Make the best Steakhouse Creamed Spinach that's the perfect side for a steak dinner! You will love this easy, healthy, and restaurant-quality creamy spinach recipe. It's a WHOLE LOTTA YUM!
Our Steakhouse Spinach with Cream Cheese is so good!
Most of us who visit a steakhouse are probably ordering a big juicy steak or perhaps even surf and turf. And hands down, the most popular steak side dish is creamy delicious, creamed spinach.
We're sharing all of our tips and tricks for making easy creamed spinach with cream cheese and spinach right at home so you serve steakhouse style dinners at home for significantly less! There's no need to go to Ruth's Chris, Morton's, Boston Market when you can make your own quick and simple creamed spinach recipe in your own kitchen.
I mean, even people who don't like spinach normally will still gobble up our creamed spinach recipe!
We highly our homemade steakhouse spinach recipe with cast iron ribeye steak or filet mignon in a pan!
- Restaurant Quality at Home for cheap!
- A Rich and Creamy Texture: The combo of heavy whipping cream and cream cheese makes this a luxuriously creamy and indulgent dish. The total comfort food that's great for special occasions too!
- Simple Ingredients: Our cream cheese and spinach recipe calls for easy-to-find ingredients that you may already have in your fridge or pantry.
- Easy to Customize! Our easy steakhouse creamed spinach recipe is fantastic on its own, but it’s also easy to adapt with additional flavors or mix-ins we show you in the post.
Ingredient list
The sauce is actually similar ingredients homemade alfredo sauce but just with the addition of fresh or frozen spinach leaves.
** Please see the recipe card at the bottom of the post for the exact quantities **
- butter
- baby spinach leaves
- fine sea salt
- yellow onion
- garlic cloves
- heavy whipping cream
- cream cheese
- black pepper
- ground nutmeg
- shredded parmesan cheese
Kitchen tools
- large skillet to make the recipe
- Large pot or microwave for cooking the spinach.
Can You Use Frozen Spinach?
You can use frozen spinach to make our easy creamed spinach recipe, but we highly recommend that you purchase frozen baby spinach leaves and not the blocks of shredded spinach pieces.
Make sure to thaw and completely squeeze out excess water with paper towels before proceeding with the recipe.
How to Cook
Step 1: Add 1 teaspoon of salt to a large pot of water and bring to a boil. Blanch the spinach by cooking it for 1 minute, until it just starts to wilt.
Step 2: Rinse the spinach with cold water in a colander until it's cooled. Squeeze out the water by taking a fistful of spinach at a time and squeezing out the liquid. Roughly chop the spinach.
Step 3: Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Add the minced onion and cook until it's soft, for about 4 minutes. Add the garlic to the pan and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly.
Step 4: Add the heavy whipping cream, the remaining ยฝ teaspoon of salt, the black pepper, and the nutmeg, and bring it to a simmer. Cook uncovered for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally until the cream sauce has thickened up a bit.
Step 5: Add the parmesan cheese and stir until it's melted. Add the fresh baby spinach leaves and stir until combined. You can mix in a little more heavy whipping cream to thin it out or to thicken it, just cook it a little longer to evaporate extra moisture. Taste the creamed spinach and add more salt and pepper to taste. Serve warm and enjoy!
Recipe notes
- To use frozen spinach we highly recommend you buy frozen whole baby spinach leaves and not chopped spinach for best consistency and appearance. Thaw it and squeeze very dry before using it in a recipe.
- You can lighten up the recipe by using milk or half n half instead of heavy whipping cream but you'll need to add in about 2 tablespoon of flour to thicken it. Add the flour after you saute the onions and combine it to form a paste before adding the milk or half n half, and the seasonings.
- You can make creamed spinach in advance but the spinach will turn dark, it'll till taste delicious! Just reheat it over medium low heat or microwave it, stirring every 60 seconds.
- If you're eating low carb, cut the onion in half if you want to reduce the carbs even further.
Recipe Variations
- Spicy Creamed Spinach: Add a pinch of crushed red pepper flakes or a dash of cayenne pepper to give the dish a spicy kick.
- Add Mushrooms: Sauté sliced mushrooms along with the spinach for added texture and an earthy flavor.
- Bacon lovers: Cook some bacon until crispy, crumble it, and stir it into the spinach at the end of cooking time for a smoky touch.
- Fresh herbs: Add fresh or dried herbs such as thyme, rosemary, or dill to complement the spinach and cream flavors.
- Sundried Tomatoes: Mix in chopped sundried tomatoes for a tangy and rich variation.
- Chopped artichoke hearts for a flavor similar to spinach artichoke dip
- Add a lemon flavor: stir in lemon zest at the end of cooking for a bright and citrusy flavor.
What to do with leftovers
- Make spinach stuffed chicken breasts
- Thin it out and make a creamy pasta sauce
- Add sour cream or Greek yogurt and turn it into a veggie dip
- Add it to an omelet or serve it with leftover steak and eggs.
- Stir leftover creamed spinach into a soup
- Stuff it into mini bell peppers, tomatoes, or stuffed peppers
What to serve on the side
- Ribeye steak like our cast iron ribeye
- Filet mignon - read our post on how to cook filet mignon
- Pot roast - such as a Mississippi pot roast
- Pork tenderloin roast - why not make a quick and easy air fryer pork tenderloin roast?
- Baked pork steak
- Pan seared chicken thighs - juicy dark meat such as thighs especially goes well w
Storing & Reheating
Store: Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. The cooked spinach will be a vibrant green color right after you make it and will start to turn a darker green shade as it sits. It will still taste delicious, but just to make you aware!
Freezing: Let the creamed spinach to cool completely, then store it in an airtight container and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator before reheating.
Reader FAQ's
Yes, unsweetened almond milk, oat milk, or soy milk can be used as a dairy-free alternative. Just note that it may alter the flavor slightly.
As written, our recipe is already low carb and keto since we made it without flour! Many recipes combine milk and flour to thicken the cheese sauce, we make things even simpler and richer by using heavy whipping cream and cream cheese and leaving out the flour.
Make sure to use cream cheese and parmesan cheese that has as low as carbs as possible since some brands add extra starches to keep costs down.
More Recipes with Spinach
Recipe
Steakhouse Creamed Spinach
Ingredients
- 2 lb fresh baby spinach leaves see note below for frozen spinach
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 1 ½ + teaspoon fine sea salt divided
- 1 small yellow onion minced
- 3 garlic cloves finely chopped
- 2 cups heavy whipping cream
- 4 oz cream cheese
- ยฝ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ยผ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ cup finely shredded parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Add 1 teaspoon of salt to a large pot of water and bring to a boil. Blanch the spinach by cooking it for 1 minute, until it just starts to wilt.
- Rinse the spinach with cold water in a colander until it's cooled. Squeeze out the water by taking a fistful of spinach at a time and squeezing out the liquid. Roughly chop the spinach.
- Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Add the minced onion and cook until it's soft, for about 4 minutes. Add the garlic to the pan and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly.
- Add the heavy whipping cream, the remaining ยฝ teaspoon of salt, the black pepper, and the nutmeg, and bring it to a simmer. Cook uncovered for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally until the cream sauce has thickened up a bit.
- Add the parmesan cheese and stir until it's melted. Add the fresh baby spinach leaves and stir until combined. You can mix in a little more heavy whipping cream to thin it out or to thicken it, just cook it a little longer to evaporate extra moisture. Taste the creamed spinach and add more salt and pepper to taste. Serve warm and enjoy!
Notes
- To use frozen spinach we highly recommend you buy frozen whole baby spinach leaves and not chopped spinach for best consistency and appearance. Thaw it and squeeze very dry before using it in a recipe.
- You can lighten up the recipe by using milk or half n half instead of heavy whipping cream but you'll need to add in about 2 tablespoon of flour to thicken it. Add the flour after you saute the onions and combine it to form a paste before adding the milk or half n half, and the seasonings.
- You can make creamy spinach in advance but the spinach will turn dark, it'll till taste delicious! Just reheat it over medium low heat or microwave it, stirring every 60 seconds.
- If you're eating low carb, cut the onion in half if you want to reduce the carbs even further.
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