Creamed Spinach

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 N’ Cheesy Spinach & Artichoke Dip? Or this Creamy Spinach Casserole instead?

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

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.

• Baby spinach

• Butter

• Yellow onion

• Garlic

• Cream cheese

• Milk

• Heavy cream

• Cayenne pepper

• Parmesan cheese

• Salt & pepper

How To Make Creamed Spinach

• Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat

• Trim off any thick stems from the spinach and cook until wilted while stirring constantly

• Remove from the skillet and drain all of the liquid in a colander – try to squeeze out as much liquid as possible and then set aside

•In a large skillet over medium heat, melt the butter

• Add the onion and cook until soft, about 5 minutes

• Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute more

• Add milk, heavy cream, and cream cheese to the skillet, simmering until the cream cheese is melted

• Add spinach and Parmesan and stir to combine

• Season with salt, pepper, and a pinch of cayenne to taste and serve hot

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 don’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 doesn’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 shouldn’t end up with too much water in your creamed spinach.

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 doesn’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:

• Green Beans Almondine

• How to Roast Butternut Squash

• Crispy, Buttery Fried Zucchini

Happy Cooking

Love,

Karlynn

Don’t forget to PIN THIS RECIPE to Your Side Dish Boards and remember to FOLLOW ME ON PINTEREST!