Thanksgiving Keto Creamed Spinach

Why You’ll Love Our Keto Creamed Spinach Recipe

This creamy spinach dish is something your entire family will enjoy. It’s soft thanks to the spinach, creamy thanks to the cheese, and even subtly sweet thanks to the onions! Now, this recipe requires 12 cups of fresh spinach (you’re welcome to make adjustments of course), but we promise you won’t need to worry about leftovers. This creamy keto spinach is great even when served cold. It even tastes amazing as a spread!

Now on to the recipe!

Nutrition Facts

Ingredients	Calories	Fats (g)	Carbs (g)	Fiber (g)	Net Carbs (g)	Protein (g)
12 cups fresh spinach	83	1.4	13.1	7.9	5.2	10.3
4 tablespoon parmesan cheese, grated	90	6	1	0	1	9
1 tablespoon butter or ghee	102	11.5	0	0	0	0.1
1/3 cup cream cheese	270	27	2.1	0	2.1	5.8
1/3 cup heavy cream	138	14.8	1.1	0	1.1	0.8
1/3 cup onion, finely chopped	15	0	3.6	0.8	2.8	0.4
1 clove garlic	4	0	1	0.1	0.9	0.2
¼ tsp salt	0	0	0	0	0	0
1/3 tsp black pepper	2	0	0.5	0.2	0.3	0.1
Total	704	60.7	22.4	9	13.4	26.7
Per Serving (<4)	176	15.17	5.6	2.25	3.35	6.67

Is Creamed Spinach Good For Ketogenic Dieters?

Honestly, it will depend on the cream you use. For those on the keto diet, you can use heavy whipping cream, butter, ghee, cream cheese, and the like. Anything really that follows the general principles of a keto diet, which means your daily macronutrient allocation should look something like this:

• 70% fat
• 25% protein
• 5% carbohydrates

For this particular recipe, we’ve elected to use heavy cream, butter, and cream cheese to attain an extra creamy texture and oh so heavenly taste!

But why the overload on these high-fat ingredients?

Well, it’s because spinach by itself has literally no fat at all. So, to satisfy the stringent requirements of keto, we need to source the fat from other ingredients. Don’t get me wrong, spinach on its own is a nutritional powerhouse. It’s a staple food for anyone doing keto, and other low-carb or low-calorie diets.

Here are a few facts about this leafy veggie:

A one cup serving (around 56g) of spinach is only 15 calories. It may not have fat content, but it does have 2g of protein, 1g of net carbs, and 1g fiber. More importantly, it has high levels of vitamins A, C, and K, as well as potassium and magnesium (which most keto dieters don’t get enough of).

On a lighter note, I don’t know if Popeye was ever on a keto diet, but he did love his spinach. And it’s not surprising because spinach is rich in nitrate, which helps boost muscle strength.

This is great news for anyone doing keto because once you’re in ketosis (this is when your body uses fat for energy instead of carbs), you may experience decreased strength. So, if you’re experiencing this condition, make sure you load up on spinach to get your strength back – a la Popeye!

What Does This Recipe Go With?

First of all, this easy to cook, low carb creamed spinach recipe serves 4, so it’s perfect for sharing with family and friends. It’s best eaten as a side dish, but no one’s going to complain if you wolf it down as your main dish!

That said, I find it’s better to pair this with a protein-rich dish to help round up your keto diet’s macro needs (as you can see in the nutrient breakdown table, this recipe only has 6.67g of protein per serving).

Grilled meat, poultry, game, fish and shellfish are good examples. You can also experiment adding eggs and nuts to this recipe to jack up the protein content. Or, you can check out our Keto Cauliflower Mash with Meatballs recipe – one serving of this tasty dish will yield 93g of protein! 

Can I Use Baby Spinach For This Recipe?

Yes, you may. If you prefer the slightly less bitter taste of baby spinach, feel free to use this instead of mature spinach leaves. Just take note that baby spinach has more delicate leaves, so make sure not to overcook.

What About Frozen Spinach? Can I Use It Too?

Fresh spinach is recommended, but if it’s not available, well, frozen spinach is the next best thing. You can use the same quantity of frozen spinach in lieu of fresh ones. You’ll need to add a couple of steps to the cooking instructions though:

• You’ll need to thaw out the spinach first, then squeeze out all the extra water.
• Sauté time will be a bit shorter, but everything else remains the same.

How Long Does This Last In The Refrigerator?

About 3-5 days if kept in a covered container in the fridge. When reheating, add a dollop of butter to the pan to reinfuse the spinach with all that creamy goodness. The appearance may change a bit, but it will still taste as good as the day you cooked it!

Conclusion

This keto creamed spinach isn’t just for anyone on a low carb diet. Kids – and adults alike – who aren’t exactly spinach fans will love this dish (yes, it’s that good). So, don’t be surprised if your family asks you to cook this creamy spinach dish a few times a month!