If you are a cheese lover but want to add some greens to your meal- this one is for you! This spinach cheese pie has spinach, cheese, eggs, milk, and spices. It’s easy, cheesy, and nutritious!
spinach cheese pie is An easy side dish:
Adding as many greens as you can to your day is always a great idea. Most of us usually don’t get enough greens in our diet, because they require more time and effort than things like carbs and sweets. Frozen spinach is an easy way to quickly add green to your meals. The benefits of spinach are incredible as I learned here. I came up with this recipe when I wanted to add more greens to my husband’s cheese-filled meals.
Does anybody else like quick, easy, and healthy side dishes? I love recipes that don’t necessarily require a grocery trip!
The thing with spinach & cheese recipes is that they often call for so many different dairy ingredients, which; 1) I rarely have them on hand as they are not the most common things to stock up on, and 2) I wouldn’t want to buy them because as I said they are not common and will most likely sit in the refrigerator until they get ruined and need to be thrown out.
The ingredients I do usually have on hand are frozen spinach and fresh cheese. Hence this spinach pie came about.
Spinach cheese pie Ingredients List:
If you notice with my recipes I try not to add anything unnecessary and this pie is no exception! Less is more with cooking – and it goes a long way. Not only are you usually making a healthier dish by eliminating unnecessary ingredients, but you are making your life easier too!
- Frozen spinach
- Cheese
- Eggs
- Milk
- Salt, pepper, onion powder and garlic powder
Straining the spinach really makes a difference!
The trick to getting frozen spinach to taste delicious in recipes is getting out as much liquid as you can. Trust me it’s worth the time! Instead of adding extra ingredients to your dishes – spend the time on the quality of the dish – like straining out the spinach.
Once the liquid is strained, the spinach will keep its form in the pie a lot better.
There are a few ways to get rid of the excess moisture from frozen spinach:
Boiling Method:
- Boil a pot of water and add the spinach to it for a minute.
- Transfer the frozen spinach to a fine-mesh strainer and squeeze out as much water as you can.
- Transfer the spinach to a cheesecloth bag and squeeze it until all the water comes out. (If you don’t have a cheesecloth bag you can use paper towels. Transfer a little bit of spinach at a time to a layer of paper towels and squeeze out the water.)
Defrosting Method:
- Defrost the spinach in the refrigerator. Make sure to place it on a paper towel or in a container of some sort because it will be watery once it is defrosted.
- Once it is fully defrosted transfer it to a mesh strainer, cheesecloth, or paper towel, and squeeze all the water out of it.
Seasonings are key!
Because spinach is pretty plain, adding some aromatics will enhance this dish. Spices will be the most efficient way to get the flavor in, but if you have the time – chopping up an onion and adding minced garlic are both delicious options.
And of course, don’t forget the salt and pepper!
Variations and substitutes:
You can use this recipe as a base for any veggie pie. There are many ways to play around with it:
- You can use chopped kale, broccoli, or collard greens instead of spinach.
- You can use any kind of cheese you like.
- You can use any kind of liquid – water, dairy-free milk, or even heavy cream if you want a very rich taste.
- Feel free to add cottage cheese, farmers cheese, or anything of that nature that you may have on hand or like.
Serve this with…
- Our delicious salmon and rice bowls
- Crunchy Italian bread or our honey whole wheat rolls
- A soup or salad
- Tilapia and mashed potatoes
- Any kind of pasta or noodles
Spinach Cheese Pie
Ingredients
- 1 pound frozen spinach
- 3 eggs
- 3/4 cup shredded cheese
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- Oil for coating the baking dish
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Defrost the spinach completely by either boiling it in a pot of water for 1 minute or running hot water over it in a mesh strainer.
- Transfer the spinach to a paper towel or straining bag and squeeze out all the liquid from it.
- Transfer the spinach to a bowl.
- Beat the eggs and add them to the spinach. Add the cheese, milk, and spices and mix really well.
- Add a little oil to a baking dish and use an egg brush to cover the entire baking dish.
- Transfer the spinach and cheese mixture to the baking dish and place in the oven. Bake for around 25 minutes.
