This vegan spanakopita is easy to make with a couple of store-bought shortcuts to save you time, but no one will ever know that it's not 100% homemade! Filled with an extremely flavorful mixture of spinach, fresh parsley, garlic, onions, and almond ricotta sandwiched between crispy layers of filo dough, this spinach pie is simply spectacular!
1bunchfresh flat leaf parsleyroughly chopped (mostly leaves, but small stems are ok if finely chopped)
16ozvegan ricotta(I used (2) 8 oz packages Kite Hill almond ricotta)
1tsplemon zest
¼tspground nutmeg
¼tspblack pepper
¼cupextra virgin olive oil
1lbvegan filo doughthawed (I used an 18-sheet package of Fillo Factory filo dough)
Instructions
Take the frozen filo and spinach out of the freezer and put it in the fridge to defrost for 24 hours. If you forget to do this the day before, you can warm the frozen spinach in a pan on the stove (right before you make the dish) until it's fully thawed.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
In a large pan, saute the diced onion until soft and translucent. Add the minced garlic cloves and let it cook for 1 minute. It will smell very fragrant.
While the onions are cooking, drain the spinach. Put the thawed spinach into a piece of cheesecloth or a thin dish towel, twist it into a ball to seal, and squeeze any remaining water out. You want the spinach to be as dry as possible.
In a large mixing bowl, add the cooked onions and garlic, drained spinach, almond ricotta, lemon zest, chopped parsley, nutmeg, and black pepper. Mix well to combine all the ingredients. Taste the filling and add salt to taste if necessary.
Take the thawed filo dough out of the package and lay it between two slightly damp dish towels so they don't dry out. Don't open the package and expose the sheets to air until you're ready to assemble the pie.
Lightly brush the bottom of a large casserole dish with olive oil and then add 12 layers of filo dough, lightly brushing every other layer with olive oil. It's ok if the filo hangs over the edges of the casserole dish because you're going to fold them in later.
Add the spinach filling and use a spatula to smooth it out evenly. Top with the remaining pieces of filo dough (brushing every other layer with oil), but reserve 1 full sheet for the top. Fold in (or trim off) all of the edges that are hanging over and then brush the corners generously with olive oil so they will get crispy. Lay the last piece of filo on top to cover the sloppy edges you just folded in and tuck the edges in.
Score the pie (only cut through the top layers of filo) into 12 pieces. It's much easier to cut it now before it's crispy. Bake for 45-50 minutes or until the top layer is lightly brown and crispy. Let it rest for a few minutes before removing slices from the pan.
Notes
Store any leftover spanakopita in an airtight container in the fridge and it will stay fresh for 2-3 days. After that, it may start to get a little soggy.