Pierre Franey’s Creamed Spinach Recipe (2024)

A simple suggestion: Use much less water to cook the spinach. Marcella Hazan famously recommended no more water than clings to the leaves after washing. This approach saves most of the flavor and nutrients rather than leaching them out of the leaves and pouring them down the drain.

Instead of boiling the spinach, we put it in a pyrex dish, cover with cling wrap, and microwave it for a few minutes until wilted but still nice and green. Easy, fast, and clean. Then press out the water and hand chop it, which is also quick and clean.

No real need to puree. In fact, the texture becomes a big blah. Instead, steam the spinach, rinse in cold water, squeeze out excess moisture (use a paper towel) and chop coarsely. Then follow the directions. I've done this for years and it is as good as any steakhouse spinach.

The 2 1/2 lbs. is for bunch spinach with stems. If you remove the stems and blemished leaves as he directs in Step 1 you will end up with about 2 lbs.
Thus it would make sense to call for three of the
10 ounce pre-cleaned bags.
To Lili: Blanching and pressing the spinach is necessary to get it to release the excess water and yield a very concentrated spinach flavor. If you don't do that the end result may look OK but it won't have nearly the same flavor or texture.

This is not really a short cut, but blatant cheating. Defrost frozen chopped spinach and squeeze out excess water.

This is such a wonderful version of creamed spinach. I love the stuff but the idea of consuming all that heavy cream and butter puts me off. And here is a way of making it that is rich-tasting and that truly celebrates the pure flavor of spinach. And it's so easy. I used my immersion blender instead of the food processor--worked just fine and much easier to clean up after.

Made it twice with pre-ground and fresh ground nutmeg. Go fresh. Makes a huge difference, and use 2TBL of butter for a richer sauce.

My grandmother made it this way.....after cooking and draining the spinach she reserved some of the juice. She made the roux with browned butter and instead of cream or milk used the spinach juice to finish it. Added back the cooked spinach and nutmeg. It is the best creamed spinach out there...at least an 80 year old family recipe..maybe older.

Add grated gruyere or parmesan reggiano to the béchamel - fabulous! And minced garlic just before serving.

Tripled the recipe for a Christmas dinner crowd. Lovely dish, but stemming and washing and boiling and pureeing spinach WAY too much work. I will make again but I will use frozen chopped spinach.

Use a potato ricer to squeeze the water out of the blanched spinach.

Do the research - the idea that natural fat is bad for you has been debunked. Go for it!!!

Note that 2 1/2 lbs equals 40 oz, while two 10-oz bags equals 20 oz. Perhaps the recipe should call for four 10-oz bags?

I've always loved creamed spinach, but found this recipe created a rather bland result. While I appreciate that it's lower in calories than other versions, I felt the need to add a little extra butter and a small amount of heavy cream. I also added some sautéed shallots, which made a world of difference.

I put the cooked spinach in a salad spinner. Quickly removes the excess water. I also agree with the comments for 3 packs of spinach instead of two.

Delicious! The vibrant green color in the photo caught my eye and though mine wasn’t vivid green, it was delicious and easy. Based on comments, I made the following adjustments- steamed the spinach, then chopped with a knife instead of food processor. I used freshly grated nutmeg which I didn’t measure- probably a 6-8 grates. I served with a pat of butter and dusting of Parmesan, along with Jacques Pepin’s sautéed cod- a restaurant quality meal!

Made this for Thanksgiving.The only changes I made were 1/2 cup of milk and 1/2 tsp of guar gum instead of flour. Another splash of milk when reheating to thin it out a bit.Turned out perfect.

Followed this recipe step by step, but I decided to add parmesan and mozzarella at the end. Good combo!

Perfect for Easter with lamb, or with a steak. Fairly quick to make, came together and balanced perfectly. Would make again with any hearty meat. Nutmeg is key and really shined.

In Germany we eat this with boiled potatoes and fried eggs for dinner. This recipe gets it exactly right, even when I cheat and use frozen spinach.

Great recipe but just a bit bland. I added about 5 tablespoons of cream cheese and 5 tablespoons of grated Parmesan cheese. Good to great!!

I made this for Thanksgiving and found it to be a bit too healthy/simple tasting. Normally, I'm okay with healthy and simple but for a special dinner, I prefer dishes with a little more going on. On my next attempt, I'll gratin the spinach after it's ready with some shaved parm or gruyere. Otherwise, this is a great healthy vegetable side during the week as is.

"CUISINE RAPIDE" : Use Pre-washed, Fresh, Baby Spinach, (2 x 10 OZ size). Microwave for 3 Minutes, Total, per 10 OZ amount, on large plate. Toss mid-way with salt, using tongs to get even wilting. Squeeze out bitter juices in cooked spinach by putting another plate on top & pressing until almost dry -- over sink. Chop W/Kitchen Shears. Add spinach to sauce & follow recipe. Minimal Mess, Fast : SUPERB.

Wayyyyyy too much nutmeg. Overpowering to the point it was unpleasant.

Super good - I turned it into a light crustless quiche by adding 2 eggs and some cheese - I baked it at 375 for 25 minutes. Delicious.... Thank you for the recipe!

Not a nutmeg fan, but otherwise love homecooked creamed spinach, but my husband won't eat it! So every so often have to make myself a pot as a lunch treat.

Added a little grated Parmesan when heating. Delicious.

I added too much salt. I would half the recipe next time.

I used the butter but substituted Oat Cream, divinely inspired as it turns out.

great recipe for creamed spinach - i add a little more than a half cup of gruyere and it’s perfect every time!