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This Easy Creamed Spinach is the simplest homemade side dish that’s rich, creamy and ultra delicious! Wilted spinach is mixed through a silky smooth white sauce, flavoured with sautéed onion and garlic, then served with Parmesan cheese. This side dish is a cheese lover’s dream!
It’s SO much better than the average creamed spinach, which often ends up tasting like spinach and cream thrown haphazardly together.
Why This Recipe Works
While this easy creamed spinach recipe is the perfect Thanksgiving side, this is something I grew up with…not just on Thanksgiving, but all year round. My mum would whip this up to go with Pan Seared Garlic Butter Steaks, Crispy Beer Roast Chicken, and yes, even Herb Roasted turkey, and honestly I think it’s a brilliant way to get some greens in.
She cooks this one of two ways. Either using fresh spinach leaves that first get wilted in a pot of boiling water or in a pan with plenty of butter. You can do either!
Ingredients
- Spinach: I used fresh baby spinach, washed and dried.
- Flour: Just some regular all purpose flour.
- Butter: Unsalted butter, to cook the flour and for that rich, smooth deliciousness.
- Aromatics: You’ll need fresh garlic and onion, to build that delicious, savory base.
- Half and half: I love using half and half for that creaminess. You can make do with some milk too.
- Seasonings: To season, I used a pinch of nutmeg, some cayenne, salt and pepper.
- Parmesan: For that salty, cheesy kick.
Note: please see recipe card at the bottom for list of full ingredients and measurements
How to Make Easy Creamed Spinach
While this easy creamed spinach recipe is the perfect Thanksgiving side, this is something I grew up with…not just on Thanksgiving, but all year round. My mum would whip this up to go with Pan Seared Garlic Butter Steaks, Crispy Beer Roast Chicken, and yes, even Herb Roasted turkey, and honestly I think it’s a brilliant way to get some greens in.
- Prepare the roux: Melt butter in a pot over medium heat and add in the flour. Let cook for a minute or two, keep stirring to ensure it doesn’t burn. add the garlic and onion and cook for a few minutes
- Prepare the sauce: Next, pour in the milk while whisking continuously, until the mixture thickens. Season with salt, pepper, nutmeg and add some more milk if needed.
- Wilt spinach: In a separate pan, melt remaining butter over medium heat, add spinach in batches. Wilt spinach before adding in the next batch
- Finish up and serve: Combine the wilted spinach and the cream sauce, top with Parmesan cheese and serve.
There are lots of ways to enjoy this creamed spinach. I love pairing it with my Grilled Steak with Browned Butter and my classic Steakhouse Steak. It’s just such a classic you can never go wrong with.
I also tried it with my Salmon with Creamy Dijon Sauce and the flavors worked beautifully with each other.
And of course, you can also serve it with any of the Thanksgiving classics. I always end up making it whenever I’m making my Herb Butter Turkey or Garlic Herb Butter Roast Chicken.
Recipe FAQ’s
Yes, you can! Simply use a 1 x 16 ounce package of frozen chopped spinach here, and make sure you thaw it first and squeeze it nicely to get rid of all the moisture before you use it.
You totally can. Just remember that you’ll need to chop up the spinach a bit before you use it for the recipe if you’re using regular spinach- just to get that perfect texture.
Yes, stir in cooked bacon bits, shredded chicken, or diced ham for a more filling dish.
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Easy Creamed Spinach
Ingredients
- 16 ounces baby spinach leaves washed and dried
- 1/3 cup unsalted butter divided
- 1 onion chopped
- 3 cloves garlic finely chopped or minced
- 4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 cup milk or half and half
- 1 pinch ground nutmeg optional
- 1 pinch cayenne pepper optional
- 1/4 teaspoon salt to taste
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper to taste
- 2 tablespoons parmesan cheese grated, to serve
Instructions
- Melt 1/4 cup of butter in a medium-sized pot over medium heat. Whisk in the flour and cook for a couple of minutes until light golden. Add in the onion and cook until transparent (about 2-3 minutes), then add the garlic and cook until fragrant (about 30 seconds).
- Pour in the milk (or half and half), whisking constantly until the white sauce thickens (about 5 minutes). Season with salt, pepper, nutmeg and cayenne (If using). If the sauce is too thick, add another 1/4 cup of milk to the sauce, whisking it through until reaching your desired thickness.
- For the spinach: melt the remaining butter in a separate pan, and add spinach in batches, wilting each batch before adding the next, until all spinach is wilted. (Add a small spoon of water if the pan gets too dry.)Alternatively: Cook the spinach in a pot of boiling water for just one minute; then immerse in a cold water bath to stop the cooking process. Squeeze out any excess water from the leaves and set aside.
- Season the cream sauce with salt, pepper, nutmeg and cayenne. Add wilted spinach to the cream sauce, stirring gently to combine. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and serve immediately.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This was delicious. A few things…
I’m confused about how to get onions translucent when they are covered in flour and butter… didn’t quite seem to work so I just kept cooking.
Secondly why wait until the end to add the dry spices. Isn’t it better to add them at the beginning so they have a chance to flavor everything well?
In any case this hit the spot and impressed my family
I made this and it is fantastic. I’m too lazy to go back and look at the comments to see if I’ve already posted a review of this recipe. If I have already done, so, please forgive me. This recipe is perfect perfect perfect. The right ratio of ingredients and easy to understand. Thank you!
This was very good, followed it exactly although I only use one garlic clove and I had to add a little bit more milk
I’m so happy you enjoyed the recipe Ellen!
Real great visual appeal on this site, I’d rate it 10 10.
I haven’t tried this recipe yet and want to, but I would like to know the nutrition information. Specifically what a serving size is and how many calories are in a serving
Hi Madeline, I have just updated the nutritional information it should be at the bottom of the page now, hope you enjoy making this one!
I could not believe how good this was! Can’t wait to make it for company.
Hi from SA,
Not a big fan of creamed spinach. Always too bland. But this recipe totally changed my mind. Came out perfect and hubby loved it😀
Excellent my son in law licked out the pot!!
Score Big Time! Easy p easy but ohhh so deelish
Delicious. I added fresh spinach the the sauce and let it melt. In the sauce mixture I added garlic pepper cream cheese or you can even do chive cream cheese. I added roasted chicken breast at the end of a keto friendly dish.