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    Home » Recipes » Breads

    Spinach Hand Pies

    Published: Jun 15, 2021

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    Spinach Hand Pies

    Originally published August 22, 2017. Updated on 6/15/2021

    Close up view of 4 bread based spinach hand pies, covered with sesame seeds. One is opened, revealing the spinach and feta filling.

    This Spinach Hand Pies recipe is loosely inspired by those we used to buy at a Lebanese bakery in Minneapolis. Easy, tasty make-ahead lunches!

    Recently, I completely overhauled my Spanakopita post. More information, brand new photos - including progress ones - and, you know... this time we made them in an actual kitchen!

    Apparently that wasn’t enough spinach for us, because we immediately followed it up by making a batch of my Spinach Hand Pies ... so here we are!

    I created this recipe back in late 2017, as we were deep in our plans to move home to Canada.

    By that point, we’d started to look at pre-move bucket lists : things we wanted to do in Minneapolis, before moving to Canada.

    For me, that meant spending time with friends when possible.

    For my husband - who grew up there - it's more things like going to the State Fair, Valley Fair, etc one last time.

    Also: Have me create a great Spinach Hand Pies recipe.

    Close up view of 4 bread based spinach hand pies, covered with sesame seeds. One is opened, revealing the spinach and feta filling.

    Emily’s Lebanese Deli Spinach Pies - Sort Of.

    There's a great Lebanese restaurant in Minneapolis - Emily's Lebanese Deli - that makes spinach pies that he adored.

    While we'd usually go for a direct replica when it comes to something like this, he decided he preferred to have a bit of fun with it, developing a custom filling.

    So, if you're looking for an Emily's knockoff, this is not the recipe you're looking for! (It is definitely in the same ballpark, though.)

    To adjust it a bit more to my husband's tastes, there is more filling than in the source material, as well as flavour additions like kalamata olives.

    Ours features an egg glaze, giving the outside of the crust a bit of sheen.

    Close up view of 4 bread based spinach hand pies, covered with sesame seeds. One is opened, revealing the spinach and feta filling.

    Fun Sandwich Options For Lunch

    While a plain tuna salad sandwich will definitely hit the spot at times, we like to have a bit more fun with sandwich type lunch options.

    These are great to make as a quick, grab-and-go lunch. They’re portable, tasty, no-mess eating that reheats well in a microwave.

    I’m going to claim them to be *relatively* healthy, too - that much spinach has got to be a pass on the amount of fat in the dough, LOL!

    Before I get to the recipe, here are a few other fun sandwiches / sandwich like meals I’ve got up on the blog, in case you’re interested! 🙂

    Buffalo Chicken Buns
    Convention Sloppy Joes
    Fancy Tea SandwichesMuffaletta Sandwich Recipe
    Paneer Burgers
    Pesto Chicken Panini
    Reuben Buns
    Tandoori Spiced Chicken Burgers with Mango
    Ultimate Lobster Rolls
    Vegetarian Donairs (and Vegan Donair Meat)
    Wild Rice & Mushroom Polenta Sandwich

    Close up view of 4 bread based spinach hand pies, covered with sesame seeds. One is opened, revealing the spinach and feta filling.

    Spinach Hand Pie Ingredients

    While I always do the dough for this recipe as-is, the filling can be more of a wing-it situation, based on what we have on hand, and what we’re in the mood for.

    A few notes on that:

    Onions

    Feel free to substitute white or yellow onions, if desired. You can even swap in some sliced green onions for part or all of the onion. (Aim for about ¾-1 cup sliced.)

    Feta

    I don’t usually swap out the feta, but you can definitely do so, if you like. Halloumi would work, as would ricotta.

    Kalamata Olives

    The source material didn’t have olives, so these are entirely optional.

    Finely Chopped Fresh Dill

    If you only have dried on hand - as we did when re-photographing this - feel free to swap it out for about 1 tablespoon of dried dill weed.

    Fresh or dried mint works really well in this recipe. Feel free to add some - in place of part of the dill, or in addition to it - to taste.

    Close up view of 4 bread based spinach hand pies, covered with sesame seeds. One is opened, revealing the spinach and feta filling.

    Pine Nuts

    Let’s be real, pine nuts can be painfully expensive.

    We’d just used some for reshooting our Pesto Recipe, so I wasn’t particularly ready to make that *investment* again so soon.

    ... so I used sliced almonds, blitzed in my mini food processor. You can use walnuts, or just leave the nuts out altogether.

    Lemon Zest

    I don’t recommend skipping the lemon zest, it really brightens it up.

    Plain Yogurt

    I like to use a thick Greek style yogurt for this.

    If you don’t have yogurt, you can use sour cream.

    Sesame Seeds

    Originally, my recipe did not contain sesame seeds - and neither did the source material.

    This time around, I decided to add them, after seeing some spanakopita with sesame seeds on it.

    We love the way it turned out - it looks nice, and adds a nice bit of texture to the "sandwich". We did 4 different versions - without, with regular sesame seeds, with black sesame seeds, and with both regular and black sesame seeds.

    So: Optional, but good!

    Close up view of 4 bread based spinach and feta hand pies, covered with sesame seeds.

    How to Make Spinach Feta Hand Pies

    The full recipe follows at the bottom of the page, but first: here is a pictorial overview, to show you how it comes together!

    Make the Dough

    Stir yeast and sugar into warm water, allow to stand for 10 minutes – it should get very bubbly.

    A two part image showing a glass of yeast water, before and after the yeast has activated and formed a 1" thick layer of foam on top of the water.

    Meanwhile, in a large mixing bowl: combine flour and salt. Pour in yeast mixture, sour cream, olive oil, and eggs; mix well to combine.

    Eggs, oil, and yeast mixture are added to the bowl of a stand mixer.

    Dump dough out onto a floured surface, knead until soft and elastic, 5-10 minutes. Alternatively, you can mix it in a stand mixer with a dough hook for 7 minutes or so - that’s what I do.

    A 3 part image showing the progression from a scraggy dough, to a smooth one.

    Place dough in a greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and allow to rise for one hour, or until doubled in size.

    A two part compilation image showing a dough ball in a metal bowl, and that same dough ball after rising - it almost fills the bowl.

    Note: I forgot to cover it when making the batch for photos. Not a huge deal, the top side got a little crusty, that’s all!

    While dough is rising, make your filling:

    Make The Spinach and Feta Filling

    Squeeze all of the water out of the spinach, set aside.

    Frozen spinach has been thawed, drained, and squeezed.

    In a large pan, saute onion in olive oil until soft and translucent. Add spinach and garlic, stir well to combine, cook over medium heat until liquid is completely gone. Remove from heat.

    A two part image showin the red onions being sauteed, then with spinach and garlic added to the pan.

    Stir in feta, olives, dill, pine nuts, lemon zest, and nutmeg, stirring until well combined.

    Feta, egg, dill, and olives are added to the spinach mix, then mixed in.

    Add yogurt, stir until completely incorporated. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

    A two part compilation image showing Greek yogurt being added to the filling, then the filling divided into 8 equal sized portions.

    At this point, I like to smooth the filling out to an even thickness, and mark it out into even portions. We did 8, but you can do 10 if you want smaller pies.

    Cover and chill until ready to use.

    Assemble & Bake Your Spinach Hand Pies

    Once dough has doubled, punch it down, and divide it out. We divided the mixture into 8 equally sized balls, – but you can make them smaller by dividing into 10 equally sized pieces.

    I like to stretch them out to disks at this point.

    A two part compilation image showing 8 balls of dough, and those dough balls stretched out to flat rounds.

    Preheat oven, line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

    Stretch and/or roll each dough ball into a round, approximately 8″ diameter.

    A ball of dough rolled out to about 8".

    Scoop filling into the center - I like to make it triangle shaped, as a guide - and fold the edges in to make a triangle, as shown below:

    A 4 part compilation image showing the dough circle with filling, and the 3 steps of folding the triangle.

    Gently flatten each pie out to about 1″ thick.

    Once you have all of your pies formed, set them on lined baking sheets to rise for another 10 minutes.

    8 unbaked spinach hand pies, on 2 parchment lined baking sheets.

    Whisk egg together with 1 tablespoon of water, brush over the tops and sides of each hand pie. Sprinkle with Sesame seeds, if desired.

    A two part image showing the hand pies being brushed with egg mixture, then after being sprinkled with sesame seeds.

    Bake for 30 minutes, or until golden brown.

    4 freshly baked spinach hand pies on a parchment lined baking sheet.

    Serve warm or room temperature, with tzatziki dip, if desired.

    Wrap any unused pies in plastic and chill until use.

    Close up view of 4 bread based spinach and feta hand pies, covered with sesame seeds.

    More “Capital B” Baking Recipes

    Did the photo of the yeast growing in the measuring cup get to you? Oh, I love the smell of it. Anyway, if you’re looking for more excuses to bake something that involves waiting for rise times, here are a few more recipes!

    Apple Cinnamon Buns
    Basil, Roasted Red Pepper, & Asiago Bread Braid
    Beer Pretzels & Jalapeno Jack Dip
    Buffalo Chicken Buns
    Chai Cinnamon Rolls
    Everything Bagels
    How to Make Bagels
    Jalapeno Popper Stuffed Pretzel Bites
    Marble Rye Bagels
    Maple Walnut Spiced Pumpkin Buns
    Paska - Ukrainian Easter Bread
    Persians Recipe
    Reuben Buns
    Rye Bagels with Caraway Seeds
    Sauerkraut Balls - Pyrizhky
    Seeded Whole Wheat Flax Bagels
    Smoky Cheese Bagels
    Strawberry Orange Rolls
    Za'atar Manakish (With Cheese!)

    Close up view of 4 bread based spinach hand pies, covered with sesame seeds. One is opened, revealing the spinach and feta filling.

    Share the Love!

    Before you chow down, be sure to take some pics of your handiwork! If you Instagram it, be sure to tag me - @CelebrationGenerationCA - or post it to My Facebook Page - so I can cheer you on!

    Also, be sure to subscribe to my free monthly email newsletter, so you never miss out on any of my nonsense.

    Well, the published nonsense, anyway!

    Close up view of 4 bread based spinach and feta hand pies, covered with sesame seeds.

    Close up view of 4 bread based spinach hand pies, covered with sesame seeds. One is opened, revealing the spinach and feta filling.
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    5 from 1 vote

    Spinach Hand Pies

    These hand pies are loosely inspired by those we used to buy at a Lebanese bakery in Minneapolis. To adjust it a bit more to my husband’s tastes, there is more filling than in the source material, as well as flavour additions like kalamata olives.
    Prep Time30 mins
    Cook Time30 mins
    Rising Time1 hr 10 mins
    Total Time2 hrs 10 mins
    Course: Main Course
    Cuisine: Lebanese, Middle Eastern
    Servings: 8 Large Hand Pies
    Calories: 522kcal
    Author: Marie Porter

    Equipment

    2 Baking Sheets
    Parchment Paper

    Ingredients

    Dough

    • 1 cup Warm – not hot – water
    • 4 teaspoon Active Dry Yeast
    • 2 tablespoon Granulated Sugar
    • 5 cups All-Purpose Flour
    • 2 teaspoon Salt
    • ½ cup Sour Cream
    • 3 tablespoon Olive Oil
    • 2 Large Eggs beaten

    Filling

    • 4 blocks Frozen Chopped Spinach 40 oz total, defrosted
    • 2 tablespoon Olive Oil
    • 1 Large Red Onions Finely chopped
    • 5-6 Garlic Cloves Pressed or minced
    • 4 oz Crumbled Feta
    • 3 tablespoon Finely Chopped Kalamata Olives
    • 2 tablespoon Finely Chopped Fresh Dill
    • 1 ½ oz Pine Nuts Finely chopped
    • Zest of 1 Lemon
    • Pinch Nutmeg
    • ¼ cup Plain Yogurt
    • Salt and pepper

    Assembly

    • 1 Large Eggs
    • 1 tablespoon Water
    • Sesame seeds Optional

    Instructions

    • Stir yeast and sugar into warm water, allow to stand for 10 minutes – it should get very bubbly.
    • Meanwhile, in a large mixing bowl: combine flour and salt. Pour in yeast mixture, stir well to combine. Add sour cream, olive oil, and eggs; mix well to combine.
    • Dump dough out onto a floured surface, knead until soft and elastic, 5-10 minutes.
      Alternatively, you can mix it in a stand mixer with a dough hook for 7 minutes or so.
    • Place dough in a greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and allow to rise for one hour, or until doubled in size.
    • While dough is rising, make your filling:
    • Squeeze all of the water out of the spinach, set aside.
    • In a large pan, saute onion in olive oil until soft and translucent. Add spinach and garlic, stir well to combine, cook over medium heat until liquid is completely gone. Remove from heat.
    • Stir in feta, olives, dill, pine nuts, lemon zest, and nutmeg, stirring until well combined. Add yogurt, stir until completely incorporated. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
    • At this point, I like to smooth the filling out to an even thickness, and mark it out into even portions. We did 8, but you can do 10 if you want smaller pies.
    • Cover and chill until ready to use.
    • Once dough has doubled, punch it down, and divide it out. We divided the mixture into 8 equally sized balls, – but you can make them smaller by dividing into 10 equally sized pieces.
    • Preheat oven to 350 , line baking sheets with parchment paper.
    • Stretch each dough ball into a round, approximately 8″ diameter. Scoop filling into the center, and fold the edges in to make a triangle, as shown below:
    • Gently flatten each pie out to about 1″ thick.
    • Once you have all of your pies formed, set them on lined baking sheets to rise for another 10 minutes.
    • Whisk egg together with 1 tablespoon of water, brush over the tops and sides of each hand pie. Sprinkle with Sesame seeds, if desired.
    • Bake for 30 minutes, or until golden brown.
    • Serve warm or room temperature, with tzatziki dip, if desired. Wrap any unused pies in plastic and chill until use.

    Video

    Nutrition

    Calories: 522kcal | Carbohydrates: 68g | Protein: 15g | Fat: 21g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 10g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 82mg | Sodium: 830mg | Potassium: 230mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 326IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 128mg | Iron: 5mg

    Close up view of 4 bread based spinach and feta hand pies, covered with sesame seeds.

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