Spanakopita Hand Pies

Flakey, puff pastry dough is filled with a savory, spinach filling that is reminiscent of a Greek spanakopita or spinach pie. These little pies are easy and flavorful. Serve them for a snack, an appetizer, or part of your meal!

These little pastries combine two of my favorite things; hand pies and spanakopita! You have probably have heard of hand pie, although I bet they have mostly been filled with fruit or other sweet fillings. Right?

Spanakopita, on the other hand, may be completely new to you! Spanakopita is a traditional Greek spinach pie that is made with buttery layers of phyllo dough and spinach, It can be labor intensive, which is why I created my “lazy mans” quick and easy spanakopita recipe!

What Are Hand Pies

Hand pies are little-crimped pie dough rounds that are filled with either a sweet or savory filling. A few of my favorite sweet pies are these lemon hand pies, and cinnamon roll hand pies, Greek hand pies.

But I also have a couple of savory hand pies that I adore. These savory Greek hand pie always go over well as do these mini taco hand pies (a favorite with kids!)

What Is a Spanakopita Recipe?

Spanakopita’s English translation is “spinach pie”. Spanakopita (spana-ko-peeta) recipe is made with phyllo dough (a specialty, paper-thin dough that is typically found in the freezer section of your supermarket.

The phyllo dough is heavily brushed with butter and layered with spinach, cottage cheese, and feta cheese mixture. It is labor-intensive and quite time-consuming.

This recipe is none of those. This is another quick and easy take on the Greek classic ( I even turned it into a spinach dip)!

How To Make Spanakopita Hand Pies

While my quick and easy spanakopita used phyllo dough, I made things even simpler by using sheets of puff pastry.

You will use the whole box for this recipe. Allow the dough to come to room temperature.

Meanwhile, work on the filling.

To start the spanakopita, you should first prepare the filling as it requires a little bit of cooling time.

I like to use frozen spinach for this recipe. If using frozen spinach, make sure that you drain out all excess liquid from your spinach or else you will end up with a soggy bottom.

Heat olive oil in a large skillet. Cook the spinach and onion until heated through. Allow the mixture to cool then combine the vegetables with garlic, cottage cheese, crumbled feta cheese, nutmeg, salt, and pepper stirring to combine.

Dust your work space with flour and gently and carefully roll each roll of dough into a triangle. Try to keep it roughly 10 x13, but it doesn’t really matter as long as both pieces are roughly the same size.

Cut your pastry dough into even squares. I like to use a pizza cutter for this, but a plain old butter knife works well too!

Arrange a tablespoon of the spinach mixture to half of the squares. Arrange remaining squares over the filled pieces and press edges with your fingers.

If the dough does not press together, lightly work it with wet fingers. Repeat with remaining squares.

Crimp the edges with a fork. Brush each pie with an egg wash before making small slits in the top of each pie to allow steam to escape.

From here, I preheat my oven to 400 degrees. While the oven heats, chill your pies. The cold dough will keep the pies for change shape too much while baking.

The pies will only take about 20 minutes to bake up golden brown.

Helpful Tips

• For the filling, I use frozen spinach but fresh, finely chopped spinach (this is a great way to use up fresh spinach!) can be used as long as it has been cooked down and wilted. If using frozen, be sure to drain it completely or else you will end up with a soggy pie.

• Ricotta cheese can be used in place of the cottage cheese in this recipe.

• Feel free to mix in green onions, shallots, or fresh herbs like parsley and dill.

• While spinach and feta are the perfect combo, feel free to use goat cheese instead of feta. Cooked leeks can also be used with the spinach.

What To Serve With Spanakopita Hand Pies?

Serve warm as an appetizer, side dish or AS the meal itself. Spinach pie pairs wonderfully with Avgolemono Soup or this Greek Chicken Souvlaki Salad! This is a great recipe for entertaining, holidays special occasions, or just because you are in the mood for a little Greek food!

Can Spanakopita Hand Pies Be Frozen?

Yes, they can. Once the pies have cooled completely, cover it with plastic wrap and foil and place in the freezer. Spanakopita can be frozen for 1-2 months.

The best way to reheat the spinach pie is in the oven. The dough will be limp if microwaved.

You can also freeze spanakopita hand pies before baking (which is preferred). Assemble the as directed up to the baking. Wrap the pies completely and securely before freezing.

When it is time to bake the pies, place the frozen pies on a baking tray and bake as directed.

I love sharing some of the Greek food I grew up with. I hope you enjoy!

Continue to Content

Yield: 12

Spanakopita Hand Pies

Print

Flakey, puff pastry dough is filled with a savory, spinach filling that is reminiscent of a Greek spanakopita or spinach pie.  These little pies are easy and flavorful. Serve them for a snack, an appetizer, or part of your meal!

Prep Time 40 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Total Time 1 hour

Ingredients

• 1 box puff pastry
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• ¼ cup onions
• 2 cloves minced garlic
• 2 cups fresh spinach
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon basil
• ½ teaspoon oregano
• 2 tablespoons cottage cheese
• 2 tablespoons crumbled feta cheese
• 1 lightly beaten egg
• 1 tablespoon water

Instructions

1. Thaw puff pastry according to package directions.
2. Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add onions and cook until soft. Stir in garlic and cook an additional minute.
3. Add spinach to skillet, season with salt, basil, and oregano. Stir. Continue to cook spinach until soft and wilted. Remove skillet from heat and allow spinach to cool.
4. When spinach has cooled, combined cooked spinach with cottage cheese and crumbled feta.
5. Place puff pastry on a floured work space. Roll puff pastry to a 10 x13 in rectangle (approximately).
6. Cut each puff pastry sheet into squares (24 total).
7. Place a tablespoon of filling on half of the squares and cover with remaining puff pastry squares.
8. Press sheets together, wetting fingers if necessary.
9. Crimp edges of hand pies with a fork.
10. Whisk together the egg and the water and brush egg wash over each pastry. Place tiny slits into each puff pastry top to allow steam to escape.
11. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Refrigerate hand pies for while oven heats.
12. Bake hand pies for 20 minutes or until golden brown.

Nutrition Information

Yield

12

Serving Size

1
Amount Per Serving Calories 36Total Fat 3gSaturated Fat 1gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 2gCholesterol 17mgSodium 127mgCarbohydrates 2gFiber 0gSugar 0gProtein 1g

How much do you LOVE this recipe?

Follow me on Pinterest for more tasty ideas and use the pin button at the top of the recipe card!