Last updated on August 8th, 2017 at 11:40 am
Well I don’t normally brag, but I must say my spanakopita is unbelievable and every single time I make it, it is a complete success. Again, spanakopita is one of those pastries that is really easy to make, but it probably scares people away because they might think it’s hard to make. Well it is not, it’s just a matter of assembling all the ingredients together and making the triangles which is super simple and if you have children this could be one of those things that you could do together and have fun.
First I chop the onion and green onions.
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In a large skillet heat the olive oil and add the onions. At this point I add some salt and pepper. I don’t add much salt because the feta cheese is quite salty as it is.
Now I always use chopped frozen spinach, just because it’s easier and saves me a few steps. So next add the chopped spinach to the skillet.
Add juice from half a lemon.
Mix everything together, I also add a bit of oregano now and take it out of the skillet and let it cool. Next I grated the cheese…
and added 2 beaten eggs to it. Mix well.
Add the cheese mixture to the spinach mixture.
So after the filling has cooled completely, I melted the butter in a small bowl.
Now on a clean surface lay down your phyllo pastry and cover it with a damp towel so that it doesn’t dry out. Take out one sheet at a time, brush it with butter and sprinkle some oregano over it. Lay another phyllo sheet over and brush it with more butter. Using a pizza cutter I cut the dough in 4 pieces lengthwise.
Next place tablespoonful of the filling at the end of each strip.
Fold the end at an angle over the filling to form a triangle. This is really a lot of fun, but you have to move fast so that the phyllo dough doesn’t dry out.
Continue forming triangles until you finish all your phyllo dough. When completed, place them on a cookie sheet that’s lightly buttered, I usually just use my silpat, which I love, definitely worth investing in one. Anyway brush some more butter over all the triangles.
Bake them at 350 F degrees for about 30 minutes or until golden brown. They are so good, makes me hungry just looking at the pictures.
- 1 onion chopped
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 cup green onion chopped
- 250 gr frozen spinach
- juice from 1/2 lemon
- 1 1/2 cup grated feta cheese
- 2 eggs beaten
- 1 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1 stick butter
- 1 package phyllo pastry sheets
- 1/4 cup dried oregano
- 1/2 cup Parmesan grated optional
- salt and pepper to taste
- So first thing first, we have to assemble the filling. By the way if your phyllo pastry was in the freezer, take it out in time for it to defrost. In a large skillet heat the olive oil on medium heat. Add the onions and saute until soft. Add the spinach and salt and pepper and saute until the spinach is limp. Add the lemon juice, and remove off the heat. Let cool.
- If there is excess liquid, place the mixture in a colander and squeeze out the excess liquid. So make sure the mixture is completely cooled, otherwise it's going to make the phyllo dough soggy, and you don't want soggy spanakopita. In a medium bowl, beat the eggs with feta and nutmeg then add this to the spinach mixture and mix until it's all incorporated well together.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and brush 2 baking sheets with some melted butter. Now for handling the phyllo dough, unroll it and lay one sheet flat on your work surface. For the remaining phyllo dough, cover it with a damp towel, so it won't dry out. Brush the sheet with melted butter, then sprinkle some oregano. Now here you can repeat with 2 more sheets or 1 more sheet. I have tried with both and find that if I use 3 sheets, it gets to be too much phyllo for me, so I only repeat with one more sheet, so I have two sheets one on top of the other with melted butter and oregano on both.
- Using a pizza cutter, cut the sheets lengthwise into 4 long pieces, about 2 inch strips. Place a heaping tsp of the spinach and cheese filling near 1 corner of the phyllo strip. Fold the end at an angle over the filling to form a triangle. Continue to fold the triangle along the strip until you reach the end, like folding a flag. Repeat this with the remaining phyllo and filling. Like I said it’s pretty easy to make, just a bit time consuming.
- Place your spanakopita triangles on your baking sheets and brush with butter, and now you can sprinkle additional Parmesan cheese over them if you wish. Bake them for 20 to 30 minutes until the triangles are golden brown and crisp.
These are just delicious!
Enjoy!
I don’t see where in the recipe you use the green onions?
It’s in step 1 where you saute all the onions together.
I just discovered your blog today when I googled spanakopita. I have already put several recipes into my zip list.
I had trouble with the folding process in the beginning but things got better.
I must say that they turned out as tasty as you said – I was very impressed.
If I wanted to freeze some, should that be done before they are cooked or after? Any suggestions for freezing would be appreciated.
I also like using wonton and egg roll wrappers so I look forward to trying your recipes for those.
Thanks for the recipes.
Hi Mavis,
I would freeze the spanakopita before baking them, at least this way you can still eat them fresh right out of the oven. 🙂
Enjoy.
Your photos are just gorgeous! I started making this tonight and noticed that nutmeg is mentioned in steps one and two. I had already added the whole teaspoon of it in step one. Was I supposed to split the nutmeg and have enough for both steps? Does that make a difference? I’m finishing them tomorrow and looking forward to eating them. 🙂
Hi Tian,
No you’re good, actually that was an error on my part and I fixed it. Thanks for catching it. 🙂
made these for a party we had last night (for the first time) and they were a big hit! thanks for the recipe =)
You’re welcome, glad you liked them.
Hi Jo, this looks awesome! Before I try the recipe, I’m just wondering if it’s really 1/4 cup of dried oregano? Seems like a lot and thought maybe it was a typo? Thanks!
Hi Ana,
Yes it’s correct, however remember you use it for sprinkling on the phyllo sheets, so if you’re not crazy about oregano you can skip it, or use less. Have fun! 🙂
This looks delicious! whenever I go for greek food, I get spanikopita. No fail.
I love your spanakopita!! I have made these a few times now and never could remember where I found the recipe to comment on it. I just happened to drop on your site looking for some holiday recipes. Anyway, these are super easy to make and addicting (to me anyway!!)
Hi Madison,
Thank you so much, I’m so glad you enjoyed them.
🙂
Spanakopita is one of my faves-especially since it can be frozen & baked crispy when friends come over. I like to add dill to mine for a little extra fresh lemon flavor. I also use a French Feta when possible for extra creaminess.
The Dinner Belle for Kimberlybelle.com
What a great idea, I’m a big fan of dill, I will definitely try that next time. Thanks for the suggestion.
Ah i love spanakopita! nice use of spring onions! im really interested in your use of parmesan as well, i bet it tasted amazing!
The Parmesan is optional and it’s used for sprinkling on top before baking them, so after you butter the triangles, sprinkle some parm, just gives it a bit more cheesy flavor. Thanks. 🙂
It does make me hungry, looking at the pictures.
I used to take away unwanted waters from spinach first for this recipe, then prepare the most out of it.
These look delicious and I have been craving spanakopita. Do you thaw and squeeze out the liquid from the frozen spinach first? I can’t wait to give these a try! Thanks for sharing the recipe.
Hi Tanya,
I do thaw the spinach and squeeze out the liquid. I just put the spinach on lots of paper towels and squeeze out the liquid. You could use a cheesecloth but I don’t have one.
Good luck. 🙂
Thanks Jo! I’ve got some feta sitting in the fridge and I can’t think of a better use for it.
Wonderful! Sounds perfect and a great number of how to photos!
Thank you Carla, I’m glad you enjoyed them. Same thing happens at my house, they don’t last long. 🙂
These triangles were delicious. I made them for my family this past weekend, and I must say they didn’t even last 5 minutes. Thanks.
Totaly awesome!!!