Healthy Spinach Side Dish Recipes

Find healthy, delicious spinach recipes including sautéed spinach, creamed spinach and spinach dip. Healthier Recipes, from the food and nutrition experts at EatingWell.

Most Popular

Balsamic-Parmesan Sautéed Spinach

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Tender spinach with a hint of garlic, Parmesan cheese and sweet balsamic vinegar makes a quick and flavorful side dish. The sturdy leaves of mature spinach hold up best during cooking.
By Carolyn Casner

Fall Chopped Salad with Spinach, Butternut Squash, Apples & Cheddar

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Who says spinach salads are only for spring? Use autumn's tender crop of fresh spinach and other seasonal vegetables to make this fall salad with roasted butternut squash, apples, cheddar and pecans. This colorful and healthy salad would be a wonderful addition to your Thanksgiving menu, but there's no reason to save it for holidays--serve it along with chicken or pork for a healthy weeknight dinner, or turn it into a main course by adding some chickpeas or chopped chicken or turkey.
By Carolyn Casner

Apple-Cranberry Spinach Salad with Goat Cheese

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The tangy-sweet dressing in this spinach salad beautifully amplifies the apples and cranberries--and the creamy goat cheese transforms it into the perfect salad. Tasters raved about this easy fall salad. If you can't find Pink Lady apples, any sweet, crisp apple is a worthy substitute. Want to make this salad a main meal? Top with some rotisserie chicken, chickpeas or tofu.
By Pam Lolley

Simple Sautéed Spinach

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Sautéed spinach (or any greens) with garlic and a squeeze of lemon (or vinegar) is a simple formula that lets spinach shine and will never go out of favor.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Spinach & Tuna Noodle Casserole

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Homemade mushroom sauce kicks the can of soup out of the picture in this veggie-centric, healthy riff on a classic tuna-noodle casserole recipe. Serve with steamed green beans.
By Breana Lai Killeen, M.P.H., RD

Spinach-Strawberry Salad with Feta & Walnuts

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Sweet strawberries, salty feta and crunchy walnuts jazz up a simple spinach salad. The balsamic vinaigrette is incredibly easy; fresh shallots add more zip than you'll find in any commercial dressing.
By Carolyn Casner

Greek Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms

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A mixture of tomatoes, spinach, feta, olives and fresh oregano gives portobellos a Mediterranean vibe in this healthy stuffed mushroom recipe. Serve these along with chicken, fish or tofu as a super-satisfying side dish, or add a hearty salad and make them the centerpiece of a vegetarian dinner.
By Carolyn Casner

Cheesy Spinach & Mushroom Casserole

Both homey and healthful, this cheesy dream of a casserole is loaded with nutrients from spinach, and super savory and lip-smack-y from all the sautéed mushrooms. Any 'shroom will do, so pick your fave.
By Carolyn Casner

Spinach Salad with Warm Maple Dressing

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Pure maple syrup adds body and rich flavor to the dressing, providing a perfect counterpoint to the smoked cheese.
By Ruth Cousineau

Gomae (Japanese-Style Spinach)

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Typically you puree sesame seeds to make the dressing for this traditional spinach side dish recipe, but we use tahini to make it easier and quicker.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Balsamic Berry Vinaigrette Winter Salad

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This festive winter salad recipe features colorful greens, fruit and cheese tossed with a light and zesty dressing.
By Diabetic Living Magazine

Creamed Spinach Casserole

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This creamy spinach casserole recipe is a more sophisticated cousin to creamed spinach. It's perfect for weekend entertaining or as a holiday side dish.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen
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Inspiration and Ideas

Spinach & Strawberry Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing
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Homemade poppy seed dressing pairs beautifully with tender spinach, crunchy almonds and juicy berries for a fantastically refreshing and easy spring salad. To make ahead, whisk dressing, combine salad ingredients and store separately. Toss the salad with the dressing just before serving. To make it a complete meal, top with grilled chicken or shrimp.
Spinach Salad with Ginger-Soy Dressing
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This spinach salad tossed with spunky ginger dressing was inspired by the iceberg salads served at Japanese steakhouses across the U.S. Add shrimp for lunch or a light supper.
Parmesan Scalloped Potatoes with Spinach
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Parmesan Spinach Cakes
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If you like spinach-cheese pie, try these simple but elegant-looking little spinach cakes.

All Healthy Spinach Side Dish Recipes

Grilled Corn Salad with Chili-Miso Dressing

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Serve this Asian salad with grilled steak, chicken or firm white fish like halibut. You can also double the recipe and bring it to your next potluck. If you can find tatsoi, a peppery Asian leafy green, use it instead of mild-mannered spinach. Store-bought Thai sweet chili sauce and umami-packed white miso build fast flavor in this easy summer salad.
By Breana Lai Killeen, M.P.H., RD

Green Risotto

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Serve this pretty, pesto-flavored risotto alongside roasted chicken or pork roast or serve with a big salad for a light dinner. We add a splash of wine along with each addition of broth to give the dish a more pronounced wine flavor. If you'd prefer the wine to be more subtle, add the entire cup at the end of Step 3 and cook, stirring, until the liquid is gone, then begin adding the broth. You can substitute more broth in place of the wine.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Green Salad with Strawberries & Goat Cheese

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This lively salad captures the essence of early summer with ripe strawberries, chives and baby spinach. To make it a meal, top it with grilled chicken breast.
By Hilary Meyer

Simple Green Salad with Citronette

Frisée and radicchio are both assertive, slightly bitter greens that add color and texture to any salad. Match them with mellower-flavored greens, such as red leaf lettuce, baby spinach or even Boston lettuce.
By Lidia Bastianich

Spanakopita Loaded Potatoes

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In this healthy take on twice-baked potatoes, spinach, feta, garlic and oregano are stuffed into the potato shells along with the mashed potatoes. Serve with steak or chicken sprinkled with oregano or marjoram.
By Breana Lai Killeen, M.P.H., RD

Sour Apple Slaw

Michael Twitty, a food writer and culinary historian, celebrates Hanukkah's miracle of oil by making fried chicken and latkes. He serves up this sweet and tangy slaw alongside.
By Michael Twitty

Leafy Green Salad

This simple green salad is made with romaine lettuce and baby spinach and can be thrown together in minutes to round out any meal.
By Diabetic Living Magazine

Warm Pear & Spinach Salad with Maple-Bacon Vinaigrette

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Mature, larger-leaved spinach holds up better to the warm bacon vinaigrette than baby spinach in this healthy spinach salad recipe. If you don't want the spinach to wilt, let the dressing cool before tossing it with the salad.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Catalan Spinach Sauté

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In this quick and easy sautéed spinach recipe, a handful of standard pantry items transform frozen spinach into a satisfying side dish or omelet filling.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Spinach Salad

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This fresh-tasting, 10-minute salad is a simple mixture of fresh baby spinach and dried cranberries. To save time, we use bottled Italian dressing, but with a few extra minutes you can easily switch up the flavor by making your own dressing--just try our All-Purpose Vinaigrette (see associated recipe).
By Diabetic Living Magazine

Super-Green Edamame Salad

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Avocado, fresh chives and spinach are blended right into the creamy, bright-green dressing in this healthy edamame salad recipe. Pink beans are popular in the Caribbean, but you can substitute pinto beans or light red kidney beans if you can't find them.
By Katie Webster

Spinach & Warm Mushroom Salad

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In this hearty mushroom and spinach salad recipe, sturdier “mature” spinach leaves hold up better than baby spinach when tossed with the warm mushroom-and-bacon vinaigrette.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Sauteed Spinach with Toasted Sesame Oil

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A delicious and quick spinach saute is a nice addition to any meal.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Caribbean Couscous Salad

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Mango, bell peppers, and black beans combine with whole-wheat couscous in this Caribbean-inspired grain salad. The ginger-lime dressing has a touch of cayenne pepper and provides just the right amount of zing!
By Diabetic Living Magazine

Cheesy Spinach Fritters

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Using frozen spinach in these crispy pan-fried fritters saves you the steps of having to chop and cook the fresh greens down yourself.
By Karen Ansel, M.S., RDN

Beet Bliss

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This healthy and pretty beet salad recipe is dressed with a tangy-sweet maple-mustard vinaigrette. Use the leftover dressing for any salad later in the week.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Sesame-Seasoned Spinach

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In Korea there is an entire category of side dishes called namul. These are boldly seasoned vegetables from the land and the sea. This particular recipe reflects Korea's love of both spinach and sesame seeds. The seeds are always toasted before serving for a boost of flavor. This namul can be served alone or as one of the colorful elements in bibimbap.
By Jamie Purviance

Quick Creamed Spinach

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EatingWell's updated version of creamed spinach has a low-in-fat cream sauce that's rich with Parmesan cheese and nutmeg.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Sautéed Spinach

This 15-minute spinach side dish is quick, simple, and oh-so delicious. Fresh spinach is wilted in batches with lemon peel, garlic, and chicken broth. Serve this to a vegan crowd by using vegetable broth.
By Diabetic Living Magazine

Warm Dandelion Greens with Roasted Garlic Dressing

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In this springtime salad, dandelion greens (or spinach, if you prefer) are tossed with a warm roasted garlic dressing, tangy goat cheese and toasted pine nuts for melt-in-your-mouth results.
By Ellen Ecker Ogden

Spinach Salad with Warm Bacon Vinaigrette, Red Onion & Avocado

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Jessica B. Harris loves green salads, especially those that she can throw together quickly from whatever she has on hand in her fridge. After crisping bacon, she uses the fat in the pan to make a flavorful hot vinaigrette that she pours over the greens, onion and creamy avocado. The result is a beautiful, semi-wilted, warm spinach salad.
By Jessica B. Harris, Ph.D.

Creamed Turnips & Greens

If you find turnips with their greens still attached at your farmers' market, snatch them up for this healthy vegetable recipe. Otherwise, spinach makes a good sub for the turnip greens.
By Julia Clancy

Sesame-Garlic Spinach Salad

This easy spinach salad features plenty of fresh veggies and warm, garlic-infused dressing for a quick side dish.
By Adam Dolge

Wilted Spinach with Garlic

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To make this easy wilted spinach recipe, simply give spinach a quick toss in hot, garlicky oil for the perfect quick and easy side dish for salmon, chicken or just about any main course. This versatile dish is ready in just 10 minutes so it's a cinch for weeknight dinners.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen
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