The easiest holiday appetizer that your friends will think you slaved for hours! Puff pastry is cut into bite sized puffs and filled with spinach, artichoke and creamy goat cheese. Creamy, flavorful and bite size; the perfect bite.
Puff Pastry Appetizer
One of my favorite little “tricks” to keep on hand is puff pastry. We always keep a few boxes in the freezer for when I’m craving a caprese tart or something more elaborate like salmon wellington.
All you need to do is thaw the pastry on the countertop for about 20 minutes or in the fridge for a few hours. Then unroll and depending on what you’re making, use a rolling pin to roll the pastry a bit thinner. Puff pastry can puff up when baked and I prefer it to be a bit on the thinner side.
Frozen Staples
Another little gem I like to keep on hand is frozen spinach, which a standard 9 ounce bag equals to nearly 6 cups of fresh spinach! Frozen spinach is one of my favorite ingredients to keep in the freezer and there are countless uses for the easy ingredient. Such as my Sephardic spinach pie or spinach and feta borek.
Just keep in mind that frozen spinach holds a lot of water, so squeeze out as much as you can before adding to your recipe.
How to Make Mini Spinach Puff Pastry Bites
- In a food processor, combine the spinach, artichokes, lemon olive oil, basil, Parmesan cheese, goat cheese and salt and pepper.
2. Pulse everything together until it forms a paste. You may want to add more olive oil if needed, but just like a pesto, use your eye to measure. Taste for seasoning.
3. Unwrap your defrosted puff pastry and lightly roll out so it stretches a bit. Then use a sharp knife to cut along the seam into 3 long pieces.
4. Then cut each strip into quarters, so you will wind up with 12 squares.
5. Take each puff pastry square and place it into your mini muffin tin. (This is the mini muffin tin I use.)
5) Next, use a teaspoon to scoop spinach mixture into the puff pastry cups. Then take the corners of the pastry and gently fold over and close.
6) Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 20-25 minutes or until the pastry begins to get golden brown. Then remove from oven and allow to cool a bit before serving.
Mini Puff Pastry Variations
Here are some different options for fillings
- Mozzarella + Pesto + Sun Dried Tomatoes
- Spinach + Feta and Dill
- Goat Cheese and Roasted Peppers
Mini Spinach Artichoke Puff Pastry Bites
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 sheet of puff pastry thawed
- 9 ounce box frozen spinach thawed and squeezed of moisture
- 9 ounce bag of frozen artichoke hearts thawed and squeezed of moisture
- 2 tablespoons lemon zest
- 2 ounces goat cheese
- 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1/4 cup Olive oil
Instructions
- Unwrap thawed puff pastry and lightly roll out so it stretches a bit. Then use a sharp knife to cut along the seam into 3 long pieces. Then cut each strip into quarters, so you will wind up with 12 squares.
- In a food processor, combine the spinach, artichoke hearts, lemon zest, goat cheese, Parmesan cheese, olive oil and salt and pepper.
- Pulse everything together until it forms a paste similar to a pesto. Taste for seasoning.
- Take each puff pastry square and place it into the mini muffin tin. Use a teaspoon and fill each pastry square with filling until you fill all 12 puffs. Then close the corners of the pastry.
- Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 20-25 minutes or until the pastry begins to turn golden brown. Once done, remove from oven and let cool for a few minutes before serving.
Notes
Nutrition
This post was originally published in December, 2013 and updated in December 2021 with nutritional information.
I LOVE your Blog, always exciting and ur tips are precious tools for me, I will be making these for
my Christmas Potluck party, thanks Mahalo and Happy holidays to you Sam!
I hear ya on needing savory! I keep eating cookies, so the health benefits of the spinach is exactly what I need to get me through the rest of the year 😉 (not to mention how much I love puff pastry)