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Use frozen or fresh spinach for this easy creamed spinach recipe that’s the ultimate cozy side dish! It comes together in just 25 minutes and has that restaurant-quality taste you crave.
Need another quick and easy side dish? Try my Sautéed Spinach with Bacon or Easy Garlic Sauteed Mushrooms next.
Why you’ll love it
You know how when you get creamed spinach at your favorite steakhouse, and it’s almost an afterthought compared to the steak until you take that rich, creamy, irresistible first bite? Then you’re reminded just how delicious it is! The good news is that you can make creamed spinach easily in your own kitchen that is just as tasty.
I definitely don’t limit this buttery, cheesy, and perfectly seasoned classic creamed spinach just for holidays or entertaining since it’s really simple to throw together. It’s fantastic for weeknight meals any time of the year and goes with so many main courses.
What you’ll need
- Spinach – my preference is chopped frozen spinach for convenience and texture since you don’t need to blanch it, but we’ve got instructions here for fresh as well. If you like your spinach leaves more intact, go with fresh spinach. Frozen spinach makes more of a purée.
- Butter – for sautéing and making the rich base
- Onion – I like to use sweet (Vidalia) best, but yellow or white would work too
- Garlic – for that classic savory pop of flavor.
- Heavy cream – it’s what makes it so luxurious
- Cream cheese – Philadelphia is my go-to. It makes it even more creamy and adds a hint of tanginess. This recipe works best if the cream cheese is softened, so take it out of your fridge 30+ minutes prior to starting the recipe, or you can simply microwave it if you forget.
- Parmesan – who can resist that cheesy touch?
- Nutmeg – it adds a special warm, nutty quality to set my version apart from others
Can I use fresh spinach?
- To prepare fresh spinach instead of frozen for this recipe, boil a large pot of water and cook the spinach for 1-2 minutes to blanch it. Drain it into a colander, rinse it with cool water, and squeeze it out. This step makes it much easier to work with the spinach since there’s so much bulk/volume before it cooks down.
Tools for this recipe
Check out Natasha’s favorite kitchen essentials, gadgets, and cookware!
- I like to mince the garlic with my trusty garlic press, which doesn’t even require peeling the cloves first.
- This is the Dutch oven I use.
- I love this wooden cooking spoon.
How to make creamed spinach
This is an overview with step-by-step photos. Full ingredients & instructions are in the recipe card below.
Prep your spinach. In a large pot, sauté the onion until lightly browned. Add in the sauce ingredients, and stir until the cream cheese is incorporated and the sauce has thickened.
Stir in the spinach, and let it warm through. Season with salt & pepper generously, and enjoy right away.
Troubleshooting tips
- The sauce thickness will vary based on a couple of factors, namely how well you squeeze the water out of the spinach and how quickly you’re able to melt the cream cheese into the sauce. But it’s easy to adjust the sauce to your liking!
- If the sauce seems too dry once the spinach is added, add a splash more cream. If the sauce isn’t reduced enough, cook it for a few more minutes. Creamed spinach can vary a lot, and it’s personal preference if you want a thicker or thinner sauce.
Substitutions and variations
- If you want this creamed spinach to be even more rich and cheesy, try adding in some shredded mozzarella as well. I don’t find it necessary for this recipe, but I know some steakhouses add it.
- You can definitely use more (or less) onion and garlic to suit your personal preferences. As written, neither is overpowering in my version and it’s nicely balanced.
- Swap the heavy cream out for something lower fat at your discretion. We haven’t tested any other way, and it’ll likely yield a thinner sauce and take longer to reduce.
What to serve with creamed spinach
- It’s a versatile side dish, and it’s wonderful with my Garlic Butter Steak Bites or Simple Filet Mignon especially. Other weekday main courses like my Easy Baked Pork Tenderloin or Easy Pan Seared Salmon Recipe go great as well.
- Making it as a holiday side dish or for a special occasion? Pair it with my Easy Roast Turkey or Lemon Roast Chicken and other Thanksgiving and Christmas favorites.
Leftovers and storage
- Leftover creamed spinach will keep in fridge for up to 3 days in a covered container.
- Reheat over a low heat slowly in a saucepan, stirring fairly often until warmed through. You may need to add a splash of cream to revive it.
- I don’t recommend freezing since they may not reheat so well, but if you happen to have leftovers you can try. It’ll still taste good, but the texture may change and it may become more watery.
Did you make my creamed spinach recipe? I’d love it if you left me a comment below! Questions? Feel free to ask. As always, tag me on Instagram if you’ve made one of my recipes.
The Best Creamed Spinach
Ingredients
- 1 pound frozen chopped spinach or 2 pounds fresh see notes
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1/2 medium onion chopped
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 3/4 cup heavy/whipping cream
- 4 ounces cream cheese (1/2 block Philly) softened
- 1 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
- Pinch nutmeg
- Salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
- Frozen spinach: Thaw the spinach, then squeeze out as much of the excess water as you can. Fresh spinach: Boil a pot of water. Add the spinach and cook for about 1 minute. Drain it and rinse it under cool water. Squeeze out excess water. Chop if desired.
- In a pot, sauté the butter and onion over medium heat until it's lightly browned (about 5-7 minutes).
- Reduce heat (I keep it on medium-low for this step, but you can increase heat as needed). Stir in the garlic, followed by the heavy cream, cream cheese, parmesan, and nutmeg. It will take a few minutes for the cream cheese to melt in. I break it up with my spoon/stir it continuously. The sauce should thicken up as it cooks.
- Stir in the spinach and let it heat through. If you want more liquid, add in a splash more cream. If there's too much liquid, you may need to cook the spinach for a few more minutes to reduce the sauce to your liking.
- Season with salt & pepper as needed (I am pretty generous with both).
Notes
- It seems to vary as to what size frozen spinach packages come in, so anything from about 16 ounces (1 pound) to around 20 ounces (you’ll sometimes see 10 ounce packages, so use two of these) will work for this recipe.
- Yes, two pounds of fresh spinach looks like a LOT, but it shrinks down a ton when it’s cooked. If you’d prefer to use only one pound of fresh spinach, use 1/2 cup heavy cream, and you may need to cook it for a little longer if you want the sauce to thicken up the same way.
- If you forget to take the cream cheese out of the fridge to soften, you can microwave it (try 20-30 sec., but microwaves vary so keep an eye on it).
- This recipe also appears on page 247 of the Salt & Lavender: Everyday Essentials cookbook.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
© Salt & Lavender Inc. Content and photographs are copyrighted. Sharing this blog post is much appreciated, but copying and pasting full recipes without authorization to social media is strictly prohibited.
This recipe was originally published on January 2, 2020. It’s been updated with new photos and better instructions but is the same great recipe!
It was excellent and so easy!!
Thank you, Mary!!
I love the creamed spinach you get in steak houses, and was cooking steaks tonight and did a search for creamed spinach and came up with your recipe, since I had the ingredients on hand. It turned out perfect! I only had a pound of fresh spinach, and was in a rush, so I did not blanch it first. Just sauteed the onion and garlic in butter, chopped up the fresh spinach and threw that in the pan, let it reduce a bit, then added the rest of the ingredients. Really delicious thank you!
I’m thrilled to hear that!! You’re very welcome!
Can you make ahead? How would you reheat?
Hi! See “leftovers & storage” in the blog post.
I love creamed spinach in any way cooked, but if I’m making it I want an easy recipe that is delicious. Your recipe is the perfect combination!
Thank you so much!
We had a bag of spinach in the freezer that I wanted to use, and this recipe was so perfect. This is one of my favorite ways to eat spinach, and this recipe was even better than I’d hoped it would be. Thank you!
That’s so great to hear, Heather!! 😀 You are very welcome!
I just made this. It’s delicious! I’m going to save this one
I’m so glad! Thanks, Susan!
This is the best cream spinach ever! I’ve been to every high-end steakhouse in the world and nothing compared to this. It’s fantastic. Thank you so much.
That is so nice to hear!! 😀 Thank you so much!
I used kale instead because I needed to use it up. Delicious. I love the nutmeg boost.
That’s great! So glad you liked it, Kellie! And good to know it works with kale too.
This was very easy to make! I used spinach and arugula I had on hand and I never cook it first; I make sure it’s washed (long before I use it) and throw it into the (hot) sauce and it wilts perfectly fine. I really love that this recipe uses zero flour/cornstarch. I prefer not to have either in my food if I can help it. Very rich, very scrumptious!
Thank you, Bee!
Very tasty! I love creamed spinach but it’s not my family’s favorite however, it mysteriously disappeared! 🙂
Haha love it!! 😀