advance?

This recipe should be made the day you plan to eat it. In fact, I recommend you bake it no more than 1-2 hours before you plan to serve it. The phyllo will remain crispy and enjoyable this way.

What is the best way to store leftover Greek spinach pie?

Once the pie has cooled completely, store it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. I would recommend portioning it out into slices before refrigerating. The pie can be enjoyed cold, at room temperature, or warmed up in a toaster oven or air fryer.

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