Spinach Pie Near You

What is Spinach Pie?

Spinach pie is a savory dish consisting of phyllo dough filled with a mix of spinach and cheese. Very popular in the US, spinach pie is a great way to start any meal in a light, yet tasty way!

Whether you like it with feta cheese or with plain, fresh spinach, this pie will transport you to the sunny Mediterranean in a single bite. Especially when freshly made, spinach pie is one of staples of the world-famous Mediterranean diet!

What Country Does Spinach Pie Come From?

Even though the recipe can be found all around the world, it is believed that this specific dish started out in what we know today as Greece.

It's not exactly clear when the pie started to dominate the Greek culinary scene, but we can make an assumption. In order to do that, we have to take a look at history.

Way back when, only countries in the Middle East had spinach. No other country or region had access to the leafy green or its seeds. With the development of transportation, traveling Middle Eastern merchants brought spinach to Spain. Soon after, the tasty plant could be found all over Europe.

The South of Greece took a particular liking to spinach. Their climate was the most similar to the one in the Middle East, so the native farmers quickly figured out they can grow the plant easily. Once this discovery was made, spinach became easily accessible to everyone. Greeks were already using a similar type of dough for recipes, so the green was upgraded to a pie filling.

All of this happened around the time the Byzantine Empire existed, so we can assume that that's when the first spinach pie was born.

Fun Facts

• In Greece, the name of this pie is spanakopita
• In the 5th century BC, Greek poet Philoxenos gives us the first mention of a phyllo-dough pie
• The very original spinach pie recipe also includes scallions, herbs, onions and garlic

What Does Spinach Pie Taste Like?

Spinach pie tastes like, well, spinach!

Sometimes, it can also taste like cheese, especially if you're eating a pie prepared following a Southern Greek spinach pie recipe. Although present, the spinach taste is not overpowering and goes very well with the dough and other flavors.

As we mentioned before, this pie can often have onions or scallions, garlic, and various herbs beneath the golden brown dough. These ingredients enhance the taste of the spinach itself and give the pie a certain richness.

American restaurants often make this pie from scratch, carefully preparing homemade phyllo dough to fill with tasty greens. The usual cheese of choice is feta, although you can run into spinach pie with ricotta cheese as well.

The process of making this lovely pie is pretty simple.

First, the spinach is cooked with all the other ingredients. Then, the mixture left to cool down.

Once lukewarm, the cooked fresh spinach, veggies, and herbs are joined by cheese. After this, the mix is spread onto phyllo dough, folded, placed in a casserole-like dish, and baked. The rest - you probably already know!

Spinach pie is often eaten as an appetizer or side dish, especially in Greek restaurants. However, it's great to know that it can be an amazing breakfast dish as well!

Is Spinach Pie Healthy?

Yes, spinach pie is pretty healthy.

Aside from the obvious fresh spinach inside, the phyllo dough also makes a difference. Unlike puff pastry, its buttery cousin, phyllo dough is made using oil. In the case of spinach pie, kitchens often opt for extra virgin olive oil.

Because of this, the phyllo dough has less fats, especially the unhealthy kind. The olive oil also adds some great nutritional properties through things like oleic acid, which it has plenty of! This acid is one of the healthiest sources of fat in food and can reduce the risk of things like Alzheimer's and heart disease.

For reference, a piece of spinach pie has 156 calories, 8.3g fat, 15.5g carbs, and 7.2g protein.

If you compare these stats to those of something like a cheese or meat pie, you'll notice that spinach pie is way healthier!

Spinach Pie Restaurant Recommendations

If you came here looking for spinach pie restaurants, we got your back! We know exactly where you can order! We also hope you enjoyed our little history lesson in the meantime! On our website, you can find lots of incredible restaurants in your area that serve spinach pie.

However, we'd like to also highlight some of our suggestions that can be found in certain cities!

In Boston, we recommend Ali Baba Turkish Restaurant.