Creamed Spinach is a classic side dish that we love ordering at our favorite steak house, but it’s so easy to make at home! Serve this delicious spinach recipe for your next holiday or special occasion dinner.
We love making Creamed Spinach to go with Grilled Steak but it also goes perfectly with a Roasted Turkey or a Glazed Ham. There’s really not much that this creamy spinach doesn’t go with!
Creamed Spinach Recipe
When we’re cooking up a steak dinner at home, or heading into a holiday, Creamed Spinach is almost always on the menu. Creamed Spinach is a classic side dish that’s served in most steak houses, but it goes so well with so many other meals other than steak.
A delicious Roast Beef, obviously, but also like we mentioned before, ham, turkey or a roasted chicken all are a match made in heaven for this creamed spinach recipe. We love that is SO easy to make, can be made ahead of time and leftovers heat up perfectly.
How To Make Creamed Spinach
Start by cooking down a two pounds of fresh spinach. As we know, cooking fresh spinach is always alarming at first…it starts off so big and then wilts down to nothing. We actually have to cook down the spinach for this recipe in two batches, even in a large skillet.
Once the spinach wilts, which only takes a few minutes, you’ll end up with a much smaller amount of spinach in your skillet. So when we say you need two pounds of fresh spinach to make this spinach recipe – you need two pounds.
Once the spinach has cooked down, remove it from the pan and let it cool while you start the sauce. When the spinach has cooled down, squeeze out the excess water and place it in a bowl.
Make the cream sauce by adding onions and butter, onions and garlic to the same skillet. Cook the onions down and then add flour to thicken the sauce. Pour in heavy cream and milk, whisk and bring to a bubble.
Let the sauce thicken for a few minutes and then season it with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Add the cooked spinach back to the skillet and stir to combine with the sauce.
Taste the creamed spinach for seasonings and adjust if needed. Cover to keep warm or serve!
Can You Make Creamed Spinach With Frozen Spinach?
Yes! We like using fresh spinach if possible but if all you have is frozen spinach that will work too. You’ll need two 10 ounce boxes of frozen spinach, defrosted and the liquid squeezed out. Then just add to the sauce and follow the rest of the recipe.
Can You Make This Side Dish Recipe Ahead Of Time?
You sure can. Even a day or two ahead of time, Just keep it in covered in the refrigerator and reheat in the microwave before serving. Alternately, you can heat this spinach up on the stove top, just do it over low heat and stir often.
Lastly, you can always keep this Creamed Spinach warm, or warm it back up in your slow cooker! If you’re serving this spinach recipe for a holiday it’s a great way to keep it warm throughout the whole meal.
Looking For More Side Dish Recipes?
- Green Beans Almondine
- Seriously Delicious Pineapple Stuffing
- Perfectly Smooth Mashed Potatoes
- The BEST Roasted Carrots
- Homemade Creamy Caesar Dressing
- Creamed Peas with Crispy Fried Shallots
Creamed Spinach
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 8 servings 1x
Print Recipe
Pin RecipeCreamed Spinach is a classic steak house side dish that can easily be made at home! We love serving this spinach recipe on holidays with our turkey or ham, too!
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 pounds fresh baby spinach (see note)
- 3 1/2 teaspoons salt, divided (two teaspoons for cooking the spinach and 1 1/2 teaspoons in the sauce)
- 1 cup diced onion
- 2 tablespoons chopped garlic
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 1/4 cup flour
- 1 1/2 cups whole milk
- 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
- 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- Fresh black pepper to taste
- 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Add one tablespoon of olive oil to a large skillet. Add one pound of the fresh spinach and one teaspoon of salt. Cook over medium heat while turning to let the spinach wilt. Once the spinach has wilted, remove it to a bowl to cool and repeat with the other pound of spinach, using the other tablespoon of olive oil and the another teaspoon of salt.
- Let the spinach cool and then squeeze out all the excess liquid and return back to the bowl and set aside.
- Add the butter to the same skillet along with the onions and garlic. Cook for 5 minutes while stirring to let the onions soften. Sprinkle the flour over the onions and stir to coat all the four in the butter.
- Pour in the milk and heavy cream while whisking, and bring the sauce to a gentle simmer. Add the nutmeg, pepper and the remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt to the sauce. Let the sauce cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until thickened. Add the parmesan cheese to the sauce and along with the cooked spinach and stir to combine.
- Taste the spinach for seasonings and adjust if needed. Cover to keep warm or serve.
Recipe Notes
If using frozen spinach you’ll need two 10 ounce boxes, defrosted and squeezed dry.
- Category: Side Dish
- Method: Stove Top
- Cuisine: American
