11 Spinach Recipes So Delicious You'll Gladly Eat Your Greens

Whether it's the star of the show or a valuable player, this versatile leafy vegetable can do it all.

By
Mimi Young
Mimi Young
Mimi Young
Editor
Mimi Young is an editor and pastry chef. She has also curated and written numerous recipe roundups for Serious Eats.
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Published June 09, 2025
Overhead view of Peanut and Spinach salad

Serious Eats / Amanda Suarez

As a kid, I usually didn't need much convincing to eat my spinach, except when served a pile of limp, tasteless, muddy green stuff at the school cafeteria that looked and smelled nothing like the glistening, bright green stir-fried version with garlic and ginger my mom made at home. Then again, almost all greens look and taste better when thoughtfully prepared, and spinach is certainly one of them. Spinach is an exceptionally versatile leafy green. When raw, it's clean, crisp, and subtly sweet with mildly earthy and bitter undertones. Cooking, however, amplifies its earthy notes and mellows out some of the bitterness, giving it a more robust flavor profile.

The 11 spinach recipes below take full advantage of this complexity, ranging from a wonderfully simple chilled appetizer to vibrant, aromatic sides, and richly satisfying entrées. With such a variety of options, you won't have to worry about getting in your daily greens.

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  • Sigeumchi Namul (Korean Marinated Spinach Banchan)

    Korean marinated spinach in a ceramic bowl

    Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

    This classic banchan, or side dish, of blanched spinach marinated in garlicky sesame dressing is as much of a staple of the Korean table as kimchi—eaten with barbecued meats, soup noodles, spicy chicken, or plain rice. It's so simple to make, you can always keep a stash in your fridge.

  • Chinese Spinach and Peanut Salad

    Overhead view of Peanut and Spinach salad

    Serious Eats / Amanda Suarez

    With a few exceptions (like the famous smashed cucumber salad), Chinese salads almost always feature cooked vegetables, such as this one of spinach and peanuts, an ubiquitous summer combination found in Dongbei, Northeastern China. Blanching, then squeezing out the excess water from the spinach, concentrates its flavor, while locking in the vegetable's vibrant color. Tossed in an all-purpose Chinese vinaigrette, this dish makes an ideal palate-opening appetizer or a light accompaniment to heavier braises and stir-fries.

  • Palak Paneer

    Bright green Palak Paneer in a white bowl one an orange back next to some roti

    Serious Eats / Amanda Suarez

    "Saag paneer" is a misnomer often given to this iconic dish outside South Asia, where it's known as palak paneer ("palak" is spinach in Hindi). Chetna Makan's Punjabi family recipe for fried paneer in creamy spinach sauce isn't weighed down with extra spices, which lets the spinach flavor shine through. Also, blending the wilted spinach while it's hot yields a smoother purée that's vibrant green, not murky.

  • Florentine Omelette With Spinach and Cheese

    Florentine spinach cheese omelette on a white and blue plate

    Serious Eats / Daniel Gritzer

    Five ingredients are all you need to make this surprisingly robust omelette that's perfect for any meal. For tender, fluffy curds, salt the eggs in advance to help break down their protein structure. Opt for curly spinach over baby spinach and other flat-leaf varieties for a better texture. Just be sure to thoroughly rinse away any sandy grit before cooking and squeeze out excess moisture to avoid ending up with a watery omelette.

    Continue to 5 of 11 below

  • French Crêpes With Spinach and Feta

    A spinach and feta crepes folded into triangles, garnished with herbs, on a plate with a fork on the side

    Serious Eats / J. Kenji López-Alt

    These classic French crêpes, stuffed with spinach, onion, and feta cheese, are perfect for brunch, especially since you can prep the crêpes up to three days in advance. Quickly sauté some minced red onion and fresh spinach leaves, then combine with crumbled feta for the filling.

  • Cold Sichuan-Style Noodles with Spinach and Peanuts

    A bowl of noodles garnished with chopped green onions, peanuts, and chili, placed on a bamboo mat with chopsticks resting on the bowl's rim

    Serious Eats / J. Kenji López-Alt

    For this riff on classic Dan Dan noodles, we replace a good portion of the noodles with thin ribbons of blanched spinach that perfectly pick up the chile oil and vinegar-based sauce to pack more flavor into every bite. Cold noodles temper the heat of the chile oil and make for ideal fare on balmy summer nights.

  • The Best Spinach Lasagna

    A slice of spinach lasagna, shot from the side so that all of the layers are visible.

    Serious Eats / Julia Estrada

    What sets this spinach lasagna apart from others is the technique. We sauté the spinach with shallots and garlic, then remove as much excess liquid as possible and chop it up to guarantee maximum flavor and even distribution throughout the ricotta filling. Stacks of fresh pasta also ensure a good ratio of filling to pasta, so you end up with the creamiest, cheesiest, and most spinach-packed lasagna.

  • Spinach and Feta Gnudi in Mushroom-Saffron Broth

    gnudi in a bowl with chives and parmesan cheese on the side

    Serious Eats / Vicky Wasik

    Excess moisture is the enemy of a well-made gnudi, so squeezing out all the water from the freshly blanched spinach is just as crucial as draining the ricotta. Flour and eggs bind together the cheese and spinach to help keep the gnudi hold their shape as they cook. Here, we pair the pillowy gnudi with a warm, fragrant broth made from mushrooms, garlic, and saffron, though you can also serve it with a rich tomato sauce.

    Continue to 9 of 11 below

  • Sarson Ka Saag (Braised Mustard Greens and Spinach)

    Saag in an earth-toned orange bowl with roti in the background

    Serious Eats / Amanda Suarez

    Fresh spinach added towards the end of cooking tones down the sharpness and balances the bitterness of the mustard leaves braised in ghee. A simple tadka of chiles, garlic, and ginger adds more layers of flavor and aroma to the final dish.

  • Hot Spinach-Artichoke Dip

    Baked spinach artichoke dip in a dish, a hand scooping with a chip

    Serious Eats/Morgan Hunt Glaze

    Armed with a few lactase tablets, I'll never say no to a creamy, cheesy hot spinach artichoke dip, especially not this one. We nailed the ideal proportion of spinach to artichokes and a trifecta of cream cheese, mayo, and sour cream for the ideal texture. We also found that thawed frozen cut-leaf spinach, not fresh, is easier to use and perfectly sized for scooping onto veggies and chips. 

  • Vegan Spinach and Hominy Enchiladas With Spicy Cashew Cream

    Vegan spinach and hominy enchilada in a baking dish

    Serious Eats / J. Kenji López-Alt

    The filling for this vegan enchilada starts with fresh spinach sautéed with garlic, onions, ancho chile powder, and cumin, and a can of drained cooked hominy for a chewy bite. A basic salsa verde flavors the filling and coats the tortillas, while a cashew cream spiked with adobo sauce gives the enchilada a creamy, non-dairy "cheesy" finish.

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