Spinach puffs are an easy savory puff pastry appetizer that even kids like! Puff pastry shells are baked in a muffin tin and filled with a delicious filling made with garlicky sauteed spinach, and three kinds of cheese (feta, cream cheese, and parmesan). They’re so crunchy and really delicious!
Spinach puffs
It seams that most of the recipes for spinach puffs are inspired by spinach puffs that were made by the Kronk character from the Disney movie “The Emperor’s New Groove”. I haven’t watched this movie, my recipe was actually inspired by my cranberry brie bites recipe. We loved them so much so I wanted to make something similar with spinach and feta.
These pastries came out really amazing, so crunchy and flavorful! They are super easy and quick to make, they will be perfect as an elegant appetizer and also a quick snack.
Ingredients
Here’s what you need to make these delicious spinach puffs:
- puff pastry – use all-butter puff pastry for the best flavor
- spinach – I used frozen but fresh can also be used
- onion, garlic, butter
- parsley, dill, nutmeg, lemon zest (really brightens up the filling!)
- 3 types of cheese: parmesan, feta, and cream cheese, I would really recommend using all three! you can use whole 4 ounces of cream cheese if you don’t want to have any leftovers but we liked the filling more with 3 ounces
You could also add cooked crumbled bacon to the filling.
How to make it
STEP 1: Preheat the oven to 425°F (220°C).
Chop the spinach, dice the onion, finely chop garlic.
Heat the butter in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook for 4-5 minutes until soft and translucent. Add the garlic, cook for 30 seconds.
STEP 2: Add the spinach and cook until all the excess liquid is evaporated.
STEP 3: Transfer the spinach to a bowl, add the remaining ingredients except feta cheese (parsley, dill, nutmeg, lemon zest, cream cheese, parmesan). Stir everything together and season with salt and pepper to taste.
STEP 4: Gently fold in crumbled feta cheese (you want it crumbled through the filling). Chill the filling until cold (10-15 minutes in the fridge should be enough).
STEP 5: Prepare the muffin pan: grease it generously with vegetable oil (do not use muffin liners – the puff pastry won’t be as nicely crispy and browned like when baking it without any liners).
Take the puff pastry out of the fridge, roll it out slightly into a rectangle (if it’s already thin and in a shape of a rectangle you don’t need to roll it out). Divide the rectangle into 12 squares (4 columns and 3 rows).
STEP 6: Place each pastry square in the center of each muffin cup.
STEP 7: Divide the cold filling between all the pastry cups.
STEP 8: Bring the four edges of each puff pastry square together towards the center and lightly pinch them together in the middle (no need to seal them completely).
Bake the pastries for 15 minutes then reduce the temperature to 320°F (160°C) and bake for 10-15 minutes or until deeply golden.
Take the muffin pan out of the oven, let cool slightly then run a knife or a small palette knife around each pastry cup to help release it from the pan.
Enjoy!
Storage and make-ahead options
These pastries taste best freshly prepared but there are a couple of great make-ahead options.
How to store baked pastries: make sure they are completely cooled then put them in a closed container. You can store them in the fridge for up to 3 days.
How to reheat them: bake them for 5 minutes at 400°F (200°C). They will be a little bit softer at the bottom in comparison to freshly-made ones but the edges that are not covered with the filling will be still quite crunchy. This is a good make-ahead option.
How to make them ahead: I don’t recommend storing assembled and unbaked pastries in the fridge – puff pastry will be soggy. You can prepare all the ingredients – roll out the pastry on a tray/board lined with a piece of parchment paper, cut it into squares, wrap it tightly in plastic foil so it won’t dry out and put in the fridge. Prepare the filling. Put everything in the fridge. Assemble and bake just before serving.
How to freeze baked pastries: let them cool completely, place them on a tray in the freezer, and freeze until solid. Transfer to a closed container or zip-lock bags. Bake straight from the freezer at 400°F (200°C) until warm. These taste really good and almost as freshly-made.
How to freeze unbaked pastries: Prepare the pastries as described in the recipe. Place the muffin tin in the freezer. You can freeze them for up to 1 month. Bake straight from the freezer, for 11-13 minutes or until puffed and golden. Their bottoms will be unfortunately a little bit soft and soggy but the edges are super crispy. I would rather recommend freezing baked pastries.
Top tips on working with puff pastry
- Keep the puff pastry chilled. Take it out of the fridge only when you have all the other ingredients ready. It will be sticky and hard to work with when warm.
- If at any point your puff pastry will be too soft and sticky just put it in the fridge for 10 minutes. Sprinkling the pastry with flour while rolling it out also helps.
- All-butter puff pastry is more sticky than regular puff pastry made with shortening or palm fat (but it‘s so much tastier!).
- If using frozen puff pastry it‘s better to thaw it in the fridge overnight instead of quickly thawing it on the counter – it can be prone to breaking.
- Make sure your filling is cold so it won’t warm up pastry and make is sticky.
More puff pastry appetizer recipes you may like
- Puff Pastry Mushroom Tart
- Puff Pastry Pizza Bites
- Puff Pastry Onion Tart
- Puff Pastry Vegetable Strudel
- Puff Pastry Cheese Straws
- Puff Pastry Pinwheels
- Puff Pastry Christmas Tree
- Cranberry Brie Bites
- Ham and Cheese Puff Pastry
Here you can find all my puff pastry appetizers.
Did you make this recipe? RATE THE RECIPE or tell me in the COMMENTS how you liked it! You can also add a photo of your dish. It would make me very happy and will help other readers. Thank you!!
Spinach Puffs
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 medium onion
- 4 cloves garlic
- 10 ounces (285g) frozen spinach, thawed
- 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
- 1 tablespoon chopped dill
- 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
- zest grated from 1 lemon
- 3 ounces (85g) cream cheese
- 1/4 cup (22g) grated parmesan cheese
- 1/3 cup (45g) crumbled feta cheese
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 sheet puff pastry (about 10 ounces or 285g)
- vegetable oil for greasing the muffin pan
Would you like to save this?
We'll email this post to you, so you can come back to it later!
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425°F (220°C).
- Chop the spinach, dice the onion, finely chop garlic.
- Heat the butter in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook for 4-5 minutes until soft and translucent. Add the garlic, cook for 30 seconds.
- Add the spinach and cook until all the excess liquid is evaporated.
- Transfer the spinach to a bowl, add the remaining ingredients except feta cheese (parsley, dill, nutmeg, lemon zest, cream cheese, parmesan). Stir everything together and season with salt and pepper to taste. Gently fold in crumbled feta cheese (you want it crumbled through the filling). Chill the filling until cold (10-15 minutes in the fridge should be enough).
- Prepare the muffin pan: grease it generously with vegetable oil (do not use muffin liners).
- Take the puff pastry out of the fridge, roll it out slightly into a rectangle (if it’s already thin and in a shape of a rectangle you don’t need to roll it out). Divide the rectangle into 12 squares (4 columns and 3 rows).
- Place each pastry square in the center of each muffin cup.
- Divide the cold filling between all the pastry cups.
- Bring the four edges of each puff pastry square together towards the center and lightly pinch them together in the middle (no need to seal them completely).
- Bake the pastries for 15 minutes then reduce the temperature to 320°F (160°C) and bake for 10-15 minutes or until deeply golden.
- Take the muffin pan out of the oven, let cool slightly then run a knife or a small palette knife around each pastry cup to help release it from the pan.
- Enjoy!
Notes
- Thaw your puff pastry in the fridge overnight. Make sure it’s cold before you start. Take it out of the fridge only if you have all your ingredients ready.
- Calories = 1 spinach puff (1/12 of the recipe). This is only an estimate!
No Comments