Do you love spinach? We also! This easy side dish is made with BACON and a creamy béchamel sauce. This is a great accompaniment to fried chicken, fried fish, or a holiday meal.
If you’ve been reading this page for a while, you know we’re big spinach fans here. We get fresh spinach from the farmer’s market every Saturday morning, and it’s disappearing fast.
Here’s a creamed spinach dish my dad made for dinner the other night inspired by a recipe he found at the Sacramento Bee.
The spinach gets its creaminess from a béchamel sauce made from flour and butter. There is actually no cream in the spinach! Milk is used instead.
The bacon adds wonderful flavor, but you can easily skip it if you’d like.
How to clean fresh spinach
If you’re using fresh ripe spinach (uncleaned baby spinach), you’ll need to clean it thoroughly.
Cut off the thick stems from the spinach and discard. Clean the spinach by filling your sink with water and soaking the spinach to loosen any sand or dirt. Drain the spinach and then soak and drain again.
More great recipes with spinach
Creamed spinach with bacon
If you’re using fresh ripe spinach (uncleaned baby spinach), you’ll need to clean it thoroughly. Cut off the thick stems from the spinach and discard. Clean the spinach by filling your sink with water and soaking the spinach to loosen any sand or dirt. Drain the spinach and then soak and drain again.
ingredients
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1 lb fresh spinachabout 2 large tufts, thoroughly cleaned
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3 to 4 stripes baconuncooked, finely chopped
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1 Middle Onionfinely chopped
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1 clove garlicfinely chopped (about 1 teaspoon)
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prize nutmeg
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Salt and Pepper, taste
For the béchamel cream sauce:
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2 tablespoon butter
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2 tablespoon all purpose flour
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1 Cup whole milk
method
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Blanch and chop the spinach:
In a saucepan of boiling water, blanch the spinach until the spinach wilts, about 30 seconds to 2 minutes. Drain and rinse under cold water to stop the spinach from cooking further.
Squeeze the spinach to remove all moisture. Chop the spinach and set aside.
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Fry bacon, onions, garlic:
Heat a large skillet over medium-high. Add the chopped bacon and sauté until the bacon begins to release some of its fat.
Add the chopped onion and garlic. Fry until the onions are translucent.
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Prepare the béchamel sauce:
Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium/low heat until it just starts to bubble. Add the flour and cook, stirring, until smooth, about 2 minutes.
Slowly add the milk, stirring constantly, and cook until thick.
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Finish and serve the dish:
Combine spinach, bacon and onion mixture and béchamel in skillet. Add nutmeg, salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a simmer, remove from heat and serve.
| nutritional information (per serving) | |
|---|---|
| 257 | calories |
| 19g | Fat |
| 13g | carbohydrates |
| 10g | protein |
