Forget the Acropolis, forget the Parthenon – spanakopita might be the best invention of Greek civilization! Who can resist a savory pie filled with spinach and feta? And that, my friends, is why I offer up these delicious little Keto Spanakopita pastries. All the same wonderful flavors with a fraction of the carbs!
If you love spinach recipes, try Keto Spinach Stuffed Chicken or Spinach and Ricotta Fritters next.
★★★★★
One reader, Gils33, says: “Thank you for this great recipe. I made it today and it was better from the original one!!!! I had to stop my family members from eating it all”
Savory Keto Pastries with Fathead Dough
Of course, classic spanakopita takes phyllo dough, which is not in the least bit low carb. And there really isn’t a good way to make that flaky, crisp dough with keto ingredients like almond flour or coconut flour. But there are other delicious options for the crust.
Fathead dough is a weird and wonderful low carb invention based on mozzarella cheese and eggs. It makes for a wonderful keto pizza crust. Why not use it for little handheld keto spanakopita pies? It does not have the same flaky texture but it’s buttery and tender, and compliments the savory filling perfectly.
Ingredients and Substitutions
- Frozen spinach: You can use fresh spinach, but you will need to sauté it first then squeeze out the moisture.
- Feta cheese: Any brand or style of feta will work for this recipe. If you don’t enjoy feta, try adding grated Parmesan to the filling instead.
- Onion: Just a little onion adds flavor without adding too many extra carbs.
- Garlic: Fresh garlic offers so much more flavor than garlic powder.
- Fathead dough: I recommend using the dough from my Keto Pizza Crust, but I also have a nut-free version that I use for keto bagels and other recipes. That would work as well.
- Almond flour: You need just a little to dust the work surface.
- Kitchen staples: Egg, salt and pepper.
How to Make Keto Spanakopita
- Drain the spinach: Squeeze out the excess moisture.
- Mix the filling: Combine the feta, egg, onion, garlic, salt, and pepper and mix well.
- Roll out the dough: Sprinkle a work surface with a little almond flour and roll the dough out into a large square. Cut into 16 even squares, about 4×4 inches.
- Assemble the spanakopita: Mound a little spinach mixture into the center of each square then fold the dough square over diagonally to make a triangle shaped pastry.
- Bake: Place the triangles on a baking sheet lined with parchment or silicone. Make a small slit in the top of each and bake until golden brown.
Carolyn’s Tips for Success
Do make sure to squeeze as much moisture as possible from the spinach. An overly wet filling can make the crust soggy.
Fathead dough is admittedly a bit tricky to make. Make sure to read all the tips in the pizza crust recipe to get the best results.
Also don’t make the dough too far in advance of making these pastries. It tends to lose elasticity as it sits, making it harder to work with. Get your filling all ready to go and then make the dough!
If the dough breaks or cracks as you fold it around the filling, not to worry. It’s malleable enough that you can simply pinch it back together.
More Delicious Greek Inspired Recipes
Keto Spanakopita Recipe
Ingredients
- 6 ounces (170.1 g) frozen spinach, thawed
- 1 cup (150 g) crumbled feta cheese
- 1 large egg
- 1/4 cup (40 g) finely chopped onion
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1 recipe keto pizza crust
- Additional almond flour for rolling out.
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF and line a large baking sheet with parchment or a silicone baking mat.
- Place the spinach in a tea towel and squeeze out the excess moisture. Transfer to a large bowl. Add the feta, egg, onion, garlic, salt, and pepper and mix until well combined.
- Sprinkle a work surface with about 2 or 3 tablespoons of almond flour. Roll the dough out into a large square about 16 inches by 16 inches. Using a very sharp knife or a pizza wheel, cut into 16 even squares.
- Mound about 1 tablespoons of the spinach mixture into the center of each square. Fold the dough square over diagonally to make a triangle shaped pie. If the dough breaks or cracks when folding, simply pinch back together and shape around the filling.
- Place the triangles on the prepared baking sheet and make a small slit in the top of each to allow the steam to escape. Bake 20 minutes, until golden brown. Remove and let cool on the pan.
Notes
Nutrition
Frequently Asked Questions
I am afraid I have never successfully made fathead dough with dairy-free alternatives. I do have a tasty keto focaccia bread recipe that can be made dairy-free, and you might be able to roll it out for the crust. It will be more bread-like but still quite tasty!
Yes, you can assemble the hand pies and freeze them individually. Then you can bake them whenever you have a craving! Let them thaw completely before baking.
This keto spanakopita hand pie recipe has 3.4g of carbs and 1.5g of fiber per serving. That comes to 1.9g net carbs per hand pie.
Nutritional Disclaimer
Please note that I am not a medical or nutritional professional. I am simply recounting and sharing my own experiences on this blog. Nothing I express here should be taken as medical advice and you should consult with your doctor before starting any diet or exercise program. I provide nutritional information for my recipes simply as a courtesy to my readers. It is calculated using MacGourmet software and I remove erythritol from the final carb count and net carb count, as it does not affect my own blood glucose levels. I do my best to be as accurate as possible but you should independently calculate nutritional information on your own before relying on them. I expressly disclaim any and all liability of any kind with respect to any act or omission wholly or in part in reliance on anything contained in this website.
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Just tried these tonight….delicious! I never did well with rolling these doughs between paper so I bought me a cast iron tortilla press and now so easy! I divided into four balls then cut each circle into four pie shape pieces and they still are triangle shaped.
Very cool!
Just doubled the recipe and made it into a huge log. Added a nice pinch of crushed red pepper flake and an egg white wash. It’s in the oven and smells insane!
The dough came together so well! I did end up adding additional almond flour in the kneading stage. I think I may have rolled it too thick, because I ended up with a lot of extra filling. Next time I’ll roll it thinner because I won’t be so nervous about it holding together. It worked like a charm.
I tried to make the mozzarella dough but failed miserably – it wouldnt stick together.
I just made these and they are so delicious! I used fresh spinach, cooked down and squeezed dry. Onion and garlic powders. I rolled the crust out to approx 11×17″, cut into 16 rectangles, and had maybe 1/3 cup filling left over. I was worried that my imperfect rectangles would not hold the filling and I would have a mess after baking, but that didn’t happen at all – the dough doesn’t really move at all and if the filling is dry enough it won’t leak. Great recipe!
What happened to the recipe? I saw this for the spanakopita and the low carb pecan bars, went to town to get the ingredients it need, and now it’s gone??
It’s not you. My site is having issues and we are trying to get it fixed ASAP
Made these last night. Wow are they delicious. My carb-loving husband called them spectacular! Thanks for a new favorite recipe
You are just beautiful ! And I believe that you should keep making videos! People love videos!…. I think more than they like to read.
When making the spanikopita, I need to count the carbs separately for the dough and filling. Is that correct? I cannot wait to try this recipe!!!
I don’t count these carbs separately, not sure why you would need to?
So I’ve just found out that I could do MY OWN low carb phyllo and I’m thrilled! But the link in the ingredients doesn’t open 🙁 Carolyn, thanks a bunch for the recipe, but could you write the recipe for the dough or give me a link that opens. I saw in the comments that it contains mozzarella, but could I sub it for something else to make the dough taste neutral and use it for desserts? Thanks in advance for the recipe of the dough! 🙂
It does open. Are you on mobile? that may be the problem. Here is the direct link: https://alldayidreamaboutfood.com/2015/12/low-carb-garlic-parmesan-knots.html
And yes, it can be made sweet, here’s the link for that (it still contains mozzarella but I promise you won’t know it) https://alldayidreamaboutfood.com/2015/12/low-carb-chocolate-walnut-swirls.html
Thank you! These links works properly. I was wondering if I could use cheese other than mozzarella – here we have kashakaval which is similar to mozzarella – it melts wonderfully and is more affordable, but it’s salty. There are some slightly sweet tasting cheeses that would probably work for sweet goodies like your choco swirls or baklava … what do you think? Or it has to be exactly mozzarella? And why part skim, wouldn’t the whole milk type do the trick? Oh, and how thin could it be rolled out – I’m thinking of making low carb banitza (phyllo filled with butter, eggs and similar to feta cheese nom nom nom!) but it requires really thin phyllo sheets. And last question (phew!) – could this dough be used for making puff pastry if rolled out, spreaded with butter, than folded and you know the rest – would the layers separate or probably everything would simply melt because it would be basically just cheese and butter…
I really can’t say, I’ve never used those cheeses.
I’m not sure why the Dough link doesn’t open for you, maybe try another browser? It works for me even on my phone. I just tried it now.
The original link for the knots would not open for me on my mobile, either. Never had that happen with a link, I could only copy it, not open it. Second link worked ?
I’m having a little Fathead dilemma I’m hoping you can help me with. My dough never comes out as manageable as it’s supposed to.
My daughter and I made the spanakopita recently. Dhile I have struggled with the dough in the past, she never has. I know this dough originated from your garlic knots, but when I make this dough, there’s no way I could twist it into a knot. It’s just to fragile. My daughter, on the other hand never has a problem with it. So thinking it’s either my cheese, or my eggs. I am using pre-shredded low moisture mozzarella. I am also using fresh eggs from my chickens. Do you think either of those is the culprit? Other than that, o use Honeyville & Bob’s coconut flour. Thoughts?
Hmmmm. I can’t see why fresh eggs would be an issue, unless they are smaller or larger than regular eggs. That could be it, I guess? Are you weighing out the mozzarella?
My Greek friends have made Spanakopita for years, always generously sharing with me, because they know how much I love it. Breaks my heart to not be able to eat the gluten, and now switching to entirely low carb as well. Didn’t stop me; I often ate some although I paid for it later! So now…to have discovered your gluten-free, low carb Spanakopita is a dream come true! I can’t wait to make this, but as my Greek friends when they make Spanakopita, I’ll add a pinch of nutmeg and a little lemon zest plus a squeeze of fresh lemon juice to the spinach mixture. Can’t wait to make this recipe, Carolyn, as well as “play” with the different uses for the Magic Mozzarella Dough!
for non greeks, it is perfectly acceptable to refer to spanakopita (spa-na-KO-pee-ta) as just plain ol’ spinach pie. it is nearly impossible to property pronounce the word without a proper greek accent, so there’s no point even trying. my cousin’s wife, a non greek, has learned to make a damn good spanakopita but her pronunciation of the classic is nothing short of abysmal. i haven’t the heart to tell her though, bless her heart.
Hi Carolyn! Can you make these up the day before and bake them the next day?
Probably!
Carolyn,
Wow your site holds such wonders. I made this recipe tonight but did the jelly-roll approach you showed in a different recipe. They came out wonderful and taste so good. Can they really be only 2 carbs per?
I can’t thank you enough for all your wonderful cookery wisdom.
Kind regards,
Jewel
You know what they say about people mispronouncing words, right? Never criticize because it means they learned it by reading. 🙂
I tried the peanut butter chocolate chip cookies out for just me & my hubby last night and HE LOVED IT.
He loved the look of the cookie and the taste resembles a “Reeces cup”. He picked up his “fork” instead of picking the cookie up to eat by hand, and savored EVERY DELECTABLE BITE! Best dessert yet! It was a large size cookie too, which he likes “large” size, which was enough for him! Keep posting those great recipes!