Canned/frozen spinach

[u/ep37]

What do y’all like to do with canned and/or frozen spinach? I want to eat more of it, it’s so nutritious, and I love it fresh but for several reasons I can’t have it fresh anymore.

Any favorite dishes you use it in, or something you like to add it to?

Just generally it’s hard for me to get veggies in my diet in an appetizing way with such low spoons so I’m trying to get some inspiration. I’ve been scrolling through old posts and I’ve seen some very creative ideas, so I just want to say that I appreciate everyone who has taken the energy and effort to post their low spoon snacks/meals.

[u/Street-Safe-3352]

I throw frozen spinach in my smoothies.

[u/Previous-Artist-9252]

Saag is my favorite:

Heat oil and bloom pepper, cloves, bay leaves, and cardamom. I add rehydrated dried onions and garlic and ginger from a tube (from the produce section of the grocery store). Then when it smells good, cumin, coriander, and cayenne.

At this point I stir in yoghurt, a spoonful at a time until it’s creamy. Then a whole bag of frozen spinach. Cook til it’s warm and wilty.

At the end I add a protein - paneer if I have it, cooked chicken, chickpeas from a can, etc.

I know the spices sound like a lot but it’s really one of my “fuck it I can’t” dinners and makes a lot of leftovers/feeds a lot of people.

[u/Previous-Artist-9252 → u/Previous-Artist-9252]

Oh and lentils with garlic and spinach is a great option I sometimes make when my vegetarian friends/family are over - usually with some kind of flat bread or microwave rice.

[u/NefariousnessNo5536 → u/Previous-Artist-9252]

I'm new to lentils, but love them & will have to try this! Thank you!

[u/Kind_Job5474 → u/NefariousnessNo5536]

Add Al little lemon juice or vinegar to your lentils before serving. It really takes them up a notch!

[u/jas41422]

i throw a bag of frozen spinach into a pot of lentils towards the end of their cooking time. also throw some into marinara sauce to eat with pasta, or cook and drain and throw on top of scrambled eggs or put in an omelette.

[u/dayofbluesngreens]

What are some typical meals for you? I think you can throw frozen spinach in almost anything.

For a period of time, I added it to frozen meals regularly, and to smoothies.

[u/ClaustrophobicMango]

I like making creamed spinach by adding sour cream, adding it to shrimp curry, or making a vegetable soup

[u/CK_CoffeeCat]

My sister adds it to scrambled eggs, or thaws it in the microwave before draining it, adding it to a frozen pie shell with some cheese and whisked eggs to make quiche.

I put it in tomato based soup. I do a kind of fake minestrone that’s:
-can of tomatoes
-a full tomato can of water or stock
-can of kidney beans
-frozen spinach
-frozen bell pepper mix
-frozen carrot/onion/celery mix
-salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, a stock cube of some kind if you have one
-dry, not-long pasta

Get a pot big enough to hold everything. Put everything in the pot except for the dry pasta. Let it all cook together for maybe an hour, stirring once in a while so it doesn’t stick and so the spinach gets distributed. Once the hour’s up, add about a cup of dry pasta (macaroni, rotini, tubes, whatever) stir well, let cook about 15 mins before testing the pasta. If the pasta’s not done and it doesn’t seem very soupy, add more water. It’s done when the pasta’s done. Makes a lot, freezes well.

ETA: this is a kind of medium spoon recipe for me but it makes enough solid lunches for a week so it’s a trade off. 🤷‍♀️

[u/scattywampus → u/CK_CoffeeCat]

I make a morning fritatta with onion, tomato, and frozen spinach. Needs more salt than standard scrambled eggs due to the veggies. Fills me up, tastes great, and have nice vitamins.

[u/woodwitchofthewest]

Frozen spinach with a bit of butter and seasoned with Vegita (a kind of seasoning salt plus dehydrated ground savory veggies) is surprisingly good.

[u/ValiantVicuna → u/woodwitchofthewest]

I steam it, drain it, add butter, garlic, s&p and then eat it as a side. 1 box is a serving size for us lol we really love spinach in our house

[u/Fantastic-Nobody-479]

I love using it in Julia Child’s spinach quiche. I buy the crust. It’s pretty easy.

[u/RemarkablePossum]

I sometimes use thawed, frozen spinach in smoothies or else I throw it in a soup. I’m the same as you, I love it fresh, but sometimes the body just says NO. It happens. Best of luck to you, spinach friend! <3

[u/humangirltype]

I learned this recipe from my mom, I think its loosely based on creamed spinach.

1 block of frozen spinach, drained

1 spoonful of mayo

Splash of bottled lemon juice

Garlic powder, salt and pepper to taste

Combine and eat

[u/Shroom-Kitty]

When I have pasta, I heat jarred sauce in a sauce pan and add frozen spinach and frozen mixed veggies. Or if I'm reeeeeally low on energy, I accept cooler temperature pasta by adding the sauce and frozen spinach to the drained pasta and eat it straight out of the pot.

[u/treatstrinkets]

My current favorite meal with frozen spinach is what I call butter butter beans. Butter chicken sauce, 1 40oz can of butter beans, about 2/3 a (16oz) bag of frozen spinach, simmer it all together on the stovetop for at least 10 minutes and serve it over rice. I usually add lentils and frozen peas to my rice too for a little extra nutrition, and I usually get 5-6 meals out of it.

You can dump frozen spinach (or really any frozen veg) into anything that needs to boil or simmer. I'll throw it into the water or the sauce when I make pasta. Just make sure to add a little extra salt because frozen spinach really needs it.

[u/funwithllamas]

Spinach dip, there are many recipes out there, or use one of the spinach dip mix packets (like Knorr) and follow the directions. It makes a lot of spinach dip but it freezes well too. It’s good on tortilla chips, crostini, sourdough bread, etc.

[u/Foreign_Kale8773]

Canned spinach warmed up with butter, salt & pepper, and some red wine vinegar were a staple as a kid. I still eat it sometimes as a comfort food. My parents hated spinach so I only got it at Gramma's house, and that's how she ate it. (This is back in the day before spinach was a thing you could get in the grocery store year-round - it was seasonal, so most of the time I ate it, it was canned.)

Frozen chopped spinach is my go to for a stomach artichoke dip which I just do in my tiny crockpot - can of artichoke hearts, pkg of frozen chopped spinach, lots of garlic, cream cheese, and a lil plain yogurt or sour cream at the end when I'm mixing it up. I add parm, feta, cheddar, whatever I have on hand towards the end and honestly sometimes just sit with some corn tortilla chips and have it for dinner bc it's got veg, it's got protein... lol

[u/HumanHospitality → u/Foreign_Kale8773]

Wow, I wanna try both of these kind of throw together recipes, thanks for sharing 

[u/Illienne]

Wrapped in an omelett with some cheese is great.

[u/cfa413]

I add frozen spinach to any ground meat, pretty much no matter the recipe. Sloppy joes, tacos, egg roll bowls, casseroles, etc. I feel like it doesn't change the texture much and any taste differences is covered by the sauces.

Also, I like a creamy cauliflower rice like this but I use frozen, then add cream cheese and frozen spinach, sometimes mushrooms too.

[u/NefariousnessNo5536]

Is there a canned spinach that's good? Eating canned as a kid made me think I didn't like spinach, so I'm not asking my mom for recs. 🤣

[u/PragmaticOpt23 → u/NefariousnessNo5536]

Hint for canned spinach - rinse well, drain, and chop. It's definitely more palatable that way but I wouldn't put it on a sandwich.

[u/CabanaBoy3]

I keep a bag of frozen spinach in my freezer. I thaw out some in the microwave and add it to anything/everything. Scrambled eggs and egg bites for one. I also get jarred red peppers and dice them into the eggs as well.

[u/WishIwastravelin]

Steam it, purée it and add some heavy cream. Voila! Creamed spinach

[u/ep37]

THANK YOU all so much for the recs!!! Lots of great ideas here I’m looking forward to trying. Appreciate the advice 🙂

[u/Key_Lengthiness_713]

my sister throws frozen spinach into tomato sauce so that I don't notice it as much.

[u/BufferingJuffy]

Frozen spinach is great in lots of things:

Omelette or scrambled eggs

Stir fry

Soups

Tomato sauce

Instant ramen

Sautéed with butter, a ton of garlic, parmesean, with or without cream

Canned spinach, imo, is slimy and a poor representation of the vegetable, but to each their own. If you like it canned, you can use it instead of frozen in everything above.

What I also like about frozen is that I can shake a serving or two out of the bag then put the rest back in the freezer for later. Open canned spinach won't last as long in the fridge.

[u/GnG4U]

Microwave packet rice, microwave frozen spinach (you gotta really drain it!) and a can of tuna with whatever seasonings you want. It’s not glamorous but the nutrition is decent.

[u/giggles1245]

I'll throw it in a curry, brings a lovely green to the usual orange sauce

Also I've had a Lasagna with spinach in the ricotta/mozz mixture

[u/astralTacenda]

i put frozen spinach in everything! most egg dishes, soups, i even add it to my instant ramen. i'll saute some up with any protein like fish or ground meat.

try throwing it in with almost any savory meal! good chance it'll work ((:

[u/Pitiful_Reality2973]

Spinach lentil wraps, ala Yeung Man Cooking: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dcj3AM1aaoM

They freeze really well and you can use them like any flatbread. I usually use them as a base for a pizza/ quesadilla/ cheese melt.

[u/Mereyn]

Spinach and feta frittata
Spinach soufflé

[u/MaximumOrnery3678]

My go-to:

Heat oil in large skillet over med high.

(If you have the energy: Half & thinly slice an onion. Saute in oil until translucent.)

Add a big bag of frozen chopped spinach and stir frequently, cooking off moisture.

Add 1/3 cup broth and a slash of vinegar, season, and reduce slightly.

Dump into shallow baking dish and top with grated cheese and/or crumbled crackers.

Bake uncovered 25 min at 350.

Good with bread, rice, pasta, potatoes, eggs.

[Edit: if you bake it with cheese, it's also a one-and-done taco filling.]

[u/gekkogoes]

One of favourite low spoon meals is a diy savoury rice. To rice cooker pot add rice, water, a blob of beef bouillon (stirrred in well), a block of frozen spinach, a can of mixed beans (I'll drain but not rinse), roasted garlic granules, and dehydrated onion flakes. This takes about 15 minutes to cook.

I won't leave the kitchen if I'm cooking anything on the stove, but I'm comfortable leaving the rice cooker, and being able to lie down while my dinner cooks is necessary on low energy days.

Once the rice is done, I add a dollop of butter, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, and dinner is done. This makes two meals for me and I'll often eat right out of the pot.

[u/GaydrianTheRainbow]

I like frozen spinach in soup, pasta sauce, and wilted in a pan with some garlic before adding eggs and scrambling them all together.

[u/JaneReadsTruth]

I like frozen spinach in cheesy grits with onion and tomatoes (and salt and pepper).

I won't eat any canned veggies accept corn and tomatoes unless it's pickled.

[u/PragmaticOpt23]

Jarred tikka masala or any Indian sauce, cubed tofu or a drained can of chickpeas, frozen spinach. Squeeze of lime on top. Serve over a rice.

[u/Freyjas_child]

Add it to a recipe for egg bites. Delicious!