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Easy Cheesy Spinach Side Dish Recipe

  • EspaƱol
Portions: 4 portions

Calories: 216kcal

Serve this easy cheesy spinach side dish when you're short on time, but want everyone to clean up their dinner plate. Nobody will complain about eating their veggies, not with a flavorful dish of cheesy creamed spinach overflowing with cheesy flavors.

Why I ā¤ļø it • Recipe • Ingredients • Preparation

Cheesy spinach side dish.

Cheesy spinach side dish.

Why I ā¤ļø it

If your whole family needs a bit of convincing to eat spinach, this no-bake, gluten-free, low-carb, creamy spinach casserole dish, with two types of cheeses, and lots of flavors, will do the trick.

The colorful pepper and onion add a bit of texture and color to the dish, and I topped it with some cottage cheese (queso cremita or queso blanco) for extra cheesiness. A no-baking dish that is perfect with grilled meats, and will be a screaming success at your potluck.

Cheesy spinach recipe

This free recipe contains Amazon affiliate links, and I receive a small commission when you purchase, at no cost to you. Thank you!

Learn how to make this easy cheesy spinach side dish, and make any dinner a special occasion. It's the best way to make the whole family love their greens.

Course: Dinner, Lunch
Inspiration: American
Category: chopped spinach recipes, creamy cheesy spinach, spinach recipes with cheese
Author: Clara Gonzalez

Prep Time5 minutes mins
Cook Time15 minutes mins
Total Time20 minutes mins

Utensils and tools

  • Large skillet or pan
  • Strainer (if you use frozen spinach)
Cheesy spinach side dish.
Cheesy spinach side dish.

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoon butter, (34 grams)
  • 1 medium white onion, diced (95 grams)
  • 1 red bell pepper, diced (150 grams)
  • ½ tablespoon of garlic powder
  • 10 ounces chopped spinach, (283 grams)
  • ¼ cup heavy cream, (60 mililitros)
  • ¼ cup cream cheese, (53 grams)
  • 1 teaspoon of salt, or to taste
  • ½ teaspoon of black pepper (freshly-cracked, or ground), or to taste
  • ¼ cup drained ricotta cheese, crumbled (33 grams)

Preparation

Before starting, please make sure you have all the ingredients and utensils ready.

Step 1: Cooking the onion and pepper

In a large pan heat the butter over medium-low heat, stir in the onion and bell pepper, and garlic powder and cook stirring until the onion starts to become translucent.

Step 2: Cooking the spinach

If you are using frozen spinach, squeeze the spinach in a strainer to eliminate as much water as possible liquid and add the spinach to the pan. Cook stirring until the spinach is heated through. Add the cream and cream cheese to the mixture and stir.

Lower heat and simmer covered until the spinach mixture is creamy, but there is no excess liquid (about 15 minutes). Stir often while it simmers. Once the spinach is cooked through, season with salt and pepper to taste.

Step 3: Serving

Remove from the heat. Sprinkle with the ricotta cheese and serve.

Variations

If you want an extra cheesy dish, add half a cup of mozzarella cheese or cheddar cheese along with cream cheese to the preparation.

You can substitute parmesan cheese for cottage cheese if you want a sharper, stronger taste.

Top tips

You can use fresh or frozen spinach, you just need to play a bit with the cooking time, but fresh spinach only adds a couple of extra minutes.

Cheesy spinach served with pork chops.
Cheesy spinach served with pork chops.

Serving suggestions

If you ever wondered what to serve with smoked pork chops, this is one of my favorite side dishes for fried smoked pork chops. They go great together.

This is also a great dish to go with any BBQ meats.

Nutritional information

Calories: 216kcal - Carbohydrates: 9g - Protein: 6g - Fat: 19g - Saturated Fat: 11g - Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g - Monounsaturated Fat: 5g - Trans Fat: 1g - Cholesterol: 59mg - Sodium: 842mg - Potassium: 390mg - Fiber: 3g - Sugar: 4g - Vitamin A: 9868IU - Vitamin C: 44mg - Calcium: 173mg - Iron: 2mg

Benefits of spinach

Spinach is a wonder plant, it packs an enormous amount of vitamin K, as well as vitamins A, B1, B2, B6, E, and C. If that wasn't enough, you can get manganese, folate, magnesium, iron, copper, calcium, potassium, phosphorus, zinc, protein, and choline. Of course, as with any greens, it is a very good source of dietary fiber.

Isn't that good enough to add more spinach to your diet? Popeye would be proud.

More side dish recipes

  • Chicken fried brown rice.
    How to Make Fried Brown Rice - Healthy And Easy
  • White rice instant pot.
    BestĀ Instant Pot White Rice RecipeĀ (Delicious, Foolproof)
  • Roasted pepper sauce.
    Creamy Roasted Red Pepper Sauce
  • Sour cream mashed potatoes.
    Creamy Mashed Potatoes with Sour Cream

See more: casserole recipes side dish recipes lunch recipes

FAQs

Can you use frozen spinach instead of fresh?

Yes, you can use frozen spinach instead of fresh to make a cheesy spinach side dish.

Can we eat spinach with cheese?

We absolutely can eat spinach with cheese, in fact, they make a great pairing in side dishes, dips, and appetizers.

How do you make spinach taste better?

Spinach is at its best paired with dishes in a variety of spinach pasta dishes, spinach side dishes, or cheesy spinach dip.

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How to Make Creamy Cheesy Spinach Side Dish

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoon butter salted, (34 g)
  • 1 medium white onion diced (95 g)
  • 1 red bell pepper diced (150 g)
  • ½ tablespoon of garlic powder
  • 10 ounces chopped spinach (283 g)
  • ¼ cup heavy cream (60 ml)
  • ¼ cup cream cheese (53 g)
  • 1 teaspoon of salt or to taste
  • ½ teaspoon of black pepper freshly-cracked, or ground, or to taste
  • ¼ cup drained cottage cheese crumbled (33 g)

Instructions

Step 1: Cooking the onion and pepper

  • In a large pan heat theĀ butterĀ over medium-low heat, stir in theĀ onionĀ andĀ bell pepper, and garlic powder and cook stirring until the onion starts to become translucent.

Step 2: Cooking the spinach

  • If you are using frozenĀ spinach, squeeze the spinach in a strainer to eliminate as much water as possible liquid and add the spinach to the pan. Cook stirring until the spinach is heated through. Add theĀ creamĀ andĀ cream cheeseĀ to the mixture and stir.
    Lower heat and simmer covered until the spinach mixture is creamy, but there is no excess liquid (about 15 minutes). Stir often while it simmers. Once the spinach is cooked through, season withĀ saltĀ andĀ pepperĀ to taste.

Step 3: Serving

  • Remove from the heat. Sprinkle with the ricotta cheese and serve.

Notes

You can use fresh or frozen spinach, you just need to play a bit with the cooking time, but fresh spinach only adds a couple of extra minutes.

Nutrition

Calories: 216kcal

By Tia Clara, published Oct 11, 2018 on Tia Clara

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  1. Diksha

    April 17, 2019 at 3:02 am

    5 stars
    This is seriously the best cheesy spinach recipe that I have ever made, and quite possibly one of the best ones that I have ever eaten. it was fantastic. Thank you!

    Reply
    • Tia Clara

      August 14, 2020 at 12:42 pm

      Thank you very much, I am so glad you enjoyed it!

      Reply

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Hi, I'm TĆ­a Clara! I have been a recipe developer, and recipe writer for 20+ years, and here I share my easy recipes you'll love.

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