Easy Greek Spanakopita Recipe – Feta And Spinach Pie

Written by Ana from creativenourish.com 
Ever since visiting Greece in my early childhood, I have loved their food – breakfasts with honey drizzled in greek yogurt, greek salads, kleftikos, fish…and anything with feta really.

That is why I wanted to recreate the authentic Greek Spanakopita at home – it’s an easy recipe and one that feeds many.

What Is Spanakopita

Made with delicious feta, fresh spinach sautéed in onion and garlic, and then covered in filo pastry that turns golden when baked.

In Greece, it’s made in a variety of ways, but the most common is either baked in a large dish and then served in square size portions or as spanakopita triangles (spinach and cheese triangles).

You can eat it all over Greece, but it is thought to have originated from the region of Epirus, in the northwest.

What you need to know about making this spanakopita recipe:

Spinach – you can use fresh or frozen, but I prefer fresh. If you use frozen, you need to make sure that you drain all the liquid from it after thawing

Feta – good quality feta cheese is necessary – best are those made from sheep’s milk and one that is preferably made in Greece. The ones with a mix of cow’s milk, sheep’s, and goat’s milk are just not as good, in my opinion

Sautéed onion and garlic – necessary to get the sweetness and depth of flavor

Herbs – chopped fresh parsley is a must. You can also add chopped fresh dill if you find it available

Eggs – make the mixture more dense, and add more protein, but you won’t taste them at all

Olive oil – use good quality olive oil; cold-pressed extra-virgin is the way to go if available

Filo pastry – you can always make your own (here is a great recipe), or if you need to make this quickly (which I usually do for a quick lunch), you can use store-bought filo pastry

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Tips On How To Make Greek Spanakopita

The Filling

The classic filling ingredients are spinach and feta cheese. If you see a recipe using ricotta (and you will find those) then it is not an authentically Greek spanakopita recipe. If you use fresh spinach like we do now, it needs to be sautéed with onion and garlic and then cooled before the eggs and feta are added (so the eggs don’t start cooking).

The Filo

When buying filo, you want to look for ones with no preservatives, trans fats, or nasty ingredients. If you are thawing previously frozen filo, then make sure the pastry is completely dry before using it in the recipe, as otherwise, you won’t get that crispy finish.
Be gentle when working with filo pastry, as it can easily tear.

The Cooking

The great thing about this recipe is that you can make it ahead of time, for example, the night before, then cover it and place it in the fridge.

We used a glass Pyrex dish 22.5 x 33 cm.

The Serving

I love eating this spinach and feta pie with a side of spring greens dressed in olive oil and balsamic vinegar for lunch.

It can be served as an appetizer, snack, main meal, or part of a bigger family gathering. It goes great with lamb, chicken, and fish.

The best is to serve it warm direct from the oven, but even cold, it tastes amazing.

If you like this recipe, you might also like the Oven-baked Spanish Tortilla.