Cream Cheese and Spinach Recipe Can I Make Ahead
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This 5-star rated recipe for my favorite steakhouse style, extra creamy, Creamed Spinach recipe is so easy only 20 minutes to make. It is a tried and true family favorite and I guarantee you will love it!
If you are looking for more vegetable side dish recipes, check out these reader favorites: Garlic Roasted Cherry Tomatoes, Creamy Baked Brussel Sprouts, Mashed Cauliflower, and Caprese Stuffed Avocados.
Creamed Spinach Recipe
Creamed Spinach has two main components, cream and spinach. However, they are many different ways to make it. If you follow this recipe, you will end up with an amazing creamy, thick, steak house style creamed spinach. As a bonus, it's also a low carb side dish, just in case you are watching your carbs.
It is truly the BEST Creamed Spinach recipe, ever. No seriously, it's been extremely well tested and has tons of 5 star reviews from very smart people, you my dear readers.
I have actually made this recipe for a group of 50+ people and was begged for the recipe. They all swore up and down it was the best one they had ever had and I was honored be handing out the recipe! It's when I knew, I had to get this recipe out here on the site for all of you to enjoy too!
Ingredients Needed
- frozen chopped spinach
- butter
- yellow onion
- garlic
- cream cheese
- heavy cream (or half and half)
- shredded mozzarella cheese
- grated parmesan cheese
- salt and pepper
Yes, I know some of you are going to give me a side-eye right now, but I highly recommend frozen spinach over fresh spinach for this particular creamed spinach recipe! Do you think I'm crazy? Well, I might be, but I am right about the type of spinach to use!
If you use fresh spinach, you need to steam it or cook it down until it's the texture of cooked and thawed spinach. This takes a lot of fresh spinach and to get enough spinach to make this style of creamed spinach recipe. Bonus: Fresh frozen spinach is really easy to use, is budget friendly and works quickly to get this side dish recipe on the table in 20 minutes or less! I promise you won't know it was ever frozen once you take a bite of the finished recipe!
How to make creamed spinach
This recipe is crazy easy to make, with the use of frozen spinach, it's ready in just 20 minutes!
- Cook frozen spinach in microwave and squeeze out the excess water.
- Sauté onion and garlic in butter. Add cream cheese and cook, stirring, until melted.
- Add heavy cream and cook for 2 minutes.
- Add mozzarella cheese, parmesan cheese, salt and pepper. Stir till combined.
- Fold in cooked spinach into cream sauce and cook for a few minutes to reheat spinach. Then serve hot!
Serving Suggestions
Creamed Spinach is a great side dish often served with grilled steaks, crockpot ham, or my favorite recipe for my favorite Baked Chicken Recipe. My husband has even been known to eat the leftovers reheated with tortilla chips.
Keto Side Dish
This creamed spinach recipe is a great keto side dish that is approved on the keto diet with a net carbs of 4 grams. If you are being extra tight with your carbs, you can also cut the chopped onion. I don't recommend it on flavor basis, but understand it if you are really trying to stick tightly to your diet.
If you are concerned about the carbs in the onions and want to remove the onion, I recommend using dried onion to substitute some of that flavor back in. Start with 1 tablespoon worth of dried onion and then taste and add more as needed!
Make Ahead? Freezer Friendly?
Yes and Yes! This Creamed Spinach is an amazing make ahead side dish. You can make it up to a couple of days before and then reheat it on the stove top or microwave until warmed through. You will not loose any flavor or texture by making it ahead and refrigerating, or freezing, it in an airtight container.
Freezer Friendly: Freeze any creamed spinach in an airtight container for up to 3 months. I like to use freezer friendly ziplock bags. I honestly usually make a triple batch when I make this creamed spinach and freeze all the leftovers for easy dinners later. To thaw, you can go straight from the freezer into the microwave. Use a microwave safe bowl with an added tablespoon of water, heat in 60 second intervals, and stir often. Or, you can also remove it from the freezer and place it in the fridge to thaw 24 hours before. Then reheat on stove top or microwave!
Tips for the best Creamed Spinach
- Use frozen spinach for the best soft, steakhouse style, creamed spinach! Just trust me!
- Don't skip on the onion and garlic. They add a ton of flavor and really make this keto side dish shine.
- CHEESE. This recipe uses mozzarella cheese and parmesan cheese to up the cream levels and give it that perfect texture you see in the photos. The two cheeses not only add to the texture, but they also give it great flavor.
- Lastly, salt and pepper. Creamed Spinach is a simple dish with simple ingredients. Before you serve it, make sure you taste it and give it a little more salt and pepper as needed!
This creamed spinach recipe is extra creamy, full of flavor, and only takes 20 minutes to make. Hallelujah! It is exactly like the creamed spinach you get at an old school fancy steak house and it's epically delicious. Bonus: it's a low carb, keto side dish and is also gluten free!
Yield: 8 servings
The Best Creamed Spinach Recipe
This 5-star rated recipe for my favorite steakhouse style, extra creamy, Creamed Spinach recipe is so easy only 20 minutes to make. It is a tried and true family favorite and I guarantee you will love it!
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 20 minutes
Ingredients
- 3 (10 oz) bags frozen chopped spinach
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced
- 6 large cloves garlic, minced
- 4 oz cream cheese
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
- salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Cook spinach in microwave according to package directions. Remove excess water (squeeze carefully using cheese cloth, a tea towel, or a colander) and set aside.
- In a large skillet over medium high heat, melt butter. Add onion and sauté until translucent.
- Add garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Add cream cheese and cook, stirring, until melted.
- Add heavy cream and cook for 2 minutes. Add mozzarella cheese, parmesan cheese, salt and pepper. Stir till combined.
- Fold in spinach into cream sauce and cook for an additional minute to reheat spinach.
- Serve immediately or store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week. The leftovers reheat great and you can also freeze it!
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
8 servings Serving Size:
1 serving
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 249 Total Fat: 22g Saturated Fat: 14g Trans Fat: 1g Unsaturated Fat: 7g Cholesterol: 68mg Sodium: 315mg Carbohydrates: 5g Fiber: 1g Sugar: 2g Protein: 7g
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Cream Cheese and Spinach Recipe Can I Make Ahead
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