Classic Spanakopita Recipe (Greek Spinach Pie)

Spanakopita (Greek Spinach Pie) has crisp, buttery layers of phyllo dough and a savory spinach filling with garlic, fresh herbs, and feta. It’s easier to make than you might think and it’s a great dish to make ahead!

One of my absolute favorite Greek dishes is Spanakopita, a savory spinach pie with feta cheese and crispy phyllo dough.

It’s packed with flavor from onion, garlic, and fresh herbs. Dill in particular is incredible in this recipe, and really makes it something special! It’s just a wonderful blend of flavors all around, not to mention different textures with the spinach filling and crunchy top and bottom.

This dish is a perfect side dish for anything you grill up, like steak, chicken, or lamb. Or it makes a delicious vegetarian main course paired with a salad!

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• The savory spinach filling! It has a touch of sweetness thanks to onion, lots of savory flavor because of garlic and fresh herbs, and a slight hint of heat due to a pinch of crushed red pepper flakes.
• Crunchy golden top and bottom. Both flavor and texture-wise, this is the perfect accent to the soft, flavor-packed savory spinach filling.
• It keeps well in the fridge and reheats like a dream!

The Best Spanakopita Recipe

Ingredients

Spinach Filling:

• Extra-virgin olive oil
• Sweet onion
• Garlic
• Frozen spinach
• Parsley
• Scallion
• Fresh lemon juice
• Dill
• Feta cheese
• Eggs
• Black pepper
• Salt
• Crushed red pepper flakes

Top and Bottom Crust:

• Phyllo dough
• Salted butter

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Add the oil to a large skillet over medium heat.
2. Once hot, add the onion and cook until softened, but not browned, about 6 to 8 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in the garlic and cook 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Transfer to a bowl and cool until lukewarm, about 10 minutes.
3.  Squeeze the thawed spinach very well to remove excess liquid.
4. Add the onion/garlic mixture, spinach, parsley, scallion, lemon juice, dill, feta, eggs, black pepper, salt, and crushed red pepper flakes to a large bowl. Stir to combine.
5. Brush the bottom and sides of a 9 by 13-inch casserole dish with melted butter. Generously brush 1 sheet of phyllo dough with butter and place it into the greased casserole dish.
6. Repeat this process with 7 more sheets of phyllo dough so you have a total of 8 buttered sheets in the dish.
7. Spread the spinach filling out evenly onto the phyllo dough in the dish.
8. Generously brush 1 sheet of phyllo dough with butter and place it on top of the spinach filling inside the casserole dish.
9. Repeat this process with 7 more sheets of phyllo dough so you have a total of 8 buttered sheets on top. Gently tuck the dough along the outside down. Make sure the top layer of dough is brushed with butter.
10. Preheat the oven to 375F. Bake until the Spanakopita is golden and crisp, about 35 to 40 minutes. Let it cool for about 15 minutes so the filling can set before slicing and serving.

How to Store and Reheat This Dish

Store Spanakopita wrapped in the fridge for up to 5 days.

This dish reheats well in the oven or air fryer. Preheat the oven or air fryer to 325F and heat it until warm, about 10 to 15 minutes.

Tips

• Use frozen spinach to save time! However, be sure to wring out all of the excess liquid to avoid a soggy bottom to your spinach pie.
• Another great tip to save you time is to use store-bought phyllo dough. Look for it in the freezer area of your regular grocery store, or at a local Greek grocery store, or buy it on Amazon.
• If you’ve ever worked with phyllo dough, you know how fast it can dry out and become unusable! To help prevent phyllo from drying out, lay a piece of wax paper or plastic wrap on a flat surface. Put the phyllo on top, and then place another piece of wax paper or plastic wrap on top. Drape a kitchen towel that’s dampened with cold water over the top layer of wax paper or plastic wrap. Keep the dough covered until you remove a piece to use.
• Score the Spanakopita before baking to help you cut it with less flaking after it’s baked. This results in neater slices!

Spanakopita FAQs

Is Phyllo Dough the Same as Puff Pastry?

Phyllo dough and puff pastry are not the same thing.

Phyllo dough, which is also transliterated as “filo” dough, is paper-thin pastry typically made of flour, water, and oil. When they’re used in baking, sheets of phyllo dough are typically brushed with oil or melted butter, and then stacked. The end result is a super crispy, crunchy, golden pastry. For example, baklava is made with phyllo dough!

On the other hand, puff pastry is a laminated dough usually made of flour, water, and butter. Laminated means that the dough is layered with cold butter by rolling the dough out, spreading it with butter, folding it up, letting it chill, and then rolling it out again (and so forth). The layers of butter and dough result in a pastry that’s puffed and golden with a rich buttery flavor. Picture a croissant as an example of lamination.

Do You Put Egg in Spanakopita?

In this recipe, we add 3 eggs to the Spanakopita filling. This helps the filling set, and also bumps up the protein content a bit.

However, you can omit the egg from this recipe if you prefer. The main difference is that the filling won’t set quite as much.

Why is My Spanakopita Soggy on the Bottom?

There are a few different reasons why your Greek spinach pie is soggy on the bottom, but it most likely has to do with the spinach.

If you’re using frozen spinach, it’s likely that you didn’t wring all of the excess liquid out of it. I’m telling you, wring it out, wring it out again, and then do it another time. And then see if it looks like it needs it again.

If you’re using fresh spinach, it’s a similar situation. You need to cook out all the excess liquid from the spinach before assembling your pie.

Another great tip to help prevent a soggy bottom is to bake the Spanakopita uncovered so excess moisture can evaporate off.

And lastly, if you’re still worried about a soggy bottom, if your oven’s heat source is at the bottom, you can bake Spanakopita on a rack positioned in the lower 1/3 of the oven for the last 10 minutes it bakes.

What to Serve with Greek Spinach Pie

• Mediterranean Bean Salad
• Apple Walnut Rainbow Swiss Chard Salad
• Spanakopita Potato Salad
• Mediterranean Pasta Salad

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xoxo, Faith

Spanakopita Recipe (Greek Spinach Pie)

By: Faith Gorsky

Spanakopita (Greek Spinach Pie) has crisp, buttery layers of phyllo dough and a savory spinach filling with garlic, fresh herbs, and feta. It’s easier to make than you might think and it’s a great dish to make ahead!

5 from 2 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 30 mins

Cook Time 40 mins

Course Appetizer, Vegetarian Main Course

Cuisine Greek

Servings 12 servings

Calories 251 kcal

Ingredients

 

US CustomaryMetric

 

1x2x3x

Spinach Filling:

• ▢ 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• ▢ 1 large sweet onion diced
• ▢ 6 large cloves garlic minced
• ▢ 16 ounces frozen spinach thawed and drained well (see Notes)
• ▢ 1 bunch parsley minced
• ▢ 1 bunch scallion green and white parts, thinly sliced
• ▢ 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• ▢ 2 tablespoons minced fresh dill or 1/2 tablespoon dried dill
• ▢ 12 ounces feta cheese crumbled
• ▢ 3 large eggs
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• ▢ 1/4 teaspoon salt
• ▢ 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes or more to taste

Top and Bottom Crust:

• ▢ 16 sheets phyllo dough approximately 9 by 14-inches
• ▢ 2/3 cup salted butter melted

Instructions

 

For the Spinach Filling:

• Add the oil to a large skillet over medium heat. Once hot, add the onion and cook until softened, but not browned, about 6 to 8 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in the garlic and cook 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Transfer to a bowl and cool until lukewarm, about 10 minutes.
• Add the onion/garlic mixture, spinach, parsley, scallion, lemon juice, dill, feta, eggs, black pepper, salt, and crushed red pepper flakes to a large bowl. Stir to combine.

To Assemble the Spanakopita:

• Brush the bottom and sides of a 9 by 13-inch casserole dish with melted butter.
• Generously brush 1 sheet of phyllo dough with butter and place it into the greased casserole dish. Repeat this process with 7 more sheets of phyllo dough so you have a total of 8 buttered sheets in the dish.
• Spread the spinach filling out evenly onto the phyllo dough in the dish.
• Generously brush 1 sheet of phyllo dough with butter and place it on top of the spinach filling inside the casserole dish. Repeat this process with 7 more sheets of phyllo dough so you have a total of 8 buttered sheets on top.
• Gently tuck the dough along the outside down. Make sure the top layer of dough is brushed with butter.
• If you want to score the top of the spinach pie, use a sharp paring knife to do it now (see Notes).

To Bake:

• Preheat the oven to 375F. Bake until the Spanakopita is golden and crisp, about 35 to 40 minutes.
• Let it cool for about 15 minutes so the filling can set before slicing and serving.

Faith’s Tips

• Recipe Yield and Serving Size: This recipe makes 1 (9 by 13-inch) dish of Spanakopita. As an appetizer it serves 12, and as a vegetarian main course it serves 6.
• Frozen Spinach: I like to use frozen spinach (instead of fresh) for two reasons: 1) it’s a time-saver, and 2) it would take a pretty large volume of fresh spinach to yield the same quantity! Just be sure that you squeeze it very well to drain out the excess liquid, otherwise your Spanakopita might be soggy!
• Salted Butter Substitute: You can use extra-virgin olive oil instead of melted butter to brush the phyllo dough.
• Make the Filling Ahead of Time: You can make the filling up to 2 days ahead of time and keep it covered in the fridge until assembling the pie.
• Prevent the Phyllo Dough From Drying Out: To help prevent phyllo dough from drying out, lay a piece of wax paper or plastic wrap on a flat surface. Put the phyllo on top, and then place another piece of wax paper or plastic wrap on top. Drape a kitchen towel that’s dampened with cold water over the top layer of wax paper or plastic wrap. Keep the dough covered until you remove a piece to use.
• Scoring the Top Before Baking: This will help you cut it with less flaking after it’s baked, resulting in neater slices.
• How to Store and Reheat This Dish: Store Spanakopita wrapped in the fridge for up to 5 days. This dish reheats well in the oven or air fryer. Preheat the oven or air fryer to 325F and heat it until warm, about 10 to 15 minutes.

Nutrition

Nutrition Facts

Spanakopita Recipe (Greek Spinach Pie)

Amount Per Serving

Calories 251 Calories from Fat 189

% Daily Value*

Fat 21g32%

Saturated Fat 11g69%

Trans Fat 1g

Polyunsaturated Fat 1g

Monounsaturated Fat 7g

Cholesterol 93mg31%

Sodium 545mg24%

Potassium 213mg6%

Carbohydrates 15g5%

Fiber 2g8%

Sugar 2g2%

Protein 9g18%

Vitamin A 4962IU99%

Vitamin C 5mg6%

Calcium 208mg21%

Iron 1mg6%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Keyword Greek Spinach Pie, Spanakopita, Spanakopita Recipe

Tried this recipe?Let me know how it was!

This post was first published on An Edible Mosaic on July 6, 2009. I updated it with more information on May 23, 2022.