Name: vegan spanakopita
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 50 min
Total time: 70 min
Ingredients: 250 grams (7 cups) fresh spinach (roughly chopped, washed, and well drained); 4 spring onions (chopped); 3 grams (¼cup) dill (chopped); 15 grams (¼cups) parsley (chopped); salt; pepper; 4 Tablespoons olive oil; 6 sheets of filo pastry (or brick pastry); 1/2 Tablespoons white vinegar; 1/2 Tablespoons lemon juice; 1/2 Tablespoons water; 75 grams (½cup) raw cashews (soaked, rinsed and drained)

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I love making and eating this vegan spanakopita. It really brings those Greek flavours onto your palate.

Find yourself on an idealistic Greek island while enjoying this plant based recipe;

Estimated reading time: 5 minutes

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🧀 Feta substitute
🥬 Spinach and dill
🥟 Pastry for Spanakopita
🎥 Step by step pictures
🥗 Serving options
🍷 Wine pairing
📋 Recipe
vegan spanakopita

🧀 Feta substitute

So, originally a Spanakopita is made with Greek feta cheese. In this recipe I use cashews to create a creamy, salty and tangy mixture to substitute for the feta.

While blending the cashew mixture it is of importance to get the texture just right. So, don't start blending while doing other things, because the consistency should give some creaminess, but it should not be blended into a fully creamy sauce. Feta traditionally is slightly crumbly, salty and tangy, so that is what we want to re-create. The crumbly texture is achieved by blending shortly so the cashews are blended but still a bit coarse.

With the right amount of salt, white vinegar, and lemon juice we can get very close to add that tangy flavour known to the spanakopita.

🥬 Spinach and dill

In my opinion the dill is a must in a spanakopita and cannot be left out. It is the combination of spinach and dill that will bring you right to the Greek islands in the Mediterranean.

🥟 Pastry for Spanakopita

The most commonly used pastry for this delicious Greek pie, is Filo pastry (Phylo pastry). As I myself live in France, and Filo pastry is very hard to find, I used brick pastry instead. Which works fine, even though I would have preferred to use filo. On top of that, the only brick pastry I can find locally is round shaped. But heehoo, ... as you can see in the video, where there is a will, there is a way 🙂 Maybe next time I should try making my own pastry. I will keep you posted on that one!

🎥 Step by step pictures

🥗 Serving options

Personally I like to enjoy this Greek pie as a mezze. Which I share with friends or family. Some ideas and recipes suggestions to the mezze could be;

But of course you can make this pie to enjoy as a starter, or as a side dish with Greek style salads or vegetables. The mediterranean roasted vegetables or the roasted aubergine dishes would pair well with this!

In this recipe I have coiled the spanakopita but depending on how you would like to use it, you can make the more traditional square shaped pie, or the little triangle folds.

🍷 Wine pairing

What to drink with a spanakopita?

This pretty much depends what you serve with it. If I just look at the flavours of this Greek pie, I would suggest a white wine, a Sauvignon blanc with a bit of tartness. A Sancerre would match beautiful. Or a Southern French variety, called Picpoul would match these flavours well. But if you serve this dish as a mezze, or as a side dish you might want to opt for a light fruity red, like a young Beaujolais, or even a fresh cold beer.

This recipe was inspired by a 'veggies dont bite' recipe. Let me know if you make this vegan spanakopita. I always love to see new creations. Add @haricoco1 to your insta post or comment down below.

📋 Recipe

This recipe is for a small spanakopita (approx. 3 people).