Enjoy this copycat recipe for the Easy Creamed Spinach served at a famous steak house. A delicious, simple veggie dish, ready in under 20 minutes.
I first tried creamed spinach many, many years ago in Southern California, at a restaurant called Gullivers. It was a standard side dish served with their famous prime rib, and whoa… was it good!
Granted- creamed spinach is not the most drool-worthy dish to look at, but it sure tastes great! Many other restaurants serve this simple (but yummy) side dish, too. If you’ve never tried it, you may be surprised at just how good it is!
I found this recipe years ago in one of my old cookbooks. This particular recipe is a copycat recipe for the creamed spinach that has been a signature side dish at another famous restaurant: Ruth’s Chris Steak House (with over 100 locations in the U.S. Mexico, and Canada).
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The Origins Of This Recipe
The restaurant chain was founded in 1965 by Ruth Fertel, a single mom, who bought a steak house (Chris Steak House) that was for sale.
She bought it as a business opportunity, even though she didn’t know too much about running a restaurant (or cooking steaks). She taught herself how to do both, and her restaurant became a local success from her very first opening day.
Now 55 years later, this restaurant chain is still enjoying widespread success, and their creamed spinach is still on the menu as a Ruth’s Chris Steak House classic side dish. Guess what? It’s really EASY to make this copycat recipe at home… here’s how:
How To Make Easy Creamed Spinach
The recipe calls for frozen chopped spinach, which is extremely convenient, and a wonderful time saver! Place a 9-10 ounce package of frozen chopped spinach in a medium saucepan, and cook according to the package directions.
The frozen spinach is cooked with a little water in a covered saucepan in a very short amount of time. Once done cooking, drain or squeeze out all the liquid out of the spinach.
I use a strainer for this step. Place the cooked spinach into a strainer that is set over a bowl (to catch all the drained juice). Press on the spinach with the back of a spoon to help press out the juice.
It’s important to get rid of as much juice as possible. Discard the juice when done, and set the spinach aside.
Cooking The Creamed Spinach
Melt the butter in a large skillet, stirring it occasionally so it won’t burn. Once the butter has melted, add flour to the skillet, and whisk the flour into the melted butter, until smooth.
Pour heavy whipping cream into the skillet, whisking to combine the ingredients. Cook the cream sauce on medium low heat for 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly, until the sauce thickens. Be careful to not let the sauce come to a boil after adding the whipping cream.
Now it’s time to add the cooked, drained spinach, along with generous pinches of salt, pepper, nutmeg, and cayenne pepper to the skillet.
Stir well, to combine. Continue cooking the easy creamed spinach for 2-4 minutes, stirring often, until fully combined and heated through.
Ready To Serve Easy Creamed Spinach
Once the creamed spinach is fully mixed and heated through for 2-4 minutes, it is ready to serve! Give it a quick taste, and add additional salt, if desired, to suit your taste.
Make sure the spinach is hot, place it in a serving dish, and enjoy! This veggie side dish will compliment a lot of meat entrees, but we enjoy it the most served alongside a grilled steak (or prime rib, in a restaurant!).
The recipe as written makes 4 servings. Any leftovers you might have may be covered and stored in the refrigerator for 2-3 days. Place in a microwave to reheat, and then give it a good stir.
I really hope you enjoy this delicious, yet simple, creamed spinach side dish! Thank you for stopping by, and sincerely trust you have a wonderful day.
Looking For Other Vegetable Side Dishes?
You can find all of my veggie recipes in the Recipe Index, which is located at the top of the page. I have quite a few yummy recipes, including:
- Oven Roasted Veggies
- Lemon Hazelnut Green Beans
- Broccoli Corn Casserole
- Apple Pecan Stuffed Acorn Squash
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Original recipe source: The book “Top Secret Restaurant Recipes”, by Todd Wilbur, published by The Penguin Group in 1997, page 263
↓↓ PRINTABLE RECIPE BELOW ↓↓
Enjoy this copycat recipe for the Easy Creamed Spinach served at a famous steak house. A delicious, simple veggie dish, ready in under 20 minutes.
- 9-10 ounces frozen chopped spinach
- 2 Tablespoons butter
- 1½ Tablespoons all purpose flour
- ½ cup heavy whipping cream
- ¼ teaspoon salt , plus more to taste, if desired
- 1 pinch black pepper/nutmeg/cayenne pepper , 1 generous pinch per spice
Place frozen chopped spinach in a medium saucepan; cook according to package directions. Once done, drain or squeeze out all liquid from spinach. Place spinach in a strainer set over a bowl (to catch drained juice). Press spinach with the back of a spoon to drain as much juice as possible. Set aside.
Melt butter in a large skillet, stirring occasionally so it won't burn. Add flour; whisk flour into butter until smooth. Add whipping cream to skillet, whisking to combine. Cook sauce on medium low heat for 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly, until sauce thickens. Do not let sauce come to a boil.
Add spinach, along with generous pinches of salt, pepper, nutmeg, and cayenne pepper to the sauce. Stir well. Continue cooking for 2-4 minutes, stirring often, until ingredients are fully combined and heated through. Serve hot, and enjoy.
Store any leftovers (covered) in refrigerator for 2-3 days; they can be reheated in microwave.
Original recipe source: The book "Top Secret Restaurant Recipes", by Todd Wilbur, published by The Penguin Group in 1997, page 263
Here’s one more to pin on your Pinterest boards!