Baked Spanakopita Pasta With Greens and Feta Recipe (2024)

This recipe looks awfully good, but I'd like to cut down on the fat. Might ricotta work in place of cream cheese and, if so, how much?

Made according to directions; measured and weighed: 4 cups chopped baby spinach = 7 oz; 2 cups chopped arugula = 2.5 oz; 2 cups watercress = 3 oz; 1/2 cup chopped parsley + 1/2 cup chopped dill = .8 oz; followed all else exactly and would cut back on salt next time (salted greens + salty cheese + salted pasta water = too much!). Thought "4 servings" was odd b/c 9x13 STUFFED pan, but 3 of us almost ate the whole thing!! Dee-lish! To-tal hit! Mediterranean comfort food! YUM!

Good recipe, but I found the feta to overpower the dish. Consider cutting the feta down to 2/3rds of a cup and bumping the mozz to 1.5 cups.

Absolutely loved this recipe! Note: Dill was the right choice against parsley. It was a delightful flavor against the cheese and greens!

Can this be made in advance refrigerated and then baked the next day?

Add nutmeg, oregano, thyme brings the flavor profile closer to spanakopita. Increase amount of greens, steam briefly and squeeze into a strainer to make sure the final pasta isn’t too watery. Sesame seeds on top!

Was pleasantly surprised by this recipe. Made it with pappardelle and used plain whole milk greek yogurt instead of cream cheese. I also added some chopped kalamata olives before baking.

Absolutely scrummy recipe. A few notes: 1 tsp of salt was plenty for us. If you use chard, cut up the stems and sauté them with the scallions and garlic. I think dill is important but didn’t have fresh - dried worked fine. Used Neufchâtel (1/3 less fat) cream cheese and still very creamy. Also, as this makes a full 9x13 pan there are definitely more than 4 servings so don’t let the calorie count throw you. I think we’ll get 7-8.

Loved this- I added some fresh lemon zest because I love Carla Hall’s Spanakopita recipe that has it.

Added lamb meatballs before baking . Used dill and spinach and gluten-free banza pasta. Boys liked.

This tastes just like spanakopita! The dill is very prominent, but for us that was a good thing. I used extra feta (just to not have an awkward amount left over) and wish I had had more mozzarella on hand - I would have been happy to add that too. I was also generous with the cream cheese. I would maybe also toss in a few red pepper flakes, but it wasn’t missing it either. Next time I will chop the greens finer and use a smaller fusilli (we used “fusiloni” which was a tad too big).

Can I just say, this is the ultimate comfort food. The flavours were just excellent. I’ve got leftovers reheating now and I can not wait to have a second helping of this dish.I followed recipe as is and took on the tips from others to include dill (it’s a stand out flavour in this dish) along with the zest of 1 lemon which lifted from the creamy tones. Can not recommend highly enough.

Very good. We could see this as a nice side to halibut or salmon. Could have used a lemony salad as a counterpoint if this is the main. Took the suggestion of other cooks to add thyme, oregano, lemon zest, red pepper flakes and a dash of nutmeg for true spanikopita flavors. They were spot on. A little dill forward for my husband. I might do half dill, half parsley next time. Scattered Imon a few Pablo bread crumbs and sesame seeds before broiling. Also, did not salt the greens or pasta water.

I found the dish to be dry (not sure how to fix this), and spinach is an absolute must (if you’re craving the true spanikopita taste). I would do 6 c spinach and 2 c arugula so you don’t get overpowering arugula taste.

I wilted the greens in the big pot before starting the pasta. No need to add salt. Heated it briefly covered on low flame and then uncovered and waited until water evaporated. Removed greens to cooking pan at that point.

I followed the recipe, using arugula and parsley, but I did substitute kale for the spinach. Like other comments, it makes a very full 9X13” pan, so the serving size is off. Easily feeds 6. Used less salt to wilt the greens, but found my finished dish needed more. And it was DRY. Tasted good, but really dry. This was not a creamy pasta dish I was expecting. It will not be a repeat recipe.

Great - add hot pepper flakes and lemon zest

Very tasty, and the fresh dill was worthwhile. Pretty rich, definitely ate too much of it the first night after picking at the ingredients while I cooked! Only used about 1/2 tsp (Morton) salt for the greens at the start, I used chopped baby spinach so it didn't need much help breaking down anyway. Didn't add any other salt than the salted pasta water and didn't need more to my taste. Made 4 large servings.

This was far too salty for my taste, and I am a salt lover. Not sure if I’d make again.

I made this a second time with arugula, after using watercress the first. Both are good, but watercress wins out!Saltiness may depend on your feta. I wilted the greens with just 1 tsp. of salt both times, but using a different type of feta did alter the saltiness level. Taste yours before you use it & adjust the salt accordingly. Still needs lemon zest.Also: I don't know what dainty portions you all are eating, but this made for 5 good-sized (one-dish-meal) servings for two 40-somethings.

One of the rare recipes my husband didn't like because he found it "tasteless" even though I upped all the seasonings. But my adult kids liked it -- they just added a lot of hot sauce! Me-- I will have it for lunch the next 3 days.

This was delicious. I liked the peppery bite of the greens and the tangy feta cheese over pasta. My only comment is this: who eats 4 ounces of pasta in a serving? I used 8 ounces of pasta, and it made five servings. I served it with sweet cherry tomatoes over top, which complemented the bitter greens perfectly.

This is an absolutely fantastic recipe and the perfect weekday meal. There will be leftovers! We substitute the scallions with leaks and the spinach with swiss chard. Too good!

Made 1/2 the recipe (for two people hypothetically), added half a shallot to the garlic because didn't have enough scallions, added juice from 1/2 a lemon because spinach, a good shake of nutmeg, it was delicious. Will actually provide a second dinner (crones, not teenagers). I can see varying the herbs / greens in this, and possibly the cheeses also.

What is the oven temperature?

This dish absolutely needs lemon to save it.

Per comments, I replaced cream cheese with mascarpone & added red pepper flakes & zest of a lemon. I also used slightly more greens than called for — ~5 cups each of spinach & watercress. (I HIGHLY recommend using watercress here, stems & all.) I ended up needing to bake for ~20 minutes to cook off the liquid in the pan, which got the top nicely chewy/crisp but also didn’t overcook the pasta. I’d worried the dish might be too rich & creamy, but it wasn’t at all. We loved it.

Yummy dish. I added ground lamb, cumin, and paprika. Willand oregano next time to get even closer to spanakopita. A bit too much salt - can probably use half as much to wilt the greens. I went with spinach, arugula, and parsley - liked the mix. Might give dill a try next time to mix it up. It's very rich, will try cutting cream cheese and add more mozzarella.

This is very tasty but it serves 6 unless the 4 are adolescent wolverines. Two reasonably hungry seniors will have yummy leftovers all week.

This will go on permanent rotation. Adjusted based on comments: 1/2 the pasta, I pureed the greens, generous with the parsley and dill, some lemon juice and pinch of nutmeg, and since the block of mozzarella was 8 oz., used it all! What can go wrong? Only that we are half the casserole in one sitting.