Greek-Style Spinach, Feta & Polenta Pie
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This Greek-inspired savory “pie” combines the flavors of spinach, feta, and dill in a rich egg batter. Think of it as a cross between baked polenta, a quiche, and a frittata—an easy, vegetarian main that’s perfect for any meal.
Inspired by a recipe from Diana Henry’s lovely cookbook, From the Oven to the Table: Simple Dishes That Look After Themselves, this recipe is based on a Greek dish called kourkouto, a simple and savory “pie” that replaces the phyllo dough in a traditional phyllo pie with a batter made from eggs, cheese, Greek yogurt, and cornmeal. Think of it as a cross between baked polenta, spinach quiche, and a frittata—and since this version is filled with feta and dill, it has spanakopita vibes. It’s a uniquely delicious (and easy!) vegetarian main course that’s perfect for brunch, lunch, or a light dinner.
“Loved it! Prepared with a nice side salad and had a wonderful meatless Monday for the family!rn”
What You’ll Need To Make Spinach, Feta & Polenta Pie
Step-By-Step Instructions
Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat, and add the spinach. Cook the spinach until wilted, 4 to 5 minutes, then set aside to cool slightly.
In a large bowl, combine the eggs, yogurt, polenta, garlic, salt and pepper.
Whisk until smooth, then add the feta, pecorino Romano, and dill, and mix until combined.
Add the wilted spinach to the batter and mix to combine.
Pour the mixture into the prepared baking dish or pie pan and bake until just set and puffed, 20 to 25 minutes. Serve this dish hot or at room temperature.
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Greek-Style Spinach, Feta & Polenta Pie
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
- 6 oz baby spinach (about 6 packed cups)
- 5 large eggs
- ⅔ cup whole-milk plain Greek yogurt (low-fat works too)
- ¼ cup instant polenta
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ½ cup crumbled feta cheese
- ½ cup finely grated pecorino Romano cheese
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F/175°C and set an oven rack in the middle position. Grease a 1.5-qt (1.5L) baking dish (mine is an oval that measures about 9 x 7 in/23 x 18 cm) or 9-in (23-cm) pie pan with 1 tablespoon of the oil.
- Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the spinach and cook, tossing frequently, until wilted, 4 to 5 minutes. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine the eggs, yogurt, polenta, garlic, salt and pepper; whisk until smooth. Add the feta, pecorino Romano, and dill, and whisk until evenly combined. Stir in the wilted spinach.
- Pour the mixture into the prepared baking dish or pie pan, and bake until just set and puffed, 20 to 25 minutes. Serve hot or at room temperature.
Nutrition Information
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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This recipe is wonderful, I followed it exactly but used Bobs Red Mill Medium ground cornmeal instead of polenta and it was delicious. Great weeknight meal with a salad.
Made this with regular polenta, pre-cooked and enjoyed it. But I am frustrated that by adding liquid to cook the polenta I messed up the rations. Can you please suggest a conversion of this very nice recipe to regular polenta – something I always have on hand? I don’t do instant anything, because the flavor is never as good.
Hi Brigitte, Without trying it myself, I can’t confidently tell you how to convert this to use regular polenta – I’m sorry! If I test it out at some point, I will add a note to the recipe.
This recipe will be a favorite! I used regular polenta. I just added a couple tablespoons of liquid, and cooked it a bit longer. It turned out beautifully.( I used kale instead of spinach.) This was served as a triangular piece, with a fresh pineapple pomegranate salad, salmon fillet, and salted daikon radish sprinkled with gochugaru pepper.
Loved it! Prepared with a nice side salad and had a wonderful meatless Monday for the family!
I made this twice in the last couple of weeks. It is sooo good. Can I freeze any leftovers? I added some roast asparagus this last time.
Glad you enjoyed it! Yes, I think you can freeze leftovers.
Hi Jenn- Can this recipe be doubled and baked for a longer period of time in a larger dish?
Sure, and depending on the size of the dish you’re using, it may not take longer to bake. Hope you enjoy
Another 5 star from Jenn. we loved this. Endless variations are in our future! We will probably try with green chiles for a relleno sort of dish.
Delicious! I used frozen spinach, instead of fresh, microwave and squeezed it –it’s all I had. I also made the recipe 1.5x the ingredients and baked for 30 mins. My family loved it for Easter brunch, served with a light salad with lemon dressing.
Loved this. I can always count on your recipes to be a success.
Planning on making this for Easter. First, can you substitute frozen spinach for fresh? and, if so, how much thawed and squeezed spinach would you recommend to replace 6 cups fresh?
thank you
Tricia
Hi Tricia, I’m obviously weighing in too late to be helpful – sorry! For future reference, I think you’d need about 4 to 5 ounces of frozen spinach.
I love this recipe, but I’ve had a terrible time with it sticking to the dish when I bake it. Would it be possible to make this in a pie shell to avoid that, or is there something else you could suggest that would solve that “sticky” problem?
Hi Jody, I’m sorry you’ve had a problem with this! It really shouldn’t stick. Are you using instant polenta as the recipe specifies?
I am using instant polenta, which I bought just for this recipe, and it’s worked great except for the sticking. So I made this with a pie crust and it was absolutely perfect. Thank you for this great recipe!
I’m surprised that it was sticking, but glad that the pie crust solution worked — thanks for the follow up!