This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
This One-Pan Spanakopita-Inspired Skillet brings the flavors of the traditional Greek dish into a simplified weeknight dinner.
If you haven’t had spanakopita, it’s a traditional Greek dish filled with spinach, dill, feta, and lemon and wrapped in a crispy phyllo dough crust. Here, we’ve used the dish as major inspiration for the flavors here!
Aside from the flavor, the best thing about this dish is it’s all made in one pan. The chicken is cooked off first, then the vegetables, then the rice is added and it is all finished right on the stove. At the very end, we add a bit of ricotta for creaminess, salty feta, and lots of fresh herbs to make it all extra bright.
I hope you enjoy this One-Pan Spanakopita-Inspired Skillet!
For another delicious skillet, be sure to try my Creamy Ricotta Chicken and Orzo Skillet!
One-Pan Spanakopita Skillet
Ingredients
- 1 lb chicken thighs cut into 1” cubes
- 1 ½ tsp Kosher salt divided
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- ½ tsp cracked black pepper
- 2 tbsp olive oil divided
- 1 large yellow onion diced
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 10 oz baby spinach roughly chopped
- 1 tbsp lemon zest about two lemons
- ¼ cup fresh lemon juice about two lemons
- Pinch of red pepper flakes
- 1 cup long-grain white rice
- 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth plus more as needed
- ½ cup whole milk ricotta
- 1 cup fresh dill roughly chopped, plus more for serving
- 1 cup fresh parsley roughly chopped, plus more for serving
- 4 oz feta crumbled, plus more for serving
For Serving:
- ¼ cup toasted pine nuts
- Lemon wedges
Instructions
- In a large skillet (12-inches) with tall sides, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium-high heat. Once hot, add the chicken, 1 teaspoon of the salt, dried oregano, garlic powder, smoked paprika and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally until the chicken is fully cooked through – about 7 minutes. Transfer the cooked chicken to a plate and set aside.
- To the same pan, add the remaining tablespoon of oil and the yellow onion. Stir, scraping up the seasoning bits leftover from the chicken, and sauté until the onions are soft and golden, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté for 1 minute more. Add in the spinach, lemon zest and lemon juice, deglazing the plan. Stir, and cover. Cook the spinach for 3-4 minutes until it has wilted. Remove the lid, add the pepper flakes, and stir to combine. The spinach should be cooked down and reduced in volume.
- To the spinach mixture, add in the uncooked rice, the cooked chicken and its juices, chicken broth, and remaining 1/2 tsp of salt. Stir to combine and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat to low, cover with a tight-fitting lid, and cook until the rice is tender and fully cooked, about 22-25 minutes. Halfway through the cooking time, stir to prevent the rice from sticking to the pan* then re-cover (see note).
- Once the rice is fully cooked, add in the ricotta and stir to fully distribute. Next, add the herbs and gently toss to combine, then finally add the feta and gently toss again.
- Serve with toasted pine nuts, extra feta, and a lemon wedge. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Food Photography and Styling by Modern Food Stories.
Made it the first time with regular ricotta and the second time with kite hill dairy free! Both were awesome
Another ridiculously flavorful meal by Alex. Just freakin’ delicious. I’ll definitely double the recipe next time for extra leftovers. Super simple for a weeknight meal but impressive enough for entertaining. I adore dill and love any excuse to throw handfuls into my meals. I love finding new staples and this is definitely one of them!!
so happy to hear this!!
Can I use instant long grain rice on this ?
I wouldn’t use instant for this recipe.
SO easy, healthy, and delicious! I’ve already made it multiple times and have passed on the recipe to others to try (they have all loved it)!
I made this tonight with whole wheat orzo instead of brown rice and it was delicious!
Hi! I made this and the flavors were great. Except mine was soupier than shown in pictures and the rice took longer than 25 minutes to cook. I made it in a Dutch oven . Any suggestions?
Did you use long-grain white rice or a different type?
I had the same issue and the rice never cooked through all the way. I also used a dutch oven. Could that be the problem?
OMG this recipe is seriously delicious! Always amazed that you continually outdo yourself and keep putting out amazing recipes time and time again. I used long grain brown rice so I increased the cook time and it turned out great. I also decreased the dill/parsley like a previous comment mentioned just for personal preference but it was still so flavorful and delicious! Will definitely be making this one on repeat!
This was delicious! The flavors were all so good and very easy to make! I did use a homemade dairy-free ricotta recipe as a replacement and it worked beautifully. The dish was still so creamy while being dairy free my husband and I ate every last bite! Will definitely make again.
We had this tonight and it was amazing! Loved the flavors! Definitely a regular here.
Really enjoyed this recipe! Definitely reminded me of spanakopita. I halved the amount of fresh dill and parsley because I sometimes find the flavors overpowering, and I am glad I did! I would recommend the same for anyone who doesn’t particularly love dill.
So excited to make this tonight! I’m not sure if my big skillet is deep enough – would a dutch oven work?
yes, for sure!
Even my picky toddler ate this up! And it was fairly easy to throw together. Couldn’t see in the recipe where the zest goes in so I added same time as the red pepper flakes
Thank you for catching this! You can also add with the spinach and lemon juice. Just updated the recipe. Glad you enjoyed it!
Made this tonight and the flavors were delicious! I added the lemon zest with the rice and chicken broth since it wasn’t clear in the recipe when to add it. The rice kept sitting on top of the other ingredients and not cooking properly and it took about 30-35 minutes for the rice to cook through; I had to add a lot more broth for the prolonged cooking time and ended up with more of a risotto textured dish. The note says to add more broth if needed but, I’m curious about why I needed to cook it so much longer and add so much more broth. It was still delicious, but I’d love to be able to get the texture/result shown in the photo.
hi! any chance you used a different type of rice than long-grain white rice? That potentially could be part of the issue?