Spinach Recipes and How To Grow Spinach
Today it’s all about spinach recipes your family will love. Have you tried growing spinach before? It’s really easy to grow and you can harvest for weeks. I’ll give you tips on growing spinach below. When I was growing up, my mom used to cook spinach. I must confess I didn’t like it very much back then.
Yes, she tried to spruce it up with lemon, as I remember. Nope, I still didn’t like it. Then, I was introduced to so many spinach recipes that are unbelievably delicious. It was a game changer, I started growing spinach every year.
Spinach Recipes
Strawberry Spinach Salad
- One bag of baby spinach or salad greens (your choice, any size)
- 6 pieces of thick bacon (cooked, drained and crumbled)
- 1/4 cup chopped cashews or sliced almonds
- 1/4 cup craisins
- 1/4 chopped red onion
- 8-10 ounces of sliced fresh strawberries
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1/8 cup of your favorite balsamic vinegars (strawberry is good for this salad)
- 1/8 cup sugar
- 2 tablespoons strawberry jam
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Grab a large bowl and layer the spinach, bacon, cashews, Craisins, chopped red onions, and freshly sliced strawberries.
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Use a blender to mix the ingredients for the dressing. Chill the dressing and pour it over the salad just before serving.
Spinach Quiche
These are really easy to make and take to brunch or neighborhood get-togethers. You can eat them cold or hot.
- 2 Cans Crescent Rolls (8 oz. each-8 rolls each)
- 1- 8 -ounce Cream cheese-softened
- 3 Eggs
- 1- 9 ounce Frozen spinach (uncooked and drained)
- ¼ Cup chopped onion
- 1-1/2 Cup shredded Mozzarella
- Salt and Pepper to taste
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Spray the muffin tins with your favorite vegetable spray and then place a crescent triangle in the muffin cup starting at the bottom and making part of it go up the sides as much as you can to make a cup to fill with egg mixture. In a bowl beat the eggs, add the cream cheese, onions, spinach, and cheese. Salt and pepper to taste. Fill the muffin cups, be careful not to overfill them.
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Bake at 350 degrees for 17-22 minutes. Please do the toothpick or knife test to make sure they are done. This makes 16 muffin cups. Remove from muffin tin and serve. They are good cold the next day as well! Plus another bonus these quiches freeze very well!
Spinach And Artichoke Dip
This is a really easy dip to make to take to parties or for Sunday Brunch!
- 1 9-ounce frozen spinach (thaw and drain the liquid)
- 1 8-ounce package cream cheese (cubed and softened)
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons dry parsley
- 1 15-ounce jar marinated artichoke hearts (chopped fine and drained)
- salt & pepper to taste
- 1 cup Parmesan cheese
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Combine all of the ingredients in the slow cooker and cook on low for 2-4 hours, or until heated through. Serve with baguette sliced bread.
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Preheat your oven to (350°F)=(176°C). Grease a 9 by 13 baking pan. Combine all of the ingredients in a bowl and mix thoroughly. Scoop the mixture into a greased pan. Bake for about 20 minutes or until heated through.
Spinach Bowtie Pasta Salad
This recipe makes a huge bowl of salad. It’s great for family reunions and neighborhood get-togethers. It’s nice because you can stretch the salad with more chicken, pasta, or spinach. Life is good when we can make more salad if extra people show up, right?
- 4 to 6 chicken breasts cooked in the oven drizzled with olive oil. You can also use cans of chicken drained
- 2 packages 16 oz. pasta of choice. I prefer bowtie pasta. Cook as directed on package, rinse with cold water
- Green onions-one bunch sliced
- 1-16- ounce package of spinach washed, stem and tear if desired
- Bell peppers chopped red, green and yellow
- 1/4 cup sesame seeds
- 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup almonds fry the almonds-stir constantly with 2-3 tablespoons sugar
- DRESSING-Mix in a blender
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 1/3 cup red wine vinegar
- 1/2 cup canola oil
- 1/4 teaspoon of salt and pepper
- 1/3 cup soy sauce
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Place all the ingredients (except the dressing) in a very large bowl and cover with homemade dressing. Serve immediately.
My Favorite Spinach Dip
- 16 -ounces sour cream
- 1 cup mayonnaise
- 1- 8-ounce cream cheese softened
- 1-8 ounce chestnuts, drained and chopped
- 1 bunch green onions, chopped fine
- 1.4 -ounce package Knorr Vegetable Recipe Mix
- 1-10 ounce package frozen spinach, thawed and drained
- Bread chunks, or vegetables for dipping
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Soften the cream cheese.
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Drain the spinach, and then press down on the spinach to remove any excess moisture.
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Then add the mayonnaise, sour cream, green onions, and the dry soup mixture to the bowl of cream cheese, and mix well.
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Add the chopped chestnuts, and mix until smooth.
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I used an eight-inch round loaf of French bread (for the "bowl") today because it was cheaper than the sourdough round loaf. It works okay, although I like the sturdier sourdough loaves. You basically cut out the top on an angle, remove some of the bread inside the round loaf, and set it aside.
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Fill the "bread bowl" with the spinach dip
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This recipe is similar to the Knorr package.
Growing Spinach
Spinach can be grown year-round in several zones. Please check your zip code zone for your area to see if your neighborhood works. Check For Your Zone
Spinach loves well-drained soil with a pH of 6.5-7.0. Plant the seeds about 4-6 weeks before the last frost in the spring and again 6-8 weeks before the first frost in the fall. Start with organic compost in the soil and with some well-rotted manure. Sow the seeds about 1/2 to 1 inch deep and cover them with soil. Plant the seeds about 12 inches apart to give them room to grow and leaf out. The seeds will germinate quickly and grow fairly fast.
If you stagger the seeds you’ll have a crop that keeps on going all summer into the fall. When the spinach is ready to harvest cut the spinach leaves 2 inches above ground level. Spinach loves cool weather. Once the weather turns warm the spinach may “bolt,” meaning one of the branches “bolts” above the rest of the plant. Once they start to bolt harvest the entire plant. This is where I buy my seeds: SeedsNow
If you don’t have a garden spot available, think about growing spinach in pots, it’s really easy to grow just about anywhere.
Final Word
I hope today’s post about spinach recipes gets you excited to plant a few spinach seeds and make a salad with your own harvest. Here’s to growing your own food and loving it. Thanks for being prepared for the unexpected. May God bless this world.
Thanks for the recipes. We love spinach and will be growing it for the first time ths year. My hubby is tilling the gardens today. It has finally dried out after a long wet winter.
Hi Liz, how exciting! Spinach is so easy to grow and it just keeps on going. The weather this year has been wetter than I have ever seen in my lifetime. I love hearing you are planting spinach! Linda
Hi, Linda! I love this… I grow spinach in pots in my kitchen, along with my other greens. The Mormon Crickets eat everything I try to grow outside. Between the short growing season and the plethora of crickets, I just can’t have an outside garden, here.
Spinach dip is one of my favorites. I make mine like your recipe, except I’ve never used the vegie soup mix. I’ll have to try adding it one of these days. I make sour dough baguettes whenever I make spinach dip. They just go together so well. Spinach Artichoke Dip is another one I love. I make that exactly the same way you do. It’s also good with the sour dough baguettes.
I love your little spinach quiches! Do you think that would work with thinly rolled biscuit dough? I can make crescent roll dough, but biscuit dough is quicker. *G* Even with just me, I can make the full batch and freeze them for a quick breakfast or snack. I love things I can freeze and quickly nuke!
I make a big wilted spinach salad quite often. It makes a simple complete lunch or dinner. It’s similar to your spinach salad. If I have them on hand I put nuts or seeds in it, I put hard boiled eggs in it, but I don’t put fruit in it, and the dressing is hot (of course *G*). I’ll have to try your cold fruity version one of these days.
Well, winter is slowing down, but I don’t think it’s finished yet, at least up here. I hope you and Mark are starting to get some warmer weather. Big hugs, Mare
Hi Mare!! Do you have Mormon crickets??? Oh my gosh!! I bet the biscuit dough would work for sure! I love to make a batch and freeze some too! Stay warm, I hope this weather improves soon. Big Hugs!!! Linda
Linda ~
I like spinach fresh but not cooked! I always likened cooked spinach with wilted lettuce and it just doesn’t do anything for me. That being said, I do like spinach dip and spinach salads.
I am still waiting for my grow boxes so I can start planting on my deck at my apartment! I plan to grow tomatoes and some herbs but I may just grow spinach as well!
Thanks always for your good, easy recipes.
Hi Leanne, I can’t wait to hear about your grow boxes!! Bring on the salads! Linda
I’m getting ready to plant in containers. Spring is here!! Woo Hoo!!
Hi Des Moines Daisy!!! Oh my gosh, I love hearing this! I just saw a few tiny sprouts trying to break through the soil!! I’m so glad Spring is here too!! Woo Hoo!! I love planting in containers, here we go!!! Linda
Good info. and recipes. Just a thought on seeds. Always buy your seeds from a region wher you live. After trying many when we moved to WA, I found thei out the hard way. I now buy most of my seed from Territorial Seed from OR. since using their seed I have always had good results. Other companies may say they grow anywhere, but that isn’t always the case. Also, get OP (open pollinated) varieties if possible so you can save your seeds for next year.
Thank you!
Hi Cheryl, great comment with awesome tips! Thank you! Linda