These Spinach and Feta Pies contain just a few ingredients but have maximum flavour. Make them as small or as big as you like, perfect for snacks or light meals.
Spinach and Feta Pies
When it comes to entertaining, it’s always good to have a few vegetarian options, and these Spinach and Feta Pies (also known as Spanakopita) are one of my stand-by options.
As an Australian, I also have a fond affection for a party pie, so it is hard to host a party without making a batch of pies, vegetarian or otherwise.
Why This Recipe Works
- This recipe uses just a handful of ingredients for maximum flavour.
- These pies are a hit with both vegetarians and meat lovers alike.
- Adapt this easy Spanakopita recipe to make mini pies or large family-sized pies.
Puff Pastry Pies
I was first introduced to these puff pastry pies by a lovely South African friend who made these for dinner one night. I was floored by how simple the recipe was and have been making them ever since with a few minor tweaks, but this is essentially her recipe.
Spanakopita Recipe
You can make these Spinach and Feta Pies (or Spanakopita pies) as small or as large as you like. For my son’s first birthday party, I somehow found the time and patience to make these pies in mini muffin pans to produce tiny bite-sized pies.
At other times, I like to use a regular muffin pan to produce small pies (like those pictured) which are perfect for serving as a light meal, or even as a substantial party pie.
Easy Spanakopita Recipe
When I am pushed for time, I simply cut out large squares from a sheet of puff pastry, place some filling towards one side, and fold over half of the pastry to form a triangle, and seal the edges.
Another idea is to make them like Sausage Rolls, i.e. fill a strip of puff pastry with the spinach and feta filling, roll up the puff pastry to encase the filling in a large log, and cut off small pieces.
Now matter how large or small you make these Spinach and Feta Pies, they are sure to be a hit!
Easy Spinach Recipe
These Spinach and Feta Pies are also a great way to get some spinach on the table, although my children happen to love spinach – it might be a temporary phase but I am taking full advantage! I use either fresh baby spinach or large spinach leaves, but frozen spinach also works well in this recipe.
Spinach and Feta Pies
- Prep Time: 20 mins
- Cook Time: 30 mins
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: Makes 9 small pies
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: Greek
These Spinach and Feta Pies contain just a few ingredients but have maximum flavour. Make them as small or as big as you like, perfect for snacks or light meals.
Print
Pin Recipe
RateIngredients
Instructions
- If you are using fresh spinach, clean them well by soaking them in cold water with a splash of vinegar. Drain and rinse well to remove all of the grit, and then use a salad spinner to remove as much water as possible.
- Place the fresh spinach leaves into a large saucepan over medium-high heat, and cook for several minutes until the leaves start to wilt. Take the saucepan off the heat and tip the cooked spinach leaves into a large colander over the kitchen sink.
- If you are using frozen spinach leaves, place the frozen spinach into a large saucepan over low-medium heat. If the frozen spinach has not been frozen in large cubes but are instead in large blocks, try to break up the frozen spinach to help it defrost more quickly. Once the frozen spinach has fully defrosted, tip the cooked spinach leaves into a large colander over the kitchen sink.
- Press and squeeze out as much liquid from the cooked spinach as possible.
- Place the spinach onto a large plate and set aside to cool completely.
- Once the spinach has cooled, place it into a large mixing bowl.
- Grate over some fresh nutmeg and season with salt and pepper.
- Crumble over the feta.
- Squeeze a bit of lemon juice over everything.
- Mix everything together well.
- Preheat the oven to 200°C (390°F) (without fan).
- Cut out rounds from the puff pastry to line the muffin tin moulds.
- Fill each pastry-lined mould with some of the spinach and feta filling.
- Brush some egg wash on the inside rim of the pies.
- Cut out more rounds from the puff pastry to form the lids of the pies. Seal the edges together by pinching the edges or using the tines of a fork to press them together.
- Use a scissor or knife to cut a small steam vent in the pie lid.
- Brush the pies with egg wash.
- Bake for 20-30 minutes, or until the pies are lightly golden.
- Serve hot or warm.
Kitchen Notes
VARIATION
If you are in a hurry, make this appetiser like Sausage Rolls. Simply halve a sheet of rectangular puff pastry so that you have two long strips. Place some of the spinach and feta filling into the middle of each strip so that you have a long “sausage” of the filling. Brush some egg wash along one edge. Roll up each log and rest the log on the seam. Use a sharp knife to cut small lengths off each log, about 4 cm in length. Brush with egg wash and bake until nice and golden.
OVEN TEMPERATURES
All recipes on this website state temperatures for a regular oven (i.e. a conventional oven without fan). If you have a convection oven with a fan, please consult the manufacturer’s handbook on how to adjust the temperature and baking time accordingly.
CONVERSIONS
To convert from cups to grams, and vice-versa, please see this handy Conversion Chart for Basic Ingredients.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: Makes 9 small pies
- Calories: 555
- Sugar: 2.8g
- Sodium: 485.1mg
- Fat: 37.5g
- Carbohydrates: 43.4g
- Fiber: 2.7g
- Protein: 11.9g
- Cholesterol: 43.7mg
Update
This recipe was first published on 29 December 2017. It has been updated with more comprehensive recipe notes.
I love everything about these! They’ll be perfect for when I host brunch for my book club. If I decide to share them, that is 😉
★★★★★
Thanks, Dana! Everytime I make them, I forget how quick and easy they are!
I can imagine how these delights would just fly off the plates. How delicious and how beautiful they are!
★★★★★
Thanks, Patty! These always go very quickly when I make them!
These are so cute and simple! I love anything with puff pastry, so these are pretty much my perfect appetizers. I can’t wait to try them!
I hope you will enjoy the recipe! I also have a weak spot for anything wrapped in puff pastry 😉
These look like bites of Heaven! Love spinach and the feta must be such a great boost of flavor to these tasty treats!
Yes, I love the saltiness from the feta here 🙂
These look scrumptious!!! Mmmm I love to have one!!!
★★★★★
Thanks, Deanna!
My whole family loves spinach. These look delicious! Your photos are gorgeous too!
Thanks, Andrea! And how lucky that your whole family loves spinach. For me, it’s such a relief that the children have been happy to eat their greens for some time now 😉
Yummy! These look like the perfect party food! Or maybe just a night home by myself with Netflix.
There’s just something about the combination of spinach and feta wrapped in dough that I love. These look amazing. Pinned for later!
I like this! This is a great recipe! I definitely want to try! Thank you!
★★★★★
I absolutely love your recipe! I am writing vegetarian recipe round ups on my blog in 2018 (to encourage people to try meatless monday- everyone has to start somewhere) and would love to feature you. You can check out my blog (for beginner environmentalists) at sunshineguerrilla.com. Is it alright if I share this link to your recipe?
Hi Barbara,
Yes, you are welcome to link to my recipe 🙂 If you use any photo from my website, please provide credit to my website with a link back to recipe. Many thanks in advance!
Definitely will try this when I get my hands on some gluten-free puff pastry dough!
Hi Thanh.
We had spinach-cheese pies in Darwin sooo often. We always bought two, shared one and kept the other on the dashboard – was still warm in the evening 🙂
Sadly we´re stuck in Germany (Switzerland? Why did you go there?)
We got a pie maker and after the traditional meat pie… thank you for your recipe 🙂
Will hopefully try this weekend (or soon as there is a food festival in town!).
Cheers
Iris
Hi Iris,
I hear that pie makers have become quite popular in Australia – I would be curious to try one! In fact, we are going to Australia soon, so I will keep a lookout for one 🙂 I often make pies when I am feeling homesick for Australia … which often happens when the weather starts to turn cold, even though I love the cold. Hope you will enjoy this recipe!
I’ve made a bigger version of these for my mother-in-law’s birthday because the puff pastry that I find here in Finland is quite long and narrow. The only thing I modified was, I added one clove of minced garlic and a bit of olive oil while cooking the frozen spinach. They puffed up wonderfully, and looked like golden logs. She said to someone who wasn’t eating: ”You don’t know how good these are!” and that was enough validation for me 🙂 I’ve also made an angel food cake with whipped cream and strawberries, which is an awesome way to use frozen egg whites also. Maybe we can see a version of that from you sometime?
★★★★★
Hi Camelia,
So glad you and your MIL enjoyed this recipe! I often use this recipe to make larger pies too. And your Angel Food Cake sounds lovely 🙂 In fact, I’ve had a recipe for Angel Food Cake ready to publish for a few months, but I just need to finish writing it up. Hopefully very soon! 🙂 Thanks for popping by.
Thank u.
★★★★★
Hi Fardia,
Glad you enjoyed this recipe!
I would love to try these. Can the pies be frozen after prep before baking and how long can they be frozen for?
Hi Jenny,
I haven’t had any experience freezing these pies, but I imagine that they would freeze just fine once they have been prepped, but before baking. You can then bake them from frozen but add another 5-10 minutes to the baking time. When freezing food, I generally only keep them in the freezer for a maximum 3 months or so. I hope this helps!
Absolutely delicious recipe, and very easy too.
★★★★★
I love how simple and easy this recipe was. Tastes absolutely beautiful too!
★★★★★