Easy and elegant, creamed spinach is a savory addition to any meal.

Fresh or frozen spinach is cooked in a simple cream cheese sauce with a handful of seasonings for a rich, creamy, garlicky side dish!

plated Creamed Spinach Recipe

Your Search for the Best Creamed Spinach Recipe Ends Here…

  • It’s a creamy and rich sauce, made with cream cheese and cream.
  • The spinach adds a bright color and earthy flavorful undertones to the dish.
  • A bit of butter pulls the flavors together making this indulgent and comforting.
  • The result is creamy, savory, and slightly sweet.

Essential Ingredients

Spinach: Fresh spinach or baby spinach will produce the best results. To use frozen spinach, thaw and squeeze out the excess moisture.

Sauce: Cream cheese and heavy whipping cream are the base for this recipe. Use room-temperature cream cheese (full-fat or light) for faster blending.

Seasonings: A little garlic powder (or minced garlic cloves) and a dash of homemade seasoned salt are all it takes to elevate the flavors of creamed spinach.

Make It Your Own

  • Sliced mushrooms, chopped artichoke hearts, sliced water chestnuts, bacon bits, and even a sprinkle of parmesan cheese will add extra flavor and texture to creamed spinach.
  • Add in a pinch of nutmeg, or switch up the seasoning to match the menu and add some Italian or a Greek blend.

How to Make Creamed Spinach

  1. Cook prepped spinach and then the onions until tender (full recipe below).
  2. Add cream cheese, whisk in the remaining ingredients, and simmer.
  3. Stir spinach into the cream sauce and season before serving.
pot of creamed spinach with wooden spoon

Quick Steps to Savor the Flavor

Keep leftover creamed spinach in a covered container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Reheat in the microwave with a little milk to loosen the sauce. Toss leftovers in a creamy spinach pasta or a hearty spinach artichoke casserole.

More Superb Spinach Recipes

Did your family enjoy this creamed spinach recipe? Leave a rating and comment below.

image of Everyday Comfort cookbook by Holly Nilsson of Spend With Pennies plus text
plated Creamed Spinach Recipe
5 from 77 votes↑ Click stars to rate now!
Or to leave a comment, click here!

Creamed Spinach Recipe

This creamed spinach recipe makes a luxurious and velvety dish that is packed with vibrant green spinach.
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes
Servings 6 servings
buy hollys book

Ingredients  

  • 1 teaspoon olive oil
  • 1 pound fresh spinach or 10 oz frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
  • ¼ cup yellow onion minced
  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 2 ounces cream cheese softened, cubed
  • cup heavy whipping cream
  • ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
  • teaspoon seasoned salt
  • black pepper to taste

Instructions 

  • Wash and dry the spinach leaves if using fresh. Pinch off any tough stems and roughly chop the spinach.
  • Heat the olive oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Cook the spinach until wilted, about 3 minutes. Remove from the pan and place in a strainer to drain.
  • Reduce the heat to medium low and add the onion and butter to the skillet. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes or until tender.
  • Add the cream cheese and stir until melted.
  • Whisk in the heavy cream, garlic powder, and salt. Simmer 1 to 2 minutes or until thickened.
  • Gently squeeze any excess liquid from the spinach and stir it into the cream sauce. Taste and season with additional seasoned salt and pepper.

Notes

Fresh spinach can be substituted with 10 ounces of frozen chopped spinach.
Parmesan cheese can be stirred in with the spinach if desired.
Leftovers will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 4 days. 
5 from 77 votes

Nutrition Information

Calories: 121 | Carbohydrates: 4g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Cholesterol: 33mg | Sodium: 160mg | Potassium: 454mg | Fiber: 1g | Vitamin A: 7470IU | Vitamin C: 21.7mg | Calcium: 93mg | Iron: 2.1mg

Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.

Course Side Dish
Cuisine American
easy Creamed Spinach Recipe in the pot and plated with a title
bowl of easy Creamed Spinach Recipe with a title
one pan Creamed Spinach Recipe with writing
easy cheesy Creamed Spinach Recipe in a bowl with writing

Categories:

, ,

Recipes you'll love

About the author

Holly Nilsson is the creator of Spend With Pennies, where she creates easy, comforting recipes made for real life. With a passion for nostalgic flavors and simplified techniques, Holly helps busy home cooks create delicious meals that always work. She is also the author of “Everyday Comfort,” which promises to inspire even more hearty, home-cooked meals.
See more posts by Holly

Follow Holly on social media:

pinterest facebook twitter instagram

Free eBook!

Subscribe to receive weekly recipes and get a FREE Bonus e-book: Quick & Easy Weeknight Meals!

You can unsubscribe anytime by clicking the “unsubscribe” link at the bottom of emails you receive.

5 from 77 votes (66 ratings without comment)

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Comments

  1. So good! I had never tried cream cheese before and it makes a big difference. I do grate fresh parmesan cheese and some gruyere in as well. Many thanks. This is the second recipe I have tried which is improved with cream cheese (I also use it instead of sour cream in my mashed potatoes). Excellent5 stars

  2. So easy and so delicious! Will definitely be making this recipe again! Love all spend with pennies recipes!5 stars

  3. Oooooh, this was really good! I didn’t think my Hubs would go for it, but he loved it. I used fresh garlic with shallots, and sprinkled a pinch of sugar. Delicious. This will be a repeat at our house!5 stars

  4. This is excellent as is…. I added some chopped artichoke hearts just for added vegetables. Delicious and simple to,prepare!5 stars

  5. I’d like to fill large cooked pasta shells with this delicious creamed spinach. Would a double recipe be too much for a 12 oz box of shells? (Of course any leftover creamed spinach would be for the cook!) This sounds amazing, thanks for another wonderful recipe!

    RB

    1. I haven’t tried using this recipe to stuff shells so I can’t say for sure R, but I think a double recipe should be about perfect. If you try it I would love to hear how it turns out!

  6. This truly is better than any steak house including Ruth’s Chris, Mortons, Malones, Buckhorn etc..5 stars

  7. Great recipe loved it delicioso next time I’m going to use baby spinach 2 8 oz bags it needed more spinach and I only use fresh spinach thank you for the recipe it was really easy and it was delicious5 stars

  8. I have made this recipe several times with great results. When I’m in a pinch with what to do with chicken, I have scored chicken breasts, cook partially, cover with the spinach mixture and continue to bake – creamy, cheesy, spinach topped yummy chicken! I do make the sauce a little thinner so as it bakes the liquid doesn’t evaporate leaving a paste of spinach. Rice on the side to soak up some juices. Delish!5 stars

    1. The stems on spinach tend to be a bit tough (unless it is baby spinach) so I recommend removing them. Let us know if you try it with the stems on!

  9. I’ve searched for a very long time for a delicious, from-scratch creamed spinach recipe that doesn’t involve a can of creamed soup and this fit the bill. I added a little more cream as mine thickened up too quickly but this is definitely a keeper!

    Thank you so much for sharing. :-)5 stars