Sautéed Spinach with Garlic

Who knew sautéed spinach could taste so good? This quick and easy spinach recipe is a delicious low calorie side to any main dish. It has an extra kick of flavor from olive oil, garlic, onion, a dash of crushed red pepper and lemon. Plus it can be ready in 15 minutes or less!

Spinach has had a bad rep for a while now regardless of Popeye’s love for it. It can be slimy and weird when done wrong and I’m sure we all have had bad sautéed spinach at one time or another. Well, fear not spinach haters – better spinach is on the way!

I’m a big fan of spinach and love that you can use it in so many types of recipes! Check out my spinach pancakes for a fun and nutritious twist on a breakfast classic, my easy veggie quiche which is always a cozy favorite at any gathering, or this spinach artichoke dip stuffed portobellos for a flavorful, nutrient dense main or side dish!

Why you’ll love this recipe

• Quick and simple since it will be ready in 15 minutes.
• Perfect side dish to fish, chicken, other veggie entrees… whatever you’d like!
• Light, low calorie, and diet friendly with under 90 calories per serving.
• Easy to heat up and use as leftovers.
• Spinach is a nutritional powerhouse with health benefits stemming from high levels of Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin K, Magnesium and Iron.
• This garlicky sautéed spinach and garlic recipe is entirely vegan, gluten free, Whole 30 compliant, paleo, Keto, low carb – did I leave anything out? It works for any diet!
• It’s a great warm dish of leafy greens for winter when you don’t want a smoothie!

Ingredients

This spinach recipe calls for simple ingredients. Here’s what you’ll need:

•  Olive oil – this adds the perfect base for any vegetable sauté and since the pan won’t heat over 400° F, it is completely fine for this recipe.
• Onion – onion adds great flavor in this recipe but you can leave it out if you don’t like it.
• Garlic – fresh is best and it will take about 3 medium sized garlic cloves but store bought minced garlic is fine too.
• Spinach – you’ll need a whole pound of spinach, but it cooks down significantly. It’s a great way to use up fresh spinach leaves. Fresh baby spinach works great and so does mature spinach with the tough stems cut off with any large pieces chopped.
• Salt & Pepper – I used Himalayan pink salt and fresh cracked pepper which you can adjust to preference.
• Lemon Juice – use fresh lemon juice to give the dish acidity and freshness to round out the full flavor profile.
• Red Pepper Flakes – this add a little bit of heat but it’s optional. I leave them out whenever I’m either not craving spice or if it just won’t go well with whatever else I’m serving. You can swap for whatever spice or other seasoning you prefer.

Step by step process

To highlight how easy this recipe is, I’ve broken it into a three step picture process!

1. Over medium heat, sauté onion and garlic in a large skillet or dutch oven.
   
2. Add spinach, salt, and pepper and cook down until brighter in color, wilted, and tender, stirring as the spinach cooks.
   
3. Add a squeeze of lemon and red pepper flakes (if desired) to the cooked spinach, and you’re done!
   

Yup, it’s that easy!

Tips and tricks

• The best way to keep your final dish from getting watery is to use a slotted spoon to move the spinach onto a serving plate or bowl since it releases a lot of excess water when cooking.
• If using mature spinach, chop any big spinach leaves that are larger than hand sized once or twice to make it easier to eat and remove stems.
• Always wash your spinach! Ideally use a salad spinner and cold water. This way you can rinse using the bowl part, then the colander portion and then spin it all dry. You can also rinse in a colander and pat dry with kitchen towels. Even pre-washed baby spinach should be rinsed but you won’t need to be as thorough with it.
• You can use this cooked spinach in any recipe that calls for frozen, just leave out the lemon and crushed red pepper.
• Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days and microwave before eating.

Frequently asked questions

What to pair sautéed spinach and garlic with

It’s such a versatile healthy side dish that it will go well with pretty much anything, but here are some of my favorite pairings:

• With this citrus baked chicken
• With salmon (this Traeger Smoked Salmon or this oven baked salmon) or fish of any kind
• Alongside bison meatballs or this lemon veggie pasta
• With this mushroom pilaf for a vegetarian meal
• Served with scrambled eggs or poached eggs for breakfast

Originally published October 13, 2015. The post content has been updated sine then but the recipe is the same.