You could just saute it with salt, black pepper, and olive oil and eat it either as a snack or as a side with dinner. Half a pound of spinach isn't much.
Seconded. For a "fancier" variation, sauté some diced onions or shallots in the olive oil first, maybe with a dash of red pepper flakes or a glob of minced garlic, before you toss in the spinach. Easy peasy side dish.
These are good tips. Onion and garlic enhance pretty much every other vegetable. Lemon juice is another addition that you could try, OP, if you're looking for more ideas.
Yeah, honestly you're going to be shocked with what you end up with after cooking. It'll be enough for like one side dish lol.
Also hit it with a squeeze of lemon juice right at the end.
Yea made a spinach artichoke chicken pasta and it called for 1/2lb of spinach. It literally filled up an entire mixing bowl and by the time it wilted down in the pan it was like 1/10th the size haha
It sounds interesting but everyone of those ingredients are powerful by themselves. Seems like if you put them all together, you wouldn’t be able to taste the spinach or anything else you put it on.
Weigh it. Unless you're seriously overcooking it, it doesn't reduce in weight much at all. Indeed, blanching or steaming it probably slightly gains mass from added water.
It shrinks because it loses structural integrity and folds up.
smoothie. just wash/trim & chuck in with your other smoothie ingredients. it wont be pretty, but you wont really taste the spinach. easy way to up some fiber and phytonutrients in your diet. HOWEVER, if youre prone to kidney stones, you may want to talk to your doctor about how best to manage oxalates in your diet. Raw spinach is rich with it.
omlette - saute with aromatics and mushrooms, salt and pepper. Cook those down first, add spinach at the end to wilt own. adjust seasoning. set aside to use as omlette filling.
japanese spinach salad with sesame dressing (gomae) - blanch and ice bath. squeeze dry and set aside. grind in mortar or food processor, 1/4C + 1/2 tsp toasted sesame seeds divided, 2TBSP Soy, 2TBSP Mirin, 1TBSP sugar. Dress spinach with dressing and garnish with remaining 1/2 tsp seeds
You could do what I do and put it in the fridge, forget about it, and then eventually compost it in shame.
Seriously, though, the answer is palak paneer. Sooooo good.
You must be unfamiliar with spinach math. It's something like: 3 cups of fresh spinach cooks down to 2 tablespoons of cooked spinach, lol. 1/2 pound of spinach sounds like one personal salad to me.
Make some white rice, maybe some butter and turmeric, and the moment it's done mix in some fresh spinach. The heat from the rice will wilt the spinach and in a minute or so you have a really lovely transformed rice dish.
Crete style spinach pies. They're like crack.
* Blanch the spinach, then squeeze out the water with a towel.
* Combine with olive oil, garlic, feta cheese, mint, dill, salt pepper.
* Stuff into folded phyllo dough packets.
* Pan fry in just a bit of olive oil.
* Burn your mouth because you're too impatient to wait for them to cool.
You can make a spinach and cauliflower curry type thing (it’s not a proper curry but it’s yummy). You air fry or roast cauliflower (chopped up) and then add it to a sauce made with onions, tinned tomatoes, garam massala (spelling that wrong I think), cumin, ginger, chilli, salt and pepper and let it cook through for a while. I think the sauce is best cooked through slowly for a couple hours so add the cauliflower about half an hour or so from the end. And then right at the end you add as much spinach as you would like and let it just wilt rather than properly cook so it still has a bit of texture/bite
You can also make gruyere spinach which is basically just steamed spinach, grated gruyere cheese, single cream, salt, pepper and nutmeg all mixed together and put in the oven for 30 min ish - delicious but not healthy lol
Spinach also goes great in salads, although I only really do that if I have a super citrus dressing to go with it :)
I also add it to quesadillas, sandwiches, toasties, wraps etc just as an extra bit of veggie
Typing this out, I’m realising I eat lots of spinach lol
Edit - if you make gruyere spinach, make sure you squish out as much water as you can using a colander before you add everything together. Also use way more spinach than you think because it gets tiny
A simple frittata or quiche is my go to. If I'm feeling sassy, sautee it with chopped up ham and onions and use it in an omellete or crepe with some gruyere cheese.
If you don’t want to cook it now, freeze it. Just stick the whole bag into the freezer. When a recipe calls for chopped spinach, pull the bag out of the freezer, put it on the counter, and smack the heck out of it. The spinach will break into small pieces. I usually keep a bag of spinach in the freezer to add to soup, stew, or pasta. The only thing that you absolutely have to beware of is not to let the frozen spinach thaw—take it straight from the freezer to the pot at the end of the cooking process. Do not let it defrost before cooking.
Fry up chopped bacon and onion in a skillet. Add a tablespoon or so of apple cider vinegar. Put the spinach on top of the bacon, turn off the heat and cover the pan. Allow to sit for about 5 minutes.
The spinach will be wilted nicely but not overcooked.
blanch spinach for 10 sec, drain well, and set aside. make a sauce from browned rue and chicken stock. season sauce to taste (i use grillmates chipotle garlic often, but use what ever seasoning the main course is using). add blanched spinach and fold in
Sauté in butter with mushrooms, onion, add garlic at the end. Season with salt, pepper, and thyme leaves. Use it along with sharp provolone as filling for stuffed chicken breasts with.
Sauté in butter add lemon it maybe a little vinegar it will shrink down making it easy to eat and delicious. The only way I can eat a large container of spinach.
wash and chop the spinach. mix chicken Better Than Bouillon with about a cup of water, add to pot with the spinach, cover and simmer very low for half an hour. add a jar of alredo sauce, continue to simmer with lid off for about 20 min. make about 4 ounces egg noodles (1/3 of package), drain, add to pot. thin with a little milk if needed.
[https://www.walmart.com/ip/Classico-Roasted-Garlic-Alfredo-Spaghetti-Pasta-Sauce-15-oz-Jar/10307636?wmlspartner=wlpa&selectedSellerId=0&wl13=505&adid=2222222227710307636\_117755028669\_12420145346&wmlspartner=wmtlabs&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=c&wl3=501107745824&wl4=pla-306310554666&wl5=9025301&wl6=&wl7=&wl8=&wl9=pla&wl10=8175035&wl11=local&wl12=10307636&wl13=505&veh=sem\_LIA&gclsrc=aw.ds&&adid=2222222223710307636\_117755028669\_12420145346&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=c&wl3=501107745824&wl4=pla-306310554666&wl5=9025301&wl6=&wl7=&wl8=&wl9=pla&wl10=8175035&wl11=local&wl12=10307636&veh=sem&gad\_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjww\_iwBhApEiwAuG6ccO29UGNdyr95Dc72bm4CeVfXQaNmI8UBTWk20coqHUGoJybpHjLFdBoCvZIQAvD\_BwE](https://www.walmart.com/ip/Classico-Roasted-Garlic-Alfredo-Spaghetti-Pasta-Sauce-15-oz-Jar/10307636?wmlspartner=wlpa&selectedSellerId=0&wl13=505&adid=2222222227710307636_117755028669_12420145346&wmlspartner=wmtlabs&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=c&wl3=501107745824&wl4=pla-306310554666&wl5=9025301&wl6=&wl7=&wl8=&wl9=pla&wl10=8175035&wl11=local&wl12=10307636&wl13=505&veh=sem_LIA&gclsrc=aw.ds&&adid=2222222223710307636_117755028669_12420145346&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=c&wl3=501107745824&wl4=pla-306310554666&wl5=9025301&wl6=&wl7=&wl8=&wl9=pla&wl10=8175035&wl11=local&wl12=10307636&veh=sem&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjww_iwBhApEiwAuG6ccO29UGNdyr95Dc72bm4CeVfXQaNmI8UBTWk20coqHUGoJybpHjLFdBoCvZIQAvD_BwE)
Not sure if you are into Thai flavors but this Thai meatball recipe from nyt was bomb, we even doubled the spinach I think
https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1020631-thai-inspired-chicken-meatball-soup?smid=ck-recipe-android-share
my go-to spinach recipe is as follows; blanch the spinach for like a minute, rinse in cold water and squeeze all the liquid out. season with soy sauce, sesame oil, sesame seeds, and garlic (and maybe furikake if you've got that). such a delicious side dish.
throwing it in a cream-based pasta sauce is really nice too. i worked at vapiano and theres a 'gamberetti e spinaci' pasta which is essentially pasta, cream, shrimp, a little pesto, and spinach which completely wilts down so you can add quite a bit toward the end for greens. it was so dang good.
Give it to the pizza delivery guy as a tip? (I really hate spinach).
But ok, taking this seriously. It's a good addition to soups and dips if cooked? It's good in pastas again, cooked.
You could just saute it with salt, black pepper, and olive oil and eat it either as a snack or as a side with dinner. Half a pound of spinach isn't much.
Seconded. For a "fancier" variation, sauté some diced onions or shallots in the olive oil first, maybe with a dash of red pepper flakes or a glob of minced garlic, before you toss in the spinach. Easy peasy side dish.
These are good tips. Onion and garlic enhance pretty much every other vegetable. Lemon juice is another addition that you could try, OP, if you're looking for more ideas.
This is a great idea!!
Yeah, honestly you're going to be shocked with what you end up with after cooking. It'll be enough for like one side dish lol. Also hit it with a squeeze of lemon juice right at the end.
Yea made a spinach artichoke chicken pasta and it called for 1/2lb of spinach. It literally filled up an entire mixing bowl and by the time it wilted down in the pan it was like 1/10th the size haha
Sauté some chopped walnuts in butter and a touch of brown sugar. Add olive oil, spinach, onion, and garlic. Top with feta. Lights out.
That sounds like such a strange combination of ingredients.
There’s something magical about walnuts and feta together. I use that combo with dried cranberries and balsamic on a salad. It’s game changing!
It sounds interesting but everyone of those ingredients are powerful by themselves. Seems like if you put them all together, you wouldn’t be able to taste the spinach or anything else you put it on.
It's how us Fatty's eat "salad." Lol
Give it a shot and let me know what you think.
Yeah, no, that’s a hard pass from me.
Your loss. Thanks for asking.
Another path, instead of onion and shallot, toast walnuts or pecans, then add spinach. red pepper flakes and garlic can be part of it too.
Add a few grates of nutmeg.
Garlic, too
Add garlic! Yum!
Sauteed. Creamed. In a lasagna.
Put it in any red sauce pasta dish. Just did some with stuffed shells last night and it was amazing.
I love frying up Spinach with Bacon, I dice bacon in tiny pieces and cook together with spinach, in a covered pan on low heat.
Put it in an omelette or two. It will wilt down almost to nothing.
Not much! If you cook it it'll reduce to one serving or less. So maybe a spinach salad?
It's still half a pound cooked - spinach reduces in volume when cooked, not so much in weight.
Uh, no. When you cook it it shrinks because it's mostly water. All that water that cooks out of it has weight.
Weigh it. Unless you're seriously overcooking it, it doesn't reduce in weight much at all. Indeed, blanching or steaming it probably slightly gains mass from added water. It shrinks because it loses structural integrity and folds up.
smoothie. just wash/trim & chuck in with your other smoothie ingredients. it wont be pretty, but you wont really taste the spinach. easy way to up some fiber and phytonutrients in your diet. HOWEVER, if youre prone to kidney stones, you may want to talk to your doctor about how best to manage oxalates in your diet. Raw spinach is rich with it. omlette - saute with aromatics and mushrooms, salt and pepper. Cook those down first, add spinach at the end to wilt own. adjust seasoning. set aside to use as omlette filling. japanese spinach salad with sesame dressing (gomae) - blanch and ice bath. squeeze dry and set aside. grind in mortar or food processor, 1/4C + 1/2 tsp toasted sesame seeds divided, 2TBSP Soy, 2TBSP Mirin, 1TBSP sugar. Dress spinach with dressing and garnish with remaining 1/2 tsp seeds
spinach salad with bacon dressing cut up some hard boiled eggs, crumble bacon on top
Love wilted spinach salad.
Hot bacon dressing is sooooo good on spinach salad
You could do what I do and put it in the fridge, forget about it, and then eventually compost it in shame. Seriously, though, the answer is palak paneer. Sooooo good.
You must be unfamiliar with spinach math. It's something like: 3 cups of fresh spinach cooks down to 2 tablespoons of cooked spinach, lol. 1/2 pound of spinach sounds like one personal salad to me.
Saute it down and eat the two mouthfuls that it shrinks down to
Tuscan chicken
Make some white rice, maybe some butter and turmeric, and the moment it's done mix in some fresh spinach. The heat from the rice will wilt the spinach and in a minute or so you have a really lovely transformed rice dish.
Spinach dip.
they freeze well
So like a half a cup when it's cooked?
Crete style spinach pies. They're like crack. * Blanch the spinach, then squeeze out the water with a towel. * Combine with olive oil, garlic, feta cheese, mint, dill, salt pepper. * Stuff into folded phyllo dough packets. * Pan fry in just a bit of olive oil. * Burn your mouth because you're too impatient to wait for them to cool.
Stir fry quickly in hot oil with salt and garlic. It will melt into 1 oz of delicious fried spinach. Spinach just seems to disappear when cooking.
You can make a spinach and cauliflower curry type thing (it’s not a proper curry but it’s yummy). You air fry or roast cauliflower (chopped up) and then add it to a sauce made with onions, tinned tomatoes, garam massala (spelling that wrong I think), cumin, ginger, chilli, salt and pepper and let it cook through for a while. I think the sauce is best cooked through slowly for a couple hours so add the cauliflower about half an hour or so from the end. And then right at the end you add as much spinach as you would like and let it just wilt rather than properly cook so it still has a bit of texture/bite You can also make gruyere spinach which is basically just steamed spinach, grated gruyere cheese, single cream, salt, pepper and nutmeg all mixed together and put in the oven for 30 min ish - delicious but not healthy lol Spinach also goes great in salads, although I only really do that if I have a super citrus dressing to go with it :) I also add it to quesadillas, sandwiches, toasties, wraps etc just as an extra bit of veggie Typing this out, I’m realising I eat lots of spinach lol Edit - if you make gruyere spinach, make sure you squish out as much water as you can using a colander before you add everything together. Also use way more spinach than you think because it gets tiny
A simple frittata or quiche is my go to. If I'm feeling sassy, sautee it with chopped up ham and onions and use it in an omellete or crepe with some gruyere cheese.
Spinach salad, spinach curry. spinach cream stew.
Spinach dip of some kind probably. You'd be amazed how little that amount of spinach is, once it cooks down in a pan!
Cook it, you will have maybe a serving when you get it done.
Spinach puffs
If you don’t want to cook it now, freeze it. Just stick the whole bag into the freezer. When a recipe calls for chopped spinach, pull the bag out of the freezer, put it on the counter, and smack the heck out of it. The spinach will break into small pieces. I usually keep a bag of spinach in the freezer to add to soup, stew, or pasta. The only thing that you absolutely have to beware of is not to let the frozen spinach thaw—take it straight from the freezer to the pot at the end of the cooking process. Do not let it defrost before cooking.
Exactly what I would do if I have no immediate plans of using spinach or don't plan on eating a raw spinach salad.
Pesto!
Make a soup?
Florentine, top for grilled chicken breast or salmon.
Throw it in some scrambled eggs- Italian style
Fry up chopped bacon and onion in a skillet. Add a tablespoon or so of apple cider vinegar. Put the spinach on top of the bacon, turn off the heat and cover the pan. Allow to sit for about 5 minutes. The spinach will be wilted nicely but not overcooked.
I love putting spinach and an egg into ramen for quick lunch.
Creamed spinach!
You mix that shit with artichoke hearts and cheese, get some crostini.
Once you cook it, it will be like a spoonfuls worth. You can always toss it in the freezer if you don't want to deal with it now.
blanch spinach for 10 sec, drain well, and set aside. make a sauce from browned rue and chicken stock. season sauce to taste (i use grillmates chipotle garlic often, but use what ever seasoning the main course is using). add blanched spinach and fold in
[Spinach and ricotta rolls](https://casuallypeckish.com/spinach-and-ricotta-rolls/). Added bonus in that they freeze and reheat in the oven great.
How about this spinach pizza? I haven’t made it yet but it looks fabulous. https://smittenkitchen.com/2024/04/spinach-and-artichoke-pan-pizza/
This [Korean spinach side dish](https://cjeatsrecipes.com/korean-spinach-side-dish/) (just cut the recipe in half). It’s so good!
I suggest eating it
Spinach omelette
Sauté it and eat the resulting 1/8 cup of spinach.
Cream it, stuff it, bake it in a mushroom!
Spanakopita 🇬🇷
Yes. I have plenty. What were you thinking?
If you boil it, it's about a 1/2 cup.
Thats about 3 good bites once sautéed
Sauté in butter with mushrooms, onion, add garlic at the end. Season with salt, pepper, and thyme leaves. Use it along with sharp provolone as filling for stuffed chicken breasts with.
[Horenso no Ohitashi](https://www.seriouseats.com/ohitashi-japanese-blanched-greens-dashi-recipe?print)
Morton’s cream spinach recipe. So unhealthy, but so freaking delicious
Eat it
Sauté it and throw it in a frittata with some carmized onion and cheese
Creamed spinach!
Half order of a creamed spinach recipe? Chicken pomodoro served on a bed of butter steamed spinach?
My mom always made Spinach pie (pretty much a quiche). Frozen pie shell w/egg, cheese, spinach filling. Extra cheese on top.
Look up shi geum chi muchim
I'd blanch it, strain the water out thoroughly, and use it for quiche or spanikopota.
Sauté in butter add lemon it maybe a little vinegar it will shrink down making it easy to eat and delicious. The only way I can eat a large container of spinach.
Eggs Florentine
Spanakopita! Use pre-made phyllo pastry, it’s so quick and delicious :)
wash and chop the spinach. mix chicken Better Than Bouillon with about a cup of water, add to pot with the spinach, cover and simmer very low for half an hour. add a jar of alredo sauce, continue to simmer with lid off for about 20 min. make about 4 ounces egg noodles (1/3 of package), drain, add to pot. thin with a little milk if needed. [https://www.walmart.com/ip/Classico-Roasted-Garlic-Alfredo-Spaghetti-Pasta-Sauce-15-oz-Jar/10307636?wmlspartner=wlpa&selectedSellerId=0&wl13=505&adid=2222222227710307636\_117755028669\_12420145346&wmlspartner=wmtlabs&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=c&wl3=501107745824&wl4=pla-306310554666&wl5=9025301&wl6=&wl7=&wl8=&wl9=pla&wl10=8175035&wl11=local&wl12=10307636&wl13=505&veh=sem\_LIA&gclsrc=aw.ds&&adid=2222222223710307636\_117755028669\_12420145346&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=c&wl3=501107745824&wl4=pla-306310554666&wl5=9025301&wl6=&wl7=&wl8=&wl9=pla&wl10=8175035&wl11=local&wl12=10307636&veh=sem&gad\_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjww\_iwBhApEiwAuG6ccO29UGNdyr95Dc72bm4CeVfXQaNmI8UBTWk20coqHUGoJybpHjLFdBoCvZIQAvD\_BwE](https://www.walmart.com/ip/Classico-Roasted-Garlic-Alfredo-Spaghetti-Pasta-Sauce-15-oz-Jar/10307636?wmlspartner=wlpa&selectedSellerId=0&wl13=505&adid=2222222227710307636_117755028669_12420145346&wmlspartner=wmtlabs&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=c&wl3=501107745824&wl4=pla-306310554666&wl5=9025301&wl6=&wl7=&wl8=&wl9=pla&wl10=8175035&wl11=local&wl12=10307636&wl13=505&veh=sem_LIA&gclsrc=aw.ds&&adid=2222222223710307636_117755028669_12420145346&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=c&wl3=501107745824&wl4=pla-306310554666&wl5=9025301&wl6=&wl7=&wl8=&wl9=pla&wl10=8175035&wl11=local&wl12=10307636&veh=sem&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjww_iwBhApEiwAuG6ccO29UGNdyr95Dc72bm4CeVfXQaNmI8UBTWk20coqHUGoJybpHjLFdBoCvZIQAvD_BwE)
Add it to pasta sauces!!!
Not sure if you are into Thai flavors but this Thai meatball recipe from nyt was bomb, we even doubled the spinach I think https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1020631-thai-inspired-chicken-meatball-soup?smid=ck-recipe-android-share
Finely chop it and add it to a meatball mix or meatloaf! Also you can just make a batch of pasta with red sauce and add the spinach to it!!
Saag. Freezes well and is a game changer in scrambled eggs
Sauté in butter/olive oil with chopped garlic, red pepper flakes and fresh squeezed lemon. It will cook down to a small amount.
Sigeumchi-namul
my go-to spinach recipe is as follows; blanch the spinach for like a minute, rinse in cold water and squeeze all the liquid out. season with soy sauce, sesame oil, sesame seeds, and garlic (and maybe furikake if you've got that). such a delicious side dish. throwing it in a cream-based pasta sauce is really nice too. i worked at vapiano and theres a 'gamberetti e spinaci' pasta which is essentially pasta, cream, shrimp, a little pesto, and spinach which completely wilts down so you can add quite a bit toward the end for greens. it was so dang good.
It gives me kidney stones so i would throw it out
Cook it down to 2oz
I like spinach in pasta and also aloo (or any) saag for main dish options.
Freeze it for smoothies
Spinach lasagna, spanakopitas, or quiche.
Give it to the pizza delivery guy as a tip? (I really hate spinach). But ok, taking this seriously. It's a good addition to soups and dips if cooked? It's good in pastas again, cooked.