I’m really excited to share this recipe with you guys today, because it’s the recipe that made me LOVE cooked spinach. Which didn’t happen until…about a month ago, when I made this recipe for the first time.
Wait, what? Dana? You don’t like cooked spinach? NOPE. Not until this recipe, anyway. Fresh spinach? Sure, I’m game. I’ll eat it on anything and everything (savory, salad or juice/smoothie). Like my Sweet & Spicy Green Juice! But cooked spinach? Ehhhhhhh….not so much. I’m not really sure what it was about it. The texture, the sort of bland taste, the texture…yeah, probably that.
Until I realized that I’d just been having it prepared all wrong. Read: boiled or sautéed to mush, with zero flavoring. No thank you. Yeah, so this creamed spinach looks like a total mess. But it’s totally delicious.
Four years ago my Mom and I traveled to Sedona, Arizona for some hiking/to get away after a long and stressful period in my former life, working in the field on political campaigns. It stresses me out just thinking about it. But anyways. We went to this AMAZING restaurant called the Elote Cafe, which blew my mind and tastebuds so much that I bought the chef’s cookbook on the spot. And ever since, whenever we have people over (which is quite a bit), we make recipes from that book. Like my Elote Café onion slaw, which I’ve shared on here before and may be one of my favorite condiments ever. Besides guacamole, obviously. My mom always loved the chipotle creamed spinach, and even though it was from that amazing book, I just couldn’t do it. Well, that and the whole massive amounts of dairy component in that dish. BUT. There’s another dish in that book, the signature dish of the restaurant: the Elote, which we know and LOVE and make all the time. It’s basically creamed corn, but with a spicy mayonnaise base.
So in a stroke of genius, I mashed up those two recipes, and got dairy-free creamed spinach that I actually liked and was really freaking delicious!! Plus, I used Primal Kitchen Foods’ new Chipotle Lime Mayo to get that spicy mayonnaise base which I love so much. This stuff is literally the bomb.com and you NEED this in your life if you haven’t tried it already. You can thank me later.
Pro tip: don’t buy this mayo in the store, it’s expensive!! Get it on Thrive Market (basically costco online for healthy food) – it’s so much cheaper!!
- 6 heaping cups fresh spinach
- ½ cup chipotle-lime mayo
- 2 Tbsp chicken broth
- 1 Tbsp lime juice
- ½ tsp minced garlic
- ¼ tsp cumin
- ¼ tsp chipotle powder
- ½ tsp sea salt
- Combine the mayo, chicken broth, lime juice, garlic, cumin, chipotle powder, and sea salt in a small bowl or measuring cup. Mix until the ingredients are well combined.
- Heat a large skillet over medium heat and pour in the mayo mixture. Cook over medium heat until bubbles begin to appear, about 2-3 minutes, stirring every so often with a wooden spoon.
- Pour the spinach into the skillet, distributing it evenly. Turn the heat to medium-low.
- Put a lid on the skillet and cook until the spinach starts to wilt, about 3-5 minutes. Remove the lid and mix the spinach so it is coated in the sauce. At this point, the spinach will be cooked through, but not completely wilted.
- Remove from the heat and serve immediately.
Do you like cooked spinach? What’s your favorite way to prepare it?
Like this recipe? Try out these to go with it…
Smoky Slow Cooker BBQ Pulled Pork
Spicy Mango Guacamole
Easy Oven Roasted Cauliflower Rice
Eloté Café Onion Slaw
Mango-Lime Margaritas
