Greek Spanakopita with Spinach (Printable)

Flaky Greek pie with spinach, feta, and herbs wrapped in crisp phyllo pastry. Perfect for any meal.

# What You’ll Need:

→ Filling

01 - 2 lbs fresh spinach, washed and chopped (or 1 lb frozen spinach, thawed and well drained)
02 - 1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
03 - 2 scallions, thinly sliced
04 - 3 tbsp fresh dill, chopped (or 1 tbsp dried dill)
05 - 1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
06 - 2 tbsp olive oil
07 - 8 oz crumbled feta cheese
08 - 1/2 cup ricotta or cottage cheese (optional)
09 - 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
10 - 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
11 - 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
12 - Salt, to taste

→ Phyllo Pastry

13 - 1 lb phyllo dough, thawed
14 - 1/2 cup olive oil or melted butter (for brushing)

# How To Make It:

01 - Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 9x13-inch baking dish.
02 - Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add chopped onion and scallions; sauté until softened, about 5 minutes.
03 - Add chopped spinach in batches if using fresh; cook until wilted and most liquid evaporates. Remove skillet from heat and allow spinach to cool.
04 - Squeeze excess moisture from spinach. In a large bowl, combine spinach mixture with dill, parsley, feta, ricotta if using, eggs, black pepper, nutmeg, and salt. Mix thoroughly.
05 - Place one sheet of phyllo dough in prepared baking dish, allowing edges to overhang. Brush lightly with olive oil or melted butter. Repeat with 6 to 7 additional sheets, brushing each layer.
06 - Spread the spinach and feta filling evenly over the layered phyllo base.
07 - Cover filling with remaining phyllo sheets, layering and brushing each with olive oil or butter as before. Tuck overhanging edges into the dish.
08 - Using a sharp knife, lightly score the top layers into squares or diamonds without cutting through to facilitate serving.
09 - Bake for 35 to 40 minutes until golden and crisp. Allow to cool for 10 minutes before serving.

# Expert Advice:

01 -
  • It actually tastes like you spent hours on it, but comes together in about an hour flat.
  • Once you nail the phyllo layering, you'll find yourself making it for every potluck and dinner party because people always ask for the recipe.
  • The filling is forgiving enough to swap in whatever greens you have hanging around, yet elegant enough to serve without apologies.
02 -
  • Moisture is the enemy here—if your spinach is even slightly wet, your phyllo will steam instead of crisping, and you'll have soggy regret instead of shattered pastry.
  • Phyllo sheets tear if you look at them wrong, but don't panic; little rips seal up in the oven with oil, and nobody will notice once it's golden and you've sliced it.
  • Work fast once you start layering phyllo because it dries out, but work gently because it's delicate.
03 -
  • If phyllo tears while you're layering, don't stress—brush the tear with oil and keep going; it seals in the oven and nobody will know.
  • Score your squares before baking, not after, so you get clean breaks without shattering the whole pie into pieces.
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