This easy spinach recipe is one of the best ways to make spinach! In just minutes, sauté spinach, olive oil, and garlic for a nutritious and delicious side dish. Popeye would agree!
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Popeye was the best thing the spinach industry has ever hit. When I was a kid, you couldn’t pay me to eat lima beans or peas, but spinach? I asked for it; we all did.
We wanted to be cool like Popeye, who could beat Bluto to Kingdom Come simply by downing a can of spinach, which always conveniently found its way into Popeye’s mouth when his situation was at its worst.
Our parents worked hard to convince us that cooked fresh spinach is just as good, if not better, than the canned stuff.
How to cook spinach
My dad prepares spinach this way at least once or twice a week, usually using fresh spinach from the farmer’s market. According to Dad, he overcooked it for years until he learned not to cook spinach past the point where it collapsed.
Spinach releases a lot of water when cooked. So my dad’s trick is to drain and dry the spinach leaves as best you can, using a salad spinner if necessary, before cooking them.
Then sauté some garlic in olive oil in a large wide pan and add the cleaned, drained and dried spinach leaves to the pan. Pack the pan with spinach; cover and cook for just a minute or two.
More great spinach recipes
- Spinach and Orzo Salad
- Spinach with sesame and garlic
- Creamed spinach with bacon
- Spinach frittata
How to wash, dry and prepare spinach
- Most baby spinach in pre-packaged bags comes pre-washed, but we recommend washing and drying it anyway.
- Ripe spinach sold in bundles is not pre-washed and may be gritty. It is best to cut or stem them and wash them at least twice by submerging them in a sink of cold water.
- Baby spinach does not need to be destalked. You can cook the stalks of the grapes and everything. For more mature spinach, however, you should cut off most of the large stalks, as they can become stringy.
- A salad spinner is a quick way to dry spinach, but you can also dry the leaves by placing them between two clean kitchen towels. Cloth towels absorb more water than paper towels.
What to serve with sautéed spinach
- Honey Mustard Chicken
- Cilantro Lime Shrimp
- Garlic Herb Butter Prime Rib
- skirt steak
- Twice Baked Southwest Sweet Potatoes
From the editors of Simply Recipes
Simply sautéed spinach
ingredients
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2 large grapes spinachabove 1 lb
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2 tablespoon Extra virgin olive oil
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3 cloves garlic, sliced
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Salt to taste
method
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Clean and prepare the spinach:
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 repeat, soak and drain. Place the spinach in a salad spinner to remove excess moisture.
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Sauté garlic:
Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and sauté until the garlic just starts to brown, about 30 seconds.
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Add the spinach to the pan and cook:
Add the spinach to the pan and press down a little with your hand if necessary. Use a couple of spatulas (or tongs) to lift and toss the spinach in the pan so you brush more of it with the olive oil and garlic. Do this a few times. Cover the pan and cook for 1 minute. Cover and turn the spinach again. Cover the pan and cook another minute.
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Remove from heat and drain excess liquid:
After 2 minutes of covered cooking, the spinach should have completely collapsed. Remove from stove.
Drain excess liquid from the pan. Add a little more olive oil if you like. Then sprinkle with salt to taste. Serve immediately.
| nutritional information (per serving) | |
|---|---|
| 89 | calories |
| 7g | Fat |
| 5g | carbohydrates |
| 4g | protein |
