Vegan Bunny Elle

Golden, crispy, flaky layers for days filled with savory, refreshing, aromatic herbs, spinach, and tangy tofu “feta”, these vegan spanakopita triangles as good as any spanakopita I’ve had before!

Spanakopita is a traditional Greek dish made with phyllo pastry and spinach filling. It’s basically a savory spinach pie that’s typically served as a snack or appetizer. The filling is usually a mixture of spinach, feta cheese, onions, eggs, and various herbs and spices, but it’s easily veganizable. 

The vegan spanakopita I can find at restaurants are usually only filled with greens and herbs but I wanted to include protein in them and also the tanginess that traditionally comes from the feta cheese. So I made tofu “feta”! You can adjust the amount and types of herbs to your own liking as well.

And I even made these spanakopita into little bunnies recently! They might not be 100% traditional but they’re so fun and cute, which make meal time extra joyful! I was worried whether the edges would actually stick together since phyllo is quite dry and not the same as regular dough but they surprisingly sealed fine in the oven.

Watch this video linked if you wanna see how the bunnies are shaped.

Vegan Spanakopita with Tofu Feta

Golden, crispy, flaky layers of phyllo paired with aromatic, moist, flavorful spinach tofu feta fillings, this iconic combo is unforgettable! Plus it’s packed full of plant protein and so many micro nutrients.

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Ingredients Method Video Notes

Ingredients

  

• 1 pound fresh baby spinach
• 1 sweet onion
• 4-5 green onion
• 4 garlic clove
• 1 tablespoon chopped dill
• 2 tablespoon chopped parsley
• Olive oil for cooking
• Pinch of salt
• Phyllo pastry 1 roll thawed
• For the Tofu Feta
• 12 oz extra firm tofu
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• 1 teaspoon miso paste
• 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• 1/2 cup warm water

Method

 

1. Make sure your phyllo pastry is thawed, they can be thawed overnight in the fridge;
2. Make the tofu feta first. Cut the tofu into cubes, and in a air tight container, mix together all the marinade ingredients;
3. Add tofu to the marinade, close the lid and gently shake to coat all cubes, let them marinate for at least 1 hour. You can also prep the tofu feta the night before and let them marinate overnight in the fridge;
4. Finely chop the onion and green onion, mince the garlic;
5. In a large saute pan, heat a drizzle of olive oil, saute the onions for 2 minutes, then add green onions and garlic and cook for another minute or two;
6. Add in all the baby spinach, carefully stir and let them wilt, if your pan is not big enough, then wilt them in batches;
7. Cover the pan with the lid and let the steam wilt the spinach over leat heat;
8. When the spinach is all wilted (but not mushy!) add in the dill and parsley, stir to mix in, transfer the filling into a bowl and let it cool down;
9. Use a cheese cloth or cheese bag to wring out as much liquid as you can from the spinach mixture;
10. When the tofu is ready, crumble the cubes into the spinach mixture, stir to combine well;
11. Preheat the oven to 350°F;
12. Carefully take one piece of phyllo pastry, phyllo pastry is very delicate so handle with care;
13. Cover the rest of the phyllo so they don’t dry out;
14. Brush on a thin layer of olive oil, add a few tablespoons of fillings onto the bottom corner, fold diagonally to form a triangle;
15. Brush on a bit of olive oil, and fold again, repeat folding the triangles and brushing on olive oil between folds, until you reach the end of the pastry;
16. Repeat the process until you use up all the fillings, transfer onto a lined baking sheet, brush on more olive oil on the top of each triangle pocket;
17. Bake for 30 minutes;
18. Enjoy hot or cold!

Video

Notes

• If you want to make them into bunnies, take two phyllo pastry sheets at the time, brush on olive oil, stack them up until you have 8 layers, then use a bunny shaped (or any other shape you like) cutter to cut out the bunnies;
• Add fillings to one bunny phyllo, then seal with another bunny phyllo, brush on more olive oil on the top and use a fork to push down around the edges, continue with the rest of the recipe. You can watch this video for easy visual guide.