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4.10 from 11 votes

Spanakopita Recipe Greek Spinach Pie

The traditional Greek recipe for making Spanakopita (Spinach pie) completely from scratch with crispy, flaky homemade phyllo!
Prep Time2 hours
Cook Time35 minutes
Total Time2 hours 35 minutes
Course: Appetizer
Cuisine: Greek
Keyword: detox, Dinner, filo, Oven baked
Servings: 8 pieces
Calories: 269kcal

Ingredients

For the phyllo dough:

  • 500 grams 17.6 oz all purpose flour + more for dusting
  • 1,5 tablespoons salt
  • 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
  • 5 tablespoons olive oil + plenty more for greasing
  • 260 ml tepid water

For the filling:

  • 800 grams / 28.2 oz fresh spinach
  • 1 leak the white part
  • 2-3 small spring onions chopped
  • ½ small onion finely chopped
  • 5 tablespoons olive oil
  • a handful fresh dill chopped

Optional:

  • 150 grams / 5.3 oz feta cheese

Instructions

For The Phyllo Dough:

  • In a large bowl combine all ingredients for the phyllo dough.
  • Knead dough for at least 5 minutes. Until you have a dough that feels sticky, without leaving any fragments on your hands, however.
    Phyllo dough kneading
  • Cover the bowl with a wet towel (for humidity). Let dough rest for half an hour at room temperature.

For The Filling:

  • Separate the spinach leaves from their branches and any old leaves. Wash spinach leaves thoroughly in lots of water. NOTE: let the spinach soak for a few minutes. It helps remove more dirt this way.
    spinach leaves
  • Heat the 5 tablespoons of olive oil in a cooking pot over high heat. Add the onion, spring onions, and leak. Cook until softened.
    Greek spinach pie filling
  • One at a time, add a handful of spinach leaves in the pot. Mix with a wooden spoon and add a pinch of salt (it helps the spinach drain more easily). Let it cook for about 15-20 minutes until all the juices drained up completely . Stir in the fresh dill and set aside while you prepare the phyllo.
    spanakopita filling

Put Together:

  • Cut the phyllo dough in half. Cut each half to 3 equal pieces. Shape into a ball and set aside. (Each piece is going to be one phyllo sheet).
  • Flour your working surface ( preferably a large wooden one). Take 1 dough piece, and dust it with flour until it stops sticking to your hands.
    fyllo dough parts
  • With a rolling pin start working the dough. Roll up and down starting from the center of the dough. Roll a few times up and down and then flip the dough upside down. Making sure each time you dust with flour both the surface and the phyllo (otherwise it will start to stick on the rolling pin or on the surface). The more you roll the more flour it absorbs and the bigger it will get. To flip it when it has become big enough, roll the phyllo in order to wrap it around your rolling pin. Keep rolling until you have a piece of phyllo that's big enough to cover your baking pan's width and height.
    making phyllo dough
  • Hold the baking pan on top of the phyllo you just made and check if it's big enough. NOTE: if phyllo sheet tears somewhere no worries as the next phyllo sheet will cover it.
    Greek homemade phyllo
  • Grease the pan (a round 12-inch / 30-cm) with PLENTY of olive oil. Now slowly unroll your first phyllo in the pan.
  • Grease the phyllo with plenty of oil and start making the next one. After having 3 phyllo layers, add the filling.
    making Greek spinach pie
  • Cover the filling with 3 phyllo layers (don't forget grease well in between).
  • Cut the excess phyllo of the inner 4 layers leaving the remaining 2 outer phyllo sheets to overlap inwards and create a pie ending.
    Spinach pie finishing
  • Preheat oven to 428 °F/ 220°C.
  • Grease the top of the pie with olive oil and prick a few times with a knife.
    Proper phyllo
  • Bake the pie for about 30-40 minutes. Or until it gets a light golden brown color on top. Shake the pan to make sure the pie's bottom is cooked as well. When it's done the pie will move in the pan otherwise it will stick to the bottom.
  • Let the pie stand for a few minutes before cutting and serving.

Notes

-Starting always from the center of the dough, roll towards one direction (up or down). You should never follow the dough, keep rolling towards one direction and the dough will follow you.
-Always flour the surface and the top of the dough before starting rolling. The flour helps open up the dough without it it will start sticking.
-Grease with PLENTY of oil the pan and in between the layers of phyllo. Otherwise, it won’t cook properly and become crispy.

Here's some Top Quality Greek Olive Oil to use :

 
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Nutrition

Calories: 269kcal | Carbohydrates: 22g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 19g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 11g | Cholesterol: 6mg | Sodium: 504mg | Potassium: 532mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 1g