The Quick Prep Step To Get The Most Out Of Frozen Spinach

We all know that eating spinach won't give you superhuman strength like Popeye, but it will give you a huge nutritional boost. While many people may opt for adding fresh spinach leaves into a salad, there is a lot of benefit and applications for incorporating frozen spinach into your meals.

The nutritional content is much the same for frozen versus fresh, so why not keep a container of frozen spinach on hand for when the time is right to add some of the superfood into your meal? In most cases, it can be used in recipes that call for fresh spinach, such as soup, casseroles, and pasta sauces and fillings. There are times, however, when frozen spinach is not best substituted for fresh, and that's with salads or other recipes where you want a crisp leaf. 

Chop up frozen spinach and add it to meatloaf for extra nutrition. Also consider adding it to quiche, risotto, or smoothies. Really the possibilities are endless, especially when using one easy prep step.

The key to using frozen spinach lies with removing any excess moisture after defrosting it. A couple of methods to do so include squeezing the moist spinach in a dish towel or pressing it against the side of a sieve with a spatula. You can even grab your potato ricer to help with removing the moisture. 

There are certain dishes where draining the excess moisture is critical, such as for a pizza topping, lasagna stuffing, or in a dip. Forget to eliminate the extra moisture and you could end up with a runny or soggy dish. Getting rid of that water is especially key when making a spinach sauce you hope will be thick and luxurious. However, there are times when you can get away with not pressing that defrosted spinach in a sieve, such as for soup. Just note in that case you may need to add more ingredients for substance or to reduce the soup over high heat. 

Knowing how easy it is to add frozen spinach to most recipes, you may want to stock up the next time you are at the grocery store. Just remember to squeeze.