These spinach and feta filo parcels are tasty and nutritious and perfect for a light lunch or snack. With soft sautéed onions, wilted spinach, fresh herbs, a dash of lemon juice, crumbly feta and crunchy pine nuts, each little parcel is packed with delicious flavor and texture.
The post contains additional information and helpful tips to ensure the recipe turns out great the first time. Please use the link above to jump to the recipe card at the end if you are in a hurry!
Thankfully, there is nothing complicated about these tasty triangles, made with simple ingredients with just 30 minutes of hands-on time. They’re also make-ahead friendly, packable and sure to impress everyone at your next picnic, dinner party or barbecue.
6 reasons why you'll love this recipe:
- Delicious flavour and texture in every bite
- Packed with goodness - made with nutritious spinach, fresh herbs, protein-rich pine nuts and calcium-filled feta.
- Quick and easy - with just 30 mins of hands-on time
- Versatile - the perfect light lunch, snack or appetizer. Packable for picnics, BBQs and other gatherings.
- Make-head friendly - assemble, refrigerate and bake later or freeze for up to 3 months and bake from frozen.
- Crowd-pleasing - these tasty vegetarian triangles are sure to go down well at any gathering.
🛒 Ingredients and variations:
These tasty parcels require a few everyday ingredients. You should be able to find all of them at your local supermarket.
Spinach - the recipe has been tested with fresh spinach. If you are using frozen spinach, use just over half the weight and squeeze as much moisture out of it as you can.
Feta - its crumbly texture and tangy saltiness is an excellent match for the wilted herby spinach. You can use ricotta or goat cheese instead. Ricotta has a much milder flavour than feta so you may want to add a little more salt.
Filo pastry - you can use puff pastry instead. Simply cut it into 12cm/5inch squares, spoon some filling onto each one, fold over and brush with an egg wash to get them shiny and golden in the oven.
🧑🍳 Recipe steps:
Step 1: Toast the pine nuts until golden and set them aside. Add oil to the pan and fry the onions until they are soft and translucent and then add the garlic, nutmeg and black pepper. Stir in the spinach and add the mint and dill when it begins to wilt. Then remove the pan from the heat and stir in the lemon juice, lemon zest, feta and pine nuts.
Step 2: Spread a thin layer of melted butter onto a sheet of filo pastry and place another sheet on top. Cut into 4 even-sized strips. Put a dollop of the filling on the bottom of one of the strips and fold the corner in diagonally to form a triangle. Continue to fold, brush the end with a little butter and fold down to seal. Repeat this process with the rest of the filling.
Step 3: Spread a thin layer of melted butter onto a sheet of filo pastry and place another sheet on top. Place the filo triangles on a tray, brush the tops with butter and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Bake for 15-20 minutes until golden brown and transfer to a wire rack to cool.
Serving suggestions
Packed with a tonne of herby, cheesy umami and citrusy flavour, these tasty triangles hold their own or can be served with a tasty sauce or dip like this cool and fresh Greek tzatziki or chilli tomato sauce.
Top tips
- Cook the spinach with the lid off - to ensure any moisture evaporates. You don't want soggy parcels.
- Take the pan off the heat when the spinach begins to wilt - cooking it for longer might cause it to taste bitter.
- Bake the parcels on a wire rack - to get the bottom of the parcels as crispy as the top.
🙋 FAQs
Spinach and feta parcels can be frozen for up to 3 months. Freeze before baking and bake from frozen so they are fresh and crispy.
It usually takes 15-20 minutes at 180C or 300F to get them nice and crispy. Keep an eye on them and take them out of the oven when they start to brown and transfer them to a wire cooling rack.
You can prepare the filo parcels in advance and bake them later. Just cover them and store them in the fridge until you are ready to bake them.
Brushing filo pastry with a thin layer of butter between each sheet and on the tops before baking adds flavour and crispiness. Filo pastry is very low in fat and adding butter vastly improves its taste, texture and appearance.
📦 Storage
Spinach and feta parcels taste best when served immediately but will keep in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat them in the oven at 180C/350F for 5-10 minutes. Avoid reheating in the microwave as it will make them soggy.
If you want perfectly crispy parcels, freezing is the way to go. Just freeze the parcels before you bake them by placing them on a tray lined with parchment paper so that they are not touching. Transfer them to a container or freezer bag once frozen and store them in the freezer for up to 3 months. Then bake them from frozen, bearing in mind that you will need to add 5-10 minutes to the baking time.
😋 Check out my other spinach recipes
Spinach is versatile, nutritious and easy to cook. If you enjoyed these filo and spinach parcels, you should check out my other light spinach recipes including my 5 ingredient spinach pasta sauce or my spinach and chickpea salad with a creamy tahini dressing.
Did you try this recipe? It would be really great if you could leave a comment and a star rating ⭐️. I would love to receive your feedback and know that other readers find it helpful too.
Don't forget to tag #knifeandsoulrecipes on Instagram or @knifeandsoul on Pinterest!
📖 Recipe
Spinach and feta parcels
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoon pine nuts
- 1 tablespoon neutral or olive oil
- 1 onion finely chopped
- 3 cloves garlic crushed
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 200 g (6.67 cups) spinach leaves washed
- 7 g (3.5 tablespoon) fresh mint finely chopped
- 7 g (17.5 tablespoon) fresh dill finely chopped
- ½ lemon juice and zest
- 100 g (3.5 oz) feta crumbled
- 15 g (2 tablespoon) butter melted
- 5-6 sheets filo pastry
- Sesame seeds optional
Instructions
- Heat your oven to 180°C or 350°F.
- Place a large frying pan on a medium heat, add the pine nuts, toast until they begin to brown and set aside.
- Add oil to the pan and fry the onions until they are soft and translucent.
- Stir in the garlic, nutmeg, salt and black pepper and fry for a minute more until fragrant.
- Add the spinach to the pan, stir continuously until it begins to wilt, and stir in the mint and dill.
- Remove the pan from the heat and add the lemon juice, lemon zest, feta and pine nuts, stir and set aside.
- Melt the butter on the stove or in the microwave.
- Use a pastry brush to spread melted butter onto a sheet of filo pastry.
- Place another pastry sheet of filo directly on top and use scissors to cut it into 4 strips (note 1).
- Place 2-3 tablespoons of the filling onto the bottom of one of the pastry sheets about ½ inch from the bottom and fold the corner diagonally to form a triangle.
- Continue folding until you reach the end of the sheet. Brush the end with a little butter and fold down to seal.
- Repeat these steps with the rest of the filling.
- Place the filo triangles onto rack or baking tray (note 2), brush each one with melted butter and sprinkle with sesame seeds.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes until lightly browned.
- Leave on a wire rack to cool for at least 10 minutes before eating.
Notes
- Filo Pastry: The recipe has been tested with 12cm/5inch wide pastry sheets. You can make them smaller or larger as desired, adding more or less filling accordingly.
- Baking tip: Bake the filo triangles on a grill rack or roasting rack if possible. This is how you get the bottoms crispy too.
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