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A Healthier Creamed Spinach

January 23, 2012

Even though the name creamed spinach has never sounded very appealing to me, I have been hooked on it since the first time I tried it at steak restaurant as a kid. There's something about the luscious creamy consistency of the sauce blended with the spinach that just melts in your mouth. Yet as good as creamed spinach is, it seems like a shame to take such a healthy veggie and then load it down with such a rich sauce. This lighter version is healthier, but just as yummy as the creamed spinach you're probably used to.

Just because I fell in love with creamed spinach immediately as a kid, does not mean that my little ones took to it as quickly. On try number one, Kenya and Chloe looked at it blankly and then back up at me with absolutely desire to try it. After talking about it a bit and telling them that I ate creamed spinach a lot as a kid, Kenya changed his mind and dug right in. Chloe was a different story. She was in full-on mouth lock down mode - - no way, no how was she even going to taste it. The next night I decided to repackage it by mixing it with rotini pasta. Chloe devoured it, no prodding required. It's funny how just by adding one of Chloe's favorite foods changed things completely for her. From that moment on, whenever make creamed spinach, it's enjoyed by all!

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A Healthier Creamed Spinach  (Serves 4)

  • Cook Time: 10 minutes,
  • Total Time: 10 minutes,

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
  • 1 onion, diced
  • 1 garlic clove, minced
  • 1 tablespoon flour
  • 2 10 oz pkg frozen chopped spinach, defrosted and drained well
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 1/2 cups chicken broth
  • 1/2 cup sour cream or low fat sour cream

Preparation

  1. 1. Heat 1 tbsp of butter in a medium sauté pan over medium heat and sauté onions for 3 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté an additional 30 seconds. Sprinkle in the flour, stir and cook for 30 seconds more.
  2. 2. Add the remaining ingredients and stir to combine.
  3. 3. Cook for 3-5 minutes or until the mixture thickens.
  4. 4. Serve.
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Comments






  1. Kristin

    March 9, 2012 at 10:33 am

    Reply

    This is not gluten free because the recipe has flour in it! Use GF flour and make sure the broth is also GF if you need to be gluten free!

  2. Pingback: Eaters, Of A Certain Variety - Bookish Dad

  3. David

    January 30, 2012 at 12:56 pm

    Reply

    I made this for my girls (1 and 3) last night. It was great! I am not a fan of sour cream, so I was pleased to find that it added more texture than anything else. I used regular but I don’t think the taste would be much different had I used Light sour cream.

    The flavors were great, and since the girls declined to have very much, there was plenty for me.

    I realized I’d forgotten to buy Garlic at the store, but I had a can of minced. So I threw the onions in to saute and then spent a few minutes looking for the can. I finally found it, and I was getting nervous about the onions being in too long, and then I couldn’t get the can open! I was dancing around the kitchen banging the lid and running warm water over it and turning the flame under the onions down by increments, and as I was starting to wonder if I could just cut through the lid to get to the garlic, it opened.

    Anyway, I shared all that to say: this is a very forgiving recipe, and if you err a little on your timing it still works out well. The garlic and onion flavors are great, and work perfectly with the spinach. It’s incredibly easy to make.

    I’ll definitely make it again, although, aside from repeated exposure, I’m not quite sure how to convince the girls to actually try it.

  4. Mary-Claire

    January 29, 2012 at 12:49 am

    Reply

    We rarely have sour cream in the house (I’m not a fan)…Do you think Greek yogurt would work as a decent substitute?

    • catherine

      January 30, 2012 at 12:40 pm

      Reply

      Yes! Greek yogurt is a great substitute for sour cream!

  5. Heather

    January 25, 2012 at 9:05 am

    Reply

    I love creamed spinach but hate all the cream – so thanks for this. My newest trick for getting my kids to eat spinach is to use it in your orzo pomegranate, chicken salad. I live in Japan and it is tough to get corriander here but frozen spinach is easy. I use frozen spinach and just hack off a few pieces, chop them up and add them to the orzo after I strain it. My son who is 16 months loves the salad. He nibbles the frozen spinach as he waits as I prepare the salad on the counter. In fact, tonight, he never made it to his high chair – he just nibbled on the salad on the counter. :) Thanks again for all the wonderful ideas.

  6. Jana LG

    January 24, 2012 at 12:41 pm

    Reply

    Can I use fresh spinach? We don’t have frozen spinach in the middle east. If so, should I cook the fresh spinach with the broth or steam it more hand? Thanks!

    • catherine

      January 24, 2012 at 3:51 pm

      Reply

      Yes you can! Chop and cook it first. Steam or quickly saute to achieve that “frozen then thawed” spinach consistency.

  7. Angela @ Happy Fit Mama

    January 23, 2012 at 7:57 pm

    Reply

    I love Creamed Spinach. I usually use light cream cheese but I’ll have to try it your way.

  8. CuteEverything

    January 23, 2012 at 5:12 pm

    Reply

    My husband makes creamed spinach similarly, but subs coconut milk for the sour cream and uses less broth. It is sooo good!

  9. janelle weems

    January 23, 2012 at 2:04 pm

    Reply

    i cant wait to try this this week! and i have whole wheat pasta on stand by just in case =)

  10. Lori @ In My Kitchen, In My Life

    January 23, 2012 at 11:19 am

    Reply

    I love creamed spinach, and to gild the lily (the opposite of what you’re doing here!), I like to gratinee it with Gruyere and bread crumbs. It’s best served as an extra side dish with plenty of other vegetables on the table and to take small portions of it, but it is generally my favorite thing on the plate.

  11. Andree

    January 23, 2012 at 10:40 am

    Reply

    I’ve also used light cream cheese with a little garlic salt and it’s delicious!

  12. Heather Taylor @ Kids in the Sink

    January 23, 2012 at 9:37 am

    Reply

    I could never get behind cooked spinach, although I love it raw on almost anything. I made some baked creamed spinach on Christmas but it was a bust too. I really want to like it though so maybe this one will be the one! Great idea about repacking it into a pasta for the kids.

  13. Allison Reed

    January 23, 2012 at 8:41 am

    Reply

    I have lots of fresh spinach at home right now. Should I cook it in some way before using in this recipe? Thanks!

  14. Julia

    January 23, 2012 at 8:04 am

    Reply

    Creamed spinach is one of my favorite foods, and my 1 year old loves it too! For now anyways… Can’t wait to try the lightened up version!



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