Every single Thanksgiving my family begs me to bring along my signature dish. It’s not a cinnamon scented pumpkin pie or a marshmallow topped sweet potato casserole. Y’all, my family beg for spinach, HA! And this year, I’m taking my Paleo Creamed Spinach to satisfy each and every one of them.
You never knew that spinach could be this good.
Dairy-Free Cream Sauce
Creating a dairy-free cream sauce is much easier than you think. It doesn’t require all sorts of specialty ingredients or any long, difficult processes. In fact, nature has provided us with the most perfect dairy substitute ever in the form of….cashews.
In my opinion, cashes make the best nut butter, the best nut milk + they definitely make the best dairy-free cream sauce for the perfect Paleo Creamed Spinach.
Turning cashews into cream sauce is actually really simple. Blending them with some aromatics (some sautéed onions + garlic) and some chicken broth until smooth is all it takes. You’ll never ever believe it’s this easy. The cream sauce has so much depth of flavour.
Putting Together the Perfect Paleo Creamed Spinach
The first + most important step to making the perfect Paleo Creamed Spinach is getting the actual spinach right. If you’ve ever cooked with spinach you know that it cooks down to almost nothing when its heated. And so, to save tons of money, what we’re going to do is to use frozen.
Using frozen spinach not only means that its much cheaper to make a full sized casserole, but it also means that the spinach will be uber fresh. Frozen produce is flash frozen at its peak of freshness, so nutritional WIN!
To take frozen spinach + make it appropriate for this recipe, we need to make sure we remove all of the excess water. Nobody likes watery cream sauce. Here’s how to do it:
- Thaw the frozen spinach
- Take the defrosted spinach and place it in the centre of a kitchen towel
- Grab the ends of the towel and wrap the spinach inside
- Squeeze the towel until all of the excess liquid is removed
Once we’ve made the cream sauce + prepared the spinach, all that’s left is to combine them. For some added crunch, feel free to sprinkle some almond flour over the top before putting the whole thing in the oven to warm through. This Paleo Creamed Spinach is creamy, dreamy + completely dairy-free!
This dish is perfect for any holiday gatherings, but it’s also a great side dish for a regular weeknight meal. It’s impressive enough for company, but simple enough for every day + it reheats BEAUTIFULLY. To make it a meal, pair it with a simple protein like some crispy chicken thighs or some pork chops.
WHEN you make this, because you have to make this, remember to let me know what you think! The ratings + comment section below is super helpful to any one else trying to find my recipes 🙂 And be sure to tag me in your photos on instagram – I love, love, love seeing your recreations!
P.S. If you need another Thanksgiving option, here are a few of my favs:
Paleo Creamed Spinach
Ingredients
- 3 lbs frozen spinach, thawed
- 2 tbsp olive, coconut or avocado oil
- 1 medium onion
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 cup cashews
- 1 1/2 cup chicken stock
- 1/2 cup almond flour (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350f or 175c.
- Place the cashews into a bowl and cover with boiling water. Leave to sit for 5 minutes.
- Before making the sauce, remove all of the water from the defrosted frozen spinach. This can be done by pressing the spinach into a seive or by putting the spinach into a kitchen towel, gathering the edges of the towel and squeezing until all of the liquid is removed. Put the spinach into a bowl and set aside.
- Heat a pan over medium heat on the stove and add the oil, onion, garlic and 1 tsp of salt. Sautee the onion + garlic until transluscent, roughly 5 minutes.
- To make the cream sauce, drain the cashews and add them to a blender or food processor. Add the sauteed onions, garlic, chicken stock and the additional teaspoon of salt. Blend until smooth, scraping the sides as needed.
- Take the bowl of drained spinach and using a fork, break apart the clumps of spinach. Add the cashew cream sauce and mix thoroughly.
- Pour the spinach mixture into a 9×13 baking dish. Sprinkle the almond flour over the top if desired. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown + warmed through.
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