Italian Spinach Recipe
Published October 19, 2022. This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
This easy-to-make Italian spinach recipe is served with lightly browned onions, garlic, and fresh tomatoes for a quick, delicious side dish. The flavors in this simple recipe are fantastic, and it can be served with just about anything.
As I’ve gotten older, I try to ensure I eat as many vegetables as possible. However, I must admit that it can be tough to make them delicious, so I want to eat them. If you’re in the same boat, check out my tasty Mexican Street Corn or Roasted Asparagus.
Italian Spinach
Italian Spinach is a simple recipe of sautéed spinach with onions, garlic, and tomatoes. It’s a very simple-to-prepare side dish, but it is wonderfully tasty. There are also many ways to make Italian spinach, and this recipe is the one I learned at the first restaurant I worked at.
For more flavor in this recipe, I recommend taking the time to caramelize the onions a little longer and using fresh tomatoes. This is a great side dish to any meal, but I especially enjoy serving it with Potato Crusted Salmon and New York Strip Steak.
Ingredients and Substitutions
- Spinach – I prefer fresh baby spinach, but regular spinach also works.
- Onion – You can use red, yellow, white, or sweet onion.
- Garlic – A few garlic cloves help to enhance the flavor of this.
- Tomatoes – You can use fresh tomatoes or hand-crushed canned whole, peeled tomatoes.
How to Make Italian Spinach
Heat up 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large sauté or frying pan over medium-high heat until it begins to smoke lightly.
Add in the onions and garlic, and sauté for 2 to 4 minutes or until lightly browned.
Once brown, add tomatoes and sauté for 2 to 3 more minutes.
Lastly, place in the spinach and cook for 1 to 2 minutes or until wilted.
Adjust seasonings with salt, pepper, and grated parmesan cheese, and serve.
Make-Ahead and Storage
Make-Ahead: These are meant to be eaten as soon as they are done.
How to Store: Cover and keep the Italian spinach in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. This will not freeze well.
How to Reheat: Add 1 to 2 tablespoons of olive oil to a large frying pan over medium heat until it begins to smoke lightly. Next, add the desired amount of Italian Spinach to the hot pan and sauté until hot. Be careful, as the liquid from the spinach may cause the oil to catch fire. If that does happen, just remove the pan from the burner.
Chef Notes + Tips
- You can also add dry herbs such as 2 teaspoons of oregano, basil, thyme, or rosemary to the spinach when sauteing it.
- Frozen spinach does not work well in this recipe.
More Vegetable Recipes
Italian Spinach Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon of olive oil
- 1/2 peeled and julienne red onion
- 3 finely minced cloves of fresh garlic
- 2 vine-ripe or Roma tomatoes cut into wedges
- 10 oz baby spinach, or 6 cups packed
- sea salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
Instructions
- Heat up 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large sauté or frying pan over medium to medium-high heat until it begins to smoke lightly.
- Add in the onions and garlic and sauté for 2 to 4 minutes or until lightly browned.
- Once brown, add tomatoes and sauté for 2 to 3 more minutes.
- Lastly, place in the spinach and cook for 1 to 2 minutes or until wilted.
- Adjust seasonings with salt, pepper, and grated parmesan cheese, and serve.
Tonight we made Billy’s Chicken Cordon Bleu. For a side, I decided to do the Italian Spinach.
Very tasty, adds some color and is a simple thing to do that does not take a lot of time.
Since neither my wife or I like “cooked” tomatoes, I am all in for sliced tomatoes or in a sauce, I did not use tomatoes. We were surprised with the dish in that it had a hint of an acid. My wife asked if I had added lemon, which I had not. Must be a reaction with the cheese or something but was very good.
Thank you very much for your recipe ChefBilly 😋😁👋🤩
Tasty recipe thank you Chef Billy 😁😋👌
This is now my favorite spinach dish. I didn’t have Roma tomatoes on hand but needed to use up my spinach. I added some salsa in place of tomatoes. Oh my! Delicious! Thank you for sharing your amazing recipes. You are a blessing!
Thanks for making it!
Brilliant! Went so well with a pork chop, and a T bone on the bbq. Tasmania is beautiful at the moment, and only getting better coming into summer. Thanks for all your time and effort doing this blog, my go to, but don’t tell Nagi, Recipetineats!! 😁