spanakopita

American  

[span-uh-koh-pi-tuh, spah-nah-kaw-pee-tah] / ˌspæn əˈkoʊ pɪ tə, ˌspɑ nɑˈkɔ pi tɑ /

noun

Greek Cooking.

1. a baked dish consisting of spinach, feta cheese, eggs, and scallions enclosed in layers of phyllo.

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Etymology

Origin of spanakopita

First recorded in 1940–45; from Modern Greek spanakópita, equivalent to spanako-, combining form of spanáki, from Medieval Greek spanákion “spinach” + píta “bread, cake, pie”; see also spinach ( def. ), pita ¹

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

spanakopita

The spanakopita can be served with “a fresh salad of tomatoes, olives, and greens, and lightly dressed with a bit of olive oil and lemon juice,” TJ’s recommended.

From Salon ● Aug. 7, 2025

Yes, pigs in a blanket, but also spanakopita, cheese puffs, mini quiches, crab cakes, bacon wrapped scallops, empanadas, dumplings, mini pizzas, jalapeno poppers and so on.

From Washington Times ● Nov. 30, 2023

I have seen various forms of baklava in which the traditional layers were reshaped into free-form squares or neat triangles more like spanakopita than baklava.

From Seattle Times ● Sep. 30, 2023

If Raff’s book is an unexpected spanakopita at our movable feast, Hari’s is a plate of deviled eggs, crammed with bite-size nourishment that packs a nutritional punch.

From New York Times ● Feb. 17, 2022

Instead of cars, we would become manufacturers of hamburger platters and Greek salads, industrialists of spanakopita and grilled cheese sandwiches, technocrats of rice pudding and banana cream pie.

From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides