Creamed Spinach
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This rich and creamy creamed spinach recipe is easy enough for a weeknight but special enough for the holiday table.
I learned to appreciate a good creamed spinach while working at Sam & Harry’s, a fine-dining steakhouse in Washington, DC, that was the place to be back in the ’90s—guess that dates me a bit, doesn’t it? This creamed spinach recipe is my take on that classic steakhouse side dish, with bright green spinach in a rich, cheesy cream sauce. It may be old-school, but it’s so good it never goes out of style.
I start frozen spinach, so no washing, blanching, or chopping pounds of fresh spinach. And instead of making a flour-thickened sauce, I simply simmer heavy cream until it reduces and thickens, then add Parmigiano-Reggiano, a touch of nutmeg, and the spinach. The whole thing takes about 30 minutes and can be made entirely ahead of time. Serve it alongside steak, beef tenderloin, roast chicken, or pan-seared salmon.
“Loved this…Tastes just like a good steakhouse side.”
What You’ll Need To Make Creamed Spinach
- Frozen cut-leaf spinach: A great shortcut here—look for cut-leaf rather than chopped spinach, which has a better texture. Be sure to squeeze it very dry so excess water doesn’t thin the cream sauce.
- Butter, shallots & garlic: Create the savory base of the dish. Shallots are milder and slightly sweeter than onions, which works especially well with the cream.
- Heavy cream & nutmeg: The cream is simmered until reduced and thickened, so there’s no need for flour. A touch of nutmeg is a classic pairing with spinach and cream.
- Parmigiano-Reggiano: Adds salty, nutty flavor and helps give the sauce a rich, silky consistency. For the best flavor, use freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano rather than pre-grated Parmesan cheese.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
How To Make Creamed Spinach
Cook the aromatics: Melt the butter and cook the shallots until soft and translucent, then add the garlic and cook briefly. Keep the heat gentle so the garlic doesn’t brown.
Make the cream sauce: Add the cream, salt, pepper, and nutmeg and simmer until noticeably reduced and thickened. You’ll know it’s ready when the cream coats a wooden spoon. Reducing the cream this way creates a rich, velvety sauce without the need for flour. Stir in the Parmigiano-Reggiano until smooth.
Add the spinach: Stir in the well-drained spinach until evenly coated in the sauce and heated through. If the creamed spinach seems a little loose, let it cook briefly to evaporate any excess moisture. Serve right away, or let cool and refrigerate until ready to reheat and serve.
More Veggie Side Dishes You’ll Love
Creamed Spinach
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- ½ cup finely chopped shallots, from 1 to 2 shallots
- 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 1 pint (2 cups) heavy cream
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- Pinch freshly grated nutmeg, or use ground nutmeg
- ½ cup finely shredded Parmigiano-Reggiano
- 2 pounds frozen cut leaf spinach, thawed and squeezed very dry (see note)
Instructions
- Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Add the shallots and cook, stirring frequently, until soft and translucent, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute more. Do not brown.
- Add the heavy cream, salt, pepper, and nutmeg and bring to a gentle boil. Cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the cream is thick enough to coat a wooden spoon, about 10 minutes. Add the cheese and stir until melted.
- Add the spinach and stir until evenly combined with the cream sauce. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. (If the spinach seems a little watery, cook over medium-low heat until any excess liquid evaporates.) Serve warm.
Notes
- Cut leaf spinach is not the same as chopped spinach. If your market doesn’t carry cut leaf spinach, look for frozen whole leaf spinach. (Chopped spinach will work, but the texture won’t be as appealing.) Some markets carry 1-lb (454-g) bags, and some carry 10-oz (283-g) boxes; if you can only find the 10-oz boxes, you’ll need three of them. If you’d like to start with fresh spinach, you’ll need about 2 lbs (907 g) baby spinach leaves. Steam and drain the baby spinach, then roughly chop and measure out 2 packed cups.
- Make-Ahead Instructions: This dish can be made and refrigerated a day ahead of time. Reheat in the microwave, uncovered, stirring every 30 seconds or so, until hot, a few minutes. When reheated, the spinach won’t be quite as creamy-looking as it was originally (though the taste will be the same); you can add a bit of cream when reheating to get a creamier consistency, if you’d like.
Nutrition Information
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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This is so easy and amazing!! Thank you for sharing. Used fresh spinach from the garden; steamed and cooled..so good!!!
This was wonderful! I’m a big fan of creamed spinach and prior to making this recipe tonight, I had always opted for the frozen stuff from Green Giant. Well, I became rather disappointed with that because they totally shrinkflated the package! After making this recipe tonight, I can safely say I won’t buy the frozen stuff anymore.
I did not have enough fresh spinach on hand for this recipe, and could not for the life of me find any frozen leaf spinach, so I did do the frozen chopped spinach – 12 ounces per bag. I bought two bags because using three would be soooo much leftover. I don’t know how, but it worked perfectly! I know Ms. Segal warned us about the texture of the chopped, but since I didn’t know any better, it turned out great, texture & all! I followed the rest of the recipe to a T, and it was fabulous! Thank you for this, it was so delicious!
Very forgiving recipe! I just used what I had—dried minced onion, jarred minced garlic, fresh baby spinach and shaved Parmesan cheese. I did not blanch my fresh baby spinach, I just added it to the sauce and cooked it for a few minutes. My husband who “does not like spinach” ate more than I did. I did not even measure anything out so mine was probably had a bit more cream sauce. We ended up eating the leftovers over chicken breast. Try the recipe even if you think you don’t like creamed spinach. It was FABULOUS!! Very low carb (keto friendly) use the heavy cream, you’ll be glad you did. Did I sat it was FABULOUS?
Thank you for sharing your wonderful, easy to follow recipe. This was the first time I had ever made creamed spinach and it was an outstanding hit. The spinach paired well with both the steak and potatoes.
This recipie was perfectly delicious and will definitely be on my go to list for memorable meals. Thankyou for sharing it…..so simple yet so outstanding!
I have never made (or eaten) creamed spinach, but it’s my dad’s favorite side when we go to fancy steakhouses, so I decided to give this recipe a try for his birthday this week. I followed the recipe exactly and it came out AMAZZZZING!! Very flavorful and super easy to make. My mom didn’t even finish her filet mignon (also cooked per your recipe, which turned out fantastic) because she filled up on eating so much creamed spinach! I will definitely make this again!
I made a roux and used full fat milk . Very easy and delicious
Just tried it using fresh spinach from my garden and half n half to cut the calories a bit..also added 1/4 tsp of baking soda to the blanching of the spinach..it was delicious and so pretty.
What a great recipe!
Everyone loved it.
Will make again for sure.
How much is a serving? A cup? A half cup?
Hi Alexandra, I’d estimate it’s about 1/2 cup.
Stunningly delicious! This is truly 5 stars. I used fresh spinach and it was so good, I immediately downloaded the recipe into my Paprika app. This is one I’ll be making often.
This recipe is delicious. I had to thaw out my spinach in a pinch so I microwaved it and then was able to squeeze out the excess water. My husband loved this recipe and I would definitely make it again! I always add extra garlic to my food and this recipe makes it easy to make small changes. I didn’t add the nutmeg but it was still very flavorful.