Creamed Spinach

This creamed spinach is a rich, flavorful side dish made with heavy cream, parmesan cheese, and perfectly seasoned spinach. Quick to prepare and full of comforting flavors, it’s an easy addition to family dinners or holiday meals.

Prep Time5

Cook Time10

Total Time15

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Creamed Spinach Recipe

Servings:

Calories: 467kcal

Ingredients

15 ounces frozen cut leaf spinach, thawed and drained of all excess liquids
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
¼ cup finely chopped shallots
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 ¼ cups heavy cream
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 cup grated parmesan cheese

Instructions

Place the thawed cut leaf spinach into a strainer, placed over a bowl, and allow all the excess moisture from the spinach to drain into the bowl. You can use a large spoon to gently press the spinach to push out as much liquid as possible. Set aside.
To a medium (10 inch) skillet, over medium-high heat, add the unsalted butter, shallots and garlic. Cook for 1-2 minutes or until shallots are tender and the garlic is fragrant.
Sprinkle the all-purpose flour into the skillet and cook for another 30 seconds until the flour is a light blond color and has been completely absorbed by the butter.
Slowly pour in the heavy cream, while stirring constantly, until all the heavy cream has been added and no lumps of flour remain. Stir in the salt, black pepper and ground nutmeg to the sauce and cook for 2-3 minutes or until the sauce is bubbling and starts to thicken. Be sure to stir constantly while the sauce is thickening to avoid clumps or burning of the sauce.
Once the sauce has thickened, add the drained cut leaf spinach and grated parmesan cheese. Stir to combine all the ingredients. Remove the creamed spinach from the heat.

Notes

You can substitute fresh spinach for the frozen in this recipe. You will need approximately 1 ½ pounds of fresh spinach leaves to wilt down to approximately the 15 ounces thawed frozen cut leaf spinach. Once you wilt the fresh spinach, you will need to squeeze out as much excess liquids from the spinach as possible just like you need to do for the frozen spinach option.
If your skillet is too hot when you add the heavy cream, you will want to turn down the heat to medium or medium-low, so as to not burn the heavy cream while thickening the sauce.
Grated pecorino-romano is a great alternative to the grated parmesan cheese in this creamed spinach recipe.
A finely minced sweet yellow onion, such as a vidalia onion, can be used as a substitute for the shallot. Shallots are small, mild onions that pair well with the garlic and spinach in this recipe.
The small amount of ground nutmeg gives the cream sauce a wonderful flavor. Do not add too much as it can be overpowering. Freshly grated nutmeg is a wonderful option if you have whole nutmegs.

Nutrition