Name: Sautéed Spinach with Garlic
Prep time: 2 min
Cook time: 5 min
Total time: 7 min
Ingredients: 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil; 6 cloves garlic (, sliced into thin slivers); 1 pound baby spinach leaves; 1 teaspoon kosher salt; 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper; 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice or vinegar (, (optional))

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This easy sautéed spinach recipe with sweet slivers of garlic takes just 10 minutes to cook for a healthy side dish that goes with any meal.

Best Sautéed Spinach

Getting more greens in our diets should be the focus of every eater, and the darker and leafier, the better.

While pretty much everyone likes a wedge of Iceberg, it’s the dark, leafy greens where you’ll find the real health benefits of getting in your veggie greens. Sorry iceberg, but all greens are not created equal. Sometimes I love to get a healthy does of dark, antioxidant-rich greens in the form of a kale salad, like my kale salad with cranberries, apple and cheddar cheese, or in a creamy, tangled mess of Swiss chard, like my recipe for creamed Swiss chard with garlic breadcrumbs. Other times, I’m craving this garlicky sautéed spinach and it always does me good.

This spinach side dish is fresh and light, with slivers of sweetened, caramelized garlic that infuses the oil the spinach is cooked in. It makes a perfect pairing for just about any main meal.

Is Sautéed Spinach Healthy?

Anytime you eat more vegetables you’re going to add important nutrients to your diet, but according to studies, the health benefits of sautéed spinach actually outnumber raw, so yes, it’s super healthy.

Spinach is a nutritional powerhouse, and like mom always says, “it’s really good for you.” According to science, Mom wasn’t kidding. With over 41 vitamins and nutrients, zero fat, and high levels of fiber and even protein, the benefits of spinach include high levels of phytochemicals that help improve health in so many ways, including:

promotes healthy eye-sight
anti-inflammatory
reduces cancer risk
lowers blood glucose levels
lowers blood pressure
promotes healthy skin and hair
boosts bone health

Sautéed spinach shows an increase in the absorption of vitamins A and E, protein, fiber, zinc, thiamin, calcium, and iron, along with important beta carotenes for better immune systems and healthier skin.

see more: 31 Quick and Healthy Veggie Side Dishes in 30 Minutes or Less

How to Make This Sautéed Spinach and Garlic

Sliver the garlic. Use a hand-held mandoline to get even slices every time. Or, use a very sharp knife and be as precise as you can. You can mince the garlic if you like, but the chance of it burning rises with the smaller pieces.

Choose a large non-stick skillet or dutch oven, and warm your oil along with the garlic slivers. Be sure to watch the garlic closely as it cooks as it go from bronzed to brown and bitter in a heartbeat. The garlic flavors the oil as it cooks. Quickly fish out the garlic with a mesh skimmer like this one and reserve the oil for your spinach.

Toss and season. Heaping piles of spinach cook down quickly as the spinach hits the heat. I use my trusty tongs to toss the spinach as it cooks. Season the spinach now with the kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper. The salt helps draw out the moisture and makes the cooking process quicker.

Once the leaves just begin to wilt overall, it’s time to remove the pot from the heat. The leaves will continue to cook from the residual heat.

Toss the garlic slices back into the pan and add a squeeze of lemon or a drizzle of balsamic, champagne vinegar, or rice wine vinegar to add a spark of freshness if desired. If you can’t eat your spinach without a pat of butter, feel free to add it to the hot spinach too.

What Spices Go Well With Spinach

The simplicity of this fresh spinach side dish can easily be enhanced with loads of spices and other ingredients for a variety of tasty bites:

Season with any of the following spices to amp up the flavor:

Red pepper flakes
Fresh basil
Fresh thyme
Ginger (fresh or ground)
Turmeric (fresh or ground)
Coriander
Fresh squeezed lemon, lime, or orange juice and/or zest

Sauté other diced vegetables before adding the spinach to the pan, like:

shallots
red onion
mushrooms
red bell pepper
water chestnuts
tomatoes
Add a few dollops of goat cheese, feta, or Parmesan
Cooked bacon bits or pancetta

How do You Get the Bitterness Out of Sautéed Spinach?

Spinach contains oxalic acid, which can often impose a bitter aftertaste. Heat can help break this acid down and eliminate some of the bitterness, but if any lingers, the best antidote, according to this article, is citrus. Squeeze a little lemon, lime, or orange juice and grate some zest in there if your spinach is tasting bitter.

Can I Use Frozen Spinach?

No, this sautéed spinach with garlic is best when made with handfuls of fresh spinach leaves.

Can I Meal Prep Sautéed Spinach?

Absolutely! This garlic spinach reheats well and can be enjoyed as is, atop grain bowls, alongside seafood and chicken, added to scrambles and frittatas, and more.

Tips for Cooking Spinach

No matter how many you’re cooking for, plan on having A LOT of spinach on hand. Unlike spinach salads where the raw leaf goes far, cooked spinach wilts down to much smaller portion sizes.
This recipe doesn’t require strict measurements and you can pretty much eyeball it once you’ve tried it once. For each serving I plan on at least 1/2 pound or 4 cups of raw spinach per person. I generally don’t measure by cups, but by huge handfuls instead.
For a more indulgent take on this garlic sautéed spinach, I recommend making my Stovetop Creamed Spinach recipe instead.

What to Serve With Sautéed Spinach

Equipment Needed to Make This Recipe

My favorite 10-inch Staub Cast-Iron Skillet
Hand-held mandoline
Mesh skimmer

If you make this recipe, please let me know! Leave a star rating on this recipe below and leave a comment, take a photo and tag me on Instagram with #foodiecrusheats.

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4.69 from 16 votes