Easy Make-Ahead Spinach Gratin, with its creamy, cheesy goodness, is a perfect side dish for your Easter meal. Frozen spinach is mixed with a classic Mornay sauce accented with caramelized onions. It’s topped with both Gruyère cheese and freshly grated Parmesan cheese to create an unforgettable dish. As an added bonus, it can be made ahead of time and produces amazing leftovers.
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Health Benefits of Spinach
Now, this is going to highlight my age, but when I was growing up, Popeye proclaimed that he was “strong to the “Finich”, ‘Cause I eats me spinach, I’m Popeye the Sailor Man.” There was a good reason that spinach was the main reason for his beating Brutus.
Spinach, which is a green, leafy vegetable, is rich in vitamins A, C, and K, magnesium, iron, and manganese. It can help strengthen bones, eyesight, and the immune system.
The vitamin A in spinach helps skin and mucous membranes repel various kinds of bacteria and viruses effectively. Vitamin C promotes a healthy heart and taken together, spinach helps keep one energized.
Ingredients: Here’s What You’ll Need
- The Vegetables: I like to use frozen spinach for this amazing dish as opposed to fresh spinach for several reasons.
First, it’s convenient to have the spinach in my freezer when the urge strikes. Secondly, while fresh spinach loses its nutrients over time, frozen spinach keeps the nutrients packed inside. Finally, frozen spinach is cheaper than the fresh variety.
I also used an onion in this recipe.
- Cheeses: I used a combination of Parmesan Cheese and Gruyère cheese in this recipe.
- Mornay Sauce: For the Mornay Sauce, I used unsalted butter, all-purpose flour, Kosher salt, pepper, and freshly grated nutmeg.
Here’s How I Made This Delicious Spinach Gratin
- One of the negative features of frozen spinach is its liquid content. Therefore, before I did anything, I thawed the frozen spinach and used my hands to squeeze as much liquid from it as possible.
Then I placed the spinach in a double layer of paper towels and squeezed more liquid from it. I set the spinach aside while I worked on the sauce.
- Next, I melted the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. I added the onions and sautéed them until they were lightly browned. This took about 15 minutes.
- Once the onions were lightly browned, I added the flour, salt, pepper, and nutmeg to the skillet. I stirred the ingredients together and let the mixture cook for about 2 minutes.
- Then, I added the milk and cooked the sauce until it was bubbly and thickened.
- Once the sauce was thickened and bubbly, I added freshly grated Parmesan cheese. I stirred the sauce until the cheese was melted.
- Finally, I added the spinach and stirred everything together until all of the ingredients were nicely incorporated.
Here’s How I Finished the Spinach Gratin
I transferred the Spinach Gratin mixture to a casserole dish that I had sprayed with nonstick spray.
Then, I sprinkled on shredded Gruyère cheese and more freshly grated Parmesan cheese.
One of the nice things about this dish is that it can be made ahead of time up to this point and refrigerated.
Otherwise, I popped the Spinach Gratin into a preheated 425°F oven for about 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, the dish was bubbly, and the cheese was nicely melted.
Talk about good! The spinach gratin was perfectly seasoned and full of cheesy goodness. In other words, it was absolutely delicious.
I served the Easy Make Ahead Spinach Gratin with Salisbury steak with mushroom gravy and mashed potatoes. Yum!
Recipe Frequently Asked Questions
A gratin is a dish that is usually made with a creamy sauce and topped with a layer of cheese or breadcrumbs.
Spinach gratin is a versatile dish that goes well with many main courses, such as roasted chicken, baked fish, grilled pork, or steak. It also makes a great side dish for a vegetarian meal.
Spinach gratin can be made ahead of time and refrigerated it until you are ready to bake it. Just be sure to cover it with plastic wrap or foil to prevent it from drying out. You’ll need to add a few extra minutes to the baking time if the dish is cold when you put it in the oven.
Spinach gratin will keep in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days. Be sure to store it in an airtight container to keep it fresh.
Spinach gratin can be frozen. Just be sure to wrap it tightly in plastic wrap or foil and then place it in an airtight container or freezer bag. It will keep in the freezer for up to 2-3 months. To reheat, thaw it in the refrigerator overnight and then bake it in the oven until heated through.
Recipe Tips and Tricks
- The nutmeg added to the Mornay sauce provides a subtle enhancement to the sauce. I like to use fresh nutmeg. However, you can also use ground nutmeg in this dish.
- Either whole milk to 2% milk will work fine in this recipe for the Mornay sauce.
- One of the beauties of this dish is that you can prepare this in advance for up to a day. Cover the casserole dish with aluminum foil and refrigerate it. Add 5 minutes or so to the cooking time to compensate for the fact that the Spinach Gratin is cold from the refrigerator.
- The leftovers are as good, if not better. I generally just heat the leftovers for several minutes in the microwave.
Other Delicious Spinach Dishes
If you like spinach, you should definitely try these other amazing dishes with spinach as the star:
- Spinach Artichoke Bread Ring Dip: Spinach Artichoke Bread Ring Dip is the perfect marriage between soft and fluffy homemade rolls and amazing Spinach Artichoke Dip. And guess what? The food processor does most of the work, starting with the kneading of the bread dough!
- Spinach and Mushroom Lasagna: Spinach and Mushroom Lasagna is full of flavor and richness. It can be made with either a tomato-based sauce, such as my Homemade Marinara Sauce, or a cream-based sauce.
- Tomato Florentine Quiche: Tomato Florentine Quiche is a delicious one-pan meal that’s full of cheesy goodness. It’s a perfect dish for brunch, lunch, or a light dinner. Leftovers, if any, can be reheated and are just as good the next day.
- One Pot Creamy Tuscan Chicken: One Pot Creamy Tuscan Chicken is the ultimate in simplicity and taste. Thinly sliced chicken breasts are pan-fried and finished in a creamy spinach-based Italian-style sauce that’s bursting with goodness and flavor.
- Make Ahead Spinach Artichoke Tartlets: Spinach Artichoke Tartlets are just in time for your special appetizer table. The spinach and artichoke mixture comes together in minutes in your food processor and can be made ahead of time.
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Recipe
Spinach Gratin
Ingredients
- 24 ounce package frozen chopped spinach, thawed
- 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 cups finely chopped onion (1 large onion)
- 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ⅛ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg (See Tip 1)
- 1 ½ cups milk (See Tip 2)
- ½ cup (2 ounces) freshly grated Parmesan cheese, divided
- ½ cup shredded Gruyère cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°F. Spray a 2-quart casserole dish with non-stick spray. Set aside.
- By the handful, squeeze as much water as possible from the spinach. Repeat with paper towels. Set aside.
- Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and sauté until lightly browned about 15 minutes. Add the flour, salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Cook, stirring, for 2 more minutes. Add the milk and cook until thickened. Add ¼ cup of grated Parmesan cheese. Stir until melted. Add the spinach; mix well.
- Transfer to the prepared casserole dish. Top with Gruyère cheese and remaining Parmesan cheese. May be prepared in advance up to this point. (See Tip 3)
- Bake in preheated 425°F oven for 20 minutes or until hot and bubbly.
- Yield: 6 servings. (See Tip 4)
Chula’s Expert Tips
- I like to use fresh nutmeg. However, you can also use ground nutmeg in this dish.
- I used whole milk, but feel free to use 2% milk.
- You can prepare this in advance for up to a day. Cover the casserole dish with aluminum foil and refrigerate. Add 5 minutes or so cooking time to compensate for the fact that the Spinach Gratin is cold from the refrigerator.
- The leftovers are as good, if not better. I generally just heat the leftovers for several minutes in the microwave.
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