12 Simple Ways You Can Use Up That Bag Of Frozen Spinach

We all know fresh spinach drastically reduces in size when cooked, like comically so. You don't have to face that issue with a frozen bag of it, though. They are jam-packed with the good stuff, and there's almost no shrinkage after heating. With this in mind, purchasing frozen spinach is a fantastic way to save a ton of money on the ingredient. Even so, it can be challenging to use such a large quantity. You gotta get that hefty dose of protein that comes along with it, though, right? Fortunately, there are a slew of simple ways to incorporate it into meals, and I rounded up a collection of the best ones so you can cross that potential problem off your list for good.

Many of the simple ways to use frozen spinach found below are ones I've tried and enjoyed countless times before. However, I also checked in with the Reddit hive mind to find a few more yummy options. So, if you're ready to not only use up that frozen bag of spinach in the back of your freezer, but have plenty of reasons to keep buying them and get some added protein in your diet along the way, you're in the right place.

Whether you are one of those people who only eat eggs for breakfast or someone who likes to enjoy them all day long, your bag of frozen spinach is ready and waiting to help bulk up the dishes you make with it. Adding even more protein to eggs never hurts, either.

Whether we are talking scrambled eggs in the morning, omelets, frittatas, or quiches, frozen spinach is incredibly easy to stir into the mix. However, thawing a good chunk of it out first is your key to success. Due to how quickly eggs cook, adding frozen spinach straight from the freezer can lead to issues. For starters, the eggs can easily be done before the spinach starts to thaw. Additionally, if you don't take the time to squeeze out residual moisture, it can lead to a less-than-ideal texture.

If you forget to thaw your frozen spinach first, there is a workaround. Instead of delaying your meal to wait for frozen spinach to thaw, you can start heating it up first. In fact, when making omelets, one of the best cooking tips is to prepare the additional ingredients first, and this can be applied to frozen spinach, no matter what egg dish you are adding it to. With a quiche, it's still best to plan ahead and let it thaw, but for everything else, think of your frying pan as the perfect way to minimize cooking times without worrying about extended prep.

Smoothies are a veritable catch-all for all kinds of ingredients. Fruits, nut butters, veggies, juices, and more can all be tossed into a blender and come out deliciously tasty and easy to consume on the go. Lucky us, frozen spinach fits the bill as well. The fact that it is frozen is actually a benefit, too, because it eliminates the need for a ton of extra ice or liquid. Additionally, if you opt for frozen fruit, you won't need any ice at all. Nice!

My favorite part about adding frozen spinach to smoothies is that when mixed with enough fruits and other ingredients, you can't even taste it. You still get all the benefits of a healthy green juice, but it won't taste like you are drinking a salad. Even picky kids will enjoy them. You may have to hide the fact that you put spinach in it, but based on taste alone, no one will be the wiser. I should know. Spinach is an essential ingredient in my daily morning smoothies, and I always use the frozen kind. Sometimes, I even freeze fresh spinach when it starts to lose its vibrancy for exactly this purpose. After all, we all hate tossing out wilted spinach because we couldn't make it through a large container quickly enough.

When done right, sauces have the power to transform any dish. No help needed. However, bulking them up a bit with frozen spinach will not only make what you put it on tastier, but also more filling and nutritious. Who can argue with that? I mean, more protein in every bite? Yes, please!

It doesn't matter if we are talking about homemade or store-bought sauces. Frozen spinach has what it takes to make even the most boring or bland recipes pop with flavor and color. The sauces prime for the taking are basically endless as well. When talking Italian, anything from a basic, all-purpose tomato sauce (or red gravy, as we call it in my home) to Alfredo to pesto and beyond will take frozen spinach into the fold like a pro. The same goes for other regional sauces, too. You could even blend it into a veggie gravy or enchilada sauce if you really need to power through a bag of frozen spinach. Winning!

Moving on from sauces, you can also give rice and pasta dishes some more oomph by stirring frozen spinach into the mix. I like to add it to a collection of other veggies, cook them all together, and then stir rice or pasta into the frying pan at the end. However, opting for frozen spinach alone isn't a bad choice, either. In particular, adding it to rice is a fantastic way to give the grain some color and much-needed flavor. After all, it's pretty bland all by itself. 

Frozen spinach is also a shoo-in for baked pasta dishes like lasagna, manicotti, and stuffed shells. When making noodles from scratch, you can also blend frozen spinach and mix it directly into the dough. If lasagna verde or any other type of spinach pasta is already on your radar, you know what I'm talking about. Or, add it to stuffed pasta filling intended for inside your shells, ravioli, tortellini, and more. You don't have to get that fancy or intricate, though. In fact, simply layering frozen spinach into a lasagna is more than sufficient. Just remember that it will add extra moisture — something that should be avoided with lasagna — if you don't take the time to thaw and drain it first.

When I'm lacking inspiration for dinner, stir-fry is a go-to dinner pick in my home. It's incredibly simple to make; the sauce only requires a few ingredients that most of us always have on hand, and it enables me to use whatever I happen to have lying around in my freezer or fridge. You guessed it; that includes frozen spinach.

There are many pro tips for making tasty stir-fry. No surprises there. However, knowing that an abundance of liquid isn't ideal will serve you well, especially when it comes to enhancing the dish with frozen spinach. After all, it's frozen, and when it thaws, moisture will be released. To avoid watering down your stir-fry mix, you have two options. The first is to thaw and drain it before adding it to your wok or frying pan. The other is to put it straight into a scorching pan first, even before adding any oil. This allows it to thaw rapidly. Since the pan is already hot, the moisture will evaporate given enough time as well. If you go this route, it's best to transfer the spinach to another pan while everything else cooks. Then, reincorporate it at the end so it doesn't become too soggy. Still, it's a tried-and-true method that can easily save your meal if you forget to take your frozen spinach out of the freezer well before it is time to start cooking.

Everyone loves a bowl of soup or stew on a cold day. Winter or not, they also make for a hearty, low-effort meal any time of the year. If you add a slow-cooker to the equation, it basically prepares itself. What could be easier? Best of all, you can round up just about any ingredients you want or have lying around, including frozen spinach, toss them into a pot with some seasoning and broth, and you will wind up with a yummy soup or stew. If you prefer to follow a more classic recipe, frozen spinach can easily be added to many of them as well. Everything from a meat or vegetarian chili to a classic chicken noodle soup to Italian bean stew to spicy tortilla soup will benefit from a flavor and protein infusion from our little green friend. Don't forget minestrone, either. Frozen spinach was practically made for it.

Unlike many of the other ways to use frozen spinach that populate this list, you don't need to worry about thawing and draining it before adding it to soups and stews. They will be hot enough to get the job done lightning fast, and there is already broth, so some added moisture won't hurt the final product. Just break off a chunk, toss it in, stir, and consider it done. Hooray!

There is a world of yummy dips out there, and guess what? Many of them can be improved with that bag of frozen spinach you are struggling to use up. Hot dips are a guaranteed winner because the frozen spinach will cook up nicely with the rest of the ingredients. Even so, you'll want to fall back on our trusty thaw and drain method for baked dips so you don't wind up with a watery mess. My favorite recipe to add frozen spinach to is cheesy spinach artichoke dip. I mean, it says it in the name, can you blame me? I've also used it to enhance spicy Southwestern corn dip, bean dip, and hummus, and they always turn out delicious.

Let's face it: Many dips have a base of cream cheese, sour cream, or some other kind of cheese, so they aren't necessarily overflowing with nutritional benefits. That changes if you add some frozen spinach to the mix, though. Pair that with the added flavor it imparts, and you have a win-win.

Spinach balls always remind me of my grandmother's cooking. They are an easy recipe that withstands the test of time, most likely because they are perfect for taking to gatherings. Regardless, spinach balls are also an ideal way to use up frozen spinach, party or not. They sure are a savory delight, too. If you haven't had them before, consider this your sign to make a batch.

A classic recipe for spinach balls calls for eggs, butter, onion, Parmesan cheese, breadcrumbs, a couple of seasonings like salt and pepper, and, of course, spinach. All of the ingredients are mixed together, rolled into small balls, and baked — simple and satisfying, just how I like it. What's interesting here, though, is that unlike the other tasty ways to use the ingredient found on this list, spinach balls are best made with the frozen stuff. In fact, I've never seen someone do it another way. Frozen spinach for the win, am I right?

Indian cuisine and spinach are no strangers to each other. Thanks to the rich sauciness of many of the regional fares, you don't have to use fresh spinach, either. The frozen stuff works just as well in many recipes, sometimes better.

While the array of Indian dishes that can be enhanced with frozen spinach is too long to list, I will divulge a few of my favorites. First and foremost, saag paneer, featuring a mix of stewed greens and chunks of paneer cheese, is a comfort dish anyone can love. There is cheese, after all. Bonus points if you make the paneer yourself, too. Palak pakora, aka fried spinach clusters, is to die for as well. Then there is always saag aloo, which is similar to saag paneer but with potatoes instead of cheese. Palak paneer, made with paneer and a spinach puree, is another crowd-pleasing option. Shoot, you could use countless bags of frozen spinach and never even stray from the country's cuisine. While I've dabbled in making it myself, I'm thinking you and I both should take the hint and start exploring.

Spanakopita is a classic Greek dish that's flavorful enough to make just about anyone a lifelong fan of spinach. Fortunately, making it with the frozen stuff isn't off the table, either. If you've never had the pleasure of biting into a flaky slice of spanakopita before, you're in for a treat. It's essentially a spinach and feta pie made with extra flaky, crispy phyllo dough crust. Yum!

In its most traditional format, spanakopita isn't complicated. It's basically just a cheese and spinach pie, after all. Even so, it tastes like a dream. Still, that doesn't mean you can't upgrade it with extra ingredients. For example, I like to add artichokes, tomatoes, and sometimes olives to mine. Breakfast spanakopita with eggs, kind of like a beefed-up quiche with better crust — is always a great option as well. Also, I buy frozen phyllo dough to make the process much simpler. Kudos to you if you go the extra mile and make it yourself, though. Either way, frozen spinach is just what you need to pull any variation on a spanakopita recipe off. As you can probably guess by now, you will want to thaw and drain it really well before going for it, or else you'll wind up with a soggy mess and a crust that is far from crispy. No, thanks!

We've already tackled how frozen spinach can improve several different types of regional cuisines, like Indian, Asian, Italian, and, of course, American, but what about Hispanic food? Well, lucky us, it can enhance them, too, and the possibilities are basically limitless. Score!

For me, adding frozen spinach to quesadillas is a common occurrence. While you can add any number of ingredients as well, I find that cheese and spinach alone are flavorful enough to satisfy my cravings. Well, maybe some salsa on the side too, but you get the point. I also like to stir frozen spinach into veggie, rice, and bean mixes destined for burritos and tacos. Once, I even stuffed a little bit of frozen spinach into my homemade chili rellenos, and they were killer. So, feel free to get creative when it comes to mixing frozen spinach into Hispanic cuisines of all kinds. As long as you thaw and drain it really well first, you should be good to go. I know, I sound like a broken record at this point, but I can't stress how important this initial step is to achieving success in almost every dish you put frozen spinach into, so don't forget it.

Last but not least on our list of yummy ways to use up a bag of frozen spinach is to stir some of it into your homemade meatball mixtures. We all know more than one type of meat will serve you well, but so will spinach, specifically the frozen kind. Not only does it help with texture and taste, but it also infuses the balls with some added protein. It couldn't be simpler, either. All you have to do is thaw, drain a bit, and stir or knead it straight into your breadcrumb, egg, and ground meat mixture. Then, all that's left is to roll it into balls and cook.

While there are many ways to mess up meatballs, one of the biggest mistakes people make when creating and cooking them is not ensuring they are juicy enough. If they aren't, they wind up dry, hard, and crumbly, and nobody wants that. Yuck. Another common blunder is not adding enough additional flavor. Luckily, frozen spinach can help with both of these issues. Juicy and flavorful to boot, it adds a savory taste and lots of moisture, effectively guaranteeing they turn out deliciously moist. Give it a go the next time you make a batch of meatballs, and who knows? You may never try doing it without the leafy green powerhouse again.