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A beautiful buttery rustic Greek pie (Spanakopita) filled with spinach, onions, ricotta, and feta cheese baked to crusty, creamy, fluffy perfection.
Why You Should Make This Recipe
- One bite and you’ll be hooked! You get the extra crispy, flakey, buttery crust with the creamy ricotta and the salty tangy feta with the warm spinach. It’s surprisingly light and fluffy when you bite into it.
- This dish is so fantastic, my family goes back for seconds. And while the recipe serves 6-8, depending upon the size of the slice, members of my family have been known to eat almost a 1/2 pie alone in one sitting.
Spinach and Feta Galette Ingredients
Phyllo dough – make sure you use phyllo dough and NOT filo dough or puff pastry. See FAQs below for more information.
Feta cheese – I don’t skimp on good cheese when I am cooking. I highly recommend that you buy a good block of feta cheese. Block feta cheese is moist and full of bold aromas.
Spices – I used dried oregano leaves and dill weed. You can substitute by using fresh herbs, but make sure you double the amount because dried herbs are stronger than fresh herbs.
Ricotta cheese – I used whole milk ricotta. Let’s face it, this recipe has a lot of butter so you may as well splurge and have whole milk ricotta too.
How To Make This Recipe
- Cook the spinach and onion.
Heat olive oil on medium-high heat, add onion, and cook for about three minutes. Add the spinach and grated garlic and cook for another three minutes. Remove the skillet from the stovetop and let the spinach cool for 15 minutes.
- Mix the wet ingredients
While the spinach and onions are cooling, beat the eggs in a large bowl. Mix in ricotta cheese, spices, and salt and pepper. Crumble 1/2 of the feta cheese with your fingers and stir it into the mixture.
- Add the spinach
When the spinach is at room temperature, add it to the wet ingredients. Stir in 1/2 of the remaining feta cheese. Place the bowl in the refrigerator to keep the mixture cool while you prepare the phyllo sheets. (Save the extra feta cheese to add to the top of the galette right before cooking it.)
- Build the phyllo layers
Melt the 4 tablespoons of butter in the microwave. Open 1 of the sleeves of phyllo dough, roll out the sheets, and cover them with three damp paper towels. Save the second tube for another recipe. Flip a cookie sheet over, and cover it with parchment paper or a baking mat. Place 1 phyllo sheet on the cookie sheet, brush the entire sheet with melted butter. Lay the second sheet perpendicular to the first sheet so it’s laying crosswise. Brush that entire sheet with butter. Lay the next layer diagonally on top, brush it with butter. Lay the fourth sheet diagonally in the other direction and brush it with butter. Continue in this pattern until you have used all of the individual phyllo sheets. (Keep the phyllo sheets covered with damp paper towels while you are buttering each sheet so they do not dry out.)
- Fill the galette
Once you have all of the phyllo layers, spoon the spinach mixture in the center of the phyllo sheets, spreading it out and leaving room around the edges to fold over the phyllo dough. Begin by lifting a piece of the phyllo and bringing it to the center while twisting it at the same time. Continue this all the way around the galette. The last step is to brush every piece of phyllo with butter making sure that every open piece of phyllo has been buttered. Crumble the remaining feta cheese on the top of the exposed spinach area. Bake the galette at 375° for 25-30 minutes. Let it cool for 20 minutes before slicing or transferring it to a serving plate.
Frequently Asked Questions
Spanakopita is a popular Greek dish that is a pie made from phyllo dough filled with spinach, onions, and feta cheese. You can find it in any Greek restaurant.
Galette is a French pastry that means “flat cake”. It has a bottom crust and a free-form or rustic side crust.
The main difference is the amount of fat. Phyllo dough has little to no fat in the pastry sheets which is why you need to add a lot of butter. Puff pastry, on the other hand, is made with a lot of butter allowing it to puff when baked. I do not recommend using puff pastry for this recipe.
While a galette is best served the day it is made, you can refrigerate this galette covered in the refrigerator for 2 days. I love having this for breakfast the day after I serve it.
Krazy Kitchen Mom Tips
- Make sure that your spinach is completely thawed and that as much of the excess water has been removed as possible. To thaw, I put the box of frozen spinach into a colander that is sitting in a large bowl. I leave the bowl and the colander on the kitchen counter for 6-8 hours. I then squeeze the spinach to remove all of the water. You may have to squeeze it several times to remove all of the liquid. When the majority of the liquid is squeezed out, I squeeze it again between several paper towels.
- I keep phyllo dough in my freezer. To thaw it, I place the unopened box into the refrigerator overnight.
- I highly recommend using a good quality feta cheese. I buy a block of feta cheese and crumble it myself. I do not recommend using the pre-crumbled feta. You will find that a block is moister and more flavorful.
More Delicious Recipes
- Easy Weeknight Pepper Steak
- Filet Mignon with Boursin Mushroom Sauce
- Summer Panzanella Bread Salad
- Grilled Chicken Caprese
Spinach and Feta Savory Galette
Ingredients
- 1 10-ounce box of frozen spinach thawed and excess liquid drained
- 1 tube phyllo dough thawed in refrigerator
- 1/2 cup onion diced
- 1 garlic clove grated
- 2 eggs beaten
- 3/4 cup whole milk ricotta cheese
- 5 ounces feta cheese
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tbsp fresh chopped parsley
- 1 tbsp dill weed
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 4 tbsp melted butter
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°.
- Dice the onion and grate the garlic clove.
- Heat olive oil on medium heat in a stovetop skillet.
- Add the onion and cook for 3 minutes.
- Add the spinach and garlic and cook for another 3 minutes.
- Remove the skillet from the heat and let it sit for 15 minutes until it is slightly warm or at room temperature.
- While the spinach is resting, beat the eggs in a large bowl.
- Add the ricotta cheese, parsley, spices, and salt and pepper and mix well.
- Crumble 1/2 of the feta cheese into the mixture using your finders and stir it into the egg mixture.
- When the spinach is room temperature, stir it into the wet mixture and crumble in 1/2 of the remaining feta cheese. Place the bowl in the refrigerator while you prepare the phyllo layers.
- Melt the 4 tablespoons of butter in the microwave.
- Open 1 of the sleeves of phyllo dough, roll out the sheets, and cover them with three damp paper towels. Save the second tube for another recipe.
- Flip a cookie sheet over, and cover it with parchment paper or a baking mat.
- Place 1 phyllo sheet on the cookie sheet, brush the entire sheet with melted butter. Lay the second sheet perpendicular to the first sheet so it's laying crosswise. Brush that entire sheet with butter. Lay the next layer diagonally on top, brush it with butter. Lay the fourth sheet diagonally the other direction and brush it with butter. Continue in this pattern until you have used all of the individual phyllo sheets. (Keep the phyllo sheets covered with the damp paper towels while you are buttering each sheet so they do not dry out.)
- Once all of the phyllo is buttered in layers, spoon the spinach mixture in the center of the phyllo sheets, spreading it out and leaving room around the edges to fold over the phyllo dough. Begin by lifting a piece of the phyllo and bringing it to the center while twisting it at the same time. Continue this all the way around the galette.
- Brush every piece of phyllo with butter making sure that every open piece of phyllo has been buttered.
- Crumble the remaining feta cheese on the top of the exposed spinach area.
- Bake the galette at 375° for 25-30 minutes.
- Let it cool for 20 minutes before slicing or transferring it to a serving plate.
Notes
- Make sure that your spinach is completely thawed and that as much of the excess water has been removed as possible. To thaw, I put the box of frozen spinach into a colander that is sitting in a large bowl. I leave the bowl and the colander on the kitchen counter for 6-8 hours. I then squeeze the spinach to remove all of the water. You may have to squeeze it several times to remove all of the liquid. When the majority of the liquid is squeezed out, I squeeze it again between several paper towels.
- I keep phyllo dough in my freezer. To thaw it, I place the unopened box into the refrigerator overnight.
- I highly recommend using a good quality feta cheese. I buy a block of feta cheese and crumble it myself. I do not recommend using the pre-crumbled feta. You will find that a block is moister and more flavorful.
Can puff pastry be used instead of phyllo?
Absolutely! That would be delicious!