At one point, you must have asked yourself this question: can you freeze creamed spinach?
Creamed spinach is one of those recipes that everyone can make. The components are readily available at reasonable prices, and the nutritional benefits of the cuisine are numerous. In approximately half an hour or less, you can have a delicious bowl of milky spinach on the table.
The cuisine has a rich, creamy flavor, as predicted, due to the cream and cheese components and a leafy appearance from the spinach.
The following features are needed to make a delicious dish of creamed greens: flour, olives, milk, margarine, ginger, salt, onion, and spinach.
Can You Freeze Creamy Spinach?
Yes, you can freeze creamy spinach for up to a year. Before storing the milky spinach inside your freezer, seal it in freezer-safe packs, and don’t forget to allow the milky spinach to cool if it is hot.
This recipe calls for frozen cut-leaf spinach and not chopped spinach. Therefore, you’ll need t find frozen whole-leaf spinach if you can’t get chopped-leaf greens in your store.
To begin with fresh spinach, you’ll need roughly 2 pounds of young spinach leaves. After steaming and draining the young spinach, coarsely slice it and measure out two packed cups.
How Long Can You Keep Creamed Spinach?
Creamed spinach can last for three days in the fridge. If you want it to last longer, you can freeze it for up to six months. When the cream is added to spinach, it doesn’t affect the shelf life. The quality of the spinach leaves determines the expiration date on creamed spinach and not the cream.
Canned creamed spinach has a shelf life of two to five years, while frozen creamed spinach can last up to a year. However, once opened, both types of creamed spinach should be used within four to five days.
To extend the shelf life of your creamed spinach, store it in an airtight container in the fridge. And when in doubt, throw it out.
Freezing Creamed Spinach
Fresh greens often get soft and mushy before being frozen for an extended period. And because the greens are used in a creamy spinach preparation dish, you will mash it.
The changed appearance of the green does not affect its flavor or nutritional value. This implies you won’t be concerned with the milky spinach’s consistency after it’s frozen for a while.
When milk products are involved inside the creamed greens dish, you should consider that texture can alter. Dairy items are notorious for freezing poorly, as the dairy particles segregate from other fluids in the plate.
Although the texture of the milky spinach changes after thawing, you may significantly restore it during warming.
How To Freeze Creamed Greens
It’s excellent to remember that you may securely store creamed greens in the fridge for about one year. This allows you to save some time to create the food from scratch.
Nevertheless, if you desire a more pleasing result from freezing your milky spinach, you must take the proper measures. Here are some simple actions to take:
Step1—Let The Milky Greens Cool Down
Hey, you need to know that you may freeze the greens you can use in the creamy gardens dish first. Thermal treatment is a simple method that might extend the shelf life of spinach.
Avoid putting hot food immediately into the freezer. It will still be steamy even after cooking the necessary volume of milky spinach. Other frozen goods in the refrigerator will thaw and refreeze several times.
Allow the prepared creamed greens to cool completely before touching it – it should be safe to touch.
After the milky spinach has completely cooled, begin packing it in the refrigerator for longer storage time.
Step 2—Move the Creamed Greens into Freezer-Safe Packs
Once the creamed greens have cooled thoroughly, could you place them in freezer-safe packs? Fill the airtight container bag halfway, allowing any expansion throughout the freezing process. Try two or three freezer packs if one isn’t enough.
Freezer-safe packs have the advantage of saving a lot of freezer space. To maximize the space, stack the freezer packs over one another once you’ve filled them with milky spinach. Push out as much air as possible before sealing the freezer-safe bag.
Let the creamed greens freeze rigidly in the freezer pack to save space before placing them still in a refrigerator section.
Step 3—Mark Freezer Packs and Toss in The Freezer
Use a marker pen to put the current date on each freezer pack to keep track of how many days the creamed spinach has taken to be frozen.
Although milky greens can keep in the fridge for about one year, consuming them within the first seven months is recommended.
After marking the freezer packs with the current date, place the creamed spinach in one of the coolest areas of your freezer.
How to Defrost and Reheat Frozen Creamed Spinach
You might want to consume some of your milky spinach after preserving it. It is recommended to thaw and reheat a fraction of the refrigerated milky green spinach that you can consume all at once.
Remove the milky spinach from the refrigerator and place it in an open place overnight. Thawing your frozen milky spinach in the fridge is the easiest way to thaw it. Unfortunately, the procedure requires many hours, that is why it is recommended that you perform it overnight.
Suppose you do not have that much time to defrost milky spinach in the refrigerator, soak the frozen packs in a basin of tepid water. It would be best to defrost the milky spinach after around an hour.
Place the milky spinach in a toaster oven dish when it has defrosted. Place the toaster oven dish in the microwave, set to maximum, and cook for 1 minute.
Remove your creamed greens from the toaster oven after the first 1 minute of cooking and toss together. Return the milky spinach to the toaster oven and continue the process until it is thoroughly warmed.
What’s The Best Variety For Creamed Spinach?
Milky spinach is best made with fresh young greens. It takes a shorter time cooking and lends a sweetness to the completed meal since it is already soft and less sour than completely grown spinach.
I also love baby spinach because most packaged kinds are 10 ounces, which is the ideal serving size for this dish. If you have larger leaves at hand, please try to use them; cut them into bite-sized chunks before continuing.
Before producing the cheese sauce, you must boil the green for milky spinach. You could saute or microwave the greens, although blanching it prepares it quicker and more uniformly — especially if you’re preparing a large lot. Thermal treatment involves a quick dip in boiling water followed by an ice bath, is ideal for preserving the color and marinating spinach.
Nevertheless, because both the heating and the ice bath dump the spinach, you must squeeze out this moisture to guarantee a creamy, rather than watery, milky spinach. Before adding the greens to the cream cheese, push out any extra water in the same colander you drained it in.
Health Benefits of Creamed Spinach
Creamed spinach has several health advantages making it a worthwhile addition to your menu; even Hercules realized the benefits of spinach.
Lutein, present in spinach, is exceptionally beneficial to the eyes and may reduce the incidence of eye illness. It is high in vitamins A, K, C, and B2. It also contains a lot of iron, manganese, and folic acid.
The folate concentration of greens protects the colon cells’ DNA and prevents dangerous mutations. Spinach decreases muscle tension by strengthening the muscular tissues. Magnesium, zinc, and other vitamin content promote more excellent sleep, which allows the body to mend and recover more quickly.
Even insignificant amounts, greens are highly beneficial to people with diabetes. This water-soluble vegetable has little effect on blood sugar, making it an excellent choice for a diabetic diet high in fiber and protein.
They are also incredibly healthy and effective at burning tummy fat. Some research has been conducted on the fat-burning powers of spinach, and the highly nutritious vegetable has emerged as a winner in this area.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can You Thicken Creamed Spinach?
Yes, creamed spinach can be thickened. The cream sauce spinach is concentrated using flour-dusted over the rest of the ingredients before adding the half-and-half. You will then cook the mixture until it thickens enough to cover the tip of a spatula.
Can You Freeze Spinach Cream Sauce?
Yes, you can freeze milky spinach sauce. It freezes well and provides a quick side dish for hectic days. You may prepare this ahead of time and reheat it in the oven when serving. Additionally, you can even put it in the freezer. I double the recipe for these creamed greens and freeze the rest in quart containers.
Can You Freeze Sauce Spinach?
Yes, you can freeze sauce spinach. The best way to do this is to blanch the spinach first. This will help preserve the color and texture of the spinach. To blanch the spinach, cook it in boiling water for 1-2 minutes. Then, remove it from the heat and shock it in cold water. Once it is cooled, drain it and place it in a freezer bag. When ready to use it, thaw it and reheat it.
Do You Need To Blanch Spinach Before Freezing?
Yes, you must blanch spinach before freezing. Blanching greens before freezing allows them to survive for an extended period in the freezer, up to a year. Blanching greens preceding freezing aids in maintaining the color and flavor by delaying the metabolic process that leads to degradation; however, it is less effective at keeping nutrients.
Can Creamed Spinach Be Reheated In The Microwave?
Yes, you can reheat creamed spinach in the toaster oven. This simple yet exquisite side dish, prepared with frozen spinach and heavy cream, may be made in advance and warmed in the toaster oven.