Easy Greek Spinach Pie (Traditional Spanakopita) - The Hungry Bites (2024)

You only need 7 simple ingredients to make the best Greek spinach pie (Spanakopita). And by following this authentic recipe with an easystep-by-step guide(plus a video and ALL the tips) you'll make it even better than my grandma! If you're vegan just skip the feta cheese.

The most popular, classic savory Greek pies are Spanakopita and Tiropita (cheese pie).

Spanakopita is made with spinach and may or may not contain feta cheese (skip the feta if you're vegan). A very similar pie is Hortopita which is made with wild leafy greens instead of spinach (we call them horta in Greece).

If you love Greek cuisine don't miss this tiropita (cheese pie) with puff pastry and bechamel sauce which is a variation of the classic Greek cheese pie made with feta and this Greek ground beef pie recipe (kreatopita) in which I like to add some eggplant for extra flavor. If you prefer chicken, you'll love this Greek style deep dish chicken pot pie with puff pastry crust.

😍 Why I love this recipe

These are some of the reasons why I love thisauthentic Greek spinach and feta pie:

✓Easy: By using store-bought phyllo, all you have to do is cook the leeks and the spinach and then fill the pie.

✓Delicious. Crunchy and flaky layers of phyllo pastry, creamy filling, sweetness from the leeks. I may be biased since I'm Greek, but just as all traditional Greek food, this Spanakopita tastes amazing!

✓Versatile: It can be enjoyed as an appetizer or meze, as a healthy side dish, light lunch, tasty afternoon snack or a wholesome breakfast.

📋 Ingredients

For this traditional Spanakopita recipe you'll only need the following 7 ingredients:

Spinach: It can be fresh spinach or frozen. Frozen spinach will save you the trouble of washing and chopping but it may take a bit longer to cook.

Leeks: They offer sweetness, depth of taste, and balance the flavor of the spinach pie perfectly. I highly recommend them!

Extra-virgin olive oil: You can also use melted butter, but olive oil is traditionally used in most pies.

Phyllo pastry: Phyllo (or filo) is a type of dough made from wheat flour and water and rolled into thin sheets. In Greece, you can find thin phyllo (called "phyllo kroustas") and traditional phyllo which is thicker. You can use both types without any problems.

*If you prefer to make your own homemade phyllo you can follow this recipe for Easy Greek Olive Oil Homemade Crust - Phyllo by olivetomato.com or this homemade phyllo dough (recipe by allrecipes.com).

🥣 Substitutions - Variations

Other types of crust: You can also use puff pastry or your favorite pie crust. In this case, you won't need the olive oil which is used for greasing the phyllo sheets.

Instead of feta cheese you can use goat cheese or another type of white cheese. Cottage cheese and ricotta cheese are lighter alternatives, but I find they lack flavor.

With herbs: Adding fresh herbs to every food is a classic Mediterranean way to enhance flavor, so if you have fresh dill, fresh parsley, mint, green onions or chives don't hesitate to chop some and add it to the filling (the same time when you add the feta).

Vegan Spanakopita.Spanakopita without feta is a classic Greek vegan food especially during periods of fasting (like Sarakosti). Keep in mind that if you omit the feta the filling will be as tall, but that's normal. Another option is to use tofu.

Other shapes: Most Greek pies are made in large shallow round pans. If you want to make it into individual portions, you can shape it into triangles (though it's much more work). This spanakopita triangles recipe (by feelgoodfoodie.com) shows you how to do it.

Another variation is to make a large spiral. You can see how to make it in this article for spanakopita spiral (recipe by antonioufillo.com.au)

🔪 Instructions (Steps)

Follow this easy step-by-step guide to make the best traditional Greek spinach pie recipe every time!

1. Chop the spinach and the leeks.

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2. Sauté the leeks in a large, deep pot and when they're soft and translucent, add the spinach. Stir from time to time until the spinach wilts down and continue cooking over medium heat until all of the juices are evaporated.

If you don't want to wait for the juices to evaporate you can also let it cool and squeeze the mixture by hand to remove all the excess moisture (this will prevent a soggy bottom).

3. Add the crumbled feta cheese and freshly grated black pepper and mix to combine.

4. Brush a baking dish with olive oil and cover it with the two thirds of the phyllo pastry making sure that the sheets of phyllo dough overlap the dish. Brush each sheet with olive oil and arrange it in a ruffled way, as this traps air in between and makes them crunchier.

5. Fill the pie with the spinach and feta filling and level the surface with a spatula.

6. Fold inwards the overlapping phyllo sheets and cover the pie with the remaining phyllo, greasing each layer with olive oil.

7. Score the top layer with a sharp knife (don't go all the way down) and lightly sprinkle the surface of the pie with 2 tablespoons of water (this makes for a crispier crust). Bake in the oven until golden brown. Once slightly cooled, you can cut it into pieces.

👨‍🍳 Expert Tips

✤ Reduce the moisture in the filling as much as possible (either by cooking or by squeezing the filling with your hands). Excess moisture will dampen the bottom of the pie.

✤ While working with phyllo, cover the sheets with a lightly damp kitchen towel to prevent it from drying out.

✤ There's no right or wrong way for how to arrange the phyllo inside the baking dish, as long as you cover the bottom and the sides without leaving any areas uncovered.

✤ The phyllo should be ruffled/wrinkled because you want some air trapped between the layers. This will cook the phyllo better and make it crispier.

✤ Gently brush the surface of the phyllo with olive oil without compacting the sheets - remember you want some air trapped in between.

✤ Sprinkle some water over the surface of the spinach pie before putting it in the oven. This will make the crust crispier.

✤ If your pies are baked with their bottom soft or soggy, try to bake them in the lower rack of the oven, or bake using the bottom heat setting.

💭 FAQs

🍳 Food pairing

What is spanakopita served with?

This homemade spinach pie can be served as a main course on its own or as a tasty side dish. Here are some dishes that it pairs well with:

📖 Recipe