Chef Wolfgang Puck's Creamed Spinach Recipe: How to Make Easy Creamed Spinach

Creamed spinach is a dish composed of cooked spinach in a cream and/or cheese-based sauce. Contrary to popular belief, the popular side dish is rarely composed of solely spinach and heavy cream, but has a more elegant base like béchamel, or a blend of half and half with umami-filled Parmesan cheese and a bit of all purpose flour—like a jazzed up roux.

Both fresh and frozen spinach are good candidates for easy creamed spinach.

• If using fresh, look for baby spinach—the smaller leaves are perfect for a fluffier, looser texture in the final dish. If you’re using full-grown mature spinach with really large leaves, simply tear or chop them into more bite-sized pieces first. It’s absolutely necessary to cook fresh spinach off first: once it’s released all its water, you’re left with the most concentrated leafy green flavor.
• If using frozen spinach, thaw and drain the leaves as well as you can before combining them with the cream sauce.

The best creamed spinach has the power to appear both indulgent and luxurious (alongside a perfect prime rib at Christmas dinner, for example) or savory and fresh (with something lighter, like grilled fish). It’s all about the occasion with creamed spinach—it’s a holiday table staple that works nicely in your average Wednesday night dinner, too. It’s even the star of Chef Wolfgang Puck’s favorite childhood meals: creamed spinach topped with a fried egg.

1. 1. Use creamed spinach as a rich pasta sauce.
2. 2. Spread the leftovers (if there are any) on toast for a simplified version of spinach dip.
3. 3. Whisk leftover creamed spinach with a few eggs and bake it off into a frittata.

Learn cooking from Chef Wolfgang Puck in his MasterClass here.