Vegan spanakopita spiral – this impressive vegan spinach and cheese filo pie consists of a soft, cheesy, salty, herby spinach filling encased in crisp phyllo pastry. It’s a real crowd pleaser that is much easier to make than it looks!
Before going vegan one of my absolute favourite dishes was spanakopita – the delicious Greek spinach and feta filo pastry pie. After cutting out cheese I had resigned myself to never being able to eat it again. And then I discovered home-made almond cheese.
It turns out that it is possible to make your own cheese subsititute using just a few simple ingredients and a blender. And with a generous addition of salt and lemon juice it very closely mimics the flavour and texture of feta cheese. This opened up a whole new world of possibilities to veganize dishes that I had previously thought impossible!
I’ve made this vegan spanakopita spiral a lot and it never fails to impress me just how close to the original in flavour it is. The filling is tangy, cheesy and full of flavour and the pastry is super crispy. It is incredibly moreish!
It may look like it is complicated to make but in fact it is actually quite simple. I use shop bought phyllo (filo) pastry rather than making my own as quite frankly I can’t be bothered with all that rolling. Pretty much all phyllo pastry is vegan friendly but do check the packet just in case.
If you don’t want to make the spiral shape then you could just layer up the pastry and filling in a rectangular baking dish instead; though the spiral is easy to do and looks very impressive!
How To Make Vegan Spanakopita:
(For ingredients and full instructions see the recipe card below)
*For the best results make sure that you follow the recipe closely. As always, I highly recommend using the gram measurements (with a digital scale), rather than the cup conversions. Cup measurements are simply not accurate enough for baking and I cannot guarantee the best results if you use them.*
Start by making the almond feta cheese (full details and instructions can be found on my vegan almond cream cheese recipe post). It is best to make the cheese the day before you want to bake the pie to allow the flavours to mellow and the cheese to firm up a bit.
You simply need to soak some flaked skinless almonds in boiling water for half an hour, drain them and stick them in a blender or food processor with the rest of the cheese ingredients and blitz until it is fairly smooth; it should still have a slightly grainy texture to best mimic feta cheese.
Scrape the cheese mixture into a bowl, cover and refrigerate it overnight. (You can use it straight away if you are pressed for time but it is best to let it mature overnight if you can.)
To make the filling, thinly slice a large leek and gently fry it in a little olive oil until it is soft and translucent then add crushed garlic and finely chopped spring onions (scallions) and cook for another couple of minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool.
Meanwhile, defrost your frozen spinach and squeeze out as much water from it as you can. I do this by squeezing handfuls of it firmly over the sink. You really want to make sure that you get rid of as much water as possible to prevent the pie from being soggy.
Once you have squeezed the water out of the spinach, finely chop it and add it to the leek mixture.
Add grated lemon zest, chopped fresh dill, mint and parsley, a little bit of nutmeg (it goes so well with spinach!), nutritional yeast, black pepper and some salt (not too much as the cheese is salty) and stir everything together.
Next, stir in the almond cheese, taste the mixture and add more salt and pepper as you like. (At this point the filling can be stored covered in the fridge overnight if you like.).
To assemble the pie, lay a sheet of filo pastry on a work surface with the long side facing you (keep the rest of the pastry covered with a damp tea towel to prevent it from drying out). Brush one of the short edges with a little olive oil and lay another sheet of pastry on the work surface, overlapping the oiled short edge of the first one by about 5cm.
Brush the pastry all over with a little olive oil then add another two sheets on top, brush with oil again and add another two sheets if you have enough pastry, brush with oil again.
I used a total of 18 sheets of pastry – three two sheet wide sections, three sheets deep. If you have fewer than 18 sheets then you can just double, rather than triple layer the pastry (so a total of 12 sheets).
Take 1/3 of the spinach cheese mixture and form it into a long snake along the long edge of the pastry, leaving a 5cm gap at the bottom. Try and make sure that the filling is evenly spread. Roll the pastry up from the bottom into a long sausage.
Coil the sausage, seam side down, and place it into a 26-28cm greased cake tin. If you don’t have a cake tin big enough then you can just use a parchment lined baking sheet; the pie holds its shape by itself.
Repeat the steps above two more times, tucking the beginning of each coil into the end of the previous one to form one long spiral.
When you are shaping the coil, don’t panic if you get a couple of tears in the pastry. Simple tear off a scrap of unused phyllo, brush it with olive oil and use it to cover the tear; repeat with another layer if needed. No one will be able to tell!
Brush the pastry all over with olive oil and sprinkle over some sesame seeds to garnish. Bake the vegan spanakopita for around 45 minutes until it is golden brown and crisp. Allow to cool a little before serving.
Top Tips:
Make sure that your phyllo pastry is fully defrosted if it is frozen.
Different brands of filo pastry will contain different numbers of sheets of filo in varying dimensions so you may need to adjust the recipe slightly depending on how many sheets of pastry you have. I used 18 sheets (plus one extra for patching tears), from two packs of pastry. If you have fewer sheets then you can double, rather than triple layer them (so a total of 12 sheets).
Keep the phyllo pastry covered with a damp tea towel to prevent it from drying out. Even just a couple of minutes is enough for it to start getting dry and brittle.
Make sure you really squeeze as much liquid as possible out of the spinach to prevent the pie from being soggy. When you think that you’ve got all of the water out, squeeze it some more just in case.
Brushing the pastry with olive oil is necessary to get it golden and crisp, don’t skip it.
When you shape the spiral, don’t panic if you get a couple of tears in the pastry. Simple tear off a scrap of unused phyllo, brush it with olive oil and use it to cover the tear; repeat with another layer if needed. No one will be able to tell!
Can I Make It In Advance?:
This vegan spanakopita is best eaten freshly baked, when the pastry is still crisp; but the filling can be cooked in advance and stored in the fridge for up to a couple of days.
It is best to make the almond cheese the day before preparing the filling to allow the flavours to meld and the cheese to firm up a bit, but it is not strictly necessary.
You may be able to get away with fully assembling the pie the day before you bake it and storing it (covered) in the fridge but note that I haven’t tested this.
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Vegan Spanakopita
Vegan spanakopita spiral – this impressive vegan spinach and cheese filo pie consists of a soft, cheesy, salty, herby spinach filling encased in crisp phyllo pastry. It’s a real crowd pleaser that is much easier to make than it looks!
Ingredients
Almond Cheese:
- 200 g (2 cups) flaked skinless almonds
- 60 ml (1/4 cup) lemon juice
- 60 ml (1/4 cup) olive oil
- 60 ml (1/4 cup) water
- 1 clove garlic
- 2 Tbsp nutritional yeast
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
Spanakopita:
- 1 Tbsp olive oil (plus extra for brushing)
- 1 large leek finely sliced
- 5 spring onions (scallions) thinly sliced
- 4 cloves garlic peeled and crushed
- 850 g (30 oz) frozen whole leaf spinach
- finely grated zest of 1 lemon
- 15 g (a large handful) fresh dill finely chopped
- 15 g (a large handful) fresh mint (leaves only) finely chopped
- 15 g (a large handful) fresh parsley finely chopped
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
- 3 Tbsp nutritional yeast
- salt and pepper
- 2 packs (18 sheets) phyllo (filo) pastry thawed if frozen
- sesame seeds to garnish (optional)
Instructions
Almond Cheese:
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Ideally you should make the almond cheese the day before assembling the spanakopita, though it is not strictly necessary if you are in a rush.
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Place the flaked almonds in a large bowl and cover with plenty of boiling water. Set aside for at least half an hour to soak then drain them well.
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Place the drained almonds in a blender or food processor along with the lemon juice, olive oil, water, salt, garlic and nutritional yeast.
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Blend at a high speed until very smooth and creamy. Scrape down the sides as needed to make sure that there are no lumps of almond left. If you need to you can add a drop more water but try not to add too much. If your blender has a tamper tool then I recommend using it!
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Scrape the cheese into a bowl and cover. It is ready to eat right away but will firm up in the fridge and the flavours will mellow so I recommend refrigerating it overnight before eating. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week.
Spanakopita:
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Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/gas mark 4. Grease a 26-28cm rounc cake tin OR line a baking sheet with baking parchment.
-
To make the filling, heat the olive oil in a large pan over a low heat, add the sliced leek and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring often, until it is soft and translucent. Add the crushed garlic and finely chopped spring onions (scallions) and cook for another 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool.
-
Meanwhile, defrost the frozen spinach (I do this in the microwave) and squeeze out as much water from it as you can. I do this by squeezing handfuls of it firmly over the sink. You really want to make sure that you get rid of as much water as possible to prevent the pie from being soggy.
Once you have squeezed the water out of the spinach, finely chop it and add it to the leek mixture.
-
Add the grated lemon zest, chopped fresh dill, mint and parsley, nutmeg, nutritional yeast, a good grinding of black pepper and some salt (not too much as the cheese is salty) and stir everything together.
-
Next, stir in the almond cheese, taste the mixture and add more salt and pepper as you like. (At this point the filling can be stored covered in the fridge overnight if you like.).
-
To assemble the pie, lay a sheet of filo pastry on a work surface with the long side facing you (keep the rest of the pastry covered with a damp tea towel to prevent it from drying out). Brush one of the short edges with a little olive oil and lay another sheet of pastry on the work surface, overlapping the oil coated short edge of the first one by about 5cm.
-
Brush the pastry all over with a little olive oil then add another two sheets on top, brush with oil again and add another two sheets if you have enough pastry; brush with oil again.
-
(I used a total of 18 sheets of pastry (plus one extra for patching) – three two sheet wide sections, three sheets deep. If you have fewer than 18 sheets then you can just double, rather than triple layer the pastry.)
-
Take 1/3 of the spinach cheese mixture and form it into a long snake along the long edge of the pastry, leaving a 5cm gap at the bottom. Try and make sure that the filling is evenly spread.
-
Roll the pastry up from the bottom into a long sausage. Coil the sausage, seam side down and place it into a 26-28cm greased cake tin. If you don’t have a cake tin big enough then you can just use a parchment lined baking sheet; the pie holds it’s shape by itself.
-
Repeat the steps above two more times, tucking the beginning of each coil into the end of the previous one to form one long spiral. *see post above for step by step photos*
-
When you are shaping the coil, don’t panic if you get a couple of tears in the pastry. Simple tear off a scrap of unused phyllo, brush it with olive oil and use it to cover the tear; repeat with another layer if needed. No one will be able to tell!
-
Brush the pastry all over with olive oil and sprinkle over some sesame seeds to garnish. Bake the pie for around 45 minutes until it is golden brown and crisp. Allow to cool a little before serving.
Recipe Notes
- Make sure that your phyllo pastry is fully defrosted if it is frozen.
- Different brands of filo pastry will contain different numbers of sheets of filo in varying dimensions so you may need to adjust the recipe slightly depending on how many sheets of pastry you have. I used 18 sheets (plus one extra for patching tears), from two packs of pastry. If you have fewer sheets then you can double, rather than triple layer them (a total of 12 sheets).
- Keep the phyllo pastry covered with a damp tea towel to prevent it from drying out. Even just a couple of minutes is enough for it to start getting dry and brittle.
- Make sure you really squeeze as much liquid as possible out of the spinach to prevent the pie from being soggy. When you think that you’ve got all of the water out, squeeze it some more just in case.
- Brushing the pastry with olive oil is necessary to get it golden and crisp, don’t skip it.
- When you shape the spiral, don’t panic if you get a couple of tears in the pastry. Simple tear off a scrap of unused phyllo, brush it with olive oil and use it to cover the tear; repeat with another layer if needed. No one will be able to tell!
