This recipe for Spanakopita Pie is fun and easy to make and the perfect weekend brunch or lunch idea! It has double the spinach filling of traditional spanakopita, so it’s a bit healthier too! Pair this with a leafy green salad or a Greek Salad for a simple Greek-inspired meal.
I got a hankering for spanakopita the other day, and decided to turn my normal sheet pan version, into a pie!
It was so much fun to make, so much easier than making this the traditional way and I just wanted to share it! Spanakopita Pie perfect for weekend mornings when time is not hurried and you have a little time to play. It really only takes 30 minutes of hands-on time before baking, so totally doable!
Serve it up as brunch or lunch along with a leafy green salad or a Greek Salad, and viola, a fun and delicious weekend meal! Plus the leftovers make a very tasty lunch during the workweek.
TIP: Remember to THAW Phyllo Dough overnight in the fridge. (Or thaw it on the counter for 3 hours.) Phyllo Dough can be found in the freezer section of your grocery store, and keep in mind, it is not the same as puff pastry. 😉
I love this recipe because it uses double the spinach, which translates to double the nutrients!
How to Make Spanakopita Pie:
- Make the flavorful Spinach-Dill filling.
- Add cheese and egg.
- Layer the phyllo dough in a pie pan- 12 sheets, brushing each layer with olive oil
- Spread out the filling over top.
- Gently fold up the edges for the phyllo dough and brush the outer tips with olive oil.
- Bake in a 350F oven until golden, about 45-55 minutes.
The Spanakopita filling recipe starts with sauteing onion and garlic for added depth and flavor. I love adding fresh spinach to this but feel free to use frozen.
But please, don’t leave out the fresh dill!
Make sure to drain the filling, so it is relatively dry.
Then mix in the eggs and the cheese.
Typically feta cheese is used in Spanakopita, but in this recipe, I’ve cut it way down and added a mild, melty cheese.
This is because the filling is much thicker here (double the thickness) than in regular spanakopita- the normal amount of feta is way too overpowering. But a little is nice. I added a mellower melty cheese that turned out perfectly.
Now the fun part! Layering the phyllo dough! Unwrap the thawed phyllo and cover it with a kitchen towel, so it doesn’t dry out. Make sure to brush each layer with a light coating of olive oil.
TIP: Using spray olive oil here- is the easiest and fastest, plus you’ll end up using less oil overall.
Start by placing a sheet of phyllo down on an oiled pie pan, brush or spray with oil, then layer another piece of phyllo, crisscrossing the phyllo dough. Brust with oil, then layer another phyllo sheet, at a diagonal to make a star. And just keep layering diagonally, and brushing lightly with oil, layering and brushing until you have 12 layers down. this takes about 5-10 minutes.
Once all 12 layers are complete, add the spanakopita filling.
Spread it out, then carefully start to gather all the phyllo edges and bring them towards the middle. Brush any dry looking outer corners and edges.
Place in a 350F oven for about an hour until baked through and beautifully golden.
Let this sit at least 15 minutes before cutting.
Carefully slice and serve.
I love this served with a leafy green salad or a simple Greek Salad!
Give this Spanakopita Pie a try this weekend and let me know what you think in the comments below!
Happy Thursday!
PS: On the homefront: We are spending the winter in Santa Barbara. We drove down from Washington last weekend with our two old kitties and are renting a lovely home here. A dream come true… I’m still pinching myself!!! I’m so excited to take a winter “off” this year and be by the ocean. Anyways, just thought I’d let you know. 🙂
Spanakopita Pie
- Prep Time: 30
- Cook Time: 60
- Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
- Yield: 8 1x
- Category: vegetarian
- Method: baked
- Cuisine: greek
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
Spanakopita Pie – an easy, healthy recipe for spanakopita, with double the spinach filling, made in a pie pan! A delicious Greek style lunch or brunch idea! This requires phyllo THAWING time (3 hours or overnight)! Adapted from Bon Appetit
Ingredients
- 2–3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 large onion, diced
- 4 garlic cloves, rough chopped
- 2 lbs chopped baby spinach, fresh ( or use frozen)
- 1/3 cup chopped fresh dill
- 1/3 cup chopped Italian parsley (or basil)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- —
- 2 eggs
- 3/4 cup crumbled feta or goat cheese
- 1 1/4 cups shredded gruyere or mozzarella (or other mild melty cheese)
- —-
- 12 sheets phyllo dough – thawed overnight in the fridge or on the counter for 3 hours.
- 4–6 Tablespoons olive oil for brushing filo, or use spray olive oil ( the easiest, fastest!) or melted butter.
Instructions
- Make sure your phyllo dough is thawed (overnight in the fridge, or on the counter for 3 hours)
- Preheat oven to 350 F
- Make the filling: In an extra-large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat, saute the onion 3-4 minutes, stirring until fragrant and golden, lower heat to medium and add garlic saute 2-3 minutes. If using fresh spinach (chopped), add in batches, wilting, adding more until all fits in the pan and is wilted. Or add frozen spinach and saute until warmed through. Toss in the herbs. Strain for a few minutes using a strainer over a bowl, pressing lightly to encourage more drainage. Drain the water from the bowl. Place spinach mixture in the bowl.
- Using a fork, stir in the nutmeg, pepper, eggs, feta, gruyere or mozzarella. Stir the filling to combine.
- Layer the phyllo: Unwrap and unroll the thawed phyllo dough so it’s lying flat on the counter and cover with a dishtowel to prevent it from drying out.
- Brush or spray 9 or 10-inch pie pan with oil, coating bottom and sides. Lay a piece of phyllo over the bottom, letting edges hang over. Brush or spray very lightly with olive oil, also getting the edges. Lay another piece of phyllo, crisscrossing, and lightly brush with oil. Layer another piece crossing at a diagonal, to make a star, brush lightly with oil. Then another piece at the other diagonal, continuing to layer and brush with oil so phyllo is sticking out from all edges. Layer 12 sheets.
- Fill the pie: Place the cooled spinach filling in the middle and spread it out. Gently gather the edges upwards, brushing (or spraying) any dry spots (on the outer edges) with a little oil, and bring them up over the filling, folding, gathering towards the middle. It will not look perfect. 🙂
- Bake 50-60 minutes- in the middle of your oven, checking at 25 minutes -and if necessary, rotate and lay a piece of foil gently over top (do try to attach it). Bake another 30 minutes letting those eggs cook through!
- Let cool 15-20 minutes before cutting with a sharp knife.
- Serve with a leafy green salad or Greek Salad.
- Leftovers are delicious reheated.
Notes
You may be tempted to use all feta instead of mozzarella (like I did the first time). I found the filling way too sharp and tangy. This is because the filling is very thick here (double the thickness than normal spanakopita).
So I halved the feta and added gruyere which got beautifully melty and mellowed that sharp flavor. You could also sub some ricotta.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: ⅛ of a pie ( using olive oil)
- Calories: 376
- Sugar: 3 g
- Sodium: 643.4 mg
- Fat: 25.8 g
- Saturated Fat: 8.2 g
- Carbohydrates: 24.6 g
- Fiber: 4 g
- Protein: 14.5 g
- Cholesterol: 77.2 mg
or brunch idea
I would give 10 stars if allowed for Sylvia’s version. For years I made Food Network’s (FN) Spankopita pie recipe…very harsh flavor and Sylvia you are right, too much feta is too strong tasting. I added 2 cups of minced mozzarella and less feta, was sooooo delicious, it was so creamy and melted in my mouth. I ate a piece cold for breakfast and it was fabulous. This morning, I posted on FN’s Spanakopita Pie recipe review that people should come to Sylvia’s website for the very best ever spinach pie. To Sylvia’s recipe, I added 1/2 cup toasted pine nuts and lemon zest. Will try adding goat cheese, sun dried tomatoes and basil some day. Girl keep doing what you do. I am addicted to your recipes.
You are so kind Colette! We really appreciate this thank you and I’m so happy you enjoyed it!
instead of a pie, I would like to make phyllo triangle how much filling would you suggest to fill a triangle?
I’m not sure, Sarah- I guess it depends on how big your triangle is! I like the idea though- sounds fun!
Opa! This recipe surprised me with how easy and extremely delicious it is! I used 30 ounces of frozen, chopped spinach and spray olive oil to reduce the prep time but didn’t skimp on the fresh herbs. It’s lighter than traditional spanikopita given the reduced quantity of butter and cheese, but more tasty. Once again, I wish I had doubled the recipe because it is just so delicious!
I also made the Lemon Orzo Chickpea (vegan version of Avgolemono) soup which is surprisingly hearty and very delicious as well.
Ευχαριστώ!
(Thank you!)
thanks so much Ingrid!
Took your advice for a vegan version and used your tofu ricotta recipe – no other vegan cheese added. Because there was no eggs, it cooked faster than the stated time. I love that there is a lot of spinach, ensuring I get my daily greens. Carnivore hubby loved it. Pie served with a green salad. Definitely a repeat
Awesome Kat! Great to hear!
Didn’t have phyllo, had puff pastry, so….made an open-faced puff pastry spinach pie. Delicious!
Sounds tasty! Love this idea!
delicious! I went heavy on parsley and light on dill but a solid recipe!
Oh cool! Great to hear!
New to your website…looks amazingly, how can I make it vegan??
Perhaps substitute a vegan cheese?
How would you replace the egg in a vegan version? I’m not sure that a flax egg would work texturally. You do such a great job of suggesting vegan versions in many your recipes so I’d love your opinion on this one. Looks like a fabulous way to create spanakopita!
Hi Barbara- if I were to make this vegan- I would try substituing my tofu ricotta (search recipe in search bar) for the eggs and the cheese, adjusting salt (most likely adding more). Hope that helps. 🙂
Thank you so much, I will try your tofu ricotta version. Do you have a recipe for that lovely Greek salad in the picture? It looks like the perfect side to complement the spanakopita.
Yes Barbara, just type greek salad in the search bar and it will come up. 🙂
You mention parmesan in the directions, but it is not listed on the ingredients list–is there a specific amount you like to use?
Peggy- sorry about that. It shouldn’t say parmesan. It was a mistake and it’s fixed now… thanks.
Could you prep the whole pie then freeze to bake later?
That is a great idea and question. And I have no idea! Sorry. I feel like the top layers would break- they are quite fragile.
I made this last night and it was delicious! Next time I will use the suggestion of using olive oil in a spray to speed the process. I’ll definitely make again.
Oh Good! Yes, the spray is much faster, lighter and easier!
If I use frozen spinach, how much should I use?
I think it would be the same, 2 lbs.