This recipe comes once again from inspiration while visiting and eating at Mythos Restaurant at Universal’s Islands of Adventure in Florida. My frozen butterbeer, fried potato and onion strings, and steak with gorgonzola butter recipes have all come from trips to Florida to go ride rollercoasters. Add spanakopita dip with fried pita to the list.

Pretty soon I’ll be recreating all of the food from our visits there, I guess. A way to enjoy it without spending as much money on travel. Though I don’t yet have a rollercoaster available in my backyard…

The Greek-inspired appetizer dip is loaded with flavor.

The simple spinach and feta spanakopita dip is a perfect appetizer for parties or simply served as an appetizer at home. This Greek spinach dip recipe is easy to make. Spinach, feta cheese, and cream cheese are the main ingredients that come together in this tasty Greek spinach dip that is super delicious and perfect for snacks!

I love the tanginess that goes with the spinach and feta combination. Make sure you have some extra pita bread lying around. So, let’s get started.

What Is Traditional Spanakopita?

Spanakopita is a traditional Greek dish. The name comes from the Greek words meaning spinach pie. Very aptly named because it typically consists of thin layers of filo or phyllo dough, chopped spinach, feta cheese, onions, and eggs.

Filo is a thin dough used for making pastries like baklava and börek. An egg wash makes it crispy and golden brown on top.

Baked until the outside is golden brown and crispy, the inside of the spanakopita should be delicate and cheesy.

The result is a flaky crust and a soft filling. It is normally cut and served in a triangular shape, but it can be served as a square or in any other shape.

It’s almost like spinach, feta, and filo lasagna.

What Goes Into Spanakopita Dip

To make traditional spanakopita into a dip, we’ll use the same general building blocks and adjust it as needed.

So, of course, we’ll keep the spinach and feta. Trade in some shallots for the onion and add garlic, lemon, and dill for even more flavor. The tangy, salty flavor of the feta will be the main focus.

To turn it into more of a dip, we’ll include some cream cheese. Greek yogurt and sour cream help to smooth things out even more. This makes it actually dippable.

And then we need something to replace the filo. Something we can use to scoop up and eat the spanakopita dip itself. That’s where the pita comes in. But this recipe takes things over the top and uses some fried pitas for dipping. Mmmmmm.

Cheeses to Use in Spanakopita Dip

I’m trying to recreate a recipe from a restaurant and don’t know their exact ingredients or proportions. So it takes some experimentation and educated guessing.

The traditional cheese for spanakopita is feta. So, to keep the original soul of spanakopita in the dip, we’ll use feta as the main cheese in this recipe. Feta doesn’t melt especially well, so it’ll need some other assistance to get to a perfect super-smooth dip consistency.

For that, I turned to my other dip-making experience with cream cheese dill dip. The cream cheese in that recipe is what really helps make the dip smooth and

Cream cheese is perfect because it doesn’t have an overpowering flavor of its own. It has great consistency and could easily take on the flavors we want. So feta and cream cheese are the cheeses of choice.

How to Make Spanakopita Dip

Start with a lot of fresh spinach. Lots of it.

Chop up the spinach along with the garlic and shallots. Sautee the garlic and shallots in olive oil over medium heat. Once the shallot is nearly translucent, it’s time to add in the spinach.

It’ll seem like too much at first, but it will cook down into a much smaller amount. Believe me, I had to up the amount of spinach two times while trying to get the right ratios for the recipe.

Stir it around until the spinach is cooked and wilted.

Once the spinach has cooked through, add in the feta, cream cheese, sour cream, Greek yogurt, salt, and pepper. Mix it all together as it warms up and the cheese fully melts together. It should be a fairly smooth mixture. Make sure that the cream cheese melts down.

For a final punch of flavor, toss in the dill, lemon juice, and lemon zest.

Give everything a good stir and it is ready to go.

How to Fry the Pita

Pitas are fairly easy to make and delicious in their own right. But, taking them one step further and frying them really takes them to the next level. Frying the pitas makes them crispy on the outside and still soft and tender on the inside. But – most importantly – frying makes them strong enough to use for dipping into the spanakopita.

I highly recommend that you make your own homemade pitas using my pillowy-soft puffy pita recipe. But you can use whatever recipe you like, or store-bought pitas if pressed for time.

To get to frying, start by slicing the pitas into wedges. I use a pizza cutter because I’m essentially cutting them exactly like a pizza.

Add a 50-50 mix of olive oil and vegetable oil to a slightly deep pan up to about half an inch up the side of the pan. Turn the heat to medium-high and let it warm up.

Then gently put enough sliced pita wedges to fill most of the pan, with a bit of space between. Cook them for 2 to 3 minutes and then use some tongs to flip them and cook for another 2-3 minutes until golden brown. Remove them from the oil and onto a paper towel-lined plate.

Sprinkle salt and za’atar seasoning over the fried pita wedges.

Repeat until all of the pita wedges are fried.

Garnish and Serve the Spanakopita Dip

With pitas fried and spanakopita dip made, it’s time to serve and eat.

This recipe works best as an appetizer, set out so everyone can enjoy it at their leisure. You may want to use some method to keep the spanakopita dip warm, depending on how long it’ll be out. A small food warmer (I have a mini Crock Pot warmer) or a chafing dish would work.

You can serve the dip as is, or try topping it with fresh minced dill, toasted pine nuts, a drizzle of olive oil, or some freshly shredded parmesan.

Now, obviously, I really enjoy using these homemade fried pitas to dip into the spanakopita dip. It comes from the initial recipe at Mythos and just tastes divine. But don’t feel like that boxes you in. Try pairing this dip with pita chips, other chips, carrots, celery, or anything else that you think will suit the spinach and feta flavors.

How did yours turn out?

I’d love to hear when you try out this spanakopita dip! Take a pic of your food and share your success with me by adding it to your Instagram stories or feed, and tagging me @doyouroux, or by using #doyouroux.

Plus, leave a rating to let me know how you liked the recipe. It helps me out a lot to know how things worked out… or didn’t.

Spinach and Feta Spanakopita Dip with Fried Pita

Recipe by Marc PetersonCourse: AppetizersDifficulty: Intermediate

Servings

8

servings

Prep time

10

minutes

Cooking time

30

minutes

Total time

40

minutes

A creamy spanakopita dip with crispy pita chips makes an appetizer everyone will love!

Ingredients

• Spanakopita Dip

• 1/2 cup chopped shallots

• 3 cloves garlic, minced

• 6 cups fresh baby spinach

• 2 tablespoons olive oil

• 1/2 cup cream cheese

• 1 cup feta cheese

• 1/2 cup plain greek yogurt

• 1/4 cup sour cream

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1/4 teaspoon pepper

• 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest

• 1/2 tablespoon lemon juice

• 1 tablespoon minced dill

• Fried Pitas

• 4 cooked pitas

• Olive oil and vegetable oil for frying

• 1/2 tablespoon za’atar seasoning

• 2 teaspoons kosher salt

Directions

• Spanakopita Dip
• Chop the shallots and spinach, and mince the garlic
• Add the olive oil to a pot over medium heat, stir in the shallots and garlic, and cook for 3 to 5 minutes until fragrant and the shallots are nearly translucent
• Stir the chopped spinach into the pot and continue stirring while the spinach cooks and wilts
• Add the cream cheese, feta cheese, Greek yogurt, sour cream, salt, and pepper to the pot
• Stir the mixture and heat through for 5 to 7 minutes until the cheeses have melted together
• While the cheeses are melting, zest and juice the lemon and mince the dill
• Remove the pot from the heat and mix in the dill, lemon juice, and lemon zest until fully combined
• Keep the dip warm while frying the pitas
• Fried Pitas
• Heat a 50/50 mix of olive oil and vegetable that comes to 1/2 inch up the sides of a deep pan over medium-high heat
• Slice pitas into triangular wedges with a knife or pizza wheel
• Working in batches, gently add the pita slices to the hot oil and fry for 2-3 minutes on each side until golden, be careful not to overcrowd the pan
• Remove the fried pita wedges from the oil to a paper towel-covered plate to drain and generously sprinkle with salt and za’atar seasoning
• Repeat steps 3-4 until all pita slices have been fried
• Serve the spanakopita dip with the fried pita

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It’s fall again, when pecans and apples start showing up in our local grocery stores and farmer’s markets. To celebrate, I decided to create this delectable salad and dressing. This is a simple recipe that uses the best flavors of the fall season. So get to making this pecan and apple salad.

This salad has all the flavors of fall, including sweet pecans, tangy apples, and a maple-sweet, creamy dressing that makes this dish a real showstopper!

The combination of crunchiness from the nuts and softness from the apple is divine. However, I wanted to give it a twist and add a creamy mustard maple dressing. It turned out beautifully! The tart flavor of the dressing goes perfectly with the sweet, juicy apple slices. The creaminess and tang from the dressing adds another dimension to the salad.

I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I did.

A Perfect Fall or Thanksgiving Salad

If you’re looking for healthier options this holiday season, then you might be interested in this salad.

I’ve made a few Thanksgiving-focused recipes on the site before like family Thanksgiving punch, Thanksgiving sage roasted turkey, and my simple turkey gravy. But this one is focused less on the holiday itself and more on the general fall season.

The goal was to use fall ingredients to make a tasty salad that took full advantage of the flavors that are most associated with the season.

This fall salad uses apples, pears, pecans, feta, pomegranates, and dried cranberries. These sit atop the bed of fresh greens. And then the dressing brings in a warm mustard flavor that is tempered with the addition of maple to sweeten it up.

The dressing adds a touch of sweetness with a nice, warm tang. The dried cranberries add a nice bit of color and texture. And they pair well with the dressing, making for a nice, tart, and colorful salad.

Make the Creamy Mustard Maple Dressing

Typically, my first step in prepping a salad is getting the dressing made.

I want the dressing prepped and chilling so its flavors will have more time to meld together and it’ll be ready to go when the rest of the salad is prepped.

For this salad, the warmth of a honey-mustard dressing was appealing. But to make it more fall-themed, I chose to sub the honey with maple syrup. And then for even more added warmth I included some typical fall spices.

The dressing is my favorite part of this recipe. It is so creamy and flavorful. I think a big reason why I enjoy it so much is because I made it myself. And making homemade salad dressings is actually quite easy.

The dressing for this salad is a vinaigrette at its core. As a vinaigrette, this has two main ingredients. Vinegar and oil. Then we dress it up with other items to add flavor.

Our flavor mainly comes from the mustard, maple, cinnamon, and cloves.

Using a blender or food processor makes this a super easy recipe. Just toss everything in and blend it together. Try to pulse it so that you don’t run it too long and overheat anything. If you don’t have either of those tools, then finely chop everything and whisk it all together in a bowl.

It’s a combination of ingredients that all come together well. The dressing can be used for a variety of dishes and for many different occasions. So don’t feel like you are limited to using this dressing on just this apple and pecan salad.

Prep the Pecan and Apple Salad

Luckily, prepping most salads is pretty easy. Take everything out, chop or slice what you need to and you’re basically prepped.

This one takes a little bit more effort, but only due to the inclusion of one ingredient that people are probably less familiar with – the pomegranate.

With the dressing made, get out the apple, pear, and pomegranate. Wash all of the fruit and then cut the apple and pear into slices.

For the pomegranate, you’ll want to slice it in half. Take one half in a hand and then hit it on the back over a bowl with a spatula or wooden spoon. This will help dislodge most of the seeds. You may then need to fish the more stubborn ones out. See this guide for more details on getting pomegranate seeds out.

Once you have the dressing made, the fruit chopped, and the pomegranate seeds out, we’re ready to go.

Assemble the Pecan and Apple Salad

This delicious pecan and apple salad is almost ready to serve to your family. But there are a few different options for serving this salad.

Start with a large salad bowl and add the mixed greens to it.

Now, decide whether you’d like to mix everything together or leave everything in individual bowls so people can build their own salads.

For mixing it all together, there are also two options: with or without dressing. Including the dressing will make it easy and quick to serve, but it will mean that there can be no leftovers because the lettuce greens will wilt badly after just a few hours in the dressing.

If you plan on serving this for a group, then you might want to consider putting the toppings in individual bowls. This way, everyone can choose what goes into their own salad. On the plus side, this method is quite useful if there are individuals with allergies or sensitivities. Because they can simply avoid toppings as needed.

The pecan and apple salad is a great combination. It’s crunchy, sweet, and tangy.

What to Serve with the Pecan and Apple Salad

This pecan and apple salad can be a meal on its own or used as a great addition to the main course. The combination of fall produce with the mustard maple dressing is just mouthwatering.

The fresh ingredients make this salad vibrant. If you’re planning on serving this salad at your next holiday party, then you’ll want to buy some decorative dishes and bowls. You can also get creative by using different kinds of fruits, vegetables, or nuts.

You can upgrade this dish with some grilled chicken, crispy crumbled bacon, or roasted (or leftover) turkey to add some more protein. Serve some dinner rolls on the side and then use them to mop up all of the leftover salad dressing so not one drop is wasted.

In the end, this is really just a salad, so you could serve it as a side with almost anything. But it really works well with other fall and winter flavors or dishes.

Try using some candied nuts like my candied walnuts or cinnamon-candied sliced almonds to add even sweeter notes to the salad.

The pecan and apple salad is a great addition to your fall or winter table, no matter how you serve it up.

How did yours turn out?

I’d love to hear when you try this salad and dressing combo! Take a pic of your food and share your success with me by adding it to your Instagram stories or feed, and tagging me @doyouroux, or by using #doyouroux.

Plus, leave a rating to let me know how you liked the recipe. It helps me out a lot to know how things worked out… or didn’t.

Pecan and Apple Salad with Creamy Mustard Maple Dressing

Recipe by Marc PetersonCourse: SaladsDifficulty: Easy

Servings

5

servings

Prep time

20

minutes

Cooking timeminutes

Total time

20

minutes

This pecan and apple salad is a great dish for any fall or winter dinner! It’s full of flavor and is a delicious way to enjoy fall flavors.

Ingredients

• Creamy Mustard Maple Dressing

• 3/4 cup olive oil

• 1/4 cup maple syrup

• 1/4 cup white wine vinegar

• 2 tablespoons stone ground mustard

• 1 small shallot

• 1 clove garlic

• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

• 1/8 tsp ground cloves

• 1/8 tsp kosher salt

• 1/8 tsp ground black pepper

• Pecan and Apple Salad

• 1/2 cup pecans

• 1/2 cup dried cranberries

• 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese

• 1 pomegranate

• 1 large apple

• 1 large pear

• 8 cups of 50/50 spinach and spring mix lettuce

Directions

• Creamy Mustard Maple Dressing
• Blend together all of the dressing ingredients in a blender or food processor, pulsing for 10 seconds at a time until smooth
• Store the dressing in an airtight container in the fridge until ready to use, stores for up to 2 weeks
• Pecan and Apple Salad
• Wash and slice the apple and pear, cut the pomegranate in half and remove the seeds by hitting each uncut side of the pomegranate over a bowl until the seeds fall out
• Mix together the spinach and spring mix in a large bowl
• Top the greens with the pecans, cranberries, feta, pomegranate seeds, apple slices, and pear slices
• Drizzle with the creamy mustard maple dressing from above and serve

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The post Pecan and Apple Salad with Creamy Mustard Maple Dressing appeared first on Do You Roux?.

While living in Texas we invited our friends over for dinner. I was making my chicken pot pie and we asked them to bring a side or salad. When they showed up for dinner, they had brought quite a large salad. We tossed the salad together and had it on the side with the pot pie. It was delicious. And it became the basis for this apple walnut spring mix salad.

About halfway through the meal, we learned that one of our friends had never had a pot pie that she liked. And so the salad was really brought to be a backup meal for her. Fortunately, she did enjoy the pot pie (at least that’s what she said…) but we also thoroughly enjoyed the salad.

I haven’t always been the biggest fan of salads, but I was on board with this one. My wife especially enjoys it, this is one of her favorites.

I love how food can be all about sharing and enjoying together. And in my house when we request or talk about this salad, we just call it the Hansen salad. Cause that’s who shared it with us.

But I don’t know if that is a descriptive enough name for the site, so apple walnut spring mix salad it is.

Spring Mix Salad

This salad comes together quickly and is assembled by just tossing everything together. Just make sure that you start out with washed and prepared greens that are ready to eat.

Only the bacon needs to be cooked beforehand. And a bunch of the ingredients must be chopped. But other than that it is a cinch to make.

Optionally, you can set all of the toppings out in bowls separate from the greens. That way, people can assemble their own plates according to their tastes and any dietary restrictions. This is especially helpful if you are having a large group together with this salad.

For the dressing, I highly recommend a salad dressing shaker or a mason jar with a lid. The salad dressing likes to separate and a good, vigorous shaking together will help it stay emulsified long enough to serve. Stirring the dressing together is not as effective.

You can make the dressing ahead of time if desired. It will keep in the fridge for 2 to 4 weeks. Technically it could also be stored on the counter since all of the ingredients are shelf-stable. But that feels weird once you’ve mixed it up.

Salad Remix

There’s always an opportunity in cooking for changes and alterations in recipes. It’s the fun spice of life that makes cooking interesting in my opinion.

I think originally whenever our friends brought this salad over, the greens were all baby spinach. I like a little more variety to the greens, so I made it a spring mix salad. Spring mix includes a whole combination of greens and lettuces for different flavors and textures. But you could always try substituting with straight baby spinach, or whatever other greens you happen to have on hand.

Mixing up all of the other ingredients can be a fun adventure as well.

For the nuts, replace the walnuts with pecans or almonds. For the cheese, substitute the feta with another creamy variety like crumbled goat or gorgonzola. Toss in some blueberries or other fruit to add another dimension.

However you like it, make it your own. And enjoy this salad as either your next main dish or as the best side salad you’ve ever tasted.

Apple Walnut Spring Mix Salad

Recipe by Marc PetersonCourse: SaladsDifficulty: Easy

Servings

6

servings

Prep time

20

minutes

Cooking timeminutes

Total time

20

minutes

Creamy feta and avocado combine with crisp apple, bacon, and walnuts with a delightfully acidic dressing in this perfect spring mix salad

Ingredients

• Dressing

• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1/4 teaspoon pepper

• 1 tablespoon sugar

• 3 tablespoons white vinegar

• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

• Salad

• 6 cups washed spring mix greens

• 3 to 4 strips cooked bacon

• 1/2 cup chopped red onion

• 1 large avocado

• 1 large apple

• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts

• 1/3 cup craisins

• 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese

• 1/2 cup prepared dressing

Directions

• Dressing
• Combine all dressing ingredients in a container with a lid
• Vigorously shake the container until the dressing is thoroughly combined
• Store the dressing in the fridge until ready to use, shaking to combine again just before serving
• Salad
• Crumble the cooked bacon
• Chop the red onion, avocado, apple, and walnuts into 1/4-inch to 1/2-inch pieces
• Add the spring mix greens to a large bowl
• Top the greens with crumbled bacon, chopped red onion, chopped avocado, chopped apple, chopped walnuts, craisins, and feta cheese
• Toss the salad together with tongs
• Serve into bowls and top with salad dressing

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The post Easy Apple Walnut Spring Mix Salad Recipe appeared first on Do You Roux?.

For the longest time, I had never thought about doing anything with watermelon except eating it straight. I mean, it is delicious so why would I need to do anything with it. But eventually, my eyes were opened to other possibilities. One delicious possibility is this watermelon feta mint salad with a watermelon dressing.

Watermelon conjures up images of summer, barbecues, and get-togethers. So this salad takes that to heart and is a simple, refreshing mix of summer flavors to brighten up any spread. This is a light and easy salad. Chop up the watermelon, blend and cook a little of it, mix up the dressing, and toss all the ingredients into a large bowl and mix. It is easily scalable as well.

A lot of the time balsamic vinegar is paired with watermelon because it cuts through the sweetness. But I wanted to really focus on watermelon flavors. So, I attempted a few times to make a watermelon dressing that would really pair with the feta, mint, basil, and red onion. I finally got to a dressing that I like and I hope you enjoy it as well.

It’s finally feeling like summer. Pair this salad with steak kabobs or shrimp kabobs for a full summer meal. Watermelon is so delicious I think that I’ll have to feature a watermelon-focused drink here shortly as well…

Best Practices for Watermelon Feta Mint Salad

Cube your watermelon first and put it in the fridge. There’s something about cold watermelon that gives it some extra oomph of flavor. Trust me. If you have never done this before, then you have been missing out and it is now time to make the change. And not just for this watermelon feta mint salad either, always try to cube and chill your watermelon before eating.

Also, when you’re cutting the watermelon, you can use a dedicated watermelon slicer to help make quicker work of the fruit. It is not necessary and can be cut by hand. I have kind of mixed feelings about these watermelon slicers. They make cutting really easy. But they tend not to last very long. I think the last one we got lasted for like 2 years. But we did go through a whole lot of watermelon.

You will need something to shake together the salad dressing. Do this with anything that has a lid like storage containers or blender cups. A dedicated salad dressing shaker can also be helpful for storing in the fridge and with making other salads.

Always with Options

Customization is always an option. Never let any other recipe tell you otherwise. For the watermelon feta mint salad, try adding cucumber to the mix for another punch of fresh flavor. Like things a little spicy at times? Then sprinkle a teaspoon of ground chipotle, ancho, or other chili powder over the whole salad. Try substituting the feta cheese out for a different one like goat cheese.

Think about the different summer flavors and try to come up with something else that you want to pair with the watermelon.

To add more depth of flavor to this recipe, try grilling your watermelon before cubing it. The best method that I have found for this one is slicing the watermelon into 1 to 2-inch thick rounds and tossing those directly on a grill at medium heat. Give it a bit of a char on both sides, 3 minutes each, and then remove it from the heat. Cut it up and toss the salad as directed below.

And like I said at the start, you can also forgo making the homemade dressing for this and instead use a balsamic vinegar glaze as a drizzle on top of the salad. Just add 2 cups of balsamic vinegar to a small pot and cook for 20 minutes or so until thick.

So enjoy all of the flavors of summer in this delicious salad however you prefer it.

Watermelon Feta Mint Salad with Watermelon Dressing

Recipe by Marc PetersonCourse: Appetizers, Salads, SidesDifficulty: Intermediate

Servings

8

servings

Prep time

20

minutes

Cooking time

40

minutes

Total time

1

hour 

Welcome summer to the table with this watermelon feta mint salad that is light, fresh, bright and everything summer should be.

Ingredients

• 1 large watermelon

• 2 tablespoons honey

• 1/2 cup olive oil

• 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar

• Pinch of salt

• Pinch of pepper

• 10 large mint leaves

• 8 large basil leaves

• 1 large red onion

• 2 cups crumbled feta cheese

Directions

• Cut and cube the watermelon into 1 to 2-inch pieces, then place all but 3 to 4 cups into the fridge
• Blend the 3-4 cups of cubed watermelon in a blender on high to get 2 cups of watermelon juice
• Combine the 2 cups watermelon juice with 2 tablespoons honey in a small pot over medium-low heat
• Let it simmer while stirring occasionally until it has reduced to between 1/2 and 1/3 of its original volume, about 40 to 50 minutes
• While that is simmering, chiffonade (thinly slice) the mint and basil leaves, chop the red onion, and store them in the fridge for later
• In a container with a lid (preferably a salad dressing shaker), combine the reduced watermelon and honey, olive oil, white wine vinegar, salt, and pepper and shake thoroughly
• Remove the remaining watermelon from the fridge and add it to a large bowl
• Add the sliced mint and basil, chopped onion, and crumbled feta to the bowl with the watermelon
• Toss together the salad, serve into individual bowls, and then top it with the watermelon dressing

The post Watermelon Feta Mint Salad with Watermelon Dressing appeared first on Do You Roux?.