Name: Garlic chicken spanakopita recipe
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 55 min
Total time: 70 min
Ingredients: 2 small chicken breasts; 2 cloves garlic; 1 tbsp olive oil; 1 brown onion, diced; 250g frozen spinach; 250g ricotta cheese; 1/3 cup dill, leaves and stems, finely chopped; 1 tbsp parsley, chopped; 1 tbsp mint, chopped; 2 eggs; 200g feta; 100g salted butter, melted; 12 sheets filo pastry

by Greer Worsley Last updated on 06/14/2023

It’s hard to improve on spanakopita, but the addition of garlicky chicken breast is a sure-fire winner. Enjoy it for dinner, or packaged up for lunch boxes the following day. - Greer Worsley

Ingredients

2 small chicken breasts
2 cloves garlic
1 tbsp olive oil
1 brown onion, diced
250g frozen spinach
250g ricotta cheese
1/3 cup dill, leaves and stems, finely chopped
1 tbsp parsley, chopped
1 tbsp mint, chopped
2 eggs
200g feta
100g salted butter, melted
12 sheets filo pastry

Method

Step 1

Cut chicken into 1-2cm cubes and place in a bowl with garlic and 2 tsp olive oil. Season well with pepper and set aside to marinate for 15 minutes.
Step 2

Heat remaining 2tsp olive oil in a small pan and cook onion for 5 minutes until starting to soften. Add spinach and cook over low heat until spinach has defrosted and any liquid has been cooked off. Place in a bowl to cool. Return frypan to medium heat and add marinated chicken, including oil and garlic. Cook, stirring, for 5 minutes until just cooked. Allow to cool slightly.
Step 3

Preheat oven to 180C. Brush the base and sides of a 20cm springform cake tin with melted butter. Once spinach mixture has cooled, add ricotta, herbs and eggs. Mix well. Add cooled chicken and crumbled feta and stir to combine.
Step 4

Brush one sheet of filo pastry with butter, then top with a second sheet and brush this with butter. Place in prepared tin so the base is covered and the excess drapes over one side. Repeat with another two sheets of filo, allowing the excess to drape over the opposite side. Repeat two more times with four more sheets of filo, so base has 8 layers of filo, and excess drapes over four sides of tin.
Step 5

Tip chicken and spinach mixture into tin and spread out evenly. It should fill the tin to the top. Carefully lift excess pastry over to cover the top, and then scrunch any extra pieces up.
Step 6

Cut remaining four pieces of filo in half lengthwise and brush each half with butter, then crunch each sheet up and arrange liberally on top of the pie.
Step 7

Bake for 40 minutes until golden and flaky.

Recipe Notes

from Australia’s Best Recipes team

+ 15 mins marinating.

This dish reheats beautifully if you want to make it ahead of time. Remove it from the tin and place on a lined baking tray, then bake for 15-20 minutes at 180C. The edges will crisp up while the centre reheats.

Recipe and photo by Greer Worsley.