Easy Creamed Spinach

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This classic side dish makes any dinner feel special.

Prep Time:
20 mins
Total Time:
30 mins
Servings:
4

Our easy version of classic creamed spinach makes it simple to serve the beloved side dish for any meal—and it’s too good to save for special occasions.

Despite it’s name, creamed spinach is not a dish of spinach and cream. It’s usually blanched spinach in a béchamel or white sauce, perhaps with a little cheese added. Our recipe skips the fussy sauce making; there’s no roux needed to thicken the sauce in this method. We use one of our favorite shortcut ingredients—cream cheese. Mixed with milk and stirred into sautéed onion and garlic, it creates a creamy foil for the spinach.

easy creamed spinach in red serving bowl

Diana Chistruga

Preparing the Spinach

When you're ready to prepare spinach, discard any yellow leaves and tough stems. Spinach can be gritty, so to clean it, swish it around in several changes of cool water until there's no grit left at the bottom of the bowl.

Ingredients

  • 3 to 4 bunches (2 1/2 pounds total) flat-leaf spinach, trimmed and cleaned

  • 2 tablespoons butter

  • ½ medium onion, minced

  • 4 garlic cloves, minced

  • 4 ounces bar cream cheese, cut into pieces

  • ½ cup milk

  • pinch ground nutmeg

  • coarse salt and ground pepper

Directions

Ingredients for easy creamed spinach

Diana Chistruga

  1. Cook spinach:

    Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add spinach, and cook just until wilted, about 1 minute.

    spinach in water in pot on burner

    Diana Chistruga

  2. Rinse spinach and squeeze:

    Drain in a colander; rinse with cold water until cool. Squeeze spinach to remove as much liquid as possible.

    blanched, drained spinach in colander

    Diana Chistruga

  3. Chop spinach:

    Coarsely chop spinach, then set aside.

    chopped spinach on chopping board with knife

    Diana Chistruga

  4. Cook onion and garlic:

    In a large saucepan, heat butter over medium. Add onion and garlic; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onion softens, 3 to 5 minutes.

    sautéing garlic in olive oil

    Diana Chistruga

  5. Add cream cheese and milk:

    Add cream cheese and milk; cook, stirring, until cream cheese is melted and smooth.

    stirring cream sauce in pot on burner

    Diana Chistruga

  6. Stir in spinach and cook:

    Stir in spinach. Simmer over medium heat until mixture thickens, 8 to 10 minutes.

    stirring cooked spinach into cream sauce

    Diana Chistruga

  7. Add nutmeg and serve:

    Add nutmeg; season with salt and pepper, and serve.

    adding nutmeg to creamed spinach

    Diana Chistruga

easy creamed spinach in red serving bowl

Diana Chistruga

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