With just 6 ingredients and 5 minutes of prep, you can have cheesy, bacony low carb keto creamed spinach at the dinner table in no time. This is the best creamed spinach recipe ever. This easy side dish recipe is also gluten free.
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Anything with bacon and cheese falls into the comfort food category in my family. I take those two rich and indulgent foods and add them to casseroles, salads, side dishes, and more. If it has cheese and it has bacon my kids will eat it.
I can imagine the reactions if I just bought the casserole dish full of raw spinach (pictured below) to the dinner table. But, mix in some bacon and cheese and make it into an easy keto creamed spinach and it's a hit.
I promise you’ve never had low carb creamed spinach like this before! Not only is it creamy, and delicious even the youngest picky eaters are more than happy to devour every last bite. So if you ever had trouble getting your kiddos to eat healthily, serve them this healthy creamed spinach and you’ll be amazed at how easily and happily they eat every ounce.
Of all the easy creamed spinach recipes I've tried over the years this is my fave.
Ingredients
As far as the ingredients go, they are super simple, and most of them you probably already have around your home. Let’s take a look at what you need to get started to make keto creamed spinach without heavy cream!
Fresh Spinach: I almost always prefer to use fresh baby spinach; however you could use frozen if you’d rather.
Cream Cheese: The reason this creamed spinach is so rich, velvety, and creamy is because of the cream cheese. You are always welcome to use less cream cheese if you want to; it’s completely up to you.
Dried Minced Onions: I especially enjoy the flavor that the dried minced onions bring to this recipe. It just as a little bit of extra flavor and finishes the dish.
Roasted Garlic Powder: If you don’t have roasted garlic powder, that’s not a problem. You could always swap it for regular garlic powder. Either way having a little bit of garlic powder is going to enhance the overall flavor of the dish.
Salt & Pepper: The salt and pepper are just going to be to taste. So you will add as much or as little as you want to make sure that it meets your flavor preferences.
Gouda Cheese: One of the real stars of this dish is the gouda cheese. If you don’t eat a lot of gouda cheese, you might be surprised to know that it has a very strong flavor. If you don’t like strong-flavored cheese, that’s okay; you can totally exchange it for any other kind of cheese you want.
Bacon: Cook the bacon so it’s extra crispy, then you will crumble it to add to the keto creamed spinach. You don’t need a lot of bacon to get that amazing flavor. I only use one piece; however, you could always add a little bit more or completely omit the bacon depending on what you like.
I never cease to be amazed at how much spinach cooks down. From the photo above to the one below you can see how much my keto friendly creamed spinach shrunk. Even adding some other ingredients didn't bulk up the bottom.
When I was cooking this spinach for a birthday dinner I kept looking at my overflowing saucepan of fresh spinach and wondering if I needed to add more. I really could have.
Expert Tip: If you'd like to lighten up this keto creamed spinach with cream cheese you can either cut the amount of cream cheese and shredded cheese in half or just double the amount of spinach.
How to Make Keto Creamed Spinach
First Step: Saute the spinach with some seasonings. Add cream cheese and let it melt into the spinach. Add shredded cheese and bacon.
Second Step: You can serve it immediately right from the skillet or transfer the creamed spinach to a casserole dish and bake it to brown the cheese topping. Store creamed spinach in the fridge for 3-4 days if you have any leftovers.
Variations
Not only is this keto diet spinach recipe delicious as it is, but you can also make some adjustments to add a little bit of variation to the dish. Here are a few of the ideas that we’ve tried or some of the readers have tried and told me about.
Mozzarella Cheese - If you aren’t a fan of gouda cheese, that’s not a problem! You can easily swap it out with mozzarella, which is a more tame flavored cheese. Some other great choices are freshly grated Parmesan cheese, cheddar cheese, swiss cheese, or even pepper jack cheese for a little kick!
Artichoke Hearts - Feel free to add in a few artichoke hearts if you want to. It will make it taste similar to an artichoke spinach dip recipe.
Parmesan - Sprinkle on some shredded parmesan cheese for an extra bit of pizzazz to this recipe. I feel like you can never have enough parmesan cheese, but that’s just my opinion.
Minced Garlic - Another fun thing to do would be to saute a little bit of minced garlic. You can use anywhere between two and four cloves depending on your preference. Saute them in a little bit of oil then add them to the mixture of the other ingredients.
Thinner Sauce - If you prefer a thinner sauce you can mix in half a cup heavy cream.
Seasoning - You can change up the seasoning and use Italian seasoning or your favorite herb blend.
Common Questions
Is Creamed Spinach Keto?
Most creamed spinach is keto. You just need to watch out for added ingredients. Store bought creamy spinach might have thickeners like cornstarch or even added sugar. With homemade varieties you are probably ok unless they contain a lot of onions or garlic (both have quite a few net carbs).
What Makes This Keto Creamed Spinach Healthy?
There are many things to be excited about when it comes to this keto cream cheese creamed spinach recipe. Not only is it low calorie and only has 267 calories per serving, but it also has a lot of protein, healthy fats, and tons of potassium. It also happens to have a lot of vitamin C, iron, and vitamin A. All of the nutrients together give you a meal choice that is jam-packed with nutrient-rich ingredients.
Can I Use Frozen Spinach?
Absolutely! Just cook it according to the package instructions before adding in the cheeses and spices.
Can I Add Meat To This Creamed Spinach?
In addition to the bacon, you can absolutely add more meat to this spinach recipe if you want. Diced, cooked chicken would be a fantastic option. Or you can shred a rotisserie chicken and add it to the spinach recipe. This is a great way to make a keto creamed spinach casserole for a low carb diet.
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Ingredients
- 1 lb fresh spinach
- 8 oz cream cheese
- 1 tablespoon dried minced onion
- 1 teaspoon roasted garlic powder or regular garlic powder
- salt & pepper to taste
- 6 oz gouda cheese shredded
- 2 pieces crisp bacon crumbled
Instructions
- Spray a large skillet with cooking spray. Add the spinach, cover, and cook over medium until the spinach has wilted. Add the cream cheese, onion, and garlic, and stir until the cream cheese has melted.
- Remove from the heat. Add half the gouda cheese and season with salt and pepper to taste. Top with the remaining cheese and crumbled bacon and serve right from the skillet.
- OPTIONAL: Preheat oven to 400. Spray an 8 x 8 baking dish with cooking spray. Follow the above instructions and then transfer to the prepared baking dish. Top with the remaining cheese and crumbled bacon. Bake for 20 min.
Notes
Nutrition
More Delicious Keto Spinach Recipes
- Spinach Stuffed Mushrooms with Sundried Tomatoes
- Spinach Feta Savory Pancakes
- Keto Spinach Balls
- Spinach and Ricotta Stuffed Chicken
- Mediterranean Chicken & Spinach Casserole
- Spinach and Feta Quiche
- Keto Gnocchi with Spinach
Originally Published May 28, 2018. Revised and Republished March 27, 2023.
Donna says
This looks really good. I have a bag of spinach that I don't want to go bad. So I think I'll make it for my side dish.