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Creamed Spinach

Creamed spinach is one of the most popular side dishes for a reason. Savory, creamy, and yet somehow still super nutritious, its a great side dish anytime!

Creamed spinach with fish on a white plate
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Creamed spinach is one of the most popular side dishes for a reason. Savory, creamy, and yet somehow still super nutritious, you don’t just have only to order creamed spinach at steak restaurants, as you can easily make it yourself!

For some more great recipes using spinach, why not make this Hot Nā€™ Cheesy Spinach & Artichoke Dip? Or this Creamy Spinach Casserole instead?

Creamed spinach with fish on a white plate

Creamed Spinach

A long-time favorite of steak restaurants and American diners, creamed spinach has a bit of a reputation as being something that you can only get when eating out.

However, made up of some simple ingredients and requiring only a little prep, creamed spinach is easy to make at home. Why not try to emulate the best steak restaurants and make a rich, creamy and delicious creamed spinach all by yourself?      

Plus, it is basically just spinach and cream, so that makes it half healthy!

Creamed spinach ingredients

Creamed Spinach Ingredients

Make sure you look at the recipe card at the very bottom for the exact amounts so that you know exactly what to buy for this recipe.

ā€¢ Baby spinach

ā€¢ Butter

ā€¢ Yellow onion

ā€¢ Garlic

ā€¢ Cream cheese

ā€¢ Milk

ā€¢ Heavy cream

ā€¢ Cayenne pepper

ā€¢ Parmesan cheese

ā€¢ Salt & pepper

Creamed spinach in a saucepan

How To Make Creamed Spinach

ā€¢ Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat

ā€¢ Trim off any thick stems from the spinach and cook until wilted while stirring constantly

ā€¢ Remove from the skillet and drain all of the liquid in a colander ā€“ try to squeeze out as much liquid as possible and then set aside

ā€¢In a large skillet over medium heat, melt the butter

ā€¢ Add the onion and cook until soft, about 5 minutes

ā€¢ Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute more

ā€¢ Add milk, heavy cream, and cream cheese to the skillet, simmering until the cream cheese is melted

ā€¢ Add spinach and Parmesan and stir to combine

ā€¢ Season with salt, pepper, and a pinch of cayenne to taste and serve hot

Creamed spinach with fish

How To Make Sure Your Creamed Spinach Isn’t Watery.

The biggest mistake that home cooks make when trying to make creamed spinach at home, or any kind of spinach dish for that matter, is leaving too much water in with the spinach.

Spinach leaves release an absolute ton of water when cooking, and if you donā€™t remove as much of it as you can, then you will end up with a watery, slightly grey creamed spinach at the end of cooking.

To help ensure that your creamed spinach doesnā€™t turn disgusting, make sure to really wring out the spinach leaves, even after cooking.

You want to be squeezing and draining all of the liquid that you can to help get rid of any possible leftover water.

There will always be a little bit of water leftover, but as long as you squeeze it as hard as you can, you shouldnā€™t end up with too much water in your creamed spinach.

Creamed spinach on a fork

What To Do With Leftover Creamed Spinach

Preserving and reheating your hard work is a key part of cooking at home. After all, why throw away any leftovers after you have spent so long carefully preparing your meal?

However, creamed spinach is a little bit tricky to try and reheat and serve again later. This is because the majority of creamed spinach is a mixture of cream cheese and heavy cream, so if you tried to reheat it, you would end up with a weird, coagulated, gooey mess of separated fat and milk proteins.

This doesnā€™t mean you just have to throw away any leftovers, though.

Instead, why not repurpose any leftover creamed spinach and turn it into a dip?

Add in a pot of sour cream, as well as a little bit more spices like salt, pepper, cayenne, and garlic powder, and give it a really good stir.

You will basically make a spinach dip, perfect for serving at parties or eating with a bag of chips as a really indulgent lunch!

After all, why throw food away when you can turn it into an even tastier and fattier version of itself for the next day?

Looking for more delicious Side Dish recipes? Try these out:

ā€¢ Green Beans Almondine

ā€¢ How to Roast Butternut Squash

ā€¢ Crispy, Buttery Fried Zucchini

Happy Cooking

Love,

Karlynn

Donā€™t forget to PIN THIS RECIPE to Your Side Dish Boards and remember to FOLLOW ME ON PINTEREST!

Creamed spinach is one of the most popular side dishes for a reason. Savory, creamy, and yet somehow still super nutritious, you don't just have only to order creamed spinach at steak restaurants, as you can easily make it yourself!

Creamed Spinach

Creamed spinach is one of the most popular side dishes for a reason. Savory, creamy, and yet somehow still super nutritious, its a great side dish anytime!
5 from 1 votes
Creamed spinach with fish on a white plate
Cook Time
15 minutes
Course
Side Dish
Cuisine
American
Servings
4
Calories
1132
Author
Karlynn Johnston

Ingredients
 

  • 20 oz. baby spinach
  • 2 Tablespoons butter
  • 1/3 cup yellow onion (finely chopped)
  • 2 cloves garlic (minced)
  • 4 oz. cream cheese
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 1/4 cup heavy cream
  • Pinch cayenne pepper
  • 1/4 cup Parmesan Cheese (Grated)
  • salt (to taste)
  • Freshly ground black pepper (to taste)

Instructions
 

  • Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Trim off any thick stems from the spinach and cook until wilted, stirring constantly. Remove from the skillet and drain all liquid in a colander. Try to squeeze out as much liquid as possible. Set aside.
  • In a large skillet over medium heat, melt the butter.
  • Add onion and cook until soft, 5 -8 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, 1 minute more.
  • Add milk, heavy cream, and cream cheese to the skillet. Simmer until cream cheese is melted.
  • Add spinach and Parmesan and stir to combine.
  • Season with salt, pepper, and a pinch of cayenne to taste.
  • Serve hot.

Recipe Notes

A classic accompaniment for steak, creamed spinach goes well with any meat, fish or poultry, like roasted chicken.

Nutrition Information

Calories: 1132kcal, Carbohydrates: 42g, Protein: 39g, Fat: 96g, Saturated Fat: 58g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g, Monounsaturated Fat: 24g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 274mg, Sodium: 1450mg, Potassium: 3685mg, Fiber: 14g, Sugar: 17g, Vitamin A: 56658IU, Vitamin C: 166mg, Calcium: 1187mg, Iron: 16mg

All calories and info are based on a third party calculator and are only an estimate. Actual nutritional info will vary with brands used, your measuring methods, portion sizes and more.

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Karlynn Johnston

Iā€™m a busy mom of two, wife & cookbook author who loves creating fast, fresh meals for my little family on the Canadian prairies. Karlynn Facts: I'm allergic to broccoli. I've never met a cocktail that I didn't like. I would rather burn down my house than clean it. Most of all, I love helping YOU get dinner ready because there's nothing more important than connecting with our loved ones around the dinner table!

Learn more about me

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Reader Interactions

Comments & Recipe Tips Share a tip or comment!

  1. Judith says

    Hi..I made your creamed spinach today, and itā€™s awesome..came together rather quickly..no problem at all..thanks for sharing..love your blog!5 stars

  2. Nelly says

    My mother used to make it when I was young, (I did it also a few times for my family) the same way as you did till the onion/garlic, but her sauce was only light bĆ©chamel, not that heavy with cream, etc…

    Think about Cholesterol, heart attacks, etc…

    • Food Sage says

      Nelly ā€“ glad you like your motherā€™s version, you should keep making it. There are other people who prefer the steakhouse version which is very rich like this recipe. Scientifically you can eat a small amount of a high fat dish in a meal as long as your overall diet is in moderation. There are lots of people who are on low-carb, or keto diets for whom this recipe would be fantastic!

  3. Joan Pike says

    Hello Karlynn,
    Is the nutrition information listed per serving??
    Calories: 1132kcal, Carbohydrates: 42g, Protein: 39g, Fat: 96g, Saturated Fat: 58g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g, Monounsaturated Fat: 24g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 274mg, Sodium: 1450mg
    They are outrageously high if so. Even if they are for the full recipe they are still to high to be part of a heart healthy diet.
    Very disappointed that you would put this out there.

    • Food Sage says

      No, the calories listed are for the entire recipe. I was going to make a comment and ask her to clarify but now I donā€™t need to!

    • Max says

      I don’t think she is telling anyone to eat this everyday and is not spouting off that this is super healthy. She’s more nuanced when talking about food sometimes. I don’t understand why you would tell a food blogger that you’re disappointed that she would put a recipe out because you feel it isn’t healthy enough? It’s okay to not like something. You don’t have to share your opinion, you could just move along and find a recipe you like.

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