Bursting with incredible flavor and nutritious greens, this Spinach and Mushroom Spanakopita recipe will not only impress your guests or family but satisfy all your Mediterranean food cravings.
Backstory
Spanakopita is a Greek savory pie commonly filled with spinach and feta or other Greek cheeses and wrapped in phyllo or filo dough. I’ve usually seen it as an individual pastry so, I thought, what better way to enjoy Spanakopita than as a meal. My search for a recipe that was both delicious and easy to execute had begun.
Mainly, I was looking for one thing: a recipe that included a decent amount of spinach to phyllo ratio. After pouring over 20 or so recipes, I stumbled upon two that piqued my interest. One from Jamie Oliver titled Spinach and Feta Filo Pie recipe. The second, from Rick Martinez via Bon Appetit called Spanakopita Pie.
After several attempts in our test kitchen, I took aspects from each that I liked and made some modifications including adding mushrooms and reducing the amount of eggs.
It was my first time working with phyllo dough, so while I was intimidated, I welcomed the challenge. And, you know what? This was pretty easy once you understand a few things.
Recipe tips
- While assembling the pie, keep the phyllo dough covered with a plastic wrap and a dishtowel. Phyllo is paper-thin and dries easily so this extra step will prevent that from happening.
- Phyllo is delicate to handle but very forgiving when you cook it so don’t stress if it doesn’t look pretty or perfect in the assembly stage. In fact, the more imperfect it is, the better your pie will look once it’s out of the oven.
- For this recipe, the rectangular phyllo sheets are recommended. It’s easier to handle and very versatile for other recipes.
- When brushing the phyllo with olive oil, use a light hand and a regular pastry brush. This helps to distinguish the layers while keeping it light and crispy as it cooks. If you have a silicone brush, I don’t recommend using it because it dispenses too much oil. Trust me on that one!
- It’s important to drain any excess liquid from the mushrooms and spinach before adding it to the mixing bowl. This will prevent your Spanakopita from becoming a soggy mess.
- Feel free to use fresh or frozen spinach or a combo of the two. For this recipe, I used both fresh and frozen spinach. One note when using frozen spinach: rinse under running water and make sure to really squeeze the excess water using a kitchen or paper towel.
- Spanakopita is best eaten the same day. However, if you are reheating this as leftovers, I recommend using a toaster oven rather than a microwave to maintain the crispiness. It won’t be quite the same as the first day but it works well.
Final note
Once I got over my fear of working with phyllo pastry, this Spinach and Mushroom Spanakopita recipe was simple to make and is now one of my go-to dishes. It’s extremely forgiving, versatile, cooks up quickly, and, most importantly, budget-friendly. It will certainly impress your dinner guests and family so don’t be shocked when the compliments begin rolling in. 🙂 Bon appétit!
Looking for a side dish to eat with your Spinach and Mushroom Spanakopita? Try our Herb Salad or Fattoush Salad with Heirloom Tomatoes.
Spinach and Mushroom Spanakopita
Ingredients
- 1 lb (16 oz) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
- 1 (6 oz) bag baby spinach, washed
- 1 lb crimini mushrooms, sliced
- 1 large yellow onion, diced
- 10.5 oz (300 g) feta cheese, cubed
- 1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted
- 8 sheets phyllo pastry, thawed
- 1/4 cup grated parmesan
- 2 large eggs
- 2-3 large cloves garlic, minced
- sprigs of fresh thyme, oregano, mint
- zest of 1 lemon
- 3 Tbsp + 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/8 tsp ground pepper
- salt, optional
Instructions
- Prepare all your ingredients. Preheat oven to 400° F.
- In a small pan over medium heat, toast the pine nuts until golden, about 3-4 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside.
- In a large pan over medium heat, add 1 Tbsp oil and onions with a small pinch of salt. Saute until soft, about 5-7 min and mix in garlic until aromatic about 1 min. Transfer to a large mixing bowl.
- In the same pan over medium heat, add 1 Tbsp oil and saute fresh spinach until just wilted and cooked, about 3-4 minutes. Drain any extra water from the pan. Transfer cooked spinach to large mixing bowl with onions.
- In the same pan over medium heat, add 1 Tbsp olive oil and saute sliced mushrooms over medium heat until softened and the liquid has evaporated about 8-10 minutes. Drain extra liquid, if any. Transfer to the mixing bowl with onions and spinach.
- To the mixing bowl with onions, spinach and mushrooms, add drained frozen spinach, pine nuts, lemon zest, feta, herbs and pepper. Mix well to combine. Adjust seasoning to taste at this point if needed. (I usually don’t add salt since it’s pretty salty with the cheeses but this would be the time to test to see if you want to add any more.)
- Add whisked eggs and mix well. Set bowl aside closeby.
- Tear off a rectangular strip of parchment paper large. The size should be large enough to cover the bottom of the pan, fold over and cover the top of the pie. (I used a 10" cast iron skillet.) Take parchment paper, scrunch into a ball, and quickly wet under running water making it soft and pliable. Squeeze excess water and unfold onto your workspace. Wipe off any remaining water from the parchment paper.
- Brush thin even layer of olive oil on top of parchment paper.
- Lay the first two phyllo sheets side by side making sure the edges overlap slightly and cover the length of the parchment paper. Brush a light layer of olive oil across the phyllo sheets. Repeat 4 times. Feel free to add a few more layers if you want more phyllo.
- Carefully slide the parchment paper with phyllo layers on top of the cast iron skillet and center so you have an even amount of overlapping edges on both sides. Gently press down the center to shape inside of the skillet.
- Add spinach mixture and spread evenly on the skillet. Top with parmesan and black pepper.
- Carefully peel the overlapping phyllo edges away from the parchment paper and fold over to cover the top of the filling. Tear off or use scissors to cut the hanging parchment paper as close to the edge of the skillet.
- Place cast-iron skillet on stove over high heat for 2 minutes to begin to cook and crisp the bottom. Then transfer the skillet to the middle of the oven for 20 minutes or until golden. You may need to rotate the skillet to brown evenly.
- When ready, remove the Spanakopita from the oven and let cool for 10 minutes. Carefully remove onto cutting board and slice. Serve warm and enjoy!
Recipe Notes
Ingredients | My cost | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 lb (16 oz) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained | $1.99 | |
| 1 (6 oz) bag of baby spinach, washed | $1.99 | |
| 16 oz crimini mushrooms, sliced | $3.58 | |
| 1 large onion, diced | $0.50 | |
| 10.5 oz (300 g) feta cheese, cubed | $6.49 | |
| 1/4 cup pine nuts | $0.75 | |
| Filo pastry, thawed | $0.75 | |
| 1/4 cup grated parmesan | $0.50 | |
| 2 eggs | $0.58 | |
| 2-3 large cloves garlic, minced | $0.09 | |
| Pinch thyme, oregano, mint | $0.00 | from our garden |
| Zest of 1 lemon | $0.00 | from our garden |
| 3 Tbsp + 1/4 cup olive oil | $0.50 | |
| 1/8 tsp ground pepper | $0.01 | |
| Salt, optional | $0.00 | |
Total: | $17.73 | |
| Cost per serving: | $2.96 |
* Note regarding pricing: The lemon and herbs are from our garden which is why there is no cost. The price for items such as salt and pepper take into account the cost of the amount used for the recipe and not the cost if you had to purchase the entire jar or container.
** All prices in US dollars and based on Bay Area prices from my local grocery and farmers market. Prices may vary in other parts of the United States.