I absolutely love spinach pie. It’s rich, but not quite as heavy as a quiche, it has a deliciously flakey crust, and it works as a savory breakfast, brunch, or just anytime meal. It’s so good that I literally can’t wait to eat the leftovers, even though I know that puff pastry isn’t going to be crispy anymore. It just tastes so good.
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What is Spinach Pie?
This spinach pie is inspired by spanakopita, which is a savory Greek pie made with phyllo dough, feta, and spinach (see an authentic spanakopita recipe here). To make my spinach pie a little easier, I used a couple of short cuts: frozen spinach and frozen puff pastry dough. And then to keep the price on the lower side, I replaced the feta with cottage cheese (totally not similar cheeses, but it works here). The result is fast, easy, and still oh so delicious!
Where to Find Puff Pastry
The puff pastry dough is an important part of this recipe. You can find frozen puff pastry dough near the frozen desserts and frozen pie crusts in most major grocery stores. I used this one from Pepperidge Farm, but if you want to try making your own, check out this recipe for homemade puff pastry from my friend, Christina, at Dessert for Two.
Store-bought puff pastry usually comes in a box of two sheets, with each sheet folded into thirds. You only need one sheet, so save the second one for the next time you want to make spinach pie! You’ll also need to fully thaw the puff pastry before you begin, so make sure to take it out of the freezer at least an hour before you make your spinach pie.
What Else Can I Add to Spinach Pie?
This is another one of those recipes that can take a lot of fun add-ins. Try tossing in some chopped sun dried tomatoes, or maybe some cooked bacon. Or how about some feta cheese or roasted red peppers? A little bit of dill would also take the flavor up a notch!
Spinach Pie
Servings 8 slicesIngredients
- 1 sheet puff pastry ($2.40)
- 1 lb. frozen chopped spinach ($1.99)
- 1 yellow onion ($0.32)
- 1 clove garlic ($0.08)
- 1 Tbsp olive oil ($0.16)
- 1 cup cottage cheese ($0.40)
- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan ($0.44)
- 1/8 tsp nutmeg ($0.02)
- 1/2 tsp salt ($0.02)
- 1/4 tsp freshly cracked black pepper ($0.02)
- 3 large eggs, divided ($0.63)
Instructions
- Make sure to take the puff pastry and spinach out ahead of time to thaw (spinach can be thawed quickly in the microwave, if needed, but do not thaw the puff pastry in the microwave). Preheat the oven to 375ºF.
- Dice the onion and mince the garlic. Add the onion, garlic, and olive oil to a skillet and sauté over medium heat until the onions are soft and translucent. Set the onions and garlic aside to cool slightly.
- Add the cottage cheese, Parmesan, nutmeg, salt, pepper, and two of the eggs to a bowl, and stir to combine (save the third egg to brush on top of the pastry before baking).
- Squeeze out as much water as possible from the thawed spinach. Add the squeezed spinach and sautéed onion and garlic to the bowl with the cheese mixture. Stir to combine again.
- Place a sheet of parchment paper on your work surface (or dust lightly with flour) and roll the thawed puff pastry out until it's just slightly larger, about 10×10 inches.
- Drape the rolled pastry dough out over a pie plate. Spread the spinach and cheese mixture inside the pastry dough, then take the corners and fold them in toward the center. The pastry will not fully cover the top, but that's okay (see step by step photos below).
- Lightly whisk the remaining egg and brush it over the surface of the pastry dough. Bake the spinach pie for about 45 minutes, or until the pasty on top has puffed up significantly and turned golden brown.
- Remove the spinach pie from the oven, let sit for about five minutes, then slice into eight pieces and serve.
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Equipment
Nutrition
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Love Spinach? Try these other spinach-licious recipes:
- Double Spinach Artichoke Dip
- Easy Creamed Spinach
- Spinach Artichoke Grilled Cheese
- Creamy Pesto Mac and Cheese with Spinach
How to Make Spinach Pie – Step By Step Photos
Make sure to thaw one sheet of puff pastry and one pound of frozen chopped spinach before you begin. Preheat the oven to 375ºF. Dice one yellow onion and mince one clove of garlic. Add the onion, garlic, and olive oil to a skillet and sauté over medium heat until the onions are soft and translucent. Set the onion and garlic aside to cool slightly.
Add 1 cup cottage cheese, ¼ cup grated Parmesan, 2 large eggs, ⅛ tsp nutmeg, ½ tsp salt, and ¼ tsp freshly cracked black pepper to a bowl. Stir to combine.
Squeeze out as much water from the thawed spinach as possible. This is really important because you don’t want your spinach pie to be soggy!
Add the spinach and sautéed onion and garlic to the bowl with the cheese mixture, then stir to combine again.
And now the spinach pie filling is complete! Let’s move on to the puff pastry.
You’re going to need the puff pastry to be a little larger than it is as it comes, so lay the pastry dough on a sheet of parchment paper or a lightly floured surface, then roll it out until it’s about 10×10 inches.
Drape the pastry dough over a pie dish. There should be enough to drape over the sides (you’ll fold that over the top after it’s filled).
Add the spinach and cheese mixture to the pie plate and spread it out evenly.
Fold the corners in toward the center (it’s okay if they don’t fully cover the top. Lightly whisk the last egg, then brush it over the surface of the puff pastry.
Bake the pie in the preheated 375ºF oven for 45 minutes, or until the pastry on top is puffed up and deeply golden brown. Let the pie sit for about five minutes before slicing into 8 pieces and serving.
It’s sooooo good!
I made this last night with the Sweet Loren’s Gluten Free Puff Pastry and it was AMAZING. Highly recommend this recipe.
I am sure that I’ve previously reviewed this, but wanted to add that this recipe is very forgiving and adaptable. I can’t access lactose-free cottage cheese but have found that really any sort of cheese works. The two variations that I’ve made so far with great success are blue Stilton with cubed roasted sweet potato, and grated Gruyère, chopped sundried tomatoes and Kalamata olives.
I don’t bother to brush the pastry with egg and use all three in the recipe in the filling instead.
I just realized that I should write a review as I have made this recipe MANY times since I first found it here! It is absolutely one of my favorites, and I have even made several pies to give as gifts. Everyone loves it! I usually add a bit of dill and lemon juice. It is simple to make but looks impressive and tastes great! Thank you. :)
Yum, yum, yum! A new family favorite!
I’ve made this several times, and it’s always a winner. I’m a big lover of traditional Spanakopita, and this scratches that itch brilliantly when I haven’t the time or inclination to muck about with feta. I’ve a large family, so I often make two at a time.
That said, there is one suggestion that I would make. As you are using an egg to enhance the browning of the top pastry, I would suggest also using it to brush the inside of the puff pastry shell before you add the filling. Brushing the pastry with egg provides a barrier of sorts that lets the crust get and remain crisp, even with a fairly damp filling.
Thanks for sharing!
Fabulous! I made this twice, and the second time I was low on onion and garlic, so just tossed in some Everything Bagel seasoning, and it was just as good. Easier than spanikopita, but with the same great flavors!
could i substitute full fat yogurt and feta for cottage cheese?
I haven’t tried that, so I’m not sure how it would affect the results. :)
This was fantastic! I usually make Spanikopita, but decided to try this because I am a huge fan of both puff pastry and cottage cheese. It was so nice to not have to fiddle with phyllo sheets, and the result was delicious! PLUS my two boys (11 and 13) gobbled it up!
Can I use fresh spinach?
Yes, but you’ll need to cook it down really well first to make sure most of the water is out.
Would it work to sub a premade refrigerated pie crust for the puff pastry?
Yum! So easy, healthy and quick to put together.
I used baby spinach to add to the frozen since I didn’t have quite enough. Also added cooked ham. And, I didn’t precook the onions and they still cooked enough in the oven so that saved a step.
Great recipe. Thank you!
Will a bunch of fresh spinach work?
Can I add cherry tomatoes on top?
That would be a great addition, though they will release water and might pool.
I made this as written, except omitting onion as it hurts my daughters stomach. Absolutely delicious! Love your recipes! I’ve made it 5 times, once each week! It’s in the regular rotation now!
I Can’t wait to try all the Spinich Recipe s
Looks great. Could I make the filling the night before and just assemble in the morning for brunch?
Absolutely! xoxo -Monti
I make this over and over. When Puff Pastry goes on sale, I get a few. Otherwise, very affordable to make.
Really keen to try this recipe, wondering if it would work with tasty or cheddar cheese, or if it would be too dry? Any advice appreciated.
Hi Rhiannon, cheddar cheese would work. Though, you might have some pooling (fat separating from the milk solids). I am unsure what tasty is. xoxo -Monti
Absolutely delicious!
I subbed feta cheese.
I’m making this for the second time today, and this time I actually have cottage cheese on hand. The first time I didn’t have any, so I chopped up a hunk of Brie (!) I had getting old in the fridge. It was delicious!
Next time, I’ll add smoked paprika, lemon juice, feta, and fresh dill to the cheese mixture. Now that eggs are so pricey, I’d use just 2, and pour about 2/3rds into the cheese mix and use the rest to brush the crust. Minor, minor stuff, really good as is!
I will love to try it
Several of the 5 star ratings were with changes to the recipe. I made it as written and thought it was a little disappointing. I love all things spinach, but definitely think it needed some feta.
Question. Has anyone made this as a crustless spinach pie? Love puff pastry but not good for diabetics. Thank you so much.
This will be my 4th time making this pie and each and every time there is not one crumb left. I’ve had guest offer to pay for one to be brought to their parties !
I would recommend to use the cube feta instead of crumbles and ricotta cheese for cottage cheese. Otherwise exhalent
This was a delicious and easy dinner! It reheated really well in the microwave the next several days for breakfast and lunches too (no sogginess). Definitely a keeper!
I made your spinach pie.Thank you for the recipe.It was soo delicious.It had real taste!
This was fantastic. I took the recommendation of adding things for fun – I used vegan greek cheese instead of cottage cheese (lactose intolerant), and added in chopped sundried tomatoes and a bit of smoked paprika. I made this yesterday, and we hadn’t even finished eating before I was asked to make it again.
THANK YOU for publishing 😁. I have always loved this!
This was a great and quick recipe. Perfect for lunch while working at home. I used fresh spinach and cooked it down. Turned out delicious!
Absolutely AMAZING!! I’ve made this recipe with a few tweaks half a dozen times now.
I didn’t have any cottage cheese the first time I made it so I substituted it with about 4 ounces of crumbled Feta cheese and added about 1 cup of mozzarella. I also added a little more garlic and Parmesan cheese. This tasted amazing!! I will definitely be making it again and again. The feta makes this into an awesome Spanikopita pie.
I only used one puff pastry sheet instead of phillo because it’s easier to find and use. I rolled it out like the directions said. It came out perfectly.
This is definitely one of my go to recipes now. Easy enough for just myself but special enough for guests
We love this recipe. and have made it numerous times. While it’s great when warm, we prefer it at room temperature or cool. Especially love it for breakfast. But it’s great for picnics and light summer suppers with a piece of chicken (or your preferred protein) and salad.
My husband is diabetic and this fits into our meal plans beautifully.
Delicious! The only thing I did differently was I used a one pound container of fresh spinach I needed to use up. I chopped it and sautéed it a little before squeezing out all the water. It’s a keeper and I don’t think it needed anything else. The flavor was good as is.
A new family favorite! I’ve made this twice, following the recipe exactly. Since there’s just my hubby and me at home, we get two meals out of this. Thanks for another delicious recipe!
Wondering if this can be made ahead of time and then reheated??
I made this last night and it was super duper easy. I followed the recipe exactly (although I was a little lazy about squeezing the spinach) and it turned out great. Next time I’ll play around with adding other stuff.
I was able to successfully half this recipe since I cook for one and boy it was some good! With the high cost if food and trying not to waste I love recipes using frozen veggies. Please keep them coming. Well Done!
What about using fresh spinach instead of frozen? How would that work?
Wondering the same thing!
You’d need to cook it down to remove almost all of the water so the pie doesn’t get soggy, but I’m not sure how much fresh spinach would be needed to create the equivalent to the one pound frozen used here.
I used 1 lb fresh spinach and it worked out perfect.
This is one of my favorites and actually made it this weekend! I do add about 3 ounces of feta to it and leave out the nutmeg.
A question: I have feta, parmesan, and muenster cheese. Could I use these instead of cottage cheese/eggs? Thanks. I love the use of puff pastry.
You could probably do some variation of this with those cheeses, but without testing the amounts I wouldn’t be able to give any specific advice on how to do so. You can check the link for spanakopita up in the beginning of the post for inspiration, since it uses all feta.
Very delicous! I was a little worried how mine would turn out because I did not have time to squeeze the moisture out out of the spinach. It had a lot of liquid inside before I put it in the oven, so I just poured some of it out. I was worried it would lose flavor or still be too watery, but it turned out good and I am really satisfied with the flavor and texture. Will absolutely make again!!
Hello! Do you think you could add chicken to this dish? If so, when in the cooking process would you recommend. Thank you!
Hmm, personally I don’t feel like chicken is a good fit for this dish, but if you wanted to I suppose you could. You’d probably want to dice it and sauté it first, then add to the filling ingredients.
Very nice recipe. It’s time to start updating your (costs) per item. They are consistently too low. Thanks.
This is an easy and delicious dish. Having to empty my refrigerator, I added some items to it – sautéed sweet peppers and a quarter cup of. Hopped sun dried tomatoes. I also used fresh spinach. It was fabulous! Do try this recipe, I’m sure even the pickiest eaters will like it!
What size pie pan did you use?
It’s a 9-inch pie plate. :)
This is delicious. It’s officially in the rotation. I’ve made it twice, first time as is written, second time I added feta and roasted red pepper, I use some seasoning salt too. It’s delicious with and without changes! Yummy!!
This was so delicious! I added in a few things we had sitting in the fridge that needed to get eaten: a couple crowns of broccoli chopped fine, a linguica sausage sauteed with the onions, and the last couple tbsps of a pizza cheese mix. Baked for closer to an hour & fifteen minutes to get the crust cooked all the way through on the bottom, with a foil covering added around 35 mins. We both ate 2 big slice for dinner, and can’t wait for leftovers. Thank you so much for this very delicious way to consume lots of veggies in one go!
I couldn’t find cheap puff pastry so I just got two cans of croissant dough and kind of put them together. It wasn’t the prettiest pie but it was delicious!
This spinach pie is amazing! We can’t wait to make it again. The proportions of everything are perfect.
Truly delicious. Lactose intolerant? Use fat free yogurt.
This spinach pie is incredible and extra incredible when you consider how easy it is to make. I’ve made it a few times already – punching up the flavour once with dill (a whole bunch) and a second time with 20ml of pesto. I’ve aldo added feta because I had some on hand. It has become a favourite at our house!
This spinach pie came out remarkably well. The only thing I changed was not using the cottage cheese and substituting ricotta cheese instead. Even my picky kids enjoyed it.
This was great! I used cream cheese instead of cottage cheese (just what I had on hand) and it worked well. I also added sun dried tomatoes and bacon. The bacon added a great smoky flavor- 6 slices would be good I think. I do agree with previous comments that the recipe on its own may be a bit bland, but you can really take it up a notch with spices or added ingredients.
-Made a 6 batch pie in a 14 inch cast iron skillet. It took about 2.5 hours, and covered the pie with foil about 45 minutes in. Came out beautiful with the layers just like in the picture.
-I made a side of “Nutritional Yeast Cheese Sauce” to dip the pie in, and it is a delicious combination. I might just have to make a ‘finger food version’ of the pie with the nutritional yeast dipping sauce.
Thank you for the wonderful recipe!~
Could I make this in advance and freeze them to bake a later time? I feel like i could but i just need some confirmation. made this twice now and its sooo good. added a bit of feta and of course a bit more garlic than recommended.
Unfortunately, I haven’t tried freezing this one (before or after baking) and it’s a bit too hard to predict how it would turn out without actually testing it.
Couldn’t stop eating it. Easily could have devoured half myself!
Can’t wait to try this! Wondering if the leftovers will freeze well?
I actually haven’t tried freezing this one, so I’m not sure. I don’t think I’ve ever frozen anything similar, so I don’t have any past experience to guestimate how well it would do, either. :(
I made this yesterday evening and added feta to it. I think it would have been pretty plain as written (without the feta). But, I really love it as I made it and it will go into the rotation!
Leftovers are good, too! Not as good as fresh (the puff pastry isn’t crispy) but still delicious.
I have made this twice since you published the recipe. It’s *so* good. I made a couple of substitutions, but they worked out fine. I used half feta and half queso fresco that I had on hand. And I did use the fresh dill like you suggested. The second time I made it, I put all 3 eggs in a bowl, and mixed them with a fork, then just reserved a small bit for the final part. My mom said it’s the best dish I’ve ever made. W00T!
Can I substitute feta cheese for the cottage cheese? (I have feta on hand ;D)
Made this 2day. It was mild & delicious but still not fullyu cooked on base although top was nice & golden.
I made mine with Feta and mozzarella cheese and it was amazing!
I super loved this!!! This spinach pie was the best part of my day today.
Wow this was so good and so easy.
And it looked amazing! I got serious kudos for presenting such a snazzy looking pie!
My 5yr old daughter only really liked the puff pastry but my wife loved it!
I consider that a win.
Made this recipe exactly as described, and it came out wonderful! Holds up good as leftovers too.
I was suspicious of baking cottage cheese, so I used 4% (normal fat) cottage cheese. I never realized cottage cheese baked/melted so nicely.
This is my first time using a pastry puff, I’ve been missing out. I had a ceramic pie dish and forgot to grease it, so it stuck pretty badly. No biggie.
I had an extra sheet of puff pastry in my freezer from a different recipe, so this seemed like a really easy way to use that up! I had almost everything on hand already (just had to get cottage cheese). It turned out great! I made some roasted potatoes to go on the side and ate the leftovers for breakfast for a few days (I reheated in the toaster oven, I thought it wouldn’t do as well in the microwave). The only thing I didn’t do was the egg wash step, I don’t have a pastry brush and couldn’t figure out how to get the egg wash on without making a mess. It didn’t look as pretty as yours, but tasted just fine!
This looks so tasty! I don’t know what I would serve it with, though – any suggestions? :)
I usually just eat it on its own, but I suppose if you’re serving it as a breakfast or brunch you could pair it with some fried eggs and a side of fruit. :)
Do you think I could sub ricotta for the cottage cheese? SOMEONE ate the cottage cheese I had set aside for this recipe!!!
Haha! Don’t you hate it when that happens?? I think that might work, but it’s hard to say for sure without testing it. One notable difference is that cottage cheese tends to have a bit more salt, whereas ricotta tends to be sweeter. So that may change the flavor profile a bit.
I’ve never had spinach pie, so I’m not sure what I was expecting (maybe like a spinach quiche or something), but it greatly exceeded my expectations. I had fresh spinach that was starting to go bad, so I used fresh and cooked it in the skillet with the onion and garlic. I will definitely be making this again. Thanks Beth and the budget bytes team for all your great recipes and hard work! So many people, including myself, appreciate it.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Another wonderful dish! I used fresh spinach and a pie crust (because that’s what I had) and it was delicious. I’m not a big spinach fan, and even I loved it. For anyone using fresh spinach, I just sauteed it with the onions and garlic and didn’t have to worry about draining or anything.
I made this today, Truly it was delicious and picture perfect. If I could send you a photo here I would as I was quite proud of the outcome. I upped the nutmeg just a bit (only because I grated too much using fresh) It was delicious. I can see me using some of this on toasted English Muffin for breakfast,
I don’t usually use Puff Pastry, so what to do with the leftovers? Can I use a pie crust instead, even though I know it won’t be ‘authentic’. Just wondering….
There are lots of fun things you can do with it. Unfortunately, I don’t have any of them on my site, but if you do a quick google search for “recipe with puff pastry” you’ll find a lot of cool ideas!
There are lots of recipes online for simple pastries using the dough, usually with fruit fillings. Alternatively, you could cut it up into little triangles and bake them up by themselves. They make really nice sides for soup or stew meals. I also like to use them for chicken a la king, in lieu of biscuits or toast.
I have this spinach pie in my meal plan today with a note to use the recipe linked below (1/2 batch) for breakfast tomorrow!
https://www.thekitchn.com/cream-cheese-breakfast-pastries-recipe-23133465
Super simple thing is to take sausage (bulk or links) and wrap the puff pastry around it, and bake on a baking sheet until cooked through, then cut it into 2 or 3 inch slices. So easy and fast!
Could this recipe be made using fresh spinach?
Yes, but you’ll want to cook the spinach down to remove most of the water first. :)
I just chop the fresh spinach and throw it in. Works perfectly!
I substituted (and doubled) garam masala for the nutmeg and……muah! I loved this recipe! Thank you so much.
thank you, beth.
another brilliant winner from you.
this simple delicious dish reminds me of the spanikopita i used to eat in a greek diner on the upper west side in manhattan back in the 1990’s.
i used less spinach, rolled out the dough more, and the quarters almost met in the middle. – lovely looking.
GURL. Not only was this easy, yummy, and filling, but my 7 year old destroyed it!
Going in the recipe list for sure
Do you think this could be prepared and then frozen before it’s baked? I would love to make this into little cups and take out individual servings for breakfast.
That’s a great idea! I haven’t tried it, so I’m not sure, but if you do please report back on how it worked out!
Could you please do a copycat of Dr. Praeger’s Spinach Littles, or literally just hash browns with veggies hidden inside? Toddler moms will rejoice. These things are EXPENSIVE. Love your recipes!
I second this suggestion <3
Any advice about cooking this without using pastry? Recipe sounds delicious.
Hmm, I’d need to experiment with that a bit first, I think.
Maybe you can try making it like a casserole covered with foil (and poke some holes so that steam can escape) and uncover for the last 5-10 minutes? You could sprinkle more parm at the end. Then serve it on toast or a low carb substitute
If using Feta. Would I use the same amount?
I’m not sure, since I’ve never tried it, but there is a link to a spanakopita recipe, which uses feta, in the paragraph titled, “what is spinach pie” that you can try.
Hello, love using your recipes. Attempted to make this but it didn’t turn out as great looking as yours. It came out with lots of liquid bubbling around the edges and quite soggy. I used two square puff pastry sheets that I rolled out and tried to piece together in the pie dish. Any ideas or tips for next time?
Did you squeeze out the thawed spinach really well? If there is too much liquid left in the spinach the filling will be too watery.
We are going to make this tonight using pyhlo dough instead of puff pastry fingers crossed that it comes out alright and tasty
The family really enjoys this pie. I was wondering if I could substitute feta for the cottage cheese. I think your suggestion was to add feta.
Gratefully,
Nelson
It might work, but you have to consider the fact that feta and cottage cheese are very different in their texture, moisture level, and salt content. So it will probably change both the texture and flavor of the dish.
It’s looks like a big souffle from Panera 😂. I’m sure it tastes much better though. Excited to try it!
Can’t wait to try this! Can I leave out the eggs all together and just add extra cheese?
I haven’t tried that, so I’m not sure how much of an effect it will have on the outcome. :)
Just for something really quick I bought Birds Eye creamed spinach, added cream cheese, pepper, minced onion, garlic powder . Used my extra large muffin pan, philio sheet in place, scooped the spinach mixture into muffin pan and made individual cakes.
Prep time maybe 5 minutes….
Quick, easy and delicious breakfast on the go cakes.
Thank you!!!!
Nice hack! Thanks for sharing that with us. :)
This recipe is delicious. I had to substitute because of not having everything I needed in the kitchen, but it appears to be incredibly versatile. I overlapped the puff pastry on the top of the spinach pie and it worked wonderfully. It’s a definite keeper, especially as my five-year-old loved it. Substitutes were spring onion in place of onion, Greek yoghurt in place of cottage cheese and mozzarella cheese in place of parmesan.
Another great recipe from Budget Bytes! Just made it- it turned out just as pictured and tasted delicious. So easy!
This is my third time making this. I love spanakopita and love finding new ways to make it. The recipe is great just as is. I add or leave out based on what is in the house. Tonight I had leftover filling so added some artichoke hearts and spread over boneless chicken thighs after I spread pesto on them. Took extra sheet of puffed pastry and baked together. Yummy
i didn’t have spinach so i substituted for fresh rainbow chard, beetroot leaves and kale from the garden and sautéed it with the onions and garlic. i didn’t have cottage cheese either, so substituted that for cottage cheese for feta and ricotta. delicious! thanks for a great base recipe and love the pastry fold over method. i’ll do that with all pies in future!
Would this work replacing the frozen spinach with fresh zucchini? Shredded with the moisture squeezed out?
(Sorry I commented this in a weird spot before)
Hmm, I’m not sure! You’d definitely want to get as much moisture out as humanly possible. :P
Oven window? Ha, that’s rich. My oven doesn’t even have a light, let alone a window. Anyway, the recipe turned out well. I couldn’t find cottage cheese, so I used ricotta and it was delicious. I used fresh spinach because it needed to be cooked before it spoiled. Very easy to make. I will make this again.
I had an abundance of fresh spinach from my mom’s garden, so I thought I’d make this! It was AMAZING, my family loved it! We can’t wait til the next time we have TONS of spinach to eat!
Can I Substitute fresh spinach and should I cook it first?
Yes, you can use fresh spinach if you prefer. :) I would just sauté it down in a skillet first to remove some of the moisture. That should only take about 5 minutes.
Excellent. Thank you!
Amazing recipe!
Full of flavor and easy to make.
Definitely a repeat in my family.
Will definitely try this receip. It looks delicious…….Thank you, Keep these great dishes coming……
I have been dying for a good Spinach Pie, but the phyllo dough is so labor intensive that it turns me off from making it. I honestly didn’t even miss the phyllo dough with the puff pastry replacement! I used a small rectangle pan so I used the 2 puff pastry sheets – one on the bottom and one on top. I put the two eggs in the filling and brushed the top layer with butter. I also swapped out the cottage cheese for ricotta and the parmesan for feta and I added dried dill. I definitely could have added more salt and more feta – but now I know. This will definitely be a staple to curb my cravings without all the labor. Thank you for this!
So happy to hear you liked it Stephanie!
Can I replace the cottage cheese with feta cheese?
No, unfortunately they are too different in flavor and texture for them to be swapped.
I didn’t have any cottage cheese so I substituted it with about 4 ounces of crumbled Feta cheese and added about 1 cup of mozzarella. I also added a little more garlic and Parmesan cheese. This tasted amazing!! I will definitely be making it again!
I only used one puff pastry sheet and rolled it out like the directions said. It came out perfectly.
Sure you can If you like the feta taste better..feta is a bit dryer but it still would be flavorful. Enjoy and explore you own taste buds…
I subbed feta and it turned out great. Made it for brunch with some girlfriends, and they all raved about it. I thought it was good too.
can this be prepared the night before and served cold? looking for something to take to a potluck at work.
Hmm, probably? It’s hard to say offhand how good it would be cold. I’d probably need to try it.
I only eat it cold much more taste when it’s cold…
This was so good! We made it as printed except that we added some lemon juice and zest. It’s a keeper!!!! Thanks for the super recipe. :)
My variation on this is made with shortcrust pastry, and fish (whatever is in season, or tinned fish like mackerel and tuna, and a couple of strips of anchovy), but no cheeses. To the lady who wanted to get rid of the dairy – she could try mashed chickpeas or white beans, and some of the water in which they have been cooked (aquafaba).
Hey Beth,
Just wanted to say thank you so much for sharing so delicious and healthy recipes, I have tried quite a few of them and all turned out great.
Keep up the good work!
Thank you!! :)
Any advice on trying to make this recipe dairy-free?
I’ve made it before and LOVED it, but since have been instructed to cut dairy from diet. And I need to use up this extra pastry sheet that’s been sitting in my freezer since last time LOL
That would probably be pretty difficult for this one… maybe a mix of crumbled tofu and nutritional yeast? I think you might be better off filling the pastry dough with something else. I’m thinking of something similar to a samosa! Like a mix of curried potatoes and peas. :)
Can Inprepare this pie @ 9:00 am refrigerate than cook at 5:00 PM same day?
You can prepare the filling ahead of time, but I wouldn’t put it in the dough until just before you bake it.
Hi, Your recipe looks great! In your introduction, you mention Phillo dough but your actually using puff Pastery. They are two different types of dough…just in case those who’ve never used it before get confused!
Right, in the introduction I said that I hate working with phyllo dough so I used puff pastry instead. :)
Actually in the very beginning of your recipe this is what you have posted : Phyllo dough makes this rich and delicious spinach pie a breeze to prepare. Perfect for breakfast, lunch, or brunch!
Aha! I know how that happened… I had assistants helping me fill in those fields in the recipe card, and they clearly missed the mark on that one! LOL. I have a whole paragraph in the beginning about why I used puff pastry instead of phyllo. 😅 Thanks for catching that!
This is now in our rotation. My daughter and I love it. It’s great to know I’m getting her to eat some good protein and greens! I do add some mozzarella with the parm to make it cheesier.
This is my first attempt to make a Spinach Pie. It was delicious! I enjoyed making this.
This is the first recipe I’ve tried from Budget Bytes and it was a success! So easy to pull together and easy to add your on additions as you see fit. I subbed greek yogurt for the cottage cheese, added in feta, and bacon (cuz #baconbody) and it came out delicious! I’m looking forward to making other recipes!
Hey Beth. Love this recipe!
I’ve made it with ricotta instead of cottage cheese and it tasted great. Last night I tried it with only feta and some halloumi (not the most budget friendly cheeses, I know), I also sautéed some leeks and spring onions (scallions) to add to the filling.
Not ashamed to say that this technically only serves 4 for me 🙈.
Just wondering how well this feeezes?
I’m not sure this one will freeze very well, but only because of the flakey dough. I think that part might get soggy.
can this be made WITHOUT the eggs? im pure vegetarian (midway between vegetarian and vegan) and cant have eggs.
The eggs are what hold everything together like glue, so if you do it without eggs the filling will be very loose.
This was absolutely wonderful and will make it often. I used ricotta simply because I already had it, and added a bit of dill weed and lemon zest, (making it “Greek”) and served with sliced tomatoes. Mine puffed and the bottom was not soggy, but I did bake on bottom oven rack. Thanks for a great recipe!
My family loved it, and we did eat it all (to include my 3,4 and 5 year-olds ). I didn’t have cottage cheese so I used feta. And didn’t have frozen, so I used fresh spinach that I sautéed with the onions to get the moisture out of them. This is a keeper! Will definitely make it again!
Hi there. Thanks for the recipe. It was pretty tasty, though the bottom of mine came out soggy. Maybe next time I’ll squeeze the liquid out of the spinach with a towel, and drain the cottage cheese? I also didn’t cut vents, will that help? Cooking in the bottom of the oven? I was testing this for a dinner party for next week so if you have any other tips I would really appreciate it!!! Thanks again.
What if you wanted to use fresh spinach instead of frozen?
Once the onions are sauéed, just add the spinach, a handful at a time, to the skillet until it’s all wilted. :)
Looks absolutely delicious! Will definitely be trying it this weekend :)
The puff pastry didn’t really puff up at all for me (probably my fault), so it was just like I had used a regular pie crust, but the spinach mixture is super tasty and all in all it’s a nice, comforting meal :)
Also, I think you should know that there’s a website that is using your exact recipe and pictures with no credit to you. here’s the link: http://www.quickneasyrecipes.net/spinach-pie/
Thanks for letting me know. :(
I made this for an Easter dinner appetizer and it was a big hit. I cut the pieces into 2 x 2 squares. They were firm, not runny. I used all feta cheese instead of the cottage as I had already purchased it. I doubled the recipe, rolled both sheets a couple inches longer and placed one sheet into the bottom of a 9 x 13 glass plan. Placed the filling in next and topped with the other sheet. I tucked and sealed the sheets around the filling. Baking time approximately the same. Next time I will try and combo of feta and cottage cheese. Thank you for a great recipe!
Can you use both sheets of dough, and make in a 9×13 pan, one sheet on top and one on bottom? Probably need to double inside ingredients also.
That would probably work! :) Just keep an eye on it in the oven, too, because the baking time will probably be a little different as well.
Thank you, I’m deffinitley going to make this and will let you know the results!
How did it go? I’m planning to do the same.
Just curious about what you do with leftovers–how do you keep/store it for days after? I imagine putting it in the fridge would loose the wonderful crispiness of the crust. If it’s left to sit out, is the cheese okay to leave out on a counter? Also, how long does it keep?
Thanks! I love this blog. I make bacon Parmesan spinach pasta every week haha. Bacon is so easy to freeze and thaw!
I definitely wouldn’t leave this on the counter. It does get soft in the fridge, but I still enjoyed it quite a bit. I just reheated it briefly in the microwave. :)
Holy cow. This was so good. I have to say that we eat one of your recipes at least once a week. They are reliably good and I appreciate the fact that you use simple ingredients so I don’t have to buy a laundry list of weird stuff we’ll use once. You’re the best!
Good morning Beth!! I made this dish for dinner last night and it is amazing! It’s really easy and has a great flavor. Thank you!!
I don’t like cottage cheese, what can I use to replace it????
Ricotta is probably the closest, but it still has a different flavor and texture.
I don’t like cottage cheese either but I loved this. It doesn’t have the texture or taste of the cheese when it’s done.
I don’t like cottage cheese, either, but when you bake it, it’s a totally different flavor. Give it a try. Seriously.
Hi, I was wondering if I could sub the pastry dough for pillsbury pie crust dough? Thank you! :]
You can, but it won’t be that nice light, fluffy, layered crust that the phyllo dough makes. :)
Yum!!! Made this spinach pie for Thanksgiving this year. Great recipe; easy, and really tasty. Thanks!! :)
Sounds wonderful…Fixed spinach today for lunch.
Cant wait to try!
I love this recipe. Although when I made it, I had to use regular pie crusts since I couldn’t find phyllo. Was still great.
Do you think it could be made with scrambled eggs in place of the spinach?
Probably! :) That sounds good.
Can you freeze before baking and then bake when ready? Having company and would like to prep a day or two in advance but bake it fresh when company arrives
Hmm, I’ve never tried that method.
Yummy! Easy! Affordable!
This has to be the best spinach pie recipe I have ever seen.
This is a regular meal in our household, both exactly to recipe and with mushroom, feta and ham added.
Wonderful recipe, thanks for posting it!
Does this pie freeze well? I’m considering adding it to my freezer meals.
I’m actually not sure about this one. I’ve never tried to freeze cooked phyllo dough.
A little hint on reheating and leftover spinach pie….use a stone to reheat in the oven and it will come out crispy on the bottom AND top. Never microwave to reheat this.
Also, when I made this, I left out the nutmeg (sounded weird to me) and put in the entire carton of cottage cheese. It turned out amazing! Thanks for the recipe.
Yes you can use fresh spinach no it does not need to be blanched, all you do is wash it and squeeze all the water out then cut it.
Hi , Never used frozen pastry before- do you have to grease the dish first ?
Nope, the pastry dough has so much butter/fat in it that it’s as if it were naturally greased. :)
I made this tonight and it was fabulous. I tweaked just a it by baking it at 400 and put it in the lower rack in the oven just to make sure the bottom crust got crispy. SO much easier than phyllo!
Hi Beth,
I am so glad I found this recipe via Pinterest! It looks fantastic and I can’t wait to try it. My only question is, can you use fresh spinach instead of frozen spinach? If I use fresh spinach, does it need to be blanch first? Thank you!
Hi Jen,
Yes, you can use fresh spinach if you prefer. :) I would just sauté it down in a skillet first to remove some of the moisture. That should only take about 5 minutes.
Hi Beth,
Can I use ricotta instead of cottage cheese?
Yes, that would be delish!
I made this a few times for myself and loved it. Last night I went to a holiday party and made it with fillo dough which I have done before. A few guests at the party said it was the best spinach pie they have ever had. I added mushrooms in with the spinach for more texture.
Can this be made ahead?
I would think so, yes. You might have to adjust the baking time slightly, since it will be refrigerator cold when going into the oven. :)
Yes this can be made ahead and frozen.
This recipe is awesome. So far I’ve made it twice. The first time I made it following the recipe to a T. The second time I I added 1-3/4 cup of cubed ham to the onion & garlic. I also used 1/4 teaspoon of Nutmeg. OMGosh, to die for!!!
Beth, my third grader and I loved this!! If she were a character in Harry Potter, they would call her She Who Would Not Eat Spinach. I added a heavy shake of dill and 6 oz of feta (adjusting cheese accordingly). It was amazing. Thank you for doing this blog!
So, funny story: I went had almost everything for these at home except for spinach and cottage cheese. Was rushed when I went to the store, and ended up coming home with cottage cheese with pineapple chunks already in it! The cottage cheese wasn’t sweet though, so I used it…they still turned out really yummy :D
Ha! I love it. :)
Thanks so much for this recipe. I haven’t made spinach pie in so long because retain cheese is so expensive. I used the cottage cheese and that cheap parnesan you get in a plastic container. The only thing I added from my old recipe was dill, otherwise I followed your recipe exactly, even using the same puffed pastry. It came out exactly like your pictures! And so delicious. I live alone and will be snacking on this for a few days! Love your website and will continue to try your dishes. Thanks again.
What a great way to make a smaller portion of spinach pie without making a big sheet pan of it. Love the puff pastry idea too !
monica.
This blog is awesome! It is now in my favorites. Can’t wait to make something! Thanks
A quick tip the get the water out of the spinach: take a heavy-ish bowl (not plastic) that is approximately the same size as the inside of your strainer. Place it on top of the spinach and press. The weight of the bowl and the pressure you put on it will force the water out of the spinach quickly, and means less squeezing by hand for you! 10 years of working in restaurants have taught me many shortcuts like this, and having to make 5 pounds of spinach dip every day would have been a KILLER if I had to squeeze the water out by hand…lol
Excellent tip! Thank you!
The other option is cheesecloth. Twist it up tight into a ball, then press the ball in between your fist and the side of the colander or the sink.
This is a wonderful recipe! I’m doing it this month- i love the pics on dough placement-phyllo is somewhat difficult to work with .
One suggestion-& this is something I always do-
I NEVER use frozen spinach
I get regular spinach or baby , chop it and add- No Need to Cook- it will cook in the pie.
thanks for a nice blog
I really want to try this because I love me some spanakopita but– is the nutmeg necessary? Should I just bite the bullet and buy it? Thanks!
Well, it does add a little something special, but I also think that it would still be fantastic without it!
Do you think I can make this crustless for a low carb option? Would you happen to know if there are a lot of carbs in the pastry?
Thank you!
There probably is a lot of carbs in the crust. I’ve never tried it crustless, so if you do, let us know how it turns out!
Try phyllo dough for a slightly lower carb option. Its paper thin dough and you could use just a few sheets.
I just ate my first bit of this and it is SO FREAKING GOOD! And ridiculously easy!
I’m wondering how I could get this recipe to be dairy-free?? (at least as far as the filling) I love the idea of using cottage cheese but I cant! wah!
Ooh, that would be very difficult and take a lot of experimenting. The cheese is a MAJOR part of the filling… I don’t think I even have any ideas off hand :P
You can use extra firm tofu make sure you set it out to strain most of the fluid. Put it in a food processor with a squeeze of lemon juice or a slash of apple cider vinegar, salt to taste and pulse until you get ricotta like consistency.
I don’t think cooking it longer will help the bottom, unfortunately. The best way to prevent a soggy bottom is to cook the onions long enough so that most of their moisture is out, and to squeeze as much water out of the frozen spinach as humanly possible. I take handfuls of the spinach and squeeeeze it until it’s dry.
The bottom came out a bit soggy, I was wondering if there was any way to avoid that or is the only solution cooking it longer? The top looked great, golden and flaky, but don’t think it cooked through all the way in the bottom.
This was so delicious and came out as beautifully as your pictures. I don’t particularly enjoy cooked spinach, but I’ve already planned a menu around having it again! It was also very healthy. I’m on Weight Watchers, and I just subbed Fat Free Cottage Cheese, and I had 2 pieces of it.
This came out really well! The only thing I did differently was add a little bit of feta I needed to use up. This was way easier than making traditional spinach pie with phyllo and tastes just as good! Thanks for the tasty recipe!
I couldn’t find puff pastry at my store, so I just grabbed some pre-made pie crusts. I ended up having to bake it an extra 10 minutes, but it came really well. My 2 year old is chowing down on it right now. :)
I made this last Friday and my husband said it was better than any he’s had at a restaurant. I added in a touch of feta. Thank you so much!!!
Looks yum!
Today’s Menu – Today’s menu spinach pie!!
Trader Joe’s sells 2-pack puff pastry sheets for $3.99…of course, I found this out AFTER I spent $6.99 for it at Safeway. D’oh!
Love the tutorial. I make spinach pie all the time using PF puff pastry, but as individual little turnovers, not in a pie plate. Looks beautiful that way. Can’t wait to try it.
FYI, I make mine with feta cheese instead of cottage or parmesan, plus fresh squeezed lemon juice and fresh or dried dill weed. Learned this from my Greek friend.
This looks absolutely incredible! I’m vegan so I’ll need to tweak the recipe a bit but I can’t wait to try it! Your blog is amazing by the way :) :)
This looks absolutely incredible! I’m vegan so I’ll need to tweak the recipe a bit but I can’t wait to try it! Your blog is amazing by the way :) :)
This was awesome! I couldn’t find the same puff pastry so I used a pillsbury pastry sheet in a tube. Worked well. I love all your recipes!
Love the recipe, Beth :-) I made it with phyllo pastry, so I thought I should share it. The secret is to keep a moist towel over the pastry sheets, so they don’t dry out and crack. Hope you like it :-) Spinach Pie
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I made this last night and it was delicious! Great reheated for lunch. I too added Trader Joe’s Tzatziki sauce and it was great. Thanks!
I made this last night for this weeks lunch. I added feta and made some quick Tzatziki sauce to go with it. It reheated well and was very good, I only wish I had packed another piece!
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Re: egg product, pan size & ham…THANK YOU! – Mary
I love your blog and I am so happy you mad this. I LOOVE spinach pies but was always afraid to try them. :)
I am from the Mediterranean and this is something we do on a weekly basis. Already following your blog :)
I’ve started a food blog too, so please check it out for some more deliciousness :) http://tastymediterranean.blogspot.co.uk/
Anon – I’m not sure about the egg product, as I’ve never used that before. My pie dish was pretty shallow and it worked out okay (and definitely could have handled more volume). But, you could use square also, if you’d like :) Stick to an 8×8 inch or around that size. Ham would be delish!
Can I use kirkland real egg white product instead of real eggs? Would it work to add ham? And, would a square baking dish be better than a SHALLOW pyrex pie dish, or do you think it could accommodate the added volume of ham (if ham is ok)? Thanks! Making this with my 6 year old son for dinner tomorrow =)
Christy – Yes, most spinach pies are made with filo/phyllo, but I didn’t feel like bothering with buttering all of the layers :)
Sara – It does! The crust is no longer crispy, but it’s still so good that I can’t stay out of it. I even like it cold!
oooh this looks yummy. does it hold up well for leftovers?
Would fillo dough work with this, too? I just happen to have hat on hand in my freezer.
Thank you so much!!
I adore spanikopita, but the phyllo and triangle time make me avoid it.
I feel empowered to make it a lot more now!! =)
Winning at NOMS!
Hummm
I wonder if I have to add the cost of a special trip to the store to the base price of this Pie?…
Cause I am telling you right now its going to be dinner tonight… breakfest tomorrow morning and If I am a real good girl Lunch …lol
I’m not sure about the bottom crust, but you could always pour the pot pie filling into individual ramekins and then just top them with a piece of puff pastry. The top piece should work just fine :)
Can this technique be used with pot pies or will the puff pastry get too wet from the “gravy” in the pot pie? I love how golden and puffy the crust got and would love if my pot pies were this gorgeous!!!
This sounds fabulous! I love how easy it is!
Looks great Beth, this is my type of pie!
Anon – you’d want a pound *after* cooking and I’m not sure how much fresh it would take to get that. You’ll definitely have to cook it down first to remove all of that moisture, though. I’m going to estimate that it was about 3 cups after I squeezed out all of that water.
If you used fresh spinach, would it be the same amount? Thanks!
Edward – I would use a mixture of ricotta and mozzarella. The ricotta will be nice and moist like the cottage cheese, while the mozzarella will help glue everything together.
What can I use as a substitute for cottage cheese? I really dislike the stuff, but this recipe sounds great.