From the roundup: 12 Easy Vegetable Side Dish Recipes for Dinner
Sauteed spinach with garlic and red pepper flakes is the side dish I fall back on when dinner is already running late and I need something green on the table fast. The whole thing takes about eight minutes from cold pan to plated, and most of that time is just watching the spinach collapse down into something silky and bright.
The only real active work is about 60 seconds of stirring the garlic so it turns golden without burning. After that you add the spinach, toss it a few times with tongs, hit it with salt and lemon, and you’re done. That lemon squeeze at the end matters more than it sounds. It lifts the whole pan.
One bag of fresh baby spinach (the standard 5-ounce bag at most grocery stores) cooks down to roughly one cup, enough for two people as a side. If you’re feeding four, grab two bags and use a wider skillet so the leaves have room to wilt evenly.
How this one became a weekly regular
I started making this on nights when I’d planned a more involved vegetable and simply ran out of time. Roasted broccoli takes 25 minutes. This takes five. The first time I made it I burned the garlic because I walked away to help with homework, and the whole pan tasted bitter. Now I stay at the stove for that first minute and lower the heat if anything starts to darken too fast.
My kids are split on it. Three of them eat it without complaint, one picks around the garlic slices, and the youngest will only eat it if I skip the red pepper flakes. I make it the same way every time and let them sort themselves out. It goes next to grilled chicken probably twice a week in this house.
Why you will love this
- Done in 8 minutes total, including prep. It fits into dinner without rearranging anything else.
- One skillet, no straining, no extra bowls. Cleanup is fast.
- Works beside almost any protein: chicken, salmon, pork chops, a fried egg on top of pasta.
- The ingredients are almost always already in the house: olive oil, garlic, red pepper flakes, a lemon.
- Scales up easily. Double the spinach and use a larger pan for a crowd.
Tips for success
- Watch the garlic for the full 60 seconds and don’t walk away. It goes from fragrant and golden to burnt and bitter faster than you’d expect. If the edges start to darken past light gold, lower the heat immediately.
- Add all the spinach at once even though it looks like too much for the pan. It wilts down quickly, and piling it in lets the bottom leaves start softening while you toss the top ones down.
- If liquid pools at the bottom of the pan after the spinach wilts, raise the heat to medium-high for about 30 seconds to cook it off. Watery spinach is usually just a heat issue, not a ruined dish.
- Squeeze the lemon over the spinach after you pull it off the heat, not during cooking. Adding it too early can make the leaves taste a little flat.
If your spinach turns out watery
- A little liquid at the bottom of the pan is normal. A lot usually means the heat was too low or the spinach wasn’t dry when it went in.
- Pat the rinsed spinach dry before adding it, or give it a spin in a salad spinner. Wet leaves release more water.
- If the pan is already looking soupy, crank the heat to medium-high and keep tossing. The extra liquid cooks off in about 30 seconds.
- Overcrowding a small skillet traps steam. Use the largest pan you have, especially if you’re doubling the recipe.
Substitutions
Baby kale or Swiss chard both work in place of spinach, but plan for an extra minute or two of cooking time since the leaves are thicker. Red pepper flakes can be left out entirely for a milder version, or swapped for a small pinch of cayenne if that’s what you have. A splash of red wine vinegar can stand in for the lemon juice.
Avocado oil works fine if you’re out of olive oil. For anyone who pulls out the garlic slices before eating (I have one of those kids), you can use half a teaspoon of garlic powder stirred into the oil instead. The flavor is milder but it still works.
Make-ahead and storage
The garlic can be sliced up to a day ahead and kept in a small covered bowl in the fridge. Beyond that, this dish is fast enough that there’s not much point in making it fully ahead. It’s best eaten right out of the pan while it’s hot and the lemon is still bright.
Leftovers keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to three days. Reheat in a skillet over low heat with a tiny splash of water, or microwave for about 30 seconds. Freezing is not recommended. The texture turns watery once thawed and doesn’t recover well. Leftover sauteed spinach is good stirred into scrambled eggs or tucked into a quesadilla the next day.
Sauteed Spinach with Garlic and Red Pepper Flakes
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Set a large skillet over medium heat and let it warm for about 30 seconds. Pour in the olive oil and swirl to coat the bottom of the pan.
- Add the sliced garlic and red pepper flakes. Cook, stirring frequently, for about 60 seconds. Watch closely here. The garlic should turn fragrant and just barely golden at the edges. If it darkens past light gold, lower the heat immediately or it will taste bitter.
- Add all of the spinach to the pan at once. It will look like way too much for the skillet, and that is fine. Use tongs to toss and turn the spinach, folding the bottom leaves up over the top.
- Continue tossing for two to three minutes until every leaf has wilted and the spinach has reduced to roughly one cup of cooked greens. There should be very little liquid pooling at the bottom. If there is a lot, raise the heat to medium-high for about 30 seconds to cook it off.
- Season with the salt, squeeze the lemon juice over the top, and toss one more time. Taste and adjust salt or lemon before serving. Serve immediately while hot.
Notes
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