Crab Spanakopita
Flaky, buttery, and filled with a succulent filling of crab, spinach, and cheese, Crab Spanakopita are amazingly delicious! Serve them as an appetizer or along with other party snacks and dazzle your guests!
Servings: 24 spanakopita
Calories: 112kcal
Ingredients
- 1 box phyllo pastry
- 6 tablespoons butter
- 4 ounces baby spinach sauteed, squeezed dry, and chopped
- 1 each shallot finely diced
- 1/2 cup diced red bell pepper
- 1/2 cup ricotta cheese extra smooth
- 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese
- 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
- 1 tablespoon chopped dill
- 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 4 ounces crab meat picked over to remove shells
Instructions
- Saute the spinach in a large skillet until wilted, then set it aside to cool. When cool enough to handle, squeeze it gently to remove excess water, then chop it.
- Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in the same skillet and saute the diced shallots until almost soft, then add the bell pepper and continue cooking until the veggies are soft.
- Mix the ricotta, mozzarella, feta, squeezed and chopped spinach, and shallot-pepper mixture in a large bowl until well-mixed. Season with salt and pepper.
- Fold in the crab gently to not break up any big lumps.
- Preheat your oven to 375-F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Lay one sheet of phyllo pastry on a clean work surface and brush it with melted butter. It doesn't have to be completely covered with butter.
- Top the buttered sheet of phyllo with another sheet, and brush it as well. Repeat with one more buttered layer, then a final sheet of phyllo with no butter. You should have 4 layers of phyllo, 3 of them buttered.
- Turn the sheets so that the longest side is facing you. Cut the sheets in half, creating 2 equal portions. Now cut those into thirds, creating 6 even-sized strips of phyllo.
- Place about 1.5-2 tablespoons of filling near one end of the phyllo strip, then fold the bottom left corner up over the filling toward the long right edge of the dough strip to create a triangle.
- Fold the bottom right corner of the phyllo straight up, creating another triangle. Now take the bottom right corner and fold it up and to the left, lining it up with the long left edge of the phyllo strip, creating another triangle.
- Continue folding it like a flag until it's fully folded. Brush the top with butter and lay it seam-side down on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet.
- Repeat with the remaining sheets of phyllo and filling.
- Bake the phyllo triangles at 375-F for about 15 minutes or until they're golden brown on top.
- Cool and serve!
Notes
Chef Jenn's Tips
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- Thawing the phyllo overnight is important. It needs to thaw slowly so that the layers don't stick together.
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- Ignore the advice to cover phyllo with a damp kitchen towel to keep it from drying out. This will cause it to get soggy, and your layers will stick. Instead, cover it with a sheet of plastic wrap or parchment paper.
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- Don't worry if the phyllo tears or rips. Just keep layering - it'll be fine.
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- Your phyllo strips should be about 2-inches wide. You can make them smaller, but then use less filling.
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- Season the filling after you've added the cheese because cheese is salty.
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- Phyllo will burn on the bottom before the top, so keep an eye on the bottoms of those triangles when baking!
- Crab can be pricy! Use what you can afford and lightly squeeze it to remove excess liquid if it is packed in liquid or really juicy.
Nutrition
Serving: 3triangles | Calories: 112kcal | Carbohydrates: 11g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 17mg | Sodium: 212mg | Potassium: 68mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 0.2g | Vitamin A: 696IU | Vitamin C: 6mg | Calcium: 48mg | Iron: 1mg