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!
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. :)