Herb filled vegan spanakopita

I challenged myself to make a good plant-based spanakopita during veganuary and this does the trick!

Firstly, I love feta – in fact, I used to put it on everything. The tangy flavour just seemed to add the right punch to almost any salad, soup or dish. So I was not very hopeful that I would be able to create a feta-less spanakopita and have it be edible, let alone delicious.

I was pleasantly surprised to discover that most commercial phyllo pastry (as well as puff pastry) is naturally vegan. Of course, you will need to check the brand that is available to you to confirm. Switching out the melted butter for oil during the brushing opens up many delicious pastry options to those following a fully plant-based diet.

Recipe

Print Recipe

Vegan Spanakopita

Herb filled and vegan version of the traditional Greek spanakopita

Prep Time40 minutes mins

Cook Time25 minutes mins

Course: lunch, Snack

Cuisine: greek

Keyword: filo pastry, phyllo pastry, spanakopita, Vegan

Servings: 6

Ingredients

Spinach filling

• 4 green onions, chopped
• 1 tsp lemon zest
• 1 clove minced garlic
• 400 grams spinach
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 cup chopped herbs (mint, italian parsley, and/or dill)
• salt and pepper

Cashew Feta

• 1/2 cup raw cashews
• 2 Tbsp lemon juice
• salt

For assembly

• 8 sheets filo / phyllo
• 1/2 cup all olive oil or half melted vegan butter

Instructions

• Boil raw cashews in 1 cup water for 30 min. Drain and add to a mini food processor with lemon juice and salt. pulse until a paste that is reminiscent of crumbled feta. Add a bit of water if necessary.
• Saute spring onions, lemon zest, garlic in 1 Tbsp olive oil.
• Stir in spinach and saute for another minute. Add in chopped herbs and set aside to cool.
• Once cool. stir the spinach mix and cashew paste together.
• Use two sheets of phyllo per triangle, folded lengthwise and cover the rest of the phyllo sheets until they are used. Using a mixture of melted vegan butter and oil and brush each layer of the sheets. Add 1/4 of the filling for each triangle. Place at the end. Fold to cover then on each diagonal to create a triangle pocket. Brush the top with the oil mixture and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Repeat to make 4 triangles.
• Bake at 350 degrees until golden, approximately 20-25 minutes.

Notes

1.  This can also be made into appetizer size (8 pieces).  Use one sheet of phyllo per pastry and 1/8 of the filling in each.
2. Serve with a tzatziki style dip if desired.