Steakhouse Creamed Spinach | Easy One Potter

Steakhouse Creamed Spinach is a brilliant, must-have side dish. It’s creamy, indulgent and velvety with spinach as the star ingredient.

The beauty of this Steakhouse Creamed Spinach is that it can all be made in just one pot. Yep, just one pot that you make the sauce in then add the spinach – no need for blanching and cheese. Clever! 🤓

It can be made ahead of time, and gently reheated easily, which makes it the perfect side dish for entertaining.

At a Glance This Is What You Need To Make Steakhouse Creamed Spinach

Easy To Make

Steakhouse creamed spinach is ridiculously easy to make.

You start off by melting some butter in a very large, preferably heavy-based saucepan with a lid. Next, you gently saute the eschalot (shallot) and garlic in the butter for a couple of minutes till they are soft, and aromatic.

Now you add the flour whisking all the while till the mixture resembles ‘wet sand’. Slowly add your cold milk whisking all the time till you have a lump free, thick sauce.

Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg and whisk for 3-4 minutes to cook out the raw flour flavour. Next add the spinach which looks to be way too much . You need to just cram it all in the pot and cover with a lid for a minute or two over the heat.

Remove the lid and start to bring the bottom spinach to the top (it looks like there’s still a lot of spinach left to wilt at this stage), repeat covering and turning two, or three times while the wilting happens, the moisture from the spinach will release and thin the sauce beautifully.

Add in your cheese and give it all a good mix while the cheese melts and you’re ready to serve. Too easy!

1. Saute the eschalot and garlic in the butter until softened
2. Sprinkle over the flour and whisk until smooth
3. Using a medium heat gradually add the milk while stirring until smooth
4. season with salt, pepper and nutmeg

What’s Creamed Spinach

Creamed spinach might be a retro dish that’s having a huge revival, but it’s a worthy side dish that’s stood the test of time. You’re basically making a bechamel sauce, tossing the spinach in and giving it a good toss until it’s wilted, then adding cheese. Viola. Super quick, delicious and easy!

Is Baby Spinach The Same Plant As Regular Spinach

In a word, yes. Baby spinach is actually just regular spinach albeit smaller, and tender.

Baby spinach leaves are widely available in supermarkets, and the best thing is they’re already washed, and dried.

If you’ve never cooked what looks to be an enormous amount of spinach before, be prepared for it to wilt in no time. Spinach is 93% water so the heat wilts the spinach quickly and evaporates the water as the spinach reduces in volume.

5. Add the spinach to the pot
6. Cover with a lid, don’t panick if the pot is full as the spinach will wilt quickly
7. After a minute or two turn the spinach by lifting the bottom spinach to the top, repeat these steps several times until the spinach has wilted.
8. Add all of the cheese
9. Stir for several minutes until the cheese has melted
10. Serve and enjoy

Where Did Creamed Spinach Originate

Creamed spinach is a universally popular dish in South Africa. In the USA it’s a side dish served at just about every steakhouse. Just where it originated is uncertain, but one thing for sure wherever it’s served, it’s a winner!

What Cheese Goes Well With Spinach

Spinach and cheese are a great marriage. We’ve used both Gruyere and Parmesan. Gruyere is a fantastic melting cheese with a slightly sweet and salty flavour, whilst Parmesan has a sharp, nutty flavour.

Swap Out The Cheese

You can use other cheeses for this steakhouse creamed spinach recipe. It’s delicious made using a blue cheese such as Danish Blue, Maytag, or if you’re feeling flush Roquefort, or Gorgonzola. Blue cheese adds a real punch of flavour to the spinach.

Even a good old sharp, tasty cheddar will work well.

What Goes With Creamed Spinach

Creamed spinach is a classic accompaniment to serve with grilled beef steaks. However, it also teams up beautifully served with poultry, fish, pork or lamb.

Try serving this with your next roast dinner and wait for the accolades.

We always love to serve potatoes when we make creamed spinach. Check out our: Crispy Roast Potatoes | Easy, Easy Crispy Hasselback Potatoes, Crispy Smashed Roast New Potatoes | Easy, Pommes Anna – Potatoes Anna – Easy or our Mashed Potato Cheese Puffs.

Can Creamed Spinach Be Made Ahead

Yes, it can. This is a perfect dish to make ahead a day, or two in advance of serving. Simply prepare the spinach and pop the mix into the dish you want to serve it in. You can reheat in a microwave, or in the oven covered with foil on a medium heat for 20-25 minutes.

Can Creamed Spinach Be Frozen

Creamed spinach freezes like a dream. It can be frozen for 2 months ahead of time. Pop the mixture into an airtight container and thaw overnight in the refrigerator.

Watch how to make Steakhouse Creamed Spinach

What To Make With Leftover Creamed Spinach

Leftover creamed spinach is perfect folded into an omelette, or tossed through creamy scrambled eggs. It’s great for making a quick pasta bake. Cook some pasta and toss through the creamed spinach and top with some buttered panko crumbs and bake until it’s golden, and bubbling. Too easy!

Or toast some sourdough bread and top with creamed spinach and some poached eggs on top for a perfect breakfast.

Don’t forget to rate this recipe and let us know what you thought when you make this fabulous Steakhouse Creamed Spinach in the reviews below. 

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Yield: 4 - 6

Steakhouse Creamed Spinach Recipe

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 20 minutes

This is a fantastic and delicious little recipe all made in the one large pot. It can be prepared ahead of serving, and reheated gently.

Perfect for entertaining, and excellent served with beef, fish, turkey, chicken, pork, or lamb.

Originally posted July 2020

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Ingredients

• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter (70g / 2 1/2 ounces)
• 6 fat cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 extra large eschalot (shallot), finely sliced (about half a cup - 80g / 3 ounces) you can also use a brown (yellow) onion instead
• 1/4 cup plain (all purpose) flour (40g / 1 1/2 ounces)
• 300ml full cream milk (1 1/4 cups)
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• freshly ground pepper to taste
• 500g baby spinach leaves, washed and dried (1 pound), or you can use silverbeet (Swiss chard)
• 100g gruyere cheese, grated (3 1/2 ounces)
• 50g parmesan cheese, grated (1 3/4 ounces)

Instructions

1. you will need a large, preferably heavy based pot with a lid for the recipe or seal with a piece of foil
2. melt butter over medium heat and add sliced eschalot (shallot) and garlic and sauté till softened (about 2 minutes)
3. add flour and whisk till smooth (it should look like wet sand)
4. slowly pour the milk in and whisk till you have a smooth, thick sauce (cook whisking continually for 3-4 minutes to cook out the flour)
5. season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg
6. reduce heat to medium/low
7. add spinach and place the lid on the pot for a minute or two (500g / 1 pound is a lot but just cram it all into the pot)
8. lift lid and rotate the spinach from the bottom to the top of the pan (bottom spinach should have started to wilt) replace the lid
9. repeat step 7 once or twice with a 2 minute interval (the moisture from the spinach releases into the sauce)
10. when the spinach is wilted add the cheese
11. mix the cheese through the spinach until the cheese has melted and sauce is coating all of the wilted spinach
12. serve and enjoy!

Notes

1. creamed spinach can be made ahead and gently reheated or microwaved on a medium heat

Nutrition Information

Yield

6

Serving Size

1
Amount Per Serving Calories 247Total Fat 20gSaturated Fat 12gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 7gCholesterol 56mgSodium 710mgCarbohydrates 9gFiber 3gSugar 3gProtein 12g

Nutritional information provided here is only intended as a guide.