Spanakopita Triangles

5 from 1 vote

Golden-brown, buttery, flaky layers of phyllo pastry filled with fresh herbs, spinach, and creamy feta cheese filling. Your home will smell amazing as you bake these little pockets of joy. If you're looking for a Greek appetizer, spanakopita triangles will certainly be a hit!

Prep Time1

Cook Time20

Cooling Time10

Course: Greek Appetizers

Cuisine: Greek

Keyword: greek spinach pie triangles, spinach and feta phyllo triangles, spinach pie

Servings: triangles

Calories: 113kcal

Author: Ria Mavrikos

Equipment

Pastry brush
Baking sheet

Ingredients

1 package defrosted phyllo sheets 16 sheets
100 grams pre-washed baby spinach Diced. 100 grams/ 3.5 oz
1 bunch green onions 1 cup diced (remove the end of the stems)
¼ cup fresh dill diced
¼ cup Italian parsley diced
1 leek only the white part of the stem (1/3 cup diced/ 35 grams)
1 egg whisked
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
1 cup crumbled feta cheese 128 grams/4.5 oz
1 tablespoon grated parmesan cheese optional
1 tablespoon short-grain white rice
¾ cup melted butter for brushing the phyllo sheets
sesame seeds optional

Sautéed Onion

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
¾ cup yellow or white onion peeled and diced (91 grams/3.2 oz)
pinch of salt
pinch of pepper

Instructions

Thaw out the phyllo pastry. Refrigerate the phyllo sheets overnight or for 8 to 12 hours in the fridge. Allow the phyllo sheets to come to room temperature for about 30 minutes before using.
Sauté the onions. In a frying pan, heat a tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat. Sauté the diced onions on medium-low heat until they start to soften (about 5-7 minutes). Sprinkle in salt and pepper. Remove from the heat and set aside.
Wash and dice the fresh herbs, leek, 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 spinach. Wash the leek thoroughly within the folds. Remove and discard the green part of the leek. Slice the leek in half horizontally and thinly slice the white part of the leek.
Preheat the oven to 375°F on bake. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Make the spanakopita filling. In a large bowl, combine the diced spinach, green onions, leek, parsley and dill. Mix together. In a separate bowl, whisk one egg. Add in the whisked egg, olive oil, salt, pepper, parmesan cheese and rice to the spinach mixture. Combine together.
Make the spanakopita triangles. Lay one phyllo sheet on a large, clean surface. Brush the phyllo lightly with butter using a pastry brush. Place another phyllo sheet directly on top of the buttered phyllo sheet. Press down lightly and brush the top of the second phyllo sheet with butter. Slice the phyllo into four vertical strips about 2½ - 3" wide. Scoop a tablespoon of the spanakopita filling towards the bottom of each strip.
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 the phyllo and alternating sides along the entire strip. Complete this process until all of the spanakopita filling is used.
Bake the spanakopita. Place the phyllo triangles on the baking sheet, 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. Remove from the oven and cool for 5-10 minutes before serving.

Notes

Thaw the phyllo pastry in the fridge for about 8-12 hours. Phyllo sheets are sold in the freezer section at the grocery store, so they need time to defrost before they can be used. If phyllo pastry defrosts at room temperature, there will be too much moisture, and the phyllo will be soft and hard to use.
Phyllo is delicate, so keep the remaining phyllo covered with a clean kitchen towel so it doesn't dry out.
Allow the onions to cool completely before adding them to the spinach mixture. This will prevent the spinach from getting soggy.

Nutrition