Spinach Pie Bites

Savory spinach pie filling is packed into light and flaky, mini pastry shells – the ultimate, bite-size flavor bomb and perfect party appetizer.

Jul 11, 2023

I have two friends to thank for today’s recipe and interestingly enough they’re both named Mary. Over the July 4th holiday, my husband and I were visiting friends (Mary #1 and her husband). Upon leaving their home, Mary #1 asked if we could use some fresh baby spinach. She had two, one-pound containers and didn’t need both. A registered dietitian refusing fresh spinach – I don’t think so.

The recipe creation wheels started turning the next morning. What could I make with a pound of fresh spinach? Enter Mary #2. A few months ago, my husband and I were playing cards (euchre – it’s a Midwest thing) with Mary #2 and her husband. She brought out these spinach hand pies and started telling us how she made them. After the first bite, I totally lost track of what she was saying because all I could think about was how incredibly delicious these pies were. The spinach filling was so fresh, bright, and flavorful, and the homemade dough that wrapped around the filling was incredibly tender with the perfect amount of chew.

With my gifted pound of spinach in the refrigerator and a new recipe for spinach hand pies, I had a plan. Because I was a little short on time, I skipped making the homemade dough and just focused on the spinach filling. Now I just had to figure out what quick and easy “vehicle” I could use to deliver the spinach filling flavor bomb. Hello miniature phyllo shells. Oh my gosh, these little shells are amazing. They’re light and flaky layers of phyllo dough formed into miniature pastry cups. I used the Athens brand and according to their website, the shells are fully baked and then frozen. For added crispiness, you can heat the shells prior to filling, or you can fill the shells and then heat them. For these spinach pie bites, I removed the shells from the freezer, filled them with the warm spinach mixture, and baked them for about 12 minutes at 350 degrees. Total yum!

The most time-consuming part of this recipe was cleaning and destemming the spinach. Removing the stems makes the spinach filling less stringy. First start by washing the spinach and placing it in a large skillet over low heat; no need to add anything else to the skillet, just the freshly washed, destemmed, colander-drained spinach. I used tongs to move the spinach around; as the spinach cooks it wilts (takes about four minutes). Once the spinach is wilted, allow it to cool completely before wringing it out to get rid of any excess moisture. It’s amazing what one pound of baby spinach cooks down to – about 1 1/2 cups, squeezed-dry spinach. You can use frozen spinach for this recipe. A 10-ounce package of frozen spinach should yield 1 1/2 cups squeezed-dry spinach, the exact amount needed for this recipe.

One pound washed and destemmed baby spinach overflowing the saucepan.

This is what one pound of fresh baby spinach looks like after 4 minutes on low heat.

One pound of fresh baby spinach yields 1 1/2 cups squeeze-dried cooked spinach.

The prepared spinach mixture is enough to fill 30 mini phyllo shells. If you won’t be serving all 30, they freeze well. Assemble the spinach pie bites, minus the feta cheese topping, put them back in the original packing tray to keep them secure, seal the tray in a zip-top freezer bag, and pop them in the freezer. When ready to bake, remove the spinach bites from the freezer and allow them to defrost at room temperature for an hour. For the best result, they should be completely defrosted before heating. Bake in a preheated 350-degree oven for 12 to 14 minutes or until heated through. Top with a light sprinkling of feta cheese and enjoy.

Uncooked spinach pie bites ready for the freezer. Just defrost, reheat, and garnish with feta cheese when needed.

As you read through this spinach pie bites recipe, you’ll notice ground sumac on the list of ingredients. An essential spice in Middle Eastern cooking, sumac is made by grinding dark red sumac berries into a coarse powder. While it’s a relative to the itch-provoking plant known as poison sumac (it has white berries), the variety of sumac used in cooking is perfectly safe.

Sumac tastes somewhat like lemon juice and has a pleasantly tart, fruity, and slightly acidic flavor. It acts a lot like salt in that it brightens and elevates the flavor of other ingredients. Sumac is used in rubs for grilled meats, poultry, and fish, and as a flavoring agent in stews, salads, rice, and vegetable dishes. It’s also part of a spice blend called zaatar, which typically consists of toasted sesame seeds, ground sumac, thyme, and salt.

You’ll find ground sumac in Greek and Middle Eastern markets. My grocery store carried it as well. A 5.5-ounce container was $4.29. While I highly recommend adding sumac to your spice cabinet, you could use 1 tablespoon of lemon zest in this recipe as a substitute.

So, Mary #1 and Mary #2, thank you for being the inspiration for these delicious spinach pie bites. They’re definitely my new favorite party hors d’oeuvres, and you’ll likely see them at our next euchre party.

To your health,

Darlene

Share Recipes Made Healthy

SPINACH PIE BITES

Yield: 15 servings

Serving Size: 2 spinach pie bites

Prep: 25 minutes

Ready: 45 minutes

INGREDIENTS

1 pound fresh baby spinach
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
3/4 cup chopped onion
1 clove minced garlic
1/4 cup minced fresh parsley
2 tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice
1 tablespoon ground sumac
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese, divided
30 mini baked phyllo shells, such as Athens Phyllo Shells

DIRECTIONS

Wash and destem fresh spinach. Place colander-drained spinach in a large skillet over low heat. Using tongs, move spinach around skillet until completely wilted, about 4 minutes. Remove cooked spinach from heat and allow to cool completely. Once cooled, squeeze spinach of excess liquid and roughly chop into smaller pieces (one pound of fresh spinach that has been cooked and squeezed dry will yield about 1 1/2 cups spinach).
In a separate skillet, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium-low heat. Add onion and garlic, and sauté until softened, about 3 minutes. Remove skillet from heat and add cooked spinach, remaining oil, parsley, lemon juice, sumac, salt, black pepper, and 1/4 cup feta cheese crumbles; stir to combine.
Remove miniature, baked phyllo shells from packaging and place on a baking sheet or in a mini muffin pan. Equally divide spinach filling among 30 phyllo shells, about a heaping 1/2 tablespoon per shell. Bake in a preheated 350-degree oven for 12 to 14 minutes or until heated through. Remove spinach pie bites from oven and top with remaining feta cheese. Serve warm or at room temperature.

These spinach pie bites are ready for the oven.

Cook’s note:

For this recipe, you can use frozen spinach in place of fresh spinach. A 10-ounce package of frozen spinach will yield 1 1/2 cups thawed and squeezed-dry spinach, the exact amount of spinach needed for this recipe.

Nutrition Information per Serving

65 Calories, 3 g Total fat, 1 g Saturated fat, 0 g Trans fat, 2 mg Cholesterol, 138 mg Sodium, 6 g Total carbohydrate, 1 g Dietary fiber, 0 g Total sugars, 0 g Added sugars, 2 g Protein, 0 mcg (0%) Vitamin D, 41 mg (4%) Calcium, 1 mg (6%) Iron, 27 mg (0%) Potassium

Recipe adapted from Yumna Jawad and tested by Darlene Zimmerman, MS, RD