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    Home » Recipes » Side Dishes » 5 Minute Spinach with Lemon

    December 4, 2021

    5 Minute Spinach with Lemon

    5 from 2 votes

    Leave a comment

    Dec 4, 2021

    by Lori Murphy

    Jump to Recipe

    As Italian as a side dish can get, 5 Minute Spinach with Lemon will change the way you (and your kids!) think about spinach. Not only is it fast, but this recipe makes the perfect side dish for the holiday Beef Tenderloin or on pasta with Butter and Cream Sauce.

    cooked spinach in a green floral bowl with a wooden fork and halved lemon and crushed red pepper.

    Travelling to Italy while I was in college and with my parents over the years was a gift, no question. The experience of being Italian-American and getting to walk where my grandparents did was priceless. It was in Italy that I first became obsessed by the Italian way of preparing fresh ingredients simply and beautifully. 5 Minute Spinach with Lemon is one such recipe.

    You're going to find so many ways to serve this recipe. It's literally the easiest vegetable side dish you can make for the holidays (or any day)!

    Jump to:
    • Why You'll Love This Recipe
    • Ingredients You'll Need
    • How to Make Sauteed Spinach
    • Ways to use sauteed spinach
    • FAQ's
    • Helpful Tips
    • Equipment
    • Serving & Storage
    • Before you go....
    • 📖 Recipe

    Why You'll Love This Recipe

    lemon on a juicer with garlic cloves nearby.

    Top reasons? And they all start with flavor and end with your time!

    • Complex Flavor. Forget everything you know about sauteed spinach. This isn't bitter or too "spinachy". It's bright from lemon, garlicky in the best way, anda little warm heat from crushed red pepper. You'll want to eat the whole bowl!
    • FIVE Minutes. I'm not kidding when I say this is a fast recipe! And because it's so fast...you have to be prepped and ready to go with all your ingredients.
    • FOUR Ingredients. Discounting the seasoning, you'll use spinach, lemon, garlic, and olive oil. BOOM!
    • Adaptable. Use this recipe alongside my Foolproof Chicken on top of some cooked pasta for a super easy and quick dinner. Or get really garlic-happy and serve it on top of Spaghetti with Garlic and Oil.

    Ingredients You'll Need

    Gather all the goods quickly because this is a fast one! You'll need:

    overflowing bowl of fresh spinach leaves with a head of garlic and lemon being juiced.
    • Fresh spinach. This cooks down - I typically use a 10 oz. container and that can serve 2-3 or top a recipe of pasta easily.
    • Garlic cloves. Fresh sliced garlic sizzled in hot olive oil creates magical flavor.
    • Lemon. A big hit of lemon adds a bright acidity that balances the garlic and helps mask the natural bitterness of spinach.

    How to Make Sauteed Spinach

    Got five minutes to make a side dish?

    steps to saute spinach with slicing garlic, heating oil and cooking garlic.
    steps to cook spinach with spinach in a pan with garlic and being tossed until wilted.
    1. Thinly slice some fresh garlic .
    2. Heat up some olive oil in a pan over medium-high heat until it shimmers.
    3. Add the garlic to the pan. Love that sizzle! After the garlic has cooked for a couple of minutes, quickly add the red pepper.
    4. Before the garlic has browned, add a handful spinach to the pan tossing with the hot oil and garlic with tongs.
    5. Add in more spinach by the handful and toss with garlic and oil. Season well with salt and pepper.
    6. Continue adding spinach and toss until wilted but still bright green. Remove from heat. Squeeze on the lemon!

    That's it!

    Hint: You can turn lower or even turn off the heat while the spinach is cooking. The heat from the pan and the hot oil will do the work and finish the cooking.


    TIP

    10 oz fresh spinach leaves serves 2-3 as a side or is perfect to toss with 1 lb. of pasta

    -Josie + Nina

    Ways to use sauteed spinach

    Add this quick sauteed spinach with garlic to your favorite recipes such as:

    • Heavy Veggie. Layer into these so-good Eggplant Parmesan Stacks for an extra veggie dose and amazing garlic flavor.
    • Pasta-riffic! Serve alongside some pasta tossed with the super quick Easy Tomato Sauce with Butter and Onion
    • Go Greek. Sprinkle over some fresh crumbled feta cheese for a nod to Greek flavors.

    FAQ's

    Can I use frozen spinach to make this recipe?

    Only if it's whole leaf frozen spinach. Don't used any box marked "chopped or sliced" as you'll end up with a big pan of ick.

    Help I don't have fresh garlic! Can I use pre-minced garlic from a jar?

    Sure! Just know you'll have to use more garlic and it'll cook super fast so you need to watch it like a hawk to avoid burning the garlic.

    Helpful Tips

    bowl of cooked spinach with bottle of olive oil and bowls of seasoning and a halved lemon.

    Be prepared. Have all of your ingredients ready to go before you even turn on the burner. The oil heats up quickly, the spinach cooks super fast and you don't want it to risk soggy spinach because you were still slicing garlic.

    Make ahead. Because the spinach cooks up so quickly, I don't recommend making it ahead. It's an easy task you can pass off to a guest or one of the older kids.

    For a crew. This sauteed spinach recipe double or triples easily for feeding a group.

    For a few. I cook up the whole 10 ounces and use the spinach the next day tossed with a little rice or tucked into a burrito for lunch. It works like a charm!


    LEFTOVER TIP

    Toss some leftover sauteed spinach with garlic with hot cooked pasta or rice and the spinach will warm from the heat.

    -Josie + Nina

    Equipment

    I use a large metal skillet with deeper sides like this French skillet from All-Clad. A large cast iron skillet

    Serving & Storage

    • Storage. Store any leftovers in a sealed container in the fridge for a couple of days.
    • Freezing. I don't recommend freezing this dish.
    • Reheating. While you don't really have to reheat this (and overcooking will risk it being soggy), heating for about 10 seconds in the microwave is fine.=


    Before you go....

    If you try out this recipe, please give it a star rating or comment below. We love to hear any feedback or suggestions. And if you want to make sure not to miss an email, sign up for our newsletter! There's always room at our table!

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    📖 Recipe

    cooked spinach in a green floral bowl with a wooden fork and halved lemon and crushed red pepper.
    5 from 2 votes

    5 Minute Spinach with Lemon

    Print RATE PIN
    As Italian as a side dish can get, 5 Minute Spinach with Lemon is a five minute recipe and vegetable side dish perfect for the holidays or as part of a quick meal.
    Prep Time:2 mins
    Cook Time:5 mins
    Total Time:7 mins
    Servings 3
    Share by Email

    Equipment

    • skillet with sides

    Ingredients
     

    • 2-3 cloves garlic, peeled, on the larger side
    • ¼ cup olive oil
    • 10 oz fresh spinach, bagged is fine
    • ¼ crushed red pepper, or less; optional
    • salt and pepper , to taste
    • ½ lemon
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Instructions

    • Thinly slice garlic with a sharp paring knife.
    • Heat oil in a skillet with sides over medium-high heat until shimmering.
    • Add garlic to skillet and allow to sizzle and cook for about two minutes to flavor the oil. After about a minute, add the crushed red pepper, if using.
    • Fill the skillet with the spinach by the handful, tossing as you incorporate it into the hot oil and garlic. Season with a good sprinkle of salt and pepper. The spinach will start to wilt within 30 seconds. Keep tossing until it's as you like but remove it a few seconds before you think you should as it'll continue to cook.
    • Squeeze over a healthy amount of lemon juice and serve.

    Notes

    Doubles or triples easily
    Storage. Store any leftovers in a sealed container in the fridge for a couple of days.
    Reheating. While you don't really have to reheat this (and overcooking will risk it being soggy), heating for about 10 seconds in the microwave is fine.
    Freezing. I don't recommend freezing this dish.
    Course: Side Dish, vegetable
    Cuisine: Italian, Mediterranean
    Author: Lori Murphy
    Did you make this recipe? Tag @josieandnina or tag #josieandnina!
    woman in a red shirt cutting pizza smiling.

    About Lori Murphy

    Lori has over 30 years in the food industry as a marketing strategist, culinary instructor and chef for three kids with discerning palates. As the chief content creator at Josie + Nina, Lori is dedicated to helping home cooks create food memories through fresh ingredients and Italian flavors.

    Read more
    Side DishesChristmasFallSpringSummerThanksgiving30 Minute MealsOne-Pan MealsSpinach

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