Light & Easy Spanakopita (Greek Spinach Pie)

Spanakopita (Greek Spinach Pie) is a rich, savory phyllo pastry layered with spinach, onions, feta, lemon, and herbs. Our lighter version has all of the flavor and half the fat of the original!

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• Why You Will Love this Recipe
• What Goes into this Recipe
• How to Make Easy Greek Spinach Pie
• Expert Tips & FAQs
• More Vegetarian Main Dish Recipes
• Light & Easy Spanakopita (Greek Spinach Pie)

Why You Will Love this Recipe

Spanakopita (or Greek Spinach Pie) is easily on one of our favorite all-around meals. You can dress it up and serve it warm for dining in, slice and serve for an easy lunch, or eat it cold for a fast meal on the go. It's one of the most versatile foods around! 

Traditional spanakopita, as you may know, is usually high in fat, and often very heavy as well. However, after making just a few simple changes, we were able to reduce the fat in this Light & Easy Spanakopita recipe to half that of our original recipe. The outcome is a more tender, flakey pie, which Mr B and I much prefer over heavier versions.

Greek Spinach Pie can be served as a main course or a hearty side. The lemony undertones go well with chicken or fish. (It probably pairs well with lamb too; but since I don't eat lamb, I can't say for sure.) We find that a simple meal of spanakopita and table grapes is very satisfying. 

Leftover spinach pie makes a delicious lunch or brunch entry. One of our favorite things to do with cold leftover spanakopita is slice it into Lincoln-log size pieces (about 1"x1"x4"), and then fry the spana-links in a skillet like sausages and serve them up with eggs for a lovely breakfast!

What Goes into this Recipe

Ingredient Notes & Substitutions

★ Spinach: We recommend using frozen spinach. You can use fresh, but we get much better results using frozen.

★ Phyllo dough: If phyllo dough intimidates you, you aren't alone. It seems so fragile, and many recipes offer warnings about how to handle it, dramatically demanding that you keep it covered at all times like a sickly newborn. 

Well, I am here to tell you, don't worry! Phyllo dough is very forgiving, and if you follow a few simple guidelines, you are sure to succeed. 

For best results, thaw phyllo dough overnight in the refrigerator. If you forget, you can put it out on the counter for four or five hours (or all day if you are at work), but the results won't be as even. Keep the package closed while you are thawing it.

You can keep unopened, thawed phyllo in the fridge for up to a month.

Do not thaw phyllo dough in the microwave.

★ Feta: Feta is one of the primary, key ingredients in spanakopita. Do not sub in other cheeses in this case.

★ Dill: Fresh is best, but you can use dried dill for this recipe as well.

★ Flour: You can use all-purpose flour; however, we recommend using Wondra.

★ Cavendar's Greek Seasoning: Cavender's is a unique blend of 13 ingredients that is best used on anything you would normally salt and pepper. (We use it on so many things!) If you don't have Cavender's, sub in half a teaspoon each salt and pepper.

How to Make Easy Greek Spinach Pie

Make the Spinach Filling

Defrost the spinach in the microwave, and allow it to cool until it is safe to handle. Then squeeze the crud out of it! I mean really, really squeeze it. With your hands!

You can use a sieve or colander if you want, but you are going to have to get your hands wet at some point, so it will save you some time if you just dive right in. A pound of frozen spinach will squeeze down to about the size of an orange; somewhere between a baseball- and a softball-sized.

Once you have the spinach thoroughly drained, set it aside.

Preheat the oven to 350° | 175°C.

Heat vegetable oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium heat.

Slowly cook and stir onions until softened. Add minced garlic and cook one minute more. Mix in the drained spinach and fresh dill.

Sprinkle flour over the top and stir to combine. Cook approximately 5 minutes, or until most of the moisture has been absorbed. Remove from heat.

Add the lemon juice and zest to the spinach mixture and stir.

In a separate bowl, mix feta, eggs, and seasonings. Add the feta mixture to the warm spinach mixture and stir to combine.

Assemble the Spanakopita

Spray the bottom of a 9 x 13-inch baking dish with cooking spray.

Lay one sheet of phyllo dough flat in pan.

Dip a pastry brush ½" or less into the melted butter: you don't want to overload it. Brush the single sheet of phyllo dough at the bottom of the baking dish with a little butter. Do not dip the brush in the butter more than once - you don't need to completely cover each pastry sheet with butter.

Add another sheet of phyllo dough and repeat until you have five sheets total. Spread half the spinach mixture over the buttered phyllo dough layers.

Layer on 5 more sheets of phyllo, buttering lightly in between each layer, and then spread on remaining spinach mixture.

Top with the last 5 sheets of phyllo, buttering lightly between each layer.

Bake in the preheated oven for 45-50 minutes, or until golden brown.

Expert Tips & FAQs

Tips for Handling Phyllo Dough

• Prepare all your ingredients and have EVERYTHING ready to go before you open the phyllo dough package!
• Make sure your hands are dry when you handle the dough.
• When you unroll phyllo, cover it with wax paper or kitchen cloth. You can put a damp cloth over the wax paper or cloth, but don’t put it directly on the phyllo dough. (I never use a damp cloth, and everything always works out fine.)
• Work fast when it is uncovered, and don't get distracted. (Phyllo dough doesn't care about your phone.)
• If you tear a piece, just patch it – no worries. Unless it is the top sheet, no one will ever know.
• If you have sheets left over, just roll them back up and cover them tightly with plastic wrap. They will keep in the fridge for at least a week.

More Vegetarian Main Dish Recipes

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Originally published January 21, 2014. Post has been updated with new content, images, and recipe instructions to improve reader experience.