Steakhouse Creamed Spinach

Get a taste of classic steakhouse flavor with this easy Steakhouse Creamed Spinach Recipe. It's a simple blend of fresh ingredients, including heavy cream, spinach, parmesan cheese, and a few spices. It's the perfect dish for a variety of different occasions - like holiday dinners, date nights at home, or even easy weeknight dinners. This easy recipe is ready in 30 minutes or less! 

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❤️Why we love this recipe

• Major comfort food classic. The recipe offers a classic comfort food experience, reminiscent of the best steakhouse side dish! If you're looking for a nostalgic, classic dish that's rich and creamy, you'll love this slightly elevated version of this recipe. Everyone loves cheesy, creamy spinach! 
• Quick and easy. This approachable recipe is easy for beginning cooks to master, and is ready in 30 minutes or less! 
• Simple ingredients. The ingredients used are probably in your fridge and pantry already, and can also be found at all grocery stores. 
• Versatile side dish. This creamed spinach is the perfect side dish to complement a wide range of main courses, from steaks to vegetarian options, so it's perfect for nearly any meal you're putting together. 
• Perfect for special occasions. This a great option to add for Christmas dinner, date night, a romantic Valentine's Day dinner, Thanksgiving, Easter, a birthday, or any special occasion! This classic side dish never disappoints! 

🥬Ingredients

Here are the ingredients we used for this recipe. You can find more information for substitutions below.

• Spinach. We use frozen spinach in this recipe. If you're using frozen, just be sure to thaw it according to the package directions and drain it well before adding it to the skillet with other ingredients. You can also chop up some fresh spinach, and blanch it or cook it. If you're using fresh spinach, keep in that you'll need about 2.5 times the amount as frozen. In this recipe, that would be a little over 3 pounds of fresh spinach.
• Parmesan cheese. Shred it yourself so that it melts properly. Shredded cheese often has anti-caking agents that prevent it from melting easily, and this would be a bummer for our creamed spinach!
• Cream cheese. Make sure to use the full fat blocks and cut it into blocks. You should also let it sit out at room temperature for about an hour or more before preparing the recipe, so that the cream cheese will combine better with other ingredients.

Visit the recipe card for the full quantities and nutritional information.

✨Substitutions & variations

Here are a few suggestions on additional flavors to try, or simple variations to this recipe.

• Spicier. This recipe has just the right amount of heat. Add more red pepper flakes, and maybe a hint of cayenne pepper as well for some added heat! 
• Lightened up. For a slightly lighter version of this recipe, swap the half and half for whole milk. We don't recommend using anything lower in fat than whole milk, however, or the taste just won't be quite there. 
• Creamier. Use heavy whipping cream instead of half and half if you'd like! Heavy cream will give the dish an even more luscious, rich flavor. 
• Lemony. Add a squeeze of fresh lemon juice and some lemon zest right before serving to add in a bright, citrusy flavor. 
• Swap the yellow onions. You can use red onions or shallots instead of sweet yellow onions if you'd like. 
• Different cheese. You can add in other cheeses instead of parmesan to the spinach. Some other great choices would be Swiss cheese, mozzarella, gouda, and more. Make sure you hand shred the cheese yourself - or else it won't melt properly in the cream sauce.
• Dairy free and vegan. Replace the butter with vegan butter or olive oil, then also replace the cream cheese with a dairy-free version, along with the half and half with full fat coconut milk or your favorite plant cream, and finally, use your favorite dairy-free or vegan parmesan cheese replacement. 
• Gluten free. Swap the all purpose flour for gluten-free flour like this Bob’s Red Mill 1:1 gluten free flour., cornstarch, or xanthan gum to thicken the creamy sauce. 
• Low carb and keto friendly. This dish is naturally low in carbs, but if you want to lower the carb count even further, you can add in some extra cream cheese in place of all-purpose flour to help thicken the mixture. You can also add a bit of xanthan gum if you'd like, and a little bit goes a long way! 

🔪Prep work

• Cut the cream cheese into small chunks & let it sit out at room temperature for about an hour. This will help it combine with other ingredients more easily in the cream sauce.
• If using frozen spinach, thaw it overnight or in the microwave according to the package directions. Let the spinach sit in a colander over a bowl after heating it up so the excess water can drip out into the bowl. Once the spinach has cooled down enough (if thawed in the microwave), squeeze out any excess liquid with paper towels. 
• Shred the parmesan cheese.
• Dice the onion.
• Mince garlic.
• Preheat a large skillet over medium heat.
• Measure out all the remaining ingredients.

To the hot skillet, add the unsalted butter to melt. Once melted, add in the onion with a pinch of kosher salt. Sauté the onion, stirring occasionally, until the onion is beginning to soften, about 3-4 minutes.

Stir in the all purpose flour (Image 1), and cook for 2-3 minutes to get rid of the raw flour smell.

Then, stir in the minced garlic and red pepper flakes, (Image 2) until the garlic is fragrant, about 30 seconds to 1 minute, stirring often to prevent burning.

Reduce to medium-low heat. Add in the cream cheese, (Image 3) and stir it together with the onions to soften.

Once the cream cheese has softened, stream in the half and half, and stir to combine. (Image 4)

Once the mixture is well combined, thick, and creamy but spreadable, add in the fresh thyme and black pepper to taste. (Image 5)