Is there a bag of spinach wilting quietly in the back of your refrigerator right now? Mine used to do the same thing, which is how I ended up with this many spinach recipes. Here are 29 of them, from a fifteen minute quinoa power salad to steakhouse creamed spinach that belongs beside a ribeye, plus stuffed shells, quesadillas, a green homemade tortilla and a frittata you can eat at room temperature. I never hid vegetables from my kids the way the cookbooks tell you to. I made a deal instead: no dessert until the vegetables were gone, and all three of them eat their greens today. Spinach makes that deal easy, because it disappears into cheese, cream and pasta without arguing. Use the whole bag tonight and you will not be scraping a slimy one into the trash on Thursday.
1. Cranberry Almond Spinach Salad
Sixteen ounces of baby spinach with a cup of toasted sliced almonds and a cup of dried cranberries, under a dressing of white wine vinegar, apple cider vinegar, sugar, olive oil, honey, minced shallot and toasted sesame and poppy seeds. Serves eight in under twenty minutes. Toast the almonds and the sesame seeds, both of them, because that is where the whole flavor of this salad lives. Dress it at the table, not before.
Get the full tutorial at Cooking Classy.
2. Tomato Spinach Chicken Pasta
Thirty minutes for four. Two chicken breasts are cut in half lengthwise so you have four thin pieces that cook in five minutes a side instead of twelve, then the pan builds a sauce from garlic, tomato paste, a can of tomato sauce, three quarters of a cup of cream and Italian seasoning. Two packed cups of spinach wilt into it at the end. That lengthwise cut is the trick that makes this a weeknight recipe.
Get the full tutorial at Salt & Lavender.
3. Spinach Coconut And Zucchini Soup
The maker calls this her Incredible Hulk soup and the color earns it. Coconut oil is warmed with mild curry powder, cumin and turmeric, then leek, potato, zucchini and a green chili sweat in the spices before vegetable stock and a can of light coconut milk go in. Thirty minutes. The garlic and herb croutons are fried separately and added at the bowl, which is the only way they stay crunchy.
Get the full tutorial at Supergolden Bakes.
4. Steakhouse Creamed Spinach
Two pounds of fresh spinach blanched for one minute, rinsed cold, squeezed hard and chopped to about three quarters of an inch, then folded into a roux built on butter, onion and garlic with three and a half cups of half and half, eight ounces of cream cheese, parmesan and half a teaspoon of nutmeg. Serves eight. Squeeze the spinach far drier than you think is necessary or the sauce goes thin in the dish.
Get the full tutorial at Kevin Is Cooking.
5. Spinach Cheddar Quinoa Cakes
Quinoa and barley simmer together in a cup of water for about twenty minutes, then get mixed with shallot, garlic, three cups of chopped baby spinach, two eggs, breadcrumbs, panko and grated cheddar and pan fried into cakes. The dip is cream cheese and buffalo sauce. Barley alongside the quinoa is unusual and it is doing the work, giving the cakes enough chew that they hold together in the pan.
Get the full tutorial at Running to the Kitchen.
6. Spinach Tortellini Soup
Onion, carrot and celery cook a full ten minutes until they start to brown, and that browning is the whole depth of this soup, so do not rush it. Then eight cups of vegetable broth, five ounces of baby spinach, nine ounces of cheese tortellini and a handful of parsley. Thirty minutes, four servings, vegetarian, and it tastes like it simmered much longer than it did. Parmesan at the table.
Get the full tutorial at Umami Girl.
7. Spinach Artichoke Stuffed Peppers
Five large bell peppers halved and filled with quinoa cooked in vegetable stock, twenty ounces of spinach, chopped artichoke hearts, garlic, basil and Greek yogurt, then baked at 375 until the cheese browns. Ten stuffed halves. Greek yogurt instead of cream cheese is what keeps the filling tasting like spinach artichoke dip without the weight of it. Press frozen spinach thoroughly dry if you use it.
Get the full tutorial at Well Plated.
8. Spinach Balls
Six cups of fresh spinach leaves get covered in boiling water for three minutes, rinsed cold and squeezed down to two thirds of a cup packed, then mixed with three beaten eggs, grated mozzarella, parsley, garlic powder, almond flour and psyllium husk and baked at 400. Twenty two balls. That measurement is the important one: six cups of leaves becomes two thirds of a cup, so weigh or measure rather than guessing.
Get the full tutorial at Sweet As Honey.
9. Spinach Lasagna Roll-Ups
Lasagna noodles spread with thawed frozen spinach, ricotta, mozzarella, parmesan and an egg, rolled up and set in a homemade sauce of crushed tomatoes, onion, garlic, basil, oregano and parsley that has simmered at least twenty minutes. Eight servings in about forty five minutes. Rolled noodles portion themselves, which is the reason to make lasagna this way instead of the usual one.
Get the full tutorial at Gal on a Mission.
10. 5-Ingredient Spinach Parmesan Zucchini Noodles
Three zucchini spiralized, butter and garlic in a hot skillet for a minute or two, then the noodles and two packed cups of spinach tossed just until the leaves wilt, about two or three minutes, and a quarter cup of grated parmesan stirred through. Twenty minutes, four servings, five ingredients. Keep the heat high and the time short, because zucchini noodles go from noodles to puddle very quickly.
Get the full tutorial at Two Peas and Their Pod.
11. Chicken Spinach Alfredo
A real alfredo built from a roux rather than a jar: butter, garlic, three tablespoons of flour, a cup and three quarters of milk whisked in slowly, then a cup and a half of parmesan, two cups of shredded chicken and three heaping cups of spinach. Half a cup of reserved pasta water loosens it. Thirty minutes. Save that pasta water before you drain, because nothing else will fix a sauce that tightens.
Get the full tutorial at Life as a Strawberry.
12. Creamy Spinach Stuffed Mushrooms
Ten medium or five large portobellos, stems removed and finely chopped, caps brushed inside and out with melted butter. The stems cook two or three minutes with garlic, then 200 grams of baby spinach wilts down with sour cream or softened cream cheese and the caps get filled and topped with parmesan. About half an hour. Brushing butter on both sides is what stops the mushroom drying out under the broiler.
Get the full tutorial at Slice of Kitchen Life.
13. Sauteed Lemony Spinach
A bag of baby spinach, a quarter cup of pine nuts, three cloves of chopped garlic, a tablespoon of olive oil and one lemon. Add the spinach in batches as it shrinks, cook until soft, then stir in the garlic and pine nuts until both take a little color and squeeze the lemon over just before serving. Garlic goes in near the end rather than the start, which is why it never turns bitter here.
Get the full tutorial at Beauty Through Imperfection.
14. Parmesan Spinach Gnocchi
Potato gnocchi cooked to the package, then the empty pot builds a sauce: butter, garlic, two tablespoons of flour cooked thirty seconds to lose the raw taste, a cup and a quarter of milk added slowly, three heaping cups of spinach and a cup of shredded parmesan. Thirty minutes for four. Strict vegetarians should look for a parmesan made without rennet, which the source flags and most recipes do not.
Get the full tutorial at Life as a Strawberry.
15. Spinach Stuffed Chicken Breasts
Eight ounces of frozen spinach cooked and squeezed dry, mixed with three ounces of crumbled feta, four ounces of cream cheese and a clove of garlic, stuffed into pockets cut in three chicken breasts and roasted at 450 for about fifteen minutes. Six halves in twenty five minutes. The source has the best advice here: lay the breast flat and press a large spatula on top while you cut the pocket.
Get the full tutorial at Basil and Bubbly.
16. Spinach Tortilla
Homemade tortillas dyed green by the spinach itself. Three and a half ounces of spinach blanch for two minutes, get rinsed cold and pureed with two or three tablespoons of water, then go into a dough of flour, salt, baking powder, a little cumin and cayenne and three tablespoons of oil. That makes six, start to finish in about three quarters of an hour. Blanching and shocking the spinach is what keeps them green instead of army drab.
Get the full tutorial at Cook With Manali.
17. Spinach Parmesan Casserole
Panko toasts in butter with garlic powder for about three minutes before anything else happens, and that is why the topping stays crisp instead of going soggy. Then a roux with a cup and a quarter of milk, nutmeg and pepper, two ten ounce bags of frozen spinach squeezed dry and a cup of finely grated parmesan, all baked at 350. Forty minutes, four to six servings, one oven safe skillet.
Get the full tutorial at Well Plated.
18. Creamy Baked Tilapia & Spinach Casserole
Everything goes into the dish raw. Five tilapia fillets and eight ounces of fresh spinach, sliced butter, Monterey jack, mayonnaise, sour cream, parmesan, crushed garlic, old bay and adobo, and ten minutes in the oven. Serves eight, start to finish in about fifteen. No pre-cooking anything is unusual for a fish casserole and it works because tilapia is thin, so do not substitute a thick fillet.
Get the full tutorial at Alyona's Cooking.
19. Quinoa Spinach Power Salad
Half a cup of quinoa boiled about ten minutes and cooled, two cups of finely chopped spinach, a diced tomato, half a cup of cucumber and a quarter cup of raisins, dressed with lemon juice, extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper. Fifteen minutes, four servings. Chopping the spinach finely instead of leaving whole leaves is what lets it mix through the grain rather than sitting on top in clumps.
Get the full tutorial at Ahead of Thyme.
20. Spinach Parmesan Rice Bake
A ten ounce package of frozen spinach squeezed dry, two cups of cooked white rice, a third of a cup of melted butter, two cups of cheddar, three quarters of a cup of parmesan, onion, garlic, three beaten eggs and three quarters of a cup of milk, baked at 350 for twenty five minutes with mozzarella added for the last five. Serves eight. A good way to use rice that is already in the refrigerator.
Get the full tutorial at The Girl Who Ate Everything.
21. Creamy Spinach Bake
Shallots and garlic soften in butter, then a cup and three quarters of heavy cream at room temperature, nutmeg, cayenne, shredded gruyere and parmesan, and three ten ounce bags of frozen spinach thawed and pressed dry. A buttered panko and parmesan crumb goes over the top and the whole thing bakes at 400. Serves eight. Room temperature cream matters, because cold cream hitting a hot pan will split.
Get the full tutorial at No Spoon Necessary.
22. Spicy Spinach Quesadillas
Six ounces of baby spinach wilt in a quarter cup of water in a covered skillet for about five minutes, then get drained, rinsed cold and squeezed dry before they go anywhere near a tortilla. Grated pepper jack, spicy salsa or pico, and cooked chicken if you want it. Twenty five minutes for four. Squeezing the spinach is the whole difference between a quesadilla and a wet tortilla.
Get the full tutorial at Weary Chef.
23. Spinach Artichoke Egg Casserole
Onion and garlic soften, six packed cups of fresh spinach wilt down, then a cup and a half of chopped jarred artichoke hearts, oregano, fresh basil and crushed red pepper go in with mozzarella, parmesan and beaten eggs, baked at 350 for thirty minutes. Six servings. Use artichokes packed in water rather than oil and drain them properly, or the eggs set around a slick of oil.
Get the full tutorial at Two Peas and Their Pod.
24. Cheesy Spinach Crescents
Two tubes of crescent rolls, eight ounces of room temperature Neufchatel, a cup and a half of mozzarella and two cups of chopped spinach, worked together with a spatula. A heaping tablespoon goes on the wide end of each triangle, rolled up, brushed with an egg and water wash and baked at 350 for twenty minutes. Sixteen of them in half an hour, and the egg wash is what makes them look bakery brown.
Get the full tutorial at Kleinworth & Co.
25. Spinach Ricotta Stuffed Shells
Twenty four jumbo shells boiled one minute short of the package time, a jar of marinara spread in the bottom of a nine by thirteen, and a filling of sixteen ounces of thawed squeezed spinach, fifteen ounces of ricotta, parmesan, an egg, Italian seasoning and garlic powder. Mozzarella on top, baked at 375 on the top third rack. Serves six. Undercooking the shells is the point, they finish in the sauce.
Get the full tutorial at Salt & Lavender.
26. Spanakopita Quesadilla
Spanakopita filling folded into a quesadilla instead of phyllo, griddled until the outside blisters and stacked three high with sour cream spooned over the top. It is a genuinely good idea, because spinach and feta is the hard part of spanakopita and phyllo is the part that defeats people on a Tuesday. A flour tortilla gets you ninety percent of the way there in about ten minutes.
Get the full tutorial at Cooktoria.
27. Spinach Frittata
Nine eggs whisked with milk and a third of a cup of parmesan, poured over onion and garlic softened in olive oil with eight ounces of fresh spinach added a handful at a time, plus optional chopped sun dried tomatoes and two ounces of goat cheese. Forty minutes, serves four, and it is as good at room temperature as it is hot. Add the spinach in handfuls with tongs rather than dumping the bag in.
Get the full tutorial at Simply Recipes.
28. Roasted Garlic Spinach White Pizza
Four or five whole heads of garlic, tops cut off, oiled, wrapped in foil and roasted 30 to 40 minutes at 400 until a center clove is completely soft, then mashed and folded into ricotta. That goes on whole wheat dough with mozzarella and twenty ounces of thawed squeezed spinach and bakes at 425 for eighteen to twenty minutes. Two pizzas, sixteen slices. Roasting turns all that garlic mild.
Get the full tutorial at Eat Good 4 Life.
29. Roasted Tomato, Mozzarella, and Spinach Quiche
Tomatoes sliced a quarter inch thick, oiled, seasoned with basil, salt and pepper and roasted ten to fifteen minutes at 400 until soft, then layered into a nine inch crust with wilted spinach and chopped mozzarella under five eggs, half a cup of heavy cream and half a cup of whole milk. Seventy minutes, eight slices. Roasting first drives the water out, and that is why the custard sets.
Get the full tutorial at The Kittchen.
