8 Healthy Spinach Recipes That Use Up the Whole Bag

By Jess Novak

August 31, 2023

Image credit: Cotter Crunch

Spinach is fantastic for gut health since it’s full of insoluble fiber —and it contains a wide range of vitamins and minerals, too. It’s famously full of iron, but it’s also jam-packed with antioxidants like lutein and zeaxanthin that can help prevent signs of aging and can even help reverse eye damage. Spinach has also been shown to positively impact heart health and protect against Alzheimer’s, as well as certain cancers

Given how good spinach is for us, it stands to reason that most of us could probably eat a little more of it on a regular basis. To that end, consider trying one of these healthy spinach recipes, which are all easy to make, delicious, and well-balanced. They’re full of protein, healthy fats, and plenty of fiber. We chose healthy spinach recipes with a wide variety of flavor profiles so you can make a couple of these every week and not even begin to get bored.

1. Easy Salmon Florentine

Chicken florentine is classic, but this healthy, easy salmon florentine is an absolute game-changer. Creamy, delicious, and really simple to make, it’s a great recipe for people who want to incorporate more salmon into their diets but aren’t fully sold on the flavor yet. This recipe replaces the traditional heavy whipping cream with coconut cream, which —let’s be real —is still caloric and high in saturated fat, but is easier to digest for many people, and contains no trans fats. This recipe calls for vegetable broth, but you can easily sub for chicken or fish broth if you have some on hand.

Try the recipe from Healthy Fitness Meals.

2. Instant Pot Dal Palak (Indian Lentils with Spinach)

This recipe combines two different kinds of legumes and a whole bunch of spinach, plus tomatoes and tons of spices. Swap out the vegetable oil for heart-healthy, neutrally-flavored avocado oil, and you’ve got a healthful, delicious Instant Pot meal that comes together in just 25 minutes and makes fantastic leftovers. The flavors taste even better the next day, and this dish also freezes beautifully.

Try the recipe from Cook With Minali.

3. Apple Spinach Farro Salad

When you’re on the hunt for healthy spinach recipes, you can never go wrong with a hearty salad. This is the kind of salad that leaves you feeling actually satisfied — unlike those 200-calorie salads that seem like a very good idea for lunch but have you mindlessly reaching for a packet of crackers an hour later. You can prep the farro up to three days in advance, which makes this a solid meal prep option. To make this a full meal, we’d add extra protein, like crunchy roasted chickpeas, leftover rotisserie chicken, or soft-boiled eggs.

Try the recipe from Kim’s Cravings.

4. Efo Riro (Nigerian Spinach Stew)

This delicious, lightly spicy stew is a classic among the Yoruba people in Western Nigeria. This recipe makes use of red root spinach, which is absolutely worth seeking out if you can find some, but if you can’t, green spinach can be used in its place. Traditionally, this recipe uses any number of meats, so just pick what you have on hand, including chicken, beef, or tripe.

Try the recipe from Sims Home Kitchen.

5. Creamy Chicken Spinach

This creamy chicken spinach recipe is low-carb and low-effort, but high in flavor. If you ever wanted to make a convincing cream sauce from almond milk, this is a great place to start. We recommend using unsweetened almond milk not only for the lack of added sugars, but also because it’ll be a better flavor balance. For a heartier meal, we’d pair this with chickpea pasta — and we tend to cook it for about two minutes less than the box recommends.

Try the recipe from Healthy Fitness Meals.

6. Harissa Broccoli, Spinach, and Wild Rice Casserole

We’re gonna call it: casseroles are ready for a renaissance. For instance, this harissa broccoli, spinach, and wild rice casserole offer layered flavors, hearty whole grains, plenty of fresh vegetables, and enough cheese to make this… not necessarily the healthiest dish here, but extremely tasty (we’d cut cheese by half and nix the prosciutto to skew this on the healthier side). The recipe developer recommends serving this with poached eggs for a full meal, and we couldn’t agree more.

Try the recipe from Half Baked Harvest.

7. Cigrons Amb Espinacs (Catalan Chickpeas and Spinach)

Unique to the Catalan region of Spain, this chickpea-and-spinach dish sounds simple, yet is ultimately far more than the sum of its parts. Simply spiced, this recipe balances sweet and savory with golden raisins and toasty pine nuts, which offset the bitterness of the spinach. It’s absolutely delicious.

Try the recipe from Gimme Some Oven.

8. Spicy Shrimp Caesar Spinach Salad

We’re always here for a classic Caesar salad — especially since we discovered this phenomenal Greek yogurt-based Caesar dressing recipe. And while we love (and frankly, require) the crunch of romaine lettuce in a Caesar salad, we’re also okay with replacing some of the “popcorn of the lettuce world” (as we think of Romaine) with spinach. The chili powder-coated shrimp adds a big flavor and lean protein to this salad. But if you’re running short on time, you can always use leftover rotisserie chicken, high-quality canned salmon, or cannellini beans.

Try the recipe from Cotter Crunch.