Creamed Spinach is a classic side dish featuring fresh spinach, shallots, garlic, and the most decadent creamy sauce made with cream cheese, parmesan, and mozzarella cheeses! This easy recipe only takes about 20 minutes from start to finish and it perfectly compliments so many main dishes.
The Perfect Creamy Spinach Side Dish
There’s a lot to love about good quality Creamed Spinach. This easy homemade recipe is so much better than anything you can buy at the store. The store-bought version has never come close to this easy homemade version, which is creamy, rich, and indulgent.
When you make Creamed Spinach at home, you get to dress up fresh spinach in the most indulgent and delicious way. It’s cooked on your stove top in a warm, creamy medley of luscious cream cheese, heavy whipping cream, parmesan, and mozzarella. Even the pickiest eaters at your table won’t be able to resist this supremely cheesy and creamy side dish!
It’s a great side to serve when you need to sneak some veggies on the table. The spinach isn’t just creamy – it’s also flavorful. Before the spinach is mixed with the creamy ingredients, it’s cooked with browned shallots and fragrant fresh garlic. Also, all of the ingredients get mixed with a little salt, black pepper, and ground nutmeg.
Yes, nutmeg! The nutmeg is subtle, and it’s used to add depth and enhance the other flavors in the mix. You’ll love the way the minimal seasonings really compliment the natural flavors of the spinach and cheeses.
Ingredients Notes:
You’ve likely never had spinach this crave-worthy before. Check out the simple ingredients you’ll need to make this unforgettably good side dish!
- Olive Oil – use good quality extra virgin olive oil for the best flavor.
- Baby Spinach – You can use fresh or frozen spinach. If using frozen, be sure to really squeeze out the excess liquids.
- Shallots – two large shallots land a perfect delicate flavor to the dish.
- Garlic – For the best aroma and flavor, use fresh garlic.
- Cream Cheese – I recommend using a full fat cream cheese for the richest consistency.
- Heavy Whipping Cream – You can swap this with half and half if you need to.
- Mozzarella Cheese – whole milk shredded mozzarella or grate it off the block.
- Parmesan Cheese – It’s important to freshly grate both cheeses yourself, especially the parmesan! Freshly grated parmesan lends the BEST flavor and consistency. (You can check your grocery store’s deli section for freshly grated parmesan cheese.)
- Seasonings – You’ll need a medley of salt, black pepper, and nutmeg.
Step by Step Instructions
Prepare.
This is a quick moving creamed spinach recipe, so make your life a lot easier by prepping all of the ingredients beforehand!
Measure everything and set it within reach so it’s ready to grab. Slice the shallots and smash and mince the fresh garlic cloves.
Sauté.
Add olive oil to a pan and heat it over medium heat. Sauté the shallots until they’re tender and browned.
Toss in the garlic and cook just until fragrant. Add the spinach to the pan and let it cook down. As it cooks down, stir to incorporate it with the shallots and garlic.
If the spinach is very watery, be sure to drain it before adding the remaining ingredients.
Make it creamy.
Lower the heat to medium-low. Stir in the cream cheese.
Once the cream cheese is incorporated with the spinach, stir in the heavy cream, both cheeses, and seasonings. Stir until it’s all mixed together.
Simmer over medium-low and stir from time to time.
Remove from the heat and transfer to a serving dish. Top with a little extra parmesan. Most importantly, enjoy!
Serving Suggestions:
The most common way is to serve Creamed Spinach is as a side dish, but there are a few other ways you can enjoy it as well.
Mix it with pasta and you will get a delicious creamy spinach fettuccine (or any other pasta of your choice).
Just like pasta, you can serve it over rice, quinoa, or another grain.
You can also use it as a topping for chicken, salmon, or steak.
Make sure to try another version of creamed spinach with mushrooms and white wine sauce.
How to Make Ahead
This is a great side dish to prepare ahead of time and then reheat before dinner. Prepare and cook the dish completely and let if cool to room temperature before storing it in the refrigerator. Make sure to store it in an air-tight food storage container.
You can make it ahead the day before and simply reheat it when needed. To reheat it, transfer the creamed spinach into a pot or a pan and reheat it over medium-low heat just until warmed trough.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, you can definitely use frozen spinach. Just make sure to thaw it completely and squeeze out the excess liquids before stirring in the cream cheese.
Yes, you can use half and half. I would not recommend using whole milk because the sauce will be too thin and not as rich.
Yes! This Creamed Spinach recipe is gluten free. Make sure to double check the packaging on your cheeses and other ingredients just to make sure, but there are no typical gluten containing ingredients listed here.
Creamed Spinach
Ingredients
- 1-2 tbsp olive oil
- 15 oz baby spinach
- 2 large shallots
- 3-4 garlic cloves
- 3 oz cream cheese
- 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1/3 cup fresh grated parmesan cheese
- 1/2 tsp salt more or less to taste
- 1/8-1/4 tsp black pepper to taste
- 1/8-1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
Instructions
- Prepare and measure the ingredients before starting to cook: Slice shallots, chop spinach, smash and mince the garlic. Measure cream, cheeses, and spices.
- Preheat a large cooking pan over medium heat and add olive oil. Add shallots and sauté until browned.
- Mix in garlic and sauté just until fragrant. Add chopped spinach and let it start to cook down. Then, slowly mix the spinach and onions while it's cooking down.
- Note: if there is a lot of liquids coming off of the spinach, pour it off before adding cream and cheeses.
- Once spinach is cooked down, lower the heat to medium-low and stir in cream cheese. When cream cheese is incorporated with spinach, mix in the heavy whipping cream, mozzarella cheese, parmesan cheese, and seasoning. Mix until everything is smooth and nicely incorporated.
- Let it gently simmer over medium-low heat for just a few minutes, stirring from time to time.
- Take off heat, transfer into a serving dish, and serve. You can top it with some more grated parmesan cheese if you wish.
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Debra says
My Creamed Spinach came out great! It was very good. I will definitely make this dish again.
LyubaB says
I am happy to hear that! Glad you liked it, Debra!