These cheese and spinach triangles aka. spanakopita triangles have the crispiest phyllo sheets wrapped and filled with spinach and feta. Once baked, the inside gets creamy while the phyllo puffs up and gets golden brown and flaky.
These spinach and pie triangles are inspired by the famous Greek spanakopita. Spanakopita is traditionally made with homemade dough that is a bit different than the phyllo we buy at the grocery stores. And while the traditional recipe is delicious using phyllo is a great shortcut. Especially when we don’t have a lot of time to spend in the kitchen.
What you’ll need to make cheese and spinach triangles?
Here’s what you’ll need to make cheese and cheese and spinach triangles. While many recipes ask for so many ingredients – the things you’ll need are simple, and you’d most likely have them on hand or can be found in any grocery store. So don’t let the simple ingredients fool you – these are the greatest spanakopita triangles you’ll ever try!
- Phyllo dough – you can use any type of phyllo dough you like here. If you have the chance to use fresh phyllo you can use that – if not, you can use frozen phyllo and let that thaw in the refrigerator overnight.
- Feta cheese – is used for the filling along with the spinach and green onion. The feta plays a crucial role in these triangles.
- Spinach – it’s always important to use fresh spinach and not frozen. Using fresh spinach is way better in taste, and more nutritious. Baby spinach leaves are good to use, but can also be substituted with regular spinach leaves.
- Spring onions – are used to enhance the flavor of the filling. They are not a must-use but definitely recommended if you are a fan of green onions.
- Olive oil – is used for brushing the phyllo along with sparkling water and baking powder. I find this combination to be the best and hydrated the phyllo perfectly. These are all really important if you want to get the best out of your phyllo. Using only olive oil or only butter is not a bad idea. The triangles get too greasy, and the edges get super hard once they cool down. With this simple olive oil, sparkling water, and baking powder mixture, you’ll get perfectly hydrated phyllo that puffs up, and the layers don’t get stuck together.
A few tips on how to work with phyllo!
And before I explain how to make cheese and spinach triangles, I wanted to share a few tips and tricks on working with phyllo, which you might find beneficial, especially if you haven’t used phyllo a lot.
- If I had to give you only 1 tip it would be to keep your phyllo covered so it doesn’t dry out. Once you open your package of phyllo and start working with it the layers can dry out quickly. Some people like to use a damp towel, but it’s okay sometimes to use a dry kitchen towel.
- If using frozen phyllo sheets let them thaw overnight in the refrigerator. They can also be thawed at room temperature for 1-2 hours but I find that it gives the best results in the refrigerator.
- Be gentle when separating the sheets so they don’t tear.
How to fold these phyllo pastry triangles
I’ve seen so many people make these triangles by cutting the sheets before they are brushed with the olive oil mixture. I find that unnecessary, and it adds an extra step to brush each strip individually. Instead, I like to brush all the phyllo sheets and then cut them into strips. This way, it’s much easier and quicker.
- Take one sheet of phyllo and place it on a flat surface. Brush the sheet first with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil then with 1 tbsp of the sparkling water and baking powder mixture.
- Layer another sheet on top and repeat the same process. Finally, add the last layer of phyllo brush it, and cut the sheets with a pizza cutter or knife crosswise into 5 strips – each strip should be around 9-10cm or 3.5 to 4 inches. Depending on how long the phyllo sheets are you might net 4-5 triangles.
- Add one tablespoon of the spinach and cheese mixture at the bottom of each strip. Take one bottom corner and tuck the corner up on the opposite side to create a triangle. Continue then fold the lowest corner straight up, and again fold the new lowest corner 40degrees to the opposite side.
- Repeat these steps until you reach the end of the stip.
Cheese and spinach triangles pro tips
With these couple of tips that I will to share with you, you’ll get the perfect triangles every time!
- Don’t overfill the triangles with the cheese and spinach mixture. If you overfill them the filling will run out when baking.
- Another tip to avoid the filling from running out is to poke the tops of the triangles with skewers.
- Brush the finished triangles with the leftover olive oil and sparkling water – this will make them perfectly golden brown and crispy when they bake.
- Optionally you can add sesame seeds on top.
What goes well with cheese and spinach triangles
These cheese and spinach triangles are most commonly served with yogurt – for breakfast. However, I also like serving them with soups, different dips such as roasted pepper dip, greek yogurt dip, etc. They go great as a side dish with different slow-roasted meats, or fish.
You’ll also love to try:
Cheesy Pizza Pockets With Phyllo
Spinach and Feta Gozleme
Savory Cornbread Recipe
Cheese and Spinach Triangles
Ingredients
Filling:
- 200 g 7oz spinach
- 300 g 10.5 oz feta cheese
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 tbsp olive oil for frying the spinach
For brushing the sheets:
- 13 tbsp olive oil
- 13 tbsp sparkling water substitute with regular water
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 12 phyllo sheets
Instructions
Make the filling:
- Add olive oil to a nonstick pan and preheat the pan over medium heat. Roughly chop the spinach and add it to the preheated pan. Cook for 2-3 minutes or until the spinach is reduced in size. If using baby spinach, reduce the frying time to around 1 minute.
- Take the pan off the heat – add the grated feta cheese and mix to combine. Season with salt and pepper to taste then let the mixture cool down in.
For brushing the sheets:
- There are two options here – one you can mix the olive oil, sparkling water, and baking powder together in a bowl. One thing to keep in mind is to add equal amounts of water and olive oil to each sheet – since the water would go to the bottom of the bowl.
- Another way to go about this is to add the water and baking powder in one bowl and then the olive oil in another bowl. This way you'd first brush the sheets with olive oil and then with the water mixture.
Assemble the triangles:
- Preheat the oven to 200C/390F – preferably with the oven fan on.
- Take one phyllo sheet and place it on a flat surface. Brush the phyllo with the olive oil 1 tablespoon of the water, and 1 tablespoon of the oil mixture, then place another phyllo sheet on top – repeat the same steps for the other phyllo sheet.
- Finally, place the last sheet on top, then brush with olive oil and water. Cut the sheets crosswise into 9-10cm or 3.5 to 4 inches strips. Depending on the length of the phyllo sheets, you might net 4-5 triangles.
- At the bottom of each strip, add 1 tablespoon of the filling. Take one bottom corner of the strip and tuck the corner up on the opposite side to create a triangle.
- Then fold the next lowest corner straight up, and again fold the new lowest corner 40degrees to the opposite side.
- Repeat these steps until you reach the end of the stip.
- Transfer the triangles to a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. Brush them with the remaining olive oil mixture on top. With a skewer, poke 2-3 times on each triangle on top to make sure the filling doesn't run out when baking.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.
Notes
- Keep the phyllo covered while assembling all the layers, so it doesn’t dry out.
- If you don’t have sparkling water, you can use regular water, but I highly recommend using it to hydrate the sheets to cook evenly in the oven.
- Poke the tops of the triangles with skewers so the filling doesn’t run out when baking.
- Optionally sprinkle with sesame seeds on top.
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