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Buttery Spinach Puffs are cheesy and savory with pops of bacon. As you can imagine, they are a hit at parties!
If we’re having a party, you can count on these Spinach Puffs being served as an appetizer. We usually serve them with our other favorites including Bacon Wrapped Smokies, Cucumber Sandwiches, and some kind of Dip!
a quick + easy appetizer
I have so many favorite appetizer recipes, it’s sometimes hard to choose which ones I’m going to make for parties or family gatherings.
My family gets together on New Year’s Eve for games and LOTS of appetizers. Well, this Spinach Puff Pastry appetizer is one that is almost always part of the appetizer spread!
Spinach Puffs are everything you want from an appetizer. Cheesy, savory, crispy on the outside, and creamy on the inside…basically they’re the best.
You might have to double this Spinach and Feta Puff Pastry recipe to make sure there are enough for all your party guests! Trust me, this tasty snack will disappear quickly!
how to make spinach puffs
PREP. Spray 9 cups in a muffin pan with cooking spray.
CREAM CHEESE MIXTURE. In a small bowl, microwave the cream cheese 10 seconds at a time until it’s soft and melted but not steaming. Add egg, oil, and dill into cream cheese and stir until well combined.
COMBINE. In a separate bowl combine spinach, feta, and bacon. Pour your cream cheese mixture on top of the spinach mixture and season with salt and pepper. Use a fork to mix and combine it together.
PASTRY. Cut the puff pastry sheet into 9 squares. Line the muffin pan with your cut squares (you might need to stretch them out a little). Press into the bottom of the muffin cups.
Evenly divide the spinach among the cups. Bring your 4 pastry points together, covering the filling, and press them together. Lightly brush with the melted butter.
BAKE. Bake at 400°F for about 20 minutes until golden brown and puffy. Allow to cool for 10 minutes then use a knife around the edges to loosen and help pop them out.
Recipe Tips
Frozen spinach. Squeeze out any excess liquid to prevent soggy puffs.
Mini muffins. To make bite-size Spinach Feta Puff Pastry, adjust the size of the cut pastry dough by cutting 18 puff pastry squares instead of 9. The remaining directions are the same. Bake at 400°F for 10-15 minutes.
Variations. I love these Spinach Puffs as they are, but here are some customizing ideas:
- Switch the bacon with diced ham.
- Add diced mushrooms, green onions, or bell peppers.
- Season to taste with garlic salt, black pepper, paprika, or red chili flakes for a bit of a kick.
- Brighten the flavor with a bit of lemon zest.
- Change the feta cheese with ricotta cheese, Parmesan cheese, or mozzarella cheese.
- Replace the puff pastry with phyllo tart cups. Fill the cups with the spinach filling. Bake at 400°F, but for only 8-12 minutes.
Storing info
Make ahead of time. There are several ways to make the Spinach Puff Recipe ahead of time, giving you plenty of time to prepare everything else right beforehand.
Make these up to 3 hours in advance. Cover the pan with plastic wrap and store it in the fridge. Bake uncovered at 400°F for 20 minutes.
STORE Spinach Puffs in the fridge or freezer:
- Filling only: Store the filling in an airtight container in the fridge for 1-2 days or in the freezer for 1-2 months. Thaw, if applicable, assemble, and bake according to directions.
- Freeze uncooked: Assemble as directed except place them in the freezer instead of the oven. Freeze for 2-3 hours, remove from the muffin tin, and store in an airtight freezer container. Freeze for 1-2 months. To bake, place in a muffin tin and bake at 400°F for 25-30 minutes or until cooked through.
- Freeze baked: Once the puffs have baked allow them to cool. Place puffs in an airtight freezer-safe container separating layers with parchment paper. Freeze for 1-2 months. Reheat in the oven or microwave before serving.
For even more appetizers:
- Brown Sugar Glazed Lil’ Smokies
- Homemade Bruschetta
- Mozzarella Sticks
- Spinach Artichoke Dip
- Corn Dog Muffins
- Cheesy Zucchini Tots
Spinach Puffs Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 ounces cream cheese softened
- 1 large egg
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ teaspoon dried dill
- 2 cups fresh spinach chopped and packed
- ¾ cup crumbled feta
- 2 teaspoon bacon bits
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 sheet frozen puff pastry thawed
- 1 tablespoon butter melted
Instructions
- Spray 9 cups in a muffin pan with cooking spray.
- Microwave your cream cheese 10 seconds at a time until it's soft and melted but not steaming. Add egg, oil, and dill into cream cheese and mix until well combined.
- In a separate bowl combine spinach, feta, and bacon. Pour your cream cheese mixture on top and season with salt and pepper. Use a fork to mix and combine it together.
- Cut the pastry sheet into 9 squares. Line the muffin pan with your cut squares (you might need to stretch them out a little). Press into the bottom of the muffin cups. Evenly divide the spinach among the cups. Bring your 4 pastry points together, covering the filling, and press them together. Lightly brush with the melted butter.
- Bake at 400°F for about 20 minutes until golden and puffy. Allow to cool for 10 minutes then use a knife around the edges to loosen and help pop them out.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Recipe adapted from HERE.
Turned out exactly Like the picture! A big hit at my party. Even the kids loved them. Came together easily but looked so fancy and like I made a gourmet app! Thanks for the great recipe! Will def make again and again.
One of the best parts about this recipe is how easy it is but looks fancy. I’m glad they were a hit at your party!
Wonderful recipe as written. I was able to get 12 cups as the puff pastry sheet was a little larger.
Awe, thank you so much!!
Used chive cream cheese, omitted the dill. Very good. Easy.
I’m excited to make these, but I can only get frozen spinach right now. How much should I be using of the frozen spinach compared to the fresh?
Looks yummy. Need recipes, please
Leela
Made this to take to a party. I added a large handful of chopped mint and parsley. Didn’t have bacon bits so added garlic powder and grated cheese to mix. They got knocked off like hotcakes!! Definitely a keeper.
Is it possible to use canned spinach?
Looks delicious. Can this recipe be made ahead and reheated at serving time?
How important is the egg in this recipe? I’m allergic to it. Is it important to the structure/texture of the filling? Or would it be okay to make it without?
The egg definitely helps with the structure and keeping everything together. I honestly haven’t tried it without an egg. You could always try and see how it turns out. You’ll have to let us know if you do!
These came out really good, but since I was trying to use up things I had on hand, I made a few adjustments. Didn’t have enough feta so used what I had plus about a 1/4C goat cheese and 1/4C mozzarella. Also didn’t have dill and instead of risking using some other herb, I just used about a tsp each of garlic powder and dried minced onion.
The only issue I had is that I really had a hard time getting the puff pastry pieces to be big enough to really fold over the top. I think next time I might try increasing the filling amount and then use 2 sheets of the puff pastry and make 12 of them.
Hello Kristyn! I was going to using mini muffin cups. It’s hard to tell from the video. Did you use standard muffin tin?
Yes, I made these in a standard muffin tin.
Sounds easy & delicious, thanks
You’re welcome! Hope you enjoy!
Yummy!So made this 3 different ways, frozen spinach, fresh chopped and fresh steamed with leaves only…….best review from family was steamed…but fresh was way better than frozen! Also added a bit of local sweet/ mild Italian sausage to make it heartier( per my husband’s request) when Steelers play!
Excellent recipe! These delicious spinach puffs are always well-loved and requested by family members when we have gatherings. A few small modifications I like to add are as follows:
After pressing the moisture out of the thawed spinach, I add a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil in a cast iron skillet and heat it on low-medium heat. I add the pressed spinach and let it cook for 4-5 mins. I then add one yellow onion that I’ve pureed in the food chopper and sauté it for about 8-10 minutes, softly folding the ingredients into one another. I add two pressed garlic cloves, stirring gently for approximately 1 minute longer. Finally, I add some freshly grated Romano cheese, salt and pepper to taste, transfer to a paper plate and allow it to cool before adding the spinach mixture to a bowl to combine with the remaining ingredients 🙂
I am wondering if anyone has tried these is mini muffin pans for more bite sized puffs and how many squares you cut?
Using 1 sheet of Puff Pastry dough, I roll it quite thin and make 24 mini puffs. I guess the squares are about 2″. I bake them at 375 for 15-18 minutes.
I would like to make these for thanksgiving – but i’m trying to adapt it to 350° where the rest of my recipes are, any way to do that?
I made these and the family loved them! Definitely a repeat.
Recipes look great.
Hi, just wondering but what does chopped and packed mean for the spinich? I am quite confused and new to cooking/baking. Thank you to who ever answers.
So that just means rather than using the full spinach leaves in the recipe, you’ll chop them up into smaller pieces and pack them into a measuring cup to get 2 cups worth. Hope that helps!
Second try today. First was wonderful but I thought it had too much fat/oil. Today added real bacon (3 slices Costco precooked, chopped fine and warmed in paper towel in microwave.) Also about 2 T finely diced sweet onion. Omitted oil with cream cheese. Don’t love feta so I substituted mozzarella and parmesan. Instead of brushing top with butter, I used an egg wash. Really good, but next time I would add more bacon and more onion, or onion powder.
Thanks for sharing what you did and for giving the recipe a try!
Made these today for an afternoon ‘tea party’ with friends I hadn’t seen in 25 years. I always experiment on guests, since I live alone and can’t eat all the goodies by myself. They turned out great, besides being attractive. I’m not a Feta fan, so I substituted a mild-grated white semi-soft cheese. For a little extra flavor, I added a little garlic salt and onion powder. So many recipes call for frozen spinach, I was curious to see how the fresh spinach would work; it was perfect. I did have to stretch the pastry sections; I used the side of my hand. I brushed the tops with the melted butter; I had extra and did that twice. I wouldn’t do that second brush again, and I question the added olive oil — I thought when rewarmed, they were a bit too ‘rich.’ More bacon bits, perhaps. I will make these again!
These are very tasty and filling.
Superb noms!
Delicious! Love the little bites of feta.
Can I leave out bacon? Should I add something else – want to keep vegetarian
Can I leave out bacon – make vegetarian? Anything g I should substitute for the bacon?
Easy and delicious.
Happy you agree! Thank you!!
We really love these (as do our guests)! I have substituted mushrooms for the bacon bits, because we can’t get that where we live. Would it work with raw bacon or uncooked ham, cut into small pieces?
I’ve been searching for this recipe! I had a Chinese restaurant that served these… I loved them well then 2020 happened the restaurant closed I was devastated. As soon as I saw these I knew I had found my favorite bite in the world once again! I can’t thank you enough
Sounds great!
Making it for New Year’s Eve!
The 9?kids range from 13 to 5 years of age!
Looks great
Can I cut these to fit a mini muffin pan and make even more delicate bites?
Are these good served at room temperature? I need an appetizer that I can take to a party, so I won’t be able to serve right out of the oven.
Can these be made ahead if time , frozen and reheated?
How is this an American recipe?
these are absolutely delicious!
Thank you! So glad you enjoyed them!
This looks so so good.Do the bottoms get soggy in the baking process?
I haven’t had trouble with the bottoms getting soggy following the recipe as is. 🙂
I chopped bacon and cooked it to use bigger chunks. I made some with rolled out pastry dough very thin and some with thicker. I liked the thinner ones better as the filling is really delicious. I also added some minced garlic and Hungarian paprika to the mixture.
Sounds delicious! Thanks for sharing what you did.
How did you make your pastry dough and thank you!
je n’ai pas encore fait mais je voulais savoir si le bacon devait être cuit au préalable ou non. Merci.
le bacon doit être cuit. en Amérique, les “morceaux de bacon” sont généralement vendus dans l’allée des assaisonnements de l’épicerie, et ils sont cuits/fumés mais certainement pas crus.
Delicious! My husband whom hates veggies stated several times while eating this that it was really good. I gave it to him as the “veggie” part of the meal. I left out any kind of meat.
Haha I love it! So glad your hubby approved too!
I will certainly make this recipe, and thank you for sharing.
You’re welcome!
Delicious! My family loved them. Tonight, I am making a variation with broccoli and cheddar. I steamed the broccoli a bit before chopping it and adding to the cream cheese mixture. We’ll see how that turns out!
Someone on here was looking for the temp. To bake this with. As I was too. Finally found it all the way down towards the end. Bake 400 degrees
Sounds great..but would like a different cheese. Any suggestions for a substitute?
You could potentially swap the feta for mozzarella.
How well will these travel? I am going to a brunch next weekend, about a 30 min drive. Think they will hold up if I bake them at home & transport, or should I bake them on site? Thank you!
You could do either one! They would be fine if you baked and served 30 minutes later. You could always pop them in the oven again to warm them up if you wanted. But you can also assemble them prior and then just bake when you get there. Either way!
Excellent! The only change I made was using Gouda cheese cut in small pieces instead of Feta since I didn’t have Feta cheese. I made these to use up a bag of spinach and we all loved them. They couldn’t be any better but I put Feta on my list to try them with Feta next time. I made a double batch and they didn’t last an hour. Thank you!
I’m so happy you liked the recipe so much! The gouda sounds like a good choice of cheese as well. Glad everyone enjoyed it!
Wow how good are these. Melt in the mouth, delicious. Making the mushroom ones tomorrow, hoping they are as good.definitely on the more to make list.
I’m so glad you love the spinach puffs! Thanks for sharing!
QUESTION. If I bake and freeze, how do I reheat? From frozen or defrosted? At what temp? How Long?
I love these! They were perfect for when we had family in town.
These really are such a quick and easy appetizer recipe! So tasty too!
These are such a fun appetizer or party food. We love the combination of cheese and puff pastry!
Thank you so much for sharing this amazing spinach cheese puffs recipe! Will surely have this again! It’s really easy to make and it tasted so delicious! Highly recommended!
Just made these. Delicious. If I wanted to add mushrooms should I cook raw mushrooms first and then add?
Yes you could definitely do that. It would make those puffs so yummy!
Is the nutritional content per puff? Deleting this until an answer is given. Need low sodium recipes. Thanks
Yes it is per puff.
These are delicious!!
I am so happy you think so 🙂 Thank you!
What can I substitute the dill with, or can I just opt it?
They were great
Glad you think so 🙂 Thank you so much!
10
Yay!! I am so happy you like them that much! Thank you!!
Amazingly Delicious, will not last long. I doubled the bacon. Can’t wait to make it again.
The more bacon, the better 🙂 Thank you!
Huge Thanksgiving appetizer hit! Will use more cream cheese next time. The bacon is a great addition.
Glad it was a hit!! Thank you for trying it & for letting me know!
Looks real good. Used to do this with a greek recipe from my mother in law. My question is: how about making it gluten free, how can we get this fluffy pastry gluten free?
They are amazing! I am not a gluten-free expert, so you would need to look at each ingredient & see what you could get gluten-free.
No instructions for preparing the spinach. Calls for four cups fresh spinach chopped. Do we just throw uncooked spinach in with the cream cheese? Thx
Yes or you could use frozen. Just squeeze the liquid out.
Keeper, keeper, keeper!!! These were a huge hit at my dinner party and wonderfully Easy and quick to prepare! They will Be making aN appearance again! Thank you for sharing!
You are so welcome!! I am so glad you shared that! Thank you!
I’m wondering if this could work as pinwheels instead of using the muffin tin? Or do you think the filling would be too thick? Thanks!
That’s a good question. It might be too thick, but maybe not..one way to find out 🙂
Another yummy appetizer thats semi healthy and taste great.
MY MOUTH IS WATERING JUST THINKING ABOUT THESE!
These are delicious! A total crowd pleaser! They are great as appetizers or even as a side dish.
I served this as a side dish at dinner to encourage my kids to eat more veggies. It totally worked! They’re so good, they couldn’t resist.
Thanks for all the extra tips included with this recipe it Made making and storing really easy.
Spinach puffs are looking yummy. Thank you for the easy procedure. Perfect and healthy party snack.
They are super easy & tasty! And, yes, the perfect party appetizer! Thank you!
I made this last ThanksgiVing and mY family raved about them.
Took it to my 50th high sch reunion get together and i hadn’t set it down befote everyone was asking who made the spinach puffs and was ENCOURAGING everyone to try one. Needless to say i was requested to send everyone, INCLUDING the guys, to email them the recipe. I was so proid ?
You’ve made my day! I appreciate you letting me know. I am so glad you shared this recipe! Thank you!
So deliCious!
Thank you for saying that!! Glad you liked them!
Can this be frozen. And I’d so baked or unbaked
I personally haven’t tried freezing them, so that is a good question. You can always try it both ways. Make some, but put some in the freezer before baking & some in after. I would need to find out for myself which way is the better way.
Love this!
I am so glad you do 🙂 Thank you!
Wondering if you can bake them and freeze them or is it better to keep in the refrigerator? I’m not serving them for 3 days but wanted to go ahead and bake them ahead of time.
I have not personally tried freezing them, so I wish I could tell you exactly how they’d turn out. They will be ok in the fridge.
Tasty
I am glad you think so 🙂 Thank you!
Love, Love, them!!!!!
Yay!! Thank you so much!
Has anyone trIed serving these cold? I have a convention in january and we arent allowed tk have hot food in the consuite this year. Been looking for some savory pastry ideas and these look awesome
I haven’t had them cold, maybe more room temp & they are still good, if that helps??
Could you please tell me what you mean by the calories 732kcal is that calories for each serving, cAUSE THAT’S A LOT FOR ONE SPINACH PUFF? I HAVE MADE A LOT OF YOUR RECIPES THE CALORIE COUNT ALWAYS CONFUSING ME. THANK YOU.
What can feta cheese be suBstituted with? Not a fan!
You could use whatever your favorite cheese is. I haven’t used other cheese, but I am sure plenty of them would be great. You could experiment with lots of different ones 😉
These were really delicious, not too complex to make and enjoyed by all. I will definitely make them again. I wonder if it would work well to cut the puff pastry into smaller squares and use a mini muffin tin as the recipe only makes nine with these instructions and theyf are fairly large.
I am so glad everyone liked them! Yes, you definitely could 🙂 They would be great smaller!
I could not print this recipe for the life of me. I clicked on the “print” button, but there’s no “send to printer” button that carries out the action. I was very frustrated so I finally sent it to myself in an email. Grrrrrr!
I am sorry. It works for me. It has to be in your computer settings. They are all so different, I wish I could help.
71g of fat? Is that accurate?! Yikes!
Hi Judi – I computed the amount of calories and fat grams for the entire recipe and divided by 9. I calculated 251 calories and 19 fat grams per appetizer. These sound wonderful and I will try them at Christmas when we splurge. Compare that treat to a Hershey bar which has 220 calories and 8 grams of fat!
Can these spinach puffs be made ahead and frozen before they are baked?
I am sure they could. I have not personally tried, but I think they’d be ok 🙂
I’m about to make them using frozen chopped spinach but now I’m wonderful if I should have used fresh? Not clear in instructions, please help.
I haven’t tried with frozen. I think as long as you squeeze all the liquid out, it should be ok. How did it turn out?
These were yummy! You can’t go wrong with puff pastry! I doubled the recipe, and used 10 oz fresh baby spinach sauteed in olive oil first. I cut the 9×9 puff pastry sheets into 16 squares and had the perfect amount of filling for 64 mini muffins. I used the handle of an ice cream scoop to push the pastry in. Needs much more bacon to make sure some gets in each piece!
Thank you for letting me know! And, thank you for sharing what you did!
If I bake these and refrigerate them on Friday, will they still be okay to serve on Sunday?
I haven’t made them that far in advance, but I would think so? I would refrigerate them.
Made these spinach cheese puffs today. 24 mini muffin tin size – they all went in about 15 minutes. Grandchildren (and the rest of us) absolutely loved them. Still enough mixture left over to make more tomorrow. Yum!!!
I love hearing that!! Thank you so much for letting me know! I’m glad they were a hit!
Can you make these ahead of time and freeze them uncooked? And just pop it in the oven to bake when needed?
You should be able to. I personally haven’t tried, but I don’t see why not. Hope you enjoy!
Please make it easier to print recipes without all the photos.
Trying this recipe soon, thank you.
You don’t have to print all the pictures. Inside the recipe box is a print option. It should only print the recipe.
Made it for my life group, it was a big hit everyone loved it:-)
Yay!!! I’m so glad they all loved them! Thank you so much for trying them!
Large or small muffin tins?.
I used the regular cupcake size tin 🙂 Hope you enjoy!
Mmm, these looks so good! I always love anything with feta!
Then, you’ll love these! Hope you’ll give them a try! Thanks!
These look great…just a quick question. Can you serve these cold, or do they have to be warm. Want them for a work lunch and will not be able to warm up. Thanks
I’m sure you can. We just happened to eat them, as they came out, but I bet they’d taste fine!
Thanks 🙂
I made these the first time in a regular-sized muffin pan, and they were a big hit. Everybody loved them. I made them a second time using the mini muffin pan and they were an even bigger hit – I think the smaller, bite-sized portion made them more popular.
Yay!!! I like small bites that you can just pop in your mouth! Thank you so much for letting me know!!
Anyone tried this with goat cheese instead of feta??
Not me, but I’d love to know how it tastes, if anyone has!!?
Feta is made with goats milk . So yes goats cheese would be perfect .
Feta is traditionally sheep milk.
Can you substitute diced ham for the bacon in the spinach cheese puffs? I’m going to try them. Thanks
I’ve never tried that, but I bet that would taste great. They sell mini cubed pieces in the stores. Those would be perfect!
Thanks! I’m going to a picnic on Saturday and everyone is suppose to bring an appetizer. They are going to judge them.. first,second and third place. I wanted to try a new recipe and this one looks really good. I’ve decided to make this. Which me luck! I’ll let you know how I do.
Great!! I hope you get first!! They are pretty tasty! Good luck!
Just made them this morning and they are delicious ! I think I have a good chance of winning. Thanks for the good luck wishes. I did use ham instead of bacon. Sue
The spinach puffs were a hit! Everyone loved them and I got second place. They went quickly. I made them in the muffin tins but I was wondering if you could make them in the small mini tart pans so they wouldn’t be so big for an appetizer. Well I guess I’ll be printing out some recipes for friends. Thanks for this delicious recipe.
YAY!! That’s so good to hear!! Thank you so much for letting me know! I’m sure you could make them that way, I haven’t, but I don’t see why not!
NOSSA KI DELICIA!!!!!
AMEI DE PAIXÃO !!
HUM DELICIA PARABÉNS!!!!!
DEU-ME ÁGUA NA BOCA DE TANTO DESEJO EM DEVORAR ESSA DELICIA..
Is the muffin tin a full size or the mini size muffin tin? The instructions in the recipe don’t indicate this. Thanks!
These are the BEST! I could eat 10, no joke.
LOL! Me too!!
pinned 🙂 They look awesome!
Yum yum yum! These look so good.
hi, the spinach cheese puffs sound great just one question, should i use Fresh spinach? cooked/boiled or raw ?
Many thanks 🙂
mmmm…these look delish!
You are so welcome! Thank you for letting me know!