Authentic Greek Spanakopita – Spinach and Feta Pie
The Greek authentic recipe for delicious spanakopita straight from my mothers notes! Crispy layers of phyllo dough brushed with olive oil cover a delicious spinach feta filling in this delicious traditional Greek recipe.
Spanakopita pronounced spah-nah-KO-pee-tah is the amazing and extremely popular Greek spinach pie. Spanakopita is a traditional Greek dish where spinach, feta, olive oil, herbs are baked in a golden, crispy phyllo dough. It is a favorite appetizer, meal, and snack not only in Greece but around the globe. Go into any bakery in Greece and you will find this wonderful pie!
The first time I realized that spanakopita was to become a popular dish all over the world was in the 70’s. My mother would bake a large pan of it and take it to the school PTA meetings. The other moms loved it! They all wanted my mom’s recipe. Mind you this was in a Chicago suburb with few Greek people. And the thing is, it is a dish you never get tired of, flaky crust, earthy spinach, tangy feta…
For us spanakopita is a weekly staple and I also keep a bunch in the freezer for a last minute meal (see below how to freeze). This recipe here is my mother’s of course and I have been making it for years! Spanakopita is a popular recipe consisting of spinach, herbs and cheese, the types of herbs used, the ratio of cheese to spinach, the phyllo, all make the difference.
How to make an Authentic Spanakopita Recipe
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (180 Celsius).
- Heat up a medium-sized pan with one tablespoon of olive oil.
- Start by sautéing the onions until they become soft and translucent.
- Now, add the spinach to the pan, making sure to squeeze out any excess water from it.
- Continue to sauté the spinach along with the onions for a few more minutes. Sprinkle in the herbs, nutmeg, and sugar, and sauté everything together for another 2-3 minutes. Then, set this mixture aside and let it cool.
- Grate half of the feta cheese, and crumble the remaining half.
- In a small bowl, beat an egg and then mix it with the crumbled feta.
- Combine the egg and feta mixture with the sautéed spinach mixture. Also, add the other tablespoon of olive oil and make sure everything is well mixed.
- Take a pan that’s about 10 x 15 inches and brush it with olive oil. Place a sheet of phyllo dough in the pan and brush it with more olive oil. Repeat this step with 5 more phyllo sheets.
- Spread the spinach mixture evenly over the phyllo sheets. Cover the spinach with 6 more phyllo sheets, brushing each one with olive oil. You can either trim the excess phyllo hanging over the pan or roll it in.
- Use a knife to score the top of the phyllo (don’t cut all the way through, just through the top phyllo sheets) to create about 10-12 pieces.
- Bake the dish in the preheated oven for approximately 40 minutes or until the phyllo turns golden brown. Once done, remove it from the oven and allow it to cool. Then, cut it into pieces.
- You can enjoy this dish at room temperature, or if you prefer the phyllo to be crunchy, you can warm it in the oven before serving.
Tips for Making the Very Best Authentic Spanakopita
This is a tried and true recipe and works every time. It is easy but you need to remember some key points shared by both my mom and dad:
- The filling is not supposed to be salty but rather mild and almost sweet. The addition of soft sautéed onions (sometimes leek) and sugar provide that sweetness.
- Do not add garlic. I know you want to, after all spinach and garlic are often cooked together, but again the idea is to have a somewhat sweet filling, garlic is an “intruder” in this particular recipe.
- Be careful with the ratio of filling and phyllo. I often see photos of spankopita that has a real thick layer of filling, but when you are using the thin phyllo you have to make sure it can hold the filling. In addition, you want to make sure that every bite has the right amount of filling in relation to the phyllo, not too much and not too little. If you want a thicker filling than you will have to use a thicker phyllo (here is a recipe for that).
- Do not expect pites (pies) made with this phyllo to be neat, they are messy. This phyllo is tasty and crunchy but it will break, that is why it is important to score the pie before baking, so that you can get a cleaner cut.
Authentic Spanakopita Does NOT Contain the Following Ingredients (Beware of Imitations)
- Garlic
- Sesame seeds
- Butter (traditionally it is made with olive oil)
- Cayenne Pepper
- Lemon
Working with Phyllo
- Most likely your phyllo will be frozen. So, make sure you defrost in the refrigerator before using. Do not open the package before it has defrosted. Once it is defrosted, and you open the package do not attempt to pick up a sheet of it has not defrosted completely because it will break.
- Now that you are ready to work with make sure that you keep it covered completely with a damp kitchen towel, work with one sheet at a time.
- Make sure most of the surface of the phyllo is covered with olive oil, otherwise you will have a paper like texture not a crispy one.
Make Ahead and Storing Spanakopita
Spanakopita is one of those dishes that are easy to make ahead and store. There are 2 ways:
- You can assemble the pie, wrap it in plastic wrap and freeze it. When you are ready to bake it, just remove from the freezer, do not defrost, and bake as you would at 350 degrees Fahrenheit (180 Celsius), and you will have freshly baked pie to serve.
- Another way, is to assemble the pie, bake it, let it cool completely, cut it in pieces, wrap and freeze. When you are ready to serve, just heat up the pieces at 325 degrees Fahrenheit until warm and crispy and serve.
Now back to the recipe. So this recipe is actually lighter than the typical spanakopita. There is a just a bit of olive oil in the mix, and you can adjust how much feta you want to add or you can choose not to add feta.
What to Serve with a Spanakopita
Vegetable pites are such a great way to eat well. Spanakopita is a complete vegetarian meal combining vegetables, starch, dairy and good fats. You really do not need anything else. Vegetables cooked with herbs wrapped in the thin phyllo provide 1-2 servings of vegetables and about 1/2 to 1 serving starch. It can easily be consumed as a meal or as a snack and in Greece we often have them for breakfast. But here are some serving suggestions:
- As a side, it is a great accompaniment to meat or fish. It is perfect with Greek Roast Lamb or Roasted Greek Meatballs.
- For a buffet, serve the spanakopita cut in squares on a large platter or you can make spanakopita triangles
- If serving as a main, I often accompany it with a Greek salad, some olives, tzatziki or whipped feta dip (tirokafteri) and a bit of cheese. But as noted above, I often serve it as is, especially for lunch.
- It can also be be part of an appetizer platter, along with the famous Saganaki (pan-seared cheese) and some Black Olive Tapenade.
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Authentic Greek Spinach and Feta Pie – Spanakopita
Ingredients
- 1 pound (500 g) frozen spinach thawed
- 1 medium onion finely chopped or 3-4 spring onions chopped only white parts
- 2 tablespoons olive oil plus more for brushing the phyllo
- 3 tablespoons chopped parsley
- 2 tablespoons chopped dill
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh mint (or 2 tbs dry)
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 10-12 ounces (280-340 g) crumbled and grated feta
- 3 eggs
- 12 phyllo sheets
Instructions
- Preheat oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit (180 Celsius)
- Heat a medium pan with one tablespoon olive oil.
- Sauté the onions until soft.
- Add the spinach (make sure you have squeezed out the water).
- Sauté spinach with onion for a few minutes.
- Add the herbs, nutmeg and sugar and sauté for 2-3 minutes more. Set aside and let it cool.
- Grate half of the feta and crumble the rest.
- In a small bowl beat the egg and add the feta.
- Add the egg mixture to the spinach and add the other tablespoon of olive oil. Mix so that all the ingredients are blended.
- Brush a pan that is about 10 X 15 inches with olive oil.
- Place a sheet of phyllo in the pan and brush with olive oil. Repeat with 5 more phyllo sheets.
- Spread the spinach mixture evenly.
- Cover with 6 more phyllo sheets brushing each one with olive oil. Cut the phyllo hanging over the pan or roll in.
- Score the top with a knife (do not cut all the way through, just through the top phyllo sheets) for about 10-12 pieces.
- Bake for about 40 minutes until phyllo is golden.
- Remove from oven and let the pita cool. Cut in pieces.
- Enjoy at room temperature or if you want the phyllo crunchy, warm in the oven before serving.
Notes
Working with Phyllo
- Most likely your phyllo will be frozen. So, make sure you defrost in the refrigerator before using. Do not open the package before it has defrosted. Once it is defrosted, and you open the package do not attempt to pick up a sheet of it has not defrosted completely because it will break.
- Now that you are ready to work with make sure that you keep it covered completely with a damp kitchen towel, work with one sheet at a time.
- Make sure most of the surface of the phyllo is covered with olive oil, otherwise you will have a paper like texture not a crispy one.
Make Ahead and Storing Spanakopita
Spanakopita is one of those dishes that are easy to make ahead and store. There are 2 ways:- You can assemble the pie, wrap it in plastic wrap and freeze it. When you are ready to bake it, just remove from the freezer, do not defrost, and bake as you would at 350 degrees Fahrenheit (180 Celsius), and you will have freshly baked pie to serve.
- Another way, is to assemble the pie, bake it, let it cool completely, cut it in pieces, wrap and freeze. When you are ready to serve, just heat up the pieces at 325 until warm and crispy and serve.
What to Serve with a Spanakopita
Vegetable pites are such a great way to eat well. Spanakopita is a complete vegetarian meal combining vegetables, starch, dairy and good fats. You really do not need anything else. Vegetables cooked with herbs wrapped in the thin phyllo provide 1-2 servings of vegetables and about 1/2 to 1 serving starch. It can easily be consumed as a meal or as a snack and in Greece we often have them for breakfast. But here are some serving suggestions:- As a side, it is a great accompaniment to meat or fish.
- For a buffet, serve the spanakopita cut in squares on a large platter or you can make spanakopita triangles
- If serving as a main, I often accompany it with a small tomato salad, some olives and a bit of cheese. But as noted above, I often serve it as is especially for lunch.
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Photos by Elena Paravantes © All Rights Reserved
So I went to Greece recently, specifically Athens and my mum and I loved their pastries and I wanted to try to recreate it, as you can’t get the same type of thing in the UK local to me, and this is almost identical to what we bought in Greece. Great recipe we loved it! Thanks so much for sharing ❤️
Happy to hear that! Thank you for sharing Liv!
I have made this twice & I love it! If I freeze it uncooked, do I thaw it before cooking? Also, do I still cook it at 350? Thank you!
Hi Kim, Thank you for your question. If you freeze it unbaked, you do not thaw it or defrost, you bake it at 350 degrees Fahrenheit (180 Celsius), for about 40 minutes. I just added that clarification to the recipe
This is the best recipe I have used by far! Works, is easy and delicious
This was much easier than expected! So good! I froze half of it. We had with some steamed fish.
Happy you enjoyed it. Yep, it’s easier than it looks
Made this for supper this evening. It was a hit! So simple to make. It turned out perfectly first time. I’m looking forward to trying more Greek recipes.
Thank you Lucy!
Absolutely delicious!
I had it for lunch today ,from a local restaurant that has a amazing Greek cook .He had made it fresh this morning, when I arrived he cut me a huge peice and said warm for 15 minutes in 350 oven ,I did and it was perfect, like pillows .Will definitely make ,thank you so much for the recipe.
I Started making spinach pie during the pandemic. I’ve had and love Spinach pie and have been a vegetarian for a while. I didn’t look up a recipe and kind of winged it! It was so delicious but after reading this, I can see where I can make it better.
First; I did not add the onions. I Sautéed garlic. From this article, I realize that I did not use enough Philo sheets on the bottom of the pan or throughout. I use feta cheese throughout the recipe and I mixed in grated Parmesan and mozzarella.
I see why I shouldn’t use garlic and I should sauté the onions and I’m gonna try it tonight making it this way. I put a Parmesan shredded mozzarella on the top. Needless to say it wasn’t crispy though delicious. And I was wondering how to make my spinach pie more crisp. Now I know !
No matter of fact, it has been so yummy. I’ve had people asked me to make them a pan of spinach pie, Neighbor who of gave me $40 for a pan! My S.P. comes out much higher! Is this bc I did not use a aluminum pan – but a 8 1/2 x 10 glass pan.
Also, I didn’t know to heat the pan first.
I will MAKE THIS SPINACH PIE TONIGHT, USING ONIONS AND ADDING NOT THE GARLIC AS SUGGESTED!
??s—-When using the Philo sheets, it is suggested to use a dampen paper towel on the unused top pieces as you work, BUT IF YOU GET THESE PHILO PIECES SHEETS, WET, THEY DO STICK TOGETHER! So I find that I HAVE TO WORK very quickly with the Philo to build the spinach pie. Also while using the olive oil between the sheets of must you brush the olive oil on the whole sheet of Filo?? All 6 of the sheets? To get a
Crispy Product? I find Philo sheets are difficult to work with! Especially if you get any sheets WET! (I’ve been using a clean inexpensive two Inch paintbrush) to “dub” on the”light” olive oil, onto the Philo sheet. , but – – I’ve been dabbing on the olive on the sheet i’m various locations of each sheet.a dab from sheet Does this make a difference in the dish?? Is this why my spinach pie Filo isn’t crispy? ?
Also, I understand why I shouldn’t have a cheese topping! So if I want my spinach pie to be cheesy as well as crispy, do I put the cheese in the spinach mix? Using the shredded cheese in the mixtue??? Also-
How much olive oil do I use for each sheet??
and Is adding sugar a must.?? Thank you so much for your recipe and perhaps answers to my questions!
I love this dish and I will write back and let you know how it turned out with the sautéed onions heated pan and the other changes I will make!
Vivian Zipkin ( [email protected]
I realize this is a late reply. Thank you for your comments. The phyllo become crispy due to brushing the olive oil, so it is important to cover all the sheets with olive oil. You don’t need any cheese topping as the phyllo will become crispy on its own (as long as it is brushed with olive oil).
Amazing recipe!! The instructions you included were extremely detailed and foolproof.
Best spanakopita recipe I’ve tried!
Thank you, Elena for this excellent recipe. I chose it for its complex herb/spice mix (onion, dill, parsley, mint and nutmeg). I also added two cloves garlic and a pinch of black pepper to punch it up a little. The result was truly scrumptious.
After posting this review, I read that you strongly advise against pepper and garlic. So I’ve made it several times since then, omitting the offending ingredients. I like it either way, and can appreciate that the more delicate flavors come through without pepper and garlic.
What brand of phyllo dough do you buy?
I used Athen’s. I don’t know if it’s the best; it is the only one available at my grocery store. It worked well.
I love this. I have been making large batches. Great for work lunches!
I was surprised at how easy this was to make! We had for lunch with a salad and I froze the rest.
Hi Elena,
I would like to make taramasalata. Do you have a recipe that I could use?
Thank you,
Anne Robinson
Hi Anne, Yes I do!
Here is the link for taramosalata with 3 techniques: https://www.olivetomato.com/taramosalata-or-taramasalata-heres-how-to-make-it-the-traditional-way-or-the-easy-way-and-find-out-why-its-healthy/