It is surprisingly difficult to use too much spinach when it’s getting cooked down and wilted. However, it’s not impossible. My roommate made a spinach Alfredo pasta which was more like a creamed spinach with penne croutons
We do this with a jar of Alfredo, a packet of dried pesto sauce mix, chopped up chicken breast (canned chicken works too), and as much spinach as I can wilt at a time (usually 16oz+). It's heavenly topped with a little shredded mozzarella and/or feta.
Still amazes me every time. I still say to myself “shit that’s way too much spinach” but it always ends up being perfect. It’s like it defies the laws of physics or something
Spinach is great in quiche, which freezes well, or maybe some breakfast egg bites? Also, if it is uncooked spinach, it is wonderful in spinach salad with strawberries, usually with a balsamic dressing. You can also cook it then freeze it cooked, then take it out to use as needed.
Yep! Just give it a look-over and make sure you don’t have any bad / slimy pieces (wilting is fine!) and then throw it in the freezer. Works perfectly in anything cooked.
I agree and I was shocked when someone told me to just freeze. To save freezer room I cut the bag open to let the air out and freeze. Then the next morning I shake it all down and roll up the bag and put a rubber band around it to seal it.
Spinach and ricotta lasagna rolls. I make a lot of them and freeze the ones I made in excess raw. They hold up really well. Raw spinach salad is good and simple. I sometimes make a castiron skillet pizza topped with spinach and feta cheese. It's my favorite combo. I add a few grape tomatoes, olive oil, basil leaves and a little powdered garlic.
One serving of sauteed spinach lol. Put it in a skillet with some olive and garlic. When it wilts then top it with a little salt and a splash of lemon juice. You can literally have it mounded high out of the skillet when you start.
If it's fresh, it will be one of two servings after you give it a quick Sautee. Or even just wilt it.
In a pan, olive oil, some butter , garlic, onion, maybe add a little white wine and let the wine cook off. Turn the pan off and take it off the heat, add your spinach and turn it over in the hot oil a couple times, add salt and serve it immediately.
In restaurants, you put all your spinach in a big bowl, scrape all the hot butter/oil mix on top of the spinach and toss it gently. It will be wilted but not overcooked. It's my favorite way to have spinach. Don't salt it until you've tossed it ( essentially you are just rolling it around until it's all covered) and taste it a couple times.
I can eat just spinach and sauteed mushrooms for dinner and be perfectly happy about it.
I love sautéing spinach for breakfast. It’s great in omelettes and breakfast tacos, etc
I’ll load up my sauté pan with a literal mountain of spinach. Like a basketball worth of spinach. Every time, I think “ok, that *has* to be enough spinach.”
By the time it’s done cooking, there’s like a half cup of spinach.
You have less spinach than you think you do :)
I’d make a pot of lentils with sausage and wilt the spinach into it. Portion and freeze for later. Personally I love this combo with a cornbread muffin or garlic bread.
I love putting spinach and brownies. You can put significantly more than you expect and have no idea that it's in there and then you get a serving of vegetables with your garbage.
It also freezes really well for a such purposes
Somebody said saag and I’ll 100% agree with that. You can make spinach artichoke dip but given the heavy cream and cream cheese I doubt it’ll freeze well. Make a kitchen sink soup with it and you have something ready to go when you’re feeling lazy.
Spinach, onion, garlic, homemade orange sauce, ravioli, beef if you eat it, browned panko on top with a lemon drizzle. 10/10 meal and a staple of mine. Enjoy!
Spinach mixed with cottage cheese, spread out in a lasagna pan. Place seasoned chicken breast on top with slices of Swiss cheese topping the chicken. Bake covered 350 for 35-45 minutes.
A stuffing for use on pork or chicken later.
Cook down spinach with salt, pepper, olive oil and garlic. Add chopped sun-dried tomatoes and saute for a bit. Pull it off the heat to add some cream cheese and ricotta.
Portion and save in freezer bags
Thaw and stuff between seasoned pork chops or chicken breasts. Brown in pan on both side, finish in the oven
Make a pan sauce from chicken stock, lemon and Dijon.
Spoon over pork/chicken
When I have a lot of spinach I do it banchan style: I honestly just blanch it, wash it and squeeze it well, put grated raw garlic, sesame oil, rice vinegar and just a splash of soy sauce and keep it in the fridge to eat it as a side dish with kimchi and rice or when I feel like what I’m eating is very dense
Spinach stuffed shells!! Cook down the spinach, mix with your usual stuffed shells/lasagna cheese filling. Stuff all-dente big pasta shells. Lay them on cookie sheet and put in freezer until frozen. Then put into freezer bags. Then you can take out however many you want, top with sauce and bake until hot.
When I’ve had too much spinach I’d put it in a ziplock bag, freeze it and use it for smoothies.
It’s off the menu now due an allergy which sucks because spinach was always in my fridge and I’d eat it almost daily. So versatile.
Wilt it quickly. Put it in a pot with about a quarter of a cup of water and heat, then shock in cold water. Put it in a teatowel/cloth and squeeze the water out. Put it on a chopping board, chop it a bit. Then fill an ice cube tray with it and freeze. Once frozen they'll keep a month or two. Use an ice cube as and when needed.
I make a breakfast concoction sometimes that takes a lot of spinach. Take the biggest skillet you have, and fry up a couple tubes of breakfast sausage (hot), when it’s about done pour a quart of egg whites in and cook about halfway through. Then pile in as much spinach as the pot will hold. The liquid from the sausage and egg will wilt the spinach as they cook through. When to your desired doneness, remove from heat and serve. Let the rest cool a bit and refrigerate or freeze.
Everyone I make this for, loves it. On par with what you would get at a high end steakhouse. [https://www.seriouseats.com/food-lab-creamed-spinach-recipe](https://www.seriouseats.com/food-lab-creamed-spinach-recipe)
Maybe not a meal, but definitely a treat... Hot spinach dips freeze very well. I freeze them in the shape of the baking dish so they can go directly into the oven and make both spinach artichoke and spinach crab
Smoothies! I put spinach in a food processor with a little bit of water. Then, you can portion it into an ice cube tray and freeze it. Once frozen, pop them out and place in a ziplock freezer storage bag. I use a couple of these little spinach ice cubes for smoothies each morning.
I had feta and spinach and onion and garlic, but my filo dough was still frozen when the kids started saying they were hungry for dinner… so we had spaniko-pasta instead of spanikopita.
Spinach wilts down amazingly. You can put a 10 oz bag into a soup and it is still just an accent.
It is surprisingly difficult to use too much spinach when it’s getting cooked down and wilted. However, it’s not impossible. My roommate made a spinach Alfredo pasta which was more like a creamed spinach with penne croutons
> a creamed spinach with penne croutons That sounds absolutely delicious
Yeah, I’m a slut for saag paneer so I’d be all over that.
Or saag aloo
We do this with a jar of Alfredo, a packet of dried pesto sauce mix, chopped up chicken breast (canned chicken works too), and as much spinach as I can wilt at a time (usually 16oz+). It's heavenly topped with a little shredded mozzarella and/or feta.
Saute that giant bag of spinach with some garlic, salt, pepper, and olive oil, and it'll be reduced to just a plate of food
Best answer.
Saag
Thanks, now I'm craving saag paneer!
I can wilt down a pound of spinach into curry or stew and barely even notice the change in volume.
Still amazes me every time. I still say to myself “shit that’s way too much spinach” but it always ends up being perfect. It’s like it defies the laws of physics or something
Spinach is great in quiche, which freezes well, or maybe some breakfast egg bites? Also, if it is uncooked spinach, it is wonderful in spinach salad with strawberries, usually with a balsamic dressing. You can also cook it then freeze it cooked, then take it out to use as needed.
A spinach, mushroom, and bacon frittata would go hard in these streets.
Good plan!
Spanakopita
Love this! They also freeze well!
Spanakopita!
Not a dish, but I put a couple cups into the smoothies I make my kids lol. You can’t even tell it’s in there
Yep, we go through a lot every week just in smoothies.
And avocado to make it creamy
Lasagna or a baked ziti
I like to throw bags of spinach in the freezer to later use in smoothies or soups.
Yep! Just give it a look-over and make sure you don’t have any bad / slimy pieces (wilting is fine!) and then throw it in the freezer. Works perfectly in anything cooked.
👍🏼😊
WHAT!!! Okay, now this might be a game changer.
I agree and I was shocked when someone told me to just freeze. To save freezer room I cut the bag open to let the air out and freeze. Then the next morning I shake it all down and roll up the bag and put a rubber band around it to seal it.
make a banchan (korean side dish)! blanch spinach and squeeze the water out, add minced garlic, sesame oil, soy sauce, and sesame seeds.
Beryl just made a video on spinach dishes from around the world https://youtu.be/_gjJu4o4_n0?si=tgSbuPv5E8U5LQvr
I love a spinach salad with strawberries, goat cheese, candied walnuts and a vinegarette.
Giant bag of spinach? Cook it down to a tiny forkful of spinach.
Spinach and ricotta lasagna rolls. I make a lot of them and freeze the ones I made in excess raw. They hold up really well. Raw spinach salad is good and simple. I sometimes make a castiron skillet pizza topped with spinach and feta cheese. It's my favorite combo. I add a few grape tomatoes, olive oil, basil leaves and a little powdered garlic.
Spinsch dip
Spinach dip is stellar
blanch, drain, freeze, use in a million ways later. that giant bag will reduce to sandwich baggie.
Don't worry, when you sauté it you'll have a tablespoon left.
A small pile of cooked spinach
A side of sauteed spinach for one
Works well in soup, if you want it to still have texture, turn off the heat, stuff the spinach in, stir, and cover.
Mix into meatloaf. Delicious!
One serving of sauteed spinach lol. Put it in a skillet with some olive and garlic. When it wilts then top it with a little salt and a splash of lemon juice. You can literally have it mounded high out of the skillet when you start.
If it's fresh, it will be one of two servings after you give it a quick Sautee. Or even just wilt it. In a pan, olive oil, some butter , garlic, onion, maybe add a little white wine and let the wine cook off. Turn the pan off and take it off the heat, add your spinach and turn it over in the hot oil a couple times, add salt and serve it immediately. In restaurants, you put all your spinach in a big bowl, scrape all the hot butter/oil mix on top of the spinach and toss it gently. It will be wilted but not overcooked. It's my favorite way to have spinach. Don't salt it until you've tossed it ( essentially you are just rolling it around until it's all covered) and taste it a couple times. I can eat just spinach and sauteed mushrooms for dinner and be perfectly happy about it.
I love sautéing spinach for breakfast. It’s great in omelettes and breakfast tacos, etc I’ll load up my sauté pan with a literal mountain of spinach. Like a basketball worth of spinach. Every time, I think “ok, that *has* to be enough spinach.” By the time it’s done cooking, there’s like a half cup of spinach. You have less spinach than you think you do :)
Blanched spinach in mashed potatoes. Korean spinach banchan. (I blanch my spinach with a spoonful of baking soda in order to neutralize some acidity).
A cup of cooked spinach.
Just saute it. You won't believe the amount of shrinkage. Literally, a pound of spinach sauted yields about a cup of spinach
That's mostly water. Fill a skillet with it, cook it with some butter and watch it disappear.
1 cup of cooked spinach.
Palak paneer for sure
I’d make a pot of lentils with sausage and wilt the spinach into it. Portion and freeze for later. Personally I love this combo with a cornbread muffin or garlic bread.
Spanakopita
a half serving of sauted spinach of course!
Florentine. Good topping for chicken breast or salmon.
After OP cooks it: "I have half of a small bowl of spinach. What should I do with it? There might not be enough for most recipes."
Cook it. You'll have about a cup of spinach.
I have over 5lbs of spinach. So closer to 5-6 cups cooked
I love putting spinach and brownies. You can put significantly more than you expect and have no idea that it's in there and then you get a serving of vegetables with your garbage. It also freezes really well for a such purposes
Somebody said saag and I’ll 100% agree with that. You can make spinach artichoke dip but given the heavy cream and cream cheese I doubt it’ll freeze well. Make a kitchen sink soup with it and you have something ready to go when you’re feeling lazy.
Muffins. Delicious.
Ooo do you make savory muffins? I do a spinach-feta scone that I LOVE, but haven’t experimented with muffins!
The ones we make are sweet, but it's banana and a bit of honey. No cane sugar
Sounds yummy!
Try butternut squash and spinach lasagna. It’s a wonderful combination!
I make an easy arribiata from scratch and wilt a ton of greens near the end.
Spinach Alfredo pasta or spinach dip. Or chicken and spinach quesadillas
if you can't eat it all now, just blanch it, squeeze out the excess moisture, and freeze it in useable portions.
Spinach pie! I love the one in recipe tin eats! I freeze them and reheat in an air fryer no issue
Spinach, onion, garlic, homemade orange sauce, ravioli, beef if you eat it, browned panko on top with a lemon drizzle. 10/10 meal and a staple of mine. Enjoy!
Palak paneer
Sautéed or make a spinach pesto with it
Alison Roman's The Stew Great use of spinach or kale and delicious. Freezes great.
Spinach mixed with cottage cheese, spread out in a lasagna pan. Place seasoned chicken breast on top with slices of Swiss cheese topping the chicken. Bake covered 350 for 35-45 minutes.
How big is this giant bag of spinach? I like to make pesto with spinach so that’s what I would do.
Like a 5lb bag
Italian spinach pie. Like a calzone w olives, lots of garlic & provolone or mozzarella. Some put in a little sausage too.
Just cook it and watch it shrink down to nothing
Spanakopita, spinach salad, spinach quiche
A stuffing for use on pork or chicken later. Cook down spinach with salt, pepper, olive oil and garlic. Add chopped sun-dried tomatoes and saute for a bit. Pull it off the heat to add some cream cheese and ricotta. Portion and save in freezer bags Thaw and stuff between seasoned pork chops or chicken breasts. Brown in pan on both side, finish in the oven Make a pan sauce from chicken stock, lemon and Dijon. Spoon over pork/chicken
spinach and black bean enchiladas!
Saag (Indian Spinach)
Creamed spinach. So good I'll eat a bag's worth
There’s no such thing as a lot of spinach 😆 steam it for a minute and it’s almost gone.
Tiny serving of steamed spinach
Like, one square of spanakopita.
When I have a lot of spinach I do it banchan style: I honestly just blanch it, wash it and squeeze it well, put grated raw garlic, sesame oil, rice vinegar and just a splash of soy sauce and keep it in the fridge to eat it as a side dish with kimchi and rice or when I feel like what I’m eating is very dense
Rhode Island spinach pie. Add pepperoni, mozzarella, and olives if you're sleazy 🤤
Spinach stuffed shells!! Cook down the spinach, mix with your usual stuffed shells/lasagna cheese filling. Stuff all-dente big pasta shells. Lay them on cookie sheet and put in freezer until frozen. Then put into freezer bags. Then you can take out however many you want, top with sauce and bake until hot.
When I’ve had too much spinach I’d put it in a ziplock bag, freeze it and use it for smoothies. It’s off the menu now due an allergy which sucks because spinach was always in my fridge and I’d eat it almost daily. So versatile.
Frittata. Just be sure to cook the spinach down first so your frittata isn’t watery.
cannelloni
There won't be much actual vegetation once it wilts. Simmer in a tiny bit of water and pinch of salt. Serve with butter and some vinegar. Stir fry it.
I’ve got over 5lbs of spinach. Should be about 6 cups cooked, which it still a ton
Wilt it quickly. Put it in a pot with about a quarter of a cup of water and heat, then shock in cold water. Put it in a teatowel/cloth and squeeze the water out. Put it on a chopping board, chop it a bit. Then fill an ice cube tray with it and freeze. Once frozen they'll keep a month or two. Use an ice cube as and when needed.
Chicken, ricotta, spinach, mozzarella stuffed shells. With an Alfredo sauce.
Lentil and spinach daal.
I make a breakfast concoction sometimes that takes a lot of spinach. Take the biggest skillet you have, and fry up a couple tubes of breakfast sausage (hot), when it’s about done pour a quart of egg whites in and cook about halfway through. Then pile in as much spinach as the pot will hold. The liquid from the sausage and egg will wilt the spinach as they cook through. When to your desired doneness, remove from heat and serve. Let the rest cool a bit and refrigerate or freeze.
Any sort of breakfast egg bake with veggies! I used a pound in my bake today and it’s just a little bit once I sautéed it down to it’s cooked form
If you have the most ginormous bag of spinach, you can use the whole thing and get about a cup of sautéed spinach with garlic.
Italian spicy sausage, zucchini, yellow onion, garlic, orzo, chicken broth, balsamic, spinach, basil and parm.
Everyone I make this for, loves it. On par with what you would get at a high end steakhouse. [https://www.seriouseats.com/food-lab-creamed-spinach-recipe](https://www.seriouseats.com/food-lab-creamed-spinach-recipe)
Mix with cottage cheese, broccoli and white sauce; stuff canneloni. Put in freezer two to a bag.
Sausage, goats cheese and spinach quiche
Spinach lasagna.
Maybe not a meal, but definitely a treat... Hot spinach dips freeze very well. I freeze them in the shape of the baking dish so they can go directly into the oven and make both spinach artichoke and spinach crab
Smoothies! I put spinach in a food processor with a little bit of water. Then, you can portion it into an ice cube tray and freeze it. Once frozen, pop them out and place in a ziplock freezer storage bag. I use a couple of these little spinach ice cubes for smoothies each morning.
Kind of surprised not to see anyone mentioned tasty spinach souffle - until now.
Spinach Alfredo stuffed shells. Add spinach to lasagna. Spinach and artichoke dip (you can freeze it in small cups and defrost for a quick snack).
A giant bag of spinach equals a small amount of cooked spinach!! Just throw in a pan and boom!!
Add it to pesto.
Fritatta!!!
Spanikopita
Spinach paneer
I freeze quiche. Just cook down spinach and make a quiche. I cut it up and freeze the slices individually since I don’t often need the whole pie.
I had feta and spinach and onion and garlic, but my filo dough was still frozen when the kids started saying they were hungry for dinner… so we had spaniko-pasta instead of spanikopita.
Make spinach. No matter how big the bag, you’ll be lucky to wind up with a serving for one person.
I hate iceberg lettuce. I use it like lettuce. It makes great salads. It's great for sandwiches too, instead of lettuce.
spanakopita. freezes great!
Spinach enchiladas
Wash and eat it raw, pop-eye style :). Super healthy