Spanakopita (Greek Spinach Pie)
A savory spinach and feta cheese filling is wrapped between buttery, flaky layers of phyllo dough in this traditional & delicious Greek spinach pie.
Servings: 12 entree-sized portions
Ingredients
For the filling
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 medium sweet onion, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
- 20 oz frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
- ¼ cup fresh dill, chopped (about one .75 oz. clamshell)
- ¼ cup fresh parsley, chopped
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest (about 1 medium lemon)
- ½ teaspoon lemon juice
- 16 oz sheep's milk feta, crumbled
- 4 oz mozzarella cheese, shredded (1 cup)
- 1 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- salt, to taste
- 6 large eggs, whisked
For the pastry/assembly
- 2 tablespoon butter, melted
- 3 tablespoon olive oil
- 8 oz phyllo dough at room temperature
- cooking spray
Instructions
For the filling
- Preheat oven to 450°F. Heat oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and sauté until transparent and fragrant, about 5-6 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl.
- Wrap the thawed spinach in a clean kitchen towel and squeeze out as much water as you can. Add squeezed spinach to the bowl, separating with your fingers, and stir to combine and slightly cool the onion/garlic mixture. Add the dill, parsley, lemon zest & juice, crumbled feta, mozzarella, fresh pepper, and cayenne and gently fold mixture together. Before adding the eggs, taste for seasoning and add salt if desired (feta can be salty so you might not need much, I usually add about ½ teaspoon to help season the eggs that are about to be added, but adjust to your preference). Gently fold in eggs and set aside.
For the pastry/assembly
- Melt butter in a small bowl and mix with olive oil. Brush mixture lightly all over the inside of a 9x13 baking dish. Lay down 3 sheets of phyllo dough, staggering dough to cover the bottom and up the sides of the pan, lightly brush again with butter/oil mixture. Repeat 3 sheets at a time, brushing with butter/oil mixture until you have laid down 9 layers of dough.
- Add spinach mixture and spread evenly into the pan. Fold the edges of the phyllo dough that you layered up the sides over the top of the spinach mixture. Repeat dough layering over the top, brushing with butter/oil mixture every 3 layers. When you have 4 sheets of phyllo left, gently ruffle the phyllo dough and place on top for a pleated, pretty presentation and crispier top. Once you have the ruffled sheets of dough on top, spray with cooking spray to lightly coat the entire top of the pie.
- Use a sharp knife (I prefer a serrated knife) to cut the uncooked pie & establish your individual pieces (smaller for an appetizer, larger for main course). Cutting the pieces before you bake it will make it much easier to serve and prevent the crispy top of the spinach pie from shattering into a mess of crumbs when you cut it for serving.
- When you are finished assembling and ready for the oven, immediately turn the oven down to 350. Bake for 1 hour, checking the top occasionally for over browning. If it starts to get too brown, lay a piece of foil over top while baking.
- Remove from oven and let set for 15 minutes. Recut through your existing cut lines and serve!
Notes
Sheep's milk feta is highly recommended, true Greek feta is made of mostly sheep’s milk and some goat’s milk, and it's creamier & much less salty than cow’s milk cheeses.