Baked spinach may sound like a totally boring side dish and you might just be tempted to pass it up for other flashier, more exciting options. However, you’d be making a big mistake. I have made this dish more times than I can possibly count and it has never graced the blog before because I’ve been far too busy eating it to stop and take a picture of it. Falling into a side dish rut is oh so common – in fact, it happens to me on an almost weekly basis. But this baked spinach is always there to steer me away from yet another boring salad or roasted broccoli again. I try to always have a bag of spinach on hand so that there is this to fall back on.
The dish requires very little actual prep time and while it bakes, you can work on your main dish. Even better, the spinach prep can be done in advance. This dish is also highly adaptable – you can use broth, milk, or cream for the liquid and I have used many varieties of cheese with success. The only slightly negative thing I have to say about it is related to that fantastic shrinking phenomenon spinach has. You know, where once it is cooked down and the excess water is removed your former mountain of greens is now merely an anthill. As fascinating as that is, it also means that whenever I attempt to make this with a small amount of leftover spinach, I end up with around a single serving. But it’s okay, because it automatically becomes mine. Whether it be a side dish on a regular weeknight or on Thanksgiving to balance out all those lovely potatoes, this spinach needs to be in your life. For reals.
