Steakhouse Creamed Spinach
Thick, rich, spoonable creamed spinach with parmesan and a whisper of nutmeg — just like the steakhouse side, made with frozen spinach.
Nutrition per serving
½ cup- Net carbs
- 5g
- Calories
- 259kcal
- Protein
- 7.8g
- Fat
- 23g
- Total carbs
- 8.5 g
- Fiber
- 3.4 g
Calculated from USDA FoodData Central values for each ingredient (optional ingredients excluded). Brands vary — check your labels if you track closely.
Ingredients
Dairy-free: Coconut cream and full-fat coconut milk make the sauce, and nutritional yeast stands in for the savory depth of parmesan.
- Cook the onion and garlic in the olive oil. Whisk in the coconut cream and coconut milk and simmer 3–4 minutes, until thick enough to coat a spoon.
- Stir in the nutritional yeast with the nutmeg, salt and pepper, then add the spinach as usual.
Creamed kale: Hearty kale keeps some texture in the cream sauce instead of melting into it — more rustic than steakhouse, and just as good with steak.
- Blanch the kale in a large pot of boiling salted water for 2–3 minutes until tender, drain, cool under cold water and squeeze dry.
- Simmer the kale in the finished sauce for 3–4 minutes, until hot and well coated.
Bacon & garlic: Crispy bacon and double the garlic, with the onion softened in the bacon fat — smoky and rich.
- Cook the bacon in the skillet until crisp, lift it out and pour off all but 1 tablespoon of fat.
- Melt the butter into the bacon fat and cook the onion and all the garlic in it. Stir most of the bacon into the finished spinach and scatter the rest on top.
- Also add
Estimated cost $8.91 for 4 servings ($2.23 each) · how we estimate
Instructions
-
Squeeze the thawed spinach by the handful over the sink, then twist it in a clean kitchen towel until no more liquid drips out. You should be left with a compact mass of about 1½ cups.
-
Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook the onion 3–4 minutes, until soft and translucent, then add the garlic for 30 seconds.
-
Add the cream cheese and cream and whisk until smooth. Simmer gently for 2–3 minutes, until the sauce is thick enough to coat a spoon.
-
Stir in the parmesan, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Add the spinach, pulling it apart with a fork, and cook 3–4 minutes, stirring, until piping hot and the sauce clings to every bit.
-
Taste and adjust the seasoning. Serve hot alongside garlic butter steak bites or crispy chicken thighs.
Tips for success
-
Squeeze, then squeeze again. Leftover water dilutes the sauce into a thin green puddle; dry spinach gives the thick steakhouse texture. - A pinch of nutmeg is the classic steakhouse trick — you won't pick it out as nutmeg, but the cream tastes richer and rounder.
- Using fresh spinach? Wilt about 2 lb (900 g) in batches in a large pot, cool, chop and squeeze dry the same way. For a gratin, spread it in a baking dish, top with extra parmesan and broil 2–3 minutes until bubbly.
Nice to have, not needed
- A potato ricer presses thawed spinach drier than anything else — a kitchen towel twisted hard works fine.
Storage & meal prepMeal-prep friendly
- Keeps 4 days in the fridge
- Freezes up to 2 months
Reheat: Warm gently over low heat (or in the microwave at half power) with a splash of cream, stirring often.
Prep tip: If it looks grainy after freezing, stir in a spoonful of cream cheese as it reheats to smooth it out.
Refrigerate up to 4 days; reheat gently over low heat with a splash of cream. Freezes for up to 2 months, though the sauce may turn slightly grainy.
Variations
3 variations, each with its own ingredients and macrosDairy-free
DietCoconut cream and full-fat coconut milk make the sauce, and nutritional yeast stands in for the savory depth of parmesan.
- butter → olive oil
- cream cheese → coconut cream
- heavy cream → canned coconut milk
- Parmesan → nutritional yeast
5.1 g net · 218 kcal · 6.7 g protein · 19 g fat · ≈$2.10 per serving (+0.1 g net carbs vs the original)
Creamed kale
SwapHearty kale keeps some texture in the cream sauce instead of melting into it — more rustic than steakhouse, and just as good with steak.
- frozen chopped spinach → kale (curly or lacinato)
3.4 g net · 266 kcal · 7.1 g protein · 24 g fat · ≈$1.67 per serving (−1.6 g net carbs vs the original)
Bacon & garlic
FlavorCrispy bacon and double the garlic, with the onion softened in the bacon fat — smoky and rich.
- + 6 slices bacon
- + 2 cloves extra garlic
5.8 g net · 332 kcal · 13 g protein · 28 g fat · ≈$2.47 per serving (+0.8 g net carbs vs the original)
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