Creamed baby spinach with mushrooms and shallots

If you love baby spinach as much as I do, you might like to try this easy crustless mushroom, cheese and spinach quiche too.

But before you do that, you have to try this amazing spinach side dish. I could quite happily eat a bowl of it as a light main meal!

Why I think you'll love this spinach side dish

• Only a handful of ingredients. Sautéed mushrooms and onions, baby spinach and good-quality cream cheese. Finished with a squeeze of lemon juice (optional but recommended).
• Rich in nutrients, particularly vitamins K, A and a range of B vitamins. It's also a good source of antioxidants and calcium.
• Easy to make. Simply saute the mushrooms and shallots, add the spinach to wilt, then stir in the cream cheese to form the sauce.
• Quick to prepare. Perfect for a busy weeknight.
• A versatile side dish. Works beautifully with fish, chicken, steak or pasta. You could even spread it on a slice of toast for a quick lunch.

Ingredients for creamy baby spinach and mushrooms

**This is just an overview to explain why I used a particular ingredient. You can find the exact ingredient measurements on the printable recipe card at the end of this post.**

• Baby spinach. Please note this is tender baby spinach that wilts in seconds, and not the thicker Swiss Chard that has to be boiled for much longer. I normally buy the one that has been pre-washed, but if you prefer to wash it yourself, do make sure it has been well-drained and patted dry with paper towels before adding it to the mushrooms and onions. You don't want to introduce extra moisture to the dish, or it will become runny.
• Mushrooms. I tend to buy chestnut or cremini mushrooms, but you could use firm white mushrooms, baby button mushrooms or even the larger Portobello mushrooms. They are going to be finely sliced anyway, so the size doesn't matter.
• Shallots. I used banana shallots, but the small round ones will work just as well. I like to use shallots rather than onions, as I find the shallots have a milder taste. That said, you could make this dish using normal white onions.
• Cream cheese. The cream cheese forms the sauce, and there are no other ingredients (such as milk or butter) involved. For the best taste, get a good quality cream cheese.
• Lemon. This is optional, but a squeeze of fresh lemon juice, stirred in just before serving, really brightens up this dish.
• You will also need a small amount of butter for frying the shallots and mushrooms, and a little salt for seasoning.

How to make creamy spinach with cream cheese

This won't take long 😁

Step 1: Peel the shallots and wipe the mushrooms with a damp paper towel to remove any bits of dirt. Dice the shallots finely and cut the mushrooms into approximately 1-cm-sized pieces.

Step 2: Melt the butter in a large frying pan over moderate heat and add the diced shallots. Fry them gently for about 5 minutes, stirring often, until they turn translucent.

Step 3: Add the chopped mushrooms and continue to fry until the mushrooms have softened. Season the mushrooms and shallots very lightly with a little salt.

Step 4: Pile in the spinach. It looks like a lot, but it soon wilts. Add 2 tablespoons of water (no more), cover the pan with a lid and leave for 3 minutes. The water creates steam, which helps to wilt the spinach.

Step 5: The spinach should have wilted nicely. Stir the dish for a minute or two (still on moderate heat) to make sure all the water has evaporated.

Step 6: Now stir in the cream cheese and leave the dish on the heat until the cheese has heated through.

Optional. Just before serving, stir in a squeeze of fresh lemon juice.

Tips for a successful outcome.

Here are my top tips to ensure your spinach and mushroom side dish always turns out perfectly:

• Cut the vegetables into nice, small pieces. You don't want massive bits of onions in the spinach.
• Take care when softening the onions that you don't have the heat too high - the shallots can brown and burn easily.
• Let the shallots and mushrooms soften fully before adding the spinach. Most of the cooking time is taken up with the mushrooms and shallots - the spinach only takes a short time to wilt.
• Season very lightly - a quarter of a teaspoon of salt (or even less) will be more than sufficient. There's not a lot of water in this dish to dilute the salt, so you're not draining anything away.
• If you've washed your spinach, you may find you don't need to add any additional water to the pan. The residual water still clinging to the leaves may be sufficient to create steam to wilt the spinach.
• If you find there is still a lot of water in the pan once the spinach has wilted (there shouldn't be), just pour it away. I find a minute or 2 on moderate heat is enough to evaporate any remaining liquid.

How to cook sea bass (the easy way)

This is my tried and trusted way to get perfectly cooked sea bass every single time.

• If you've bought frozen sea bass, defrost it first, then pat it with a paper towel to remove any moisture. You might need more than one go; the fish should be as dry as possible.
• Place the fillets on a plate, skin side down and season the flesh very lightly with salt, then sprinkle generously with your favourite blend of fish spice. I use Schwartz lemon and dill fish seasoning. I've included the Amazon link so you can see what it looks like, but most UK supermarkets stock it.
• Turn the fish skin side up and repeat the seasoning.
• Heat a splash of oil and a small knob of butter over moderate heat in a frying pan, and once the butter has melted, place the fish, skin side DOWN, and leave to cook for 4 minutes. The pan will be hot enough if it sizzles slightly when you add the fish.
• Use a spatula to turn the fish. The skin should have browned and crisped slightly.
• Cook for a further 2 minutes.

This is a very specific recipe, which works just as it is. There's not too much I'd change, to be honest. However, here are a few thoughts:

• Garlic. Add a finely minced clove of garlic with the onions for extra depth.
• Chilli. Add a finely chopped red chilli or a pinch of chilli flakes for a gentle heat.
• Spice. Add a pinch of grated nutmeg for a classic creamed spinach flavour.
• Kid-friendly. Tell them that spinach was Popeye's favourite meal! 😁. And this is a true story - about 40 years ago in South Africa, there was a company called I & J that sold frozen foods (if I recall, their proper name was Irvine and Johnson). I was trying to get my son, who must have been 8 or 9 at the time, to eat some spinach I'd cooked. I said, 'You really should try this spinach, it's so good for you, it's packed with iron' and his reply was, 'Is that why it's made by Iron J?'

Storing and freezing

• Refrigerator. The cooked spinach and mushrooms can be safely stored in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. You may find that the spinach leeches water on standing; you can just pour it off before reheating.
• Freezer. This dish freezes well and can be frozen in a Ziploc bag or a suitable rigid container, such as Tupperware, for up to 3 months.
• Defrosting. Defrost in the refrigerator, or use the defrost setting on your microwave if you are in a hurry. You will probably find a lot of liquid/water in the defrosted dish; pour it away before reheating.
• Reheating. Reheat in a saucepan over gentle heat, or reheat in the microwave for 30 to 60 seconds.

FAQ

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