Flaky, golden brown layers of crispy phyllo pastry filled with creamy feta cheese, fresh dill, leek, and spinach filling. Each bite into these spanakopita triangles is pure heaven.

What makes this spanakopita recipe different from all of the others? I’m glad you asked! First, I use fresh spinach but don’t cook it before adding it to the spanakopita filling. I also add a bit of short-grain white rice, which helps absorb some of the moisture, so the result is crispy, flaky spanakopita with fresh and flavourful spinach filling.

Ingredient Notes

Phyllo pastry sheets: Phyllo pastry is found in the freezer section at the grocery store, so you’ll need to allow time for it to defrost in the fridge for at least 8-12 hours before using it. I wouldn’t recommend defrosting phyllo pastry at room temperature because it will release moisture too quickly, making the phyllo too soft to use. Phyllo pastry is delicate and can dry out quickly, so I recommend covering the remaining phyllo sheets with a clean kitchen towel to prevent the phyllo from drying out as you make the spanakopita triangles.

Short-grain white rice: Rice is the best secret ingredient for crispy spanakopita! My mom taught me this trick, and I’ve added rice to my spanakopita ever since. A small amount of white rice absorbs some of the moisture from the spinach. You don’t want to add too much rice; you only need about 1 tablespoon for this recipe. For this recipe, I don’t cook the spinach before making the spanakopita triangles, so adding rice will soak up the excess water from the fresh spinach.  

Spinach: To make the spanakopita triangles easier to fold, I’d recommend dicing the spinach fairly small instead of leaving it whole. Fresh spinach is essential for this recipe, so I wouldn’t recommend substituting frozen spinach.

Fresh herbs: Fresh herbs are essential for this recipe because they provide so much flavour and texture. For this reason, I wouldn’t recommend substituting dry herbs. It’s important to wash the fresh herbs well and pat them dry really well to eliminate any extra moisture in the filling. Leeks can have dirt inside the folds, so they need to be rinsed really well. When prepping the leek, cut and discard the green part. Slice the white part down the middle and then finely slice the leek.

Recipe Tips 

• Defrost the phyllo pastry in the fridge for about 8-12 hours. Phyllo sheets are sold in the freezer section at the grocery store, so you will need to allow time to defrost before using them. If phyllo pastry defrosts at room temperature, there will be too much moisture, and the phyllo will be soft and hard to use. If it’s your first time working with phyllo, don’t panic, haha, but phyllo is delicate, so you’ll want to be gentle with it.
  
  
• As you work to fold the spanakopita triangles, keep the remaining phyllo sheets covered with a clean kitchen towel or a slightly damp cloth so it doesn’t dry out. 
  
  
• Allow the sautéed onions to cool completely before adding them to the spinach mixture so that the spinach mixture doesn’t get soggy.

How To Make Spanakopita Triangles: Step by Step

Step 1: Refrigerate the phyllo sheets overnight or in the fridge for 8 to 12 hours before using.

Step 2: Sauté the onions. Peel and dice the onions. In a frying pan, heat a tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat. Add the diced onions and sauté until soft, about 5-7 minutes. Add a pinch of salt and pepper. Remove from heat and set the onions aside.

Step 3: Wash and dice the herbs and spinach.  Wash and pat dry the green onions, leek, parsley, and dill. Dice the green onions (use both the green and white parts of the stem) and discard the very bottom of the stems.  Dice the fresh parsley and dill.  Finely chop the fresh spinach. Wash the leek really well, including all the folds. Cut and discard the green part of the leek. Slice the white part down the middle, and then thinly slice the leek.

Step 4: Preheat the oven to 375°F on bake. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Step 5: Make the spanakopita filling. In a large bowl, combine the chopped spinach, green onions, parsley, and dill. Mix together. In a separate bowl, whisk one egg. Add the whisked egg, olive oil, salt, pepper, parmesan cheese, and rice. Combine together. 

Step 6: Make the spanakopita triangles. Lay one piece of phyllo dough on a large, clean surface. Using a pastry brush, brush the phyllo dough lightly with butter. Place another phyllo sheet directly on top of the buttered phyllo sheet.  Press down lightly and brush the top layer with butter.  Slice the phyllo into four vertical strips about 2.5″-3″ wide. Scoop a tablespoon of the spinach mixture and place it in the middle of each strip. Cover the remaining sheets of phyllo dough with a clean kitchen towel so that the phyllo sheets don’t dry out as you make the spanakopita triangles.

Diagonally fold the phyllo towards one side to form a triangle shape, then fold towards the opposite side. Press down lightly on the filling so it spreads out a bit. Continue folding and alternating sides along the entire strip. You may need to brush the phyllo with butter as you fold so the phyllo sheets stick together better. Complete this process until all of the filling is used. Remove from the oven and allow them to cool for 5-10 minutes before serving.

Step 7: Bake the spanakopita.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.  Place the phyllo triangles on the baking tray, seam-side down. Brush the top of the phyllo triangles with butter and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Bake at 375°F for about 20 minutes or until golden brown and crispy.

Storing & Serving 

You can store any leftover spanakopita in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days. You can easily re-heat the spanakopita in the oven or the microwave. Reheating spanakopita in an oven will result in a crispier spanakopita, whereas the microwave will make the phyllo softer.

Are you looking to prep spanakopita ahead of time? This can easily be done! Follow all of the steps until you get to the baking step but don’t bake the spanakopitas. Instead, carefully wrap each spanakopita triangle in plastic wrap. Place the wrapped spanakopitas into a Ziploc bag. Label the ziploc bag so that you know what date you froze them.

You can bake the spanakopita triangles from frozen. Place the frozen spanakopitas on a lined baking sheet. They will need longer to bake in the oven since they are frozen. Bake the frozen spanakopites for about 35 minutes at 375°F or until golden brown and crispy.

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