It's not just for cartoon tough guys. Spinach sometimes gets a bad rap — leafy green veggies aren't everyone's favorite after all. But we're here to say that spinach deserves a second chance! To help it gain the respect it deserves, we collected a bunch of spinach recipes — from side dishes to salads and more — that you should try out, especially if you're trying to get your Popeye on.
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1. Easy Sautéed Spinach
Let's start simple. This sauteed spinach recipe has just four ingredients — large bunches of spinach, extra virgin olive oil, sliced garlic cloves, and salt. Prep time and cook time are just ten minutes!
2. Wilted Baby Spinach with Garlic and Oil
More garlic, because you can never have enough! This recipe also has just a few ingredients, and there's a little bit of pepper thrown in for extra flavor. Total time to make this one is super short too.
3. Spinach Casserole with Feta and Crunchy Topping
A healthy casserole with a crunchy topping? Sign us up! Onions, parmesan cheese, oregano, dill, and breadcrumbs, all make their way into this delicious recipe.
4. Apple Spinach Salad
All sorts of yummy ingredients are in this dish — dried cranberries, apples, walnuts, and, of course, lots of baby spinach leaves. See the recipe.
5. Catalan Chickpeas and Spinach
Smoked paprika and ground cumin really round out this delicious tapas recipe— raisins and pine nuts all make appearances, too.
6. Beef and Spinach Lasagna
Talk about comfort food. If you want a little meat to go with your vegetables when planning a weeknight meal, why not a beef and spinach lasagna recipe? A bunch of ricotta cheese and mozzarella doesn't hurt.
7. Spinach Walnut Pesto
A good pesto is never a bad idea for the recipe book. This pesto recipe features fresh lemon juice and crushed red pepper — yum.
8. One Pan Spinach and Zucchini Pasta
This is a great vegetarian dish if you're looking for options when hosting an event or bringing something to a potluck. Fettucine pasta, spinach, zucchini, tomatoes, cheese, and spices all come together to make a delectable pasta meal.
9. Spinach and Bacon Quiche
This one could be great as a brunch option. Swish, mozzarella, Monterey jack, or cheddar are all recommended to make it even more flavorful, and you could probably modify this recipe to make it a frittata instead.
10. Greek Lentil and Spinach Soup with Lemon
And now for a soup entry! This recipe includes an entire pound of brown or large green lentils, a jalapeno, coriander and cumin seeds, potatoes, butternut squash, and so much more.
11. Garlic Quinoa and Spinach Bowl
You can even add a poached or fried egg to this quinoa dish if you'd like to make it a breakfast bowl. See the recipe.
12. Chicken Thighs with Shallots and Spinach
Another meat and veggie option, this chicken dish looks beyond amazing. You'll need a little white wine or reduced-sodium chicken broth and sour cream for this recipe.
13. Potato Spinach Gnocchi
This Italian dish is described as "comforting, light and tasty." Sounds great to us! See the recipe.
14. Spanakopita
Obviously, we would be remiss not to include a spanakopita recipe on this list. Check out that crispy crust!
15. Sweet Potato and Spinach Curry
We love a good curry, and this spinach and sweet potato curry looks like it's absolutely worth our time. See the recipe here.
