Seasonality
Fall-Spring
Quick Tips
How to cook spinach
Traditional spinach is best when used raw or lightly cooked through sautéing or steaming. Overcooking spinach will result a slimy consistency. Be sure to rinse the greens directly before cooking or using.
How to buy spinach
Look for spinach in bunches or loose leaves. The leaves should have a solid green color, look and feel crisp, and no wilted leaves or foul smell.
How to store spinach
Store unwashed spinach in a plastic bag or container that is lined with a dry tea towel or paper towels. Excess moisture will cause spinach to spoil quicker.
Varieties
Spinach comes in a few different varieties: Savoy, semi-savoy, flat-leafed, and a spinach-alternative that is a substitute grown in warmer weather. The Savoy, semi-savory, and flat-leafed are best grown in cooler weather and are typically what I use in a recipe.
About
Spinach is best as a cool weather crop. The heat causes spinach to bolt before it’s ready to be picked, and even if the spinach doesn’t bolt, the heat flattens the flavor. I use spinach fairly interchangeably with other dark greens like swiss chard, kale, and arugula. Play around and find the right combination of different greens for your salad recipe.
I eat a lot of leafy greens for the iron content and many other nutrients. Spinach is great freshly plucked and used as a salad base. but versatile enough to be used in many cooked dishes. To keep the nutrients in tact, I often toss spinach with freshly cooked pasta to wilt it just slightly.
If you wish to preserve fresh spinach, the best method is to freeze. This is done by blanching the greens for 2 minutes, followed immediately by an ice bath. From there, the greens can be tossed in a ziplock bag and into the freezer for up to a year (if they last that long).
All Vegetarian Spinach Recipes
Breakfast Enchiladas with Avocado Cream Sauce
Bruschetta White Bean Wrap
Buttered Fava Bean Salad with Soft-Boiled Eggs
Butternut Squash Salad with Hemp Dressing
Cajun Millet Cakes
Chickpea Fritter Sandwich with Hummus
Chili Roasted Sweet Potato Sandwich
Chili Spinach Pesto Noodle Bowl
Chimichurri Potato Tacos with Pinto Beans
Chipotle Black Bean and Rice Skillet
Cream Cheese Roll-ups with Crepes and Vegetables
Cucumber Peanut Salad
Cucumber Satay Crunch Salad- A Modern Way to Eat
Curried Cauliflower Wrap
Delicata Squash Pizza
Delicata Squash Spring Rolls with Spinach
Fall Cornbread Panzanella Salad with Maple-Mustard Vinaigrette
Garlic Roasted Potato and Spinach Salad with Eggs
Garlic Spinach, Millet, and Eggs
Garlicky Greens | Component Cooking
Garlicky Spinach Cornmeal Crepes
Gouda and Spinach Shells and Cheese
Green Curry Noodle Bowl
Green Summer Salad with Herby Hemp Dressing
Grilled Asparagus Orzo Pasta
Grilled Fennel Salad with Orzo and White Beans
Groovy Bagel Melt
Halloumi Salad with Spinach and Quinoa
Harissa Roasted Carrot Toast
Honey-Roasted Butternut Squash and Blue Cheese Salad
Noodles in Curry Broth with Spinach and Egg
Quick Red Lentil Curry with Spinach
Ras El Hanout Farro Skillet
Red Lentil Masala with Spinach
Ricotta Butternut Squash Pizza with Spinach
Roasted Acorn Squash Salad with Pecan Vinaigrette
Roasted Beet Salad with Herbs and Spinach
Roasted Carrot Multigrain Pilaf with Pepita Pesto
Roasted Golden Beet and Millet Spinach Salad with Herb Dressing
Roasted Parsnip Spinach Salad
Roasted Red Kuri Squash with Cannellini Bean and Spinach Salad
Roasted Sunchoke Salad
Roasted Sweet Potato, Spinach, and Grain Salad
Smoked Paprika Potato Spinach Salad with Homemade Blue Cheese Dressing
Smoked Paprika Red Potatoes and Spinach Salad with Homemade Blue Cheese
Spicy Lentil Tacos with Radish Salsa
Spinach and Black Bean Quesadilla
Spinach and Kamut Salad with Chili-Orange Dressing
Spinach and Pea Fried Rice
Spinach Asparagus Soup with Lemon Sunflower Cream
Spinach Bisque
Spinach Curried Red Potato Salad
Spinach Enchiladas with Lentils
Spinach Fennel Pizza
Spinach Millet Egg Bake
Spinach Pesto Polenta with Smoky Chickpeas
Spinach Pizza with Homemade Ranch
Spinach Quesadillas with Spiced Pinto Beans
Spinach Quinoa Cakes with Garlicky Yogurt
Spinach Salad with Avocado and Sesame Roasted Almonds
Spring Panzanella with Peas and Fennel
Sweet Potato Mac and Cheese with Spinach
Sweet Potato Pasta with Walnut-Sage Sauce
White Bean Salad with Pea Shoots