Go Back

Healthy Creamed Spinach

Creamed Spinach is a quintessential steakhouse side! You can see how simple it's to create this wealthy, delicately-flavored dish in your home with fresh spinach and homemade cream-sauce.
Course Side Dish
Cuisine American
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
Servings 4
Calories 393kcal
Author Jessica

Ingredients

  • 2 lbs spinach leaves, cleaned
  • 2 cups half and half or whole-milk
  • 6 tbsp unsalted-butter
  • 3 tbsp all-purpose-flour
  • ½ cup finely chopped yellow-onion
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • tsp freshly-grated nutmeg
  • kosher-salt and freshly-ground black-pepper
  • pinch cayenne-pepper (Optional)

Instructions

  • Bring a large-pot of lightly-salted water to a boil. Blanch the spinach in 2-3 batches (based on how big the pot), only till tender for 30-40minutes. Strain the spinach-leaves from the water & dip them in a bowl of ice water to cool.
  • Drain well & squeeze or press excess water from the spinach at a fine mesh sieve or a clean kitchen towel. (For the creamiest-spinach do not skip this step!) If desired, roughly chop the spinach.
  • In a large-pot or skillet, melt-butter till foaming subsides. Add onions using 1/2 tsp kosher-salt and 1/2 tsp pepper. Saute till onions start to soften for 4-5minutes. Add garlic and cook till aromatic for a few minute.
  • Stir in flour & cook, stirring for a few minute. While continuing to stir, pour half and half to the kettle in a continuous flow. Insert an extra 1/2 tsp kosher-salt, 1/8 tsp nutmeg and cayenne pepper (if using). Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer till sauce is thickened and coats the back of a spoon for 3-4minutes.
  • Add spinach to the pot & stir well till well blended. It requires a little stirring to receive all the spinach leaves evenly coated with the sauce. If the sauce is too thick, then add a little additional milk or half and half till the desired consistency is attained.
  • Season to taste with pepper and salt then serve.

Notes

  • Baby spinach has a more delicate taste than regular or mature spinach & will give a milder dish. If you want a more powerful-spinach taste, use routine spinach-leaves, but be sure to wash them well & remove tough stems when buying in a lot. Normal spinach ought to be chopped after blanching.
  • You could even substitute an equivalent quantity of chopped-spinach, cooked according to package directions and drained well.
 
Variations (If you want):
  • Make Cheesy: Stir 1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano to the sauce. Remember that the cheese will thicken the sauce a little, so you may need to add a little additional cream or milk to taste, when the spinach is included. The cheese will even add salt, therefore fix your salt developments to flavor.
  • Make Smoky: Combine 4-5 pieces of thick-cut-bacon & begin the sauce by sauteing it till crispy on your skillet. Remove the bacon & 2 tbsp of drippings in the pan. Insert 1/4 cup unsalted-butter & then proceed with the recipe as written, stirring the crisped-bacon back in the sauce once you add the spinach.
  • Make it Nutty: Pour 1/2 cup toasted pine nuts to the spinach before serving.