Greek Spinach Pie (Spanakopita)

5 from 2 votes

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.

Prep Time15

Cook Time35

Total Time50

Course: Appetizer, Breakfast, Brunch, Main Course, Snack

Cuisine: Greek

Diet: Vegetarian

Servings: Servings

Author: Luay Ghafari

Cost: $15

Equipment

11-12 inch round pan

Ingredients

Spinach Feta Filling

2 tbsp Olive oil
1 Onion - Finely chopped
3 Garlic cloves - Finely chopped
10 oz Package of frozen chopped spinach - Defrosted, drained and squeezed
1 cup Greek feta - Crumbled
½ cup Ricotta - Optional, ads creaminess
2 tbsp Fresh parsley - Finely chopped
2 tbsp Fresh dill - Finely chopped
2 tsp Dried oregano
Kosher salt and pepper to taste
1 Egg - Only add after trying the mixture and adjusting the seasoning

Pie

7-8 Sheets of phyllo dough - See note
½ cup Salted butter - Melted

Instructions

Sautee spinach. Set a large frying pan on medium high heat and add the olive oil. Fry the chopped onions and garlic until translucent, about 2 minutes. Add the defrosted, squeezed and chopped spinach to the pan and sauté until all liquid has evaporated from the pan. Transfer to a bowl to cool for 10 minutes.
Make cheese and spinach filling. To the same bowl, add the crumbled feta, optional ricotta, chopped parsley, chopped dill and dried oregano. Mix well to combine.
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. Mix well to combine. At this point, preheat your oven to 400F/205C.
Line your baking dish. 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.
Butter. Brush on some more butter all over the phyllo.
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.
Add the spinach mixture. Transfer the spinach filling to the phyllo-lined baking dish and level it with an offset spatula or soon.
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. Using a sharp knife, pierce the phyllo so that steam can escape during the baking process.
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. Let the pie cool for at least 30 minutes before serving.

Notes

I recommend you check out the post above for step-by-step recipe photos.

Ingredient Notes:

Phyllo Pastry: I would not recommend that you make your own phyllo dough! Buy it ready made from your grocery store! You will find it in the frozen section next to the puff pastry and pie shells.
Butter: Using melted butter between the phyllo sheets is traditional. I recommend using salted butter (as there is no additional salt in this recipe), but unsalted butter is fine too.
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.
Cheese: For this recipe, I am using a combination of feta and optional ricotta. You could replace the ricotta with cottage cheese if you want a more protein-packed pie, but it’s not something I would do!
Herbs: I am using a combination of dried oregano, fresh dill and fresh parsley. A little fresh mint would also work great here.

Other additions: Lemon juice, lemon zest, chopped green onions or spring onion, chili flakes, or cream cheese.

Important notes regarding phyllo sheets:

Phyllo sheets are incredibly delicate. Handle with care and work quickly. Phyllo dries up pretty quickly so cover with a damp towel while you work. You will not need to use the whole package of phyllo sheets, so wrap up the rest and refrigerate.

Nutrition