Spanakopita Greek Spinach Pie

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By: Diana Posted: 2/21/24

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The most amazing Spanakopita (Greek Spinach Pie) features light and flaky filo dough filled with a savory blend of spinach and feta cheese. You’ll love this easy and traditional recipe as a light meal or a satisfying appetizer!

two squares of spanakopita on a gray plate with a small fork.

What is Spanakopita?

If you’ve never had Spanakopita, let me tell you a bit more about this delicious savory pie. It starts with amazingly crispy layers of filo pastry dough, and is filled with a tasty mixture of sauteed spinach and feta cheese.

Greek Spinach Pie can be served as an appetizer or side dish along with your favorite Mediterranean dinners, or can stand alone as a light vegetarian meal.

Serve it with a fresh Greek Salad, or my Mediterranean Chickpea Salad to make the perfect lunch. For dinner, I suggest some Chicken Souvlaki, or my easy Greek Sheet Pan Chicken.

closeup of spanakopita sliced into squares, topped with sesame seeds

Easy Spinach Pie Recipe

Simple, Fresh Ingredients – The success of this recipe is directly dependent on the freshness of your ingredients. Luckily, none of them are very difficult to find! Stop at the store for fresh herbs and spinach, yummy feta, and some frozen filo dough. The rest of what you need is probably already in your fridge and pantry.
Traditional Flavors – While I suppose that there are ways to switch up the flavors in spanakopita, I don’t see any reason to fix something that’s not broken. This recipe is classic and amazing, just as it is.

Greek Spinach Pie Ingredients

Here’s what you need to make the best spanakopita:

The ingredients needed to make homemade spanakopita including filo pastry, feta, and spinach, arranged on a marble counter.

Spinach: I prefer to make spanakopita with fresh spinach. It will wilt down in the skillet to the perfect texture. You can also use frozen spinach, but be sure to thaw it first and squeeze out as much moisture as you can before adding it to the filling. There’s no need to saute frozen spinach as it’s already cooked.
Filo Pastry: This is the traditional flaky dough used to make this delicious spinach pie. Look for it in the freezer section of your grocery store. Don’t confuse Filo with puff pastry, the two are similar but quite different in flavor and texture.
Fresh Herbs: Herbs and aromatics give the spinach pie so much fresh earthy flavor. Pick up some garlic, green onions, dill, and parsley for this recipe. I do not suggest trying to use dried herbs here.
Eggs: These help to bind the filling ingredients together so that the pie is firm enough to cut into clean slices after it’s baked. You’ll also need to mix up a simple egg wash to brush over the top layer of dough before baking.
Feta Cheese: I always suggest buying feta in a block and crumbling it by hand. Feta crumbles are convenient, but they’re not as soft and flavorful.
Sour Cream: Just a little bit makes the texture of the spinach pie filling wonderfully creamy and rich.
Olive Oil: For sauteing, layering the filo sheets, and brushing the pan to keep the pie from sticking.

Complete list of ingredients and amounts can be found in the recipe card below.

How To Make Spanakopita

Get ready by preheating your oven to 350°F (180°C). Be sure that your pastry dough is thawed and ready too!

a stainless steel skillet on an electric burner. In the pan are sauteed onions, stirred with a red spoon.

fresh herbs added to sauteed onions in a metal skillet.

Saute: In a large skillet over medium heat, saute the yellow onion in olive oil until soft. Then add the green onions, dill, parsley, and garlic. Cook for another minute, then remove into a bowl.
Wilt the Spinach: Using the same pan, add the spinach in batches and wilt it down with the help of a little olive oil or a splash of water. Once wilted, remove it from the skillet, let it cool down, and then thoroughly squeeze out any excess moisture.

sauteed spinach in a skillet stirred with a red spoon.

eggs and cheese added to a white bowl of sauteed spinach to make greek spinach pie

Mix the Filling: Combine the spinach with the onion mixture in a large bowl. Add the eggs, sour cream, crumbled feta, salt, and pepper, and mix well.
Start Layering: Brush the bottom and sides of a 9×13 inch (23×33 cm) baking pan with olive oil. Trim the filo pastry to the size of the pan if needed. Layer half of the filo pastry sheets into the pan, brushing each with olive oil before adding the next.

spinach filling added to filo dough in a 9x13 pan

a hand using a knife to cute spanakopita into squares

Add the Filling: Spread the spinach mixture evenly over the filo pastry, then top with the remaining sheets of filo, brushing each with olive oil.
Cut: With a sharp knife, cut the pie into 12 pieces cutting all the way through.
Egg Wash: If using, brush the top with egg wash and sprinkle with sesame seeds.
Bake: Bake in the preheated oven for 45 minutes, or until the pastry is golden and crisp. Allow the spinach pie to cool slightly before serving.

Tip!

We cut the pie into squares before baking it because once baked, the top layer of filo is much too delicate to cut cleanly.

Recipe Tips

Working with filo/phyllo dough: It’s important to keep the dough from drying out while you’re working with it. If it dries out it will break and crumble before it’s even in the oven. Keep a damp towel nearby to cover the filo as needed while you’re assembling the dish.
Remove excess moisture: if the filling is too wet it will make the pastry soggy, so be sure to squeeze as much liquid out of the spinach (either fresh or frozen) before using it.
Choose your pan: I’m using a glass baking dish to make this spinach pie because it keeps the bottom crust from getting too crispy. A metal pan will give you a darker, crispier bottom crust. Either way, the spanakopita is delicious!
Egg wash: This step is technically optional, but if you bake this without the egg wash, the color won’t be golden. I also like to add sesame seeds to the top, and the egg wash helps them stick.

a hand holding a square piece of spanakopita with a silver spatula.

Storing Tips

Leftover spanakopita stores very well! Keep cooked servings wrapped well and in an airtight container for up to 3 days in the fridge or 2 months in the freezer.

Warm up the leftovers (either frozen or from the fridge) in the oven until heated through and crisp.

Recipe FAQs

Is filo dough the same as puff pastry?

Both are made from thin sheets of dough, but while puff pastry contains butter laminated between each layer of dough, filo dough contains only a small amount of oil in between. This makes filo dough relatively low in fat, and also very delicate and flaky.

How do you thaw filo dough?

There should be instructions on the package for the best way to thaw the pastry. In general, you should keep the sheets in the packaging and let them thaw in the refrigerator overnight (12+ hours). If you try to unroll the dough before it’s fully thawed it will break.