Creamed spinach is one of those dishes that I probably would have turned my nose up as a child, but now that I’m an adult I L-O-V-E it! It’s rich and creamy, but not too-too heavy, and has just the right amount of cheesy goodness to keep me coming back for more. I’ve got tons of ways to customize this creamed spinach recipe, too, so you can totally tweak it to make it just the way you like it!
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What is Creamed Spinach?
Creamed spinach is a classic side dish that you’ll often find in steak houses or other American restaurants. It’s quick and easy to make and is a total comfort food classic. There are several different ways to make this deliciously creamy dish, but the base recipe we have for you below is simple, rich, and creamy without being overly heavy. …Because I like to enjoy dinner without needing a nap afterward. 😅
Ingredients for Creamed Spinach
Creamed spinach starts with a creamy white sauce for its base. There are several different ways you can make the white sauce, but to keep ours both creamy and light, we made a quick béchamel with butter, flour, and milk. The sauce is seasoned simply with salt, pepper, and nutmeg, and then we melt in some Parmesan for a nice umami punch. Once that creamy sauce is perfect, you stir in the spinach and you’re done!
Fresh or Frozen spinach?
We used frozen chopped spinach to keep the recipe easy and convenient, but you can definitely use fresh spinach if you prefer. To use fresh spinach, simply roughly chop the spinach, then sauté it in a skillet with a small amount of oil until moist of the moisture has been cooked out. You’ll want to use 12 oz. of fresh spinach to replace the frozen spinach in the recipe below.
What Else Can I Add?
Our creamed spinach recipe is a simple, classic version, but there are a lot of ways to tweak it. Here are some other ingredients you can add to take your creamed spinach to the next level:
- Heavy cream – If you want your creamed spinach to be EXTRA creamy, replace ½ cup of the milk with heavy cream.
- Cream cheese – If you don’t like making béchamel sauces, you can thicken your white sauce by melting together 4 oz. cream cheese and 1 cup milk as the base for your creamed spinach. This also gives the creamed spinach a slightly tangy flavor.
- Mozzarella – Try topping your creamed spinach with a little shredded mozzarella and placing it in the oven for a few minutes to melt for an extra cheesy layer.
- Artichoke hearts – dice up some artichoke hearts and stir them into the mix.
- Onion – Finely dice an onion and sauté it with the garlic in the beginning of the recipe.
Creamed Spinach
Servings 4 ¾ cup eachIngredients
- 12 oz. frozen chopped spinach* ($1.69)
- 4 Tbsp butter ($0.56)
- 2 cloves garlic, minced ($0.16)
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour ($0.04)
- 1.5 cups whole milk ($0.32)
- 1/3 cup grated Parmesan ($0.59)
- 1/8 tsp nutmeg ($0.02)
- 1/8 tsp salt (or more to taste) ($0.01)
- 1/8 tsp freshly cracked black pepper ($0.01)
Instructions
- Fully thaw the frozen spinach, then squeeze out the excess moisture. Set the spinach aside.
- Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the minced garlic and continue to sauté over medium heat for about one minute.
- Add the flour to the skillet. Whisk the flour and butter together and continue to cook and stir for about two minutes more.
- Whisk the milk into the flour and butter. Continue whisking until the sauce comes up to a simmer, at which point it will thicken.
- Add the Parmesan to the sauce and continue to whisk and cook until the Parmesan melts into the sauce (1-2 minutes). Season the sauce with nutmeg, salt, and pepper.
- Finally, stir the chopped spinach into the white sauce until evenly combined. Give the spinach one final taste and adjust the salt as needed. Enjoy!
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Notes
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!If you love this recipe, check out our Creamed Kale recipe next!
How to Make Creamed Spinach – Step By Step Photos
Thaw 12 oz. frozen chopped spinach and squeeze out the excess moisture (it will be about 1.5 cups once thawed and squeezed). If using fresh spinach, roughly chop the spinach then sauté it in a skillet with a small amount of oil until most of the moisture has cooked off.
Melt 4 Tbsp butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Once melted, add 2 minced cloves of garlic and sauté for about one minute.
Add ¼ cup all-purpose flour to the skillet and whisk it into the butter. Continue to cook and whisk the butter and flour mixture for about two minutes (it should be bubbling the whole time).
Whisk 1.5 cups whole milk into the butter and flour roux.
Continue to cook and whisk the white sauce until it comes back up to a simmer, at which point it will thicken (this should happen within a couple of minutes).
Add ⅓ cup shredded or grated Parmesan to the skillet and continue to whisk and cook until the Parmesan has melted into the sauce.
Add ⅛ tsp nutmeg, ⅛ tsp salt, and ⅛ tsp freshly cracked pepper to the sauce. Stir to combine.
Add the thawed chopped spinach to the white sauce and stir to combine.
Give the creamed spinach one last time and add more salt if needed. Enjoy the creamed spinach warm with your favorite meal!
I made this creamed spinach recipe tonight; it was super simple to make and unbelievably delicious. I mean it tasted better than when I order it at a restaurant. It was creamy, velvety, and filling. All gobbled up by my family. It’s a keeper.
This recipe was good, but I preferred the old creamed spinach post since it wasn’t as thick. This was an artichoke dip consistency for me (used whole milk as written). I think the old one didn’t require squeezing the spinach either. Could someone on the Budget Bytes team email the original to me?
If anyone is looking for ideas on how to serve, I spooned it over baked sweet potatoes topped with bacon. I also made the Egg Florentine Quesadilla recipe this morning and planning to use the rest on an Eggs Florentine Breakfast Pizza. :)
Yep, I’ll email it to you. :)
even lighter and way easier:
Cook 16 oz frozen spinach over medium heat. Add 4 wedges of Laughing Cow Creamy Light cheese. Mix, serve.
My guests love it and are shocked to find out it’s healthier than they think.
I made this tonight and the cream sauce was far too thick and gummy. It tasted good, but in the future I will use less flour in making the sauce. Perhaps I had the heat up too high because it thickened in less than 30 seconds. I love this site and have made and shared many recipes from here, and will continue to.
This has been a fave at my house since it first came out, and I follow the recipe exactly–I know, rare for me. The sauce can be used for many veggies–we particularly like creamed peas, too. When I use it with carrots, I skip the nutmeg and add chopped French tarragon. And I confess to enjoying a bit of diced sauteed onion with spinach–it adds a hint of sweetness to the greens.
I don’t suppose I could slap this creamed spinach on a breadier more breakfast-style pizza crust with a few eggs? I know you have an eggs Florentine breakfast pizza recipe (or two? Idr.) but this particular one keeps calling me. Pizza, it says. It looks a bit too wet for that though. Thoughts?
Yeah, it’s probably a little too wet as written, but you could always just reduce the amount of milk used. :)
First off, the recipe tasted AMAZING! I have been using it for my omelettes, quesadillas, and as a dip for tortilla chips! However, mine came out very green and not white like in the picture. Feels like I ham having something served on Dr. Sues Day in elementary school. Does anyone know why this would be? I did use fresh spinach as a substitute and washed well.
Fresh spinach will bleed more green color than frozen spinach. :)
I didn’t have frozen spinach on hand, only the ginormous fresh bags you get in the produce department. It works just as good, you do have to work it a little in order to get all the cream sauce to stick to the spinach but it mixes well and turns out just as yummy.
Oh, and I use lactose free milk and it thickens nicely. I saw a question on skim or coconut milk, so I can’t say whether those work, but lactose free still does the trick.
I make this recipe using kale as well. Sometimes a mixture of kale and spinach. The kale gives it a bit more chew.
But either way it’s excellent. Leftovers work great for omelet filling. Just be sure to pre-heat it a bit before spooning it onto the omelet. Otherwise you have to overcook the egg in order to heat up the filling.
This was delicious with brown rice flour if anyone is looking for a gluten-free option.
I absolutely love how you didn’t even bother thawing and squeezing out the water. That takes so much time when sometimes you just want to eat something asap!
I can’t wait to try this! I added this to my list :)
The Creamed Spinach was absolutely DELICIOUS!!! Best of all, it was super easy to make!!! Thank you, Beth!!! :-)
I’m on the last heating step right now and can’t stop sneaking tastes…..so good!
Wow! You’ve done it again. I’ve tried quite a few creamed spinach recipes, and this is by far the easiest and is the only one that tastes like I think creamed spinach should taste. Well done!
Easy and yummy. Will be trying several other recipes this week.
Sally – Well, it just won’t be nearly as creamy, but it might still be edible (it still has butter and parmesan, after all!).
Would this still be good and edible if I made it with skim milk? :/
Anon – I’m not sure if it would work with coconut milk… I’ve never tried to do a roux thickened sauce with coconut milk instead of cow’s milk, but it just might work! If you try it out, please let us know how it turns out :)
Do you think this would work with Coconut milk?
Just made this the other night and it is SO GOOD! I love how easy it is too, since you don’t have to thaw the spinach first. I made a ham and pasta skillet dish to go with it, and ended up mixing everything together! Amazing!
SOOOOO good. I added a bit more parm cheese but this was definitely restaurant-level good. Will be in my rotation.
Lovely!