Low Carb Christmas Creamed Spinach
Low carb Christmas sides don't get easier than this creamed spinach, made with cream cheese and Parmesan instead of a flour roux, at 4 g net carbs and 8 g protein per serving.
Every December I start planning the table around the roast and then realize the sides need a plan too. Low carb Christmas sides have to do real work: sit next to a standing rib roast or a turkey, soak up the juices, and still feel like part of the holiday. This creamed spinach is the one I keep coming back to. It’s green, it’s rich, and it takes about twenty-five minutes with one pot.
Picture the moment before everyone sits down. The roast is resting under foil, somebody is hunting for the good serving spoons, and the stove has exactly one burner left. That’s where a creamed spinach earns its place. It cooks on that last burner, it holds hot in the pan while you carve, and it spoons out thick enough to stay put on the plate instead of running into everything else.
I cook every recipe in my own kitchen before it goes on the blog. With this one, the part that decides everything is not the cream. It’s the water in the spinach. More on that in a minute.
Where creamed spinach comes from
Creamed spinach is one of those sides that lives on steakhouse menus and holiday tables alike. The classic way to make it is to cook the spinach, then fold it into a white sauce, which means butter and flour cooked together and thinned with milk. That flour-thickened sauce is the part that adds the carbs, and it’s also the part that can turn pasty if you’re not paying attention.
Spinach wilts down to almost nothing and takes on richness from whatever you cook it in. Cream, butter, garlic and a pinch of nutmeg are the usual partners, and the nutmeg is the old-fashioned touch that makes it taste like the steakhouse version.
Low carb Christmas sides need a thick sauce
Here’s what I changed. The roux is gone. Instead, heavy cream and cream cheese simmer together until the sauce thickens on its own, and freshly grated Parmesan goes in at the end to make it savory and a little salty. No flour, no cornstarch, nothing you have to hunt for. The cream cheese is what gives it that spoonable body, and it keeps the sauce from breaking when you hold it warm.
Then comes the step I won’t skip. Spinach is mostly water, and if you stir it into the sauce straight from the bag you get a green soup. So I wilt it first, let it cool for a few minutes, and squeeze it hard in a clean kitchen towel until it’s a dense little ball. It looks like way too little spinach. It isn’t. That dry ball is what drinks up the cream.
I keep the batch to 14 ounces of baby spinach for six servings. That gives you a generous half cup each, with 4 grams of net carbs and 8 grams of protein per serving, which keeps it under the line for a keto side. The sugar and flour that sneak into a lot of holiday sides just aren’t here.
At the Christmas table
On a holiday table I’d rather have a few sides that carry their weight than a dozen that all taste the same. Creamed spinach is the rich one. Put something crisp and bright next to it so the plate doesn’t turn into all cream: this Christmas cranberry spinach salad is the cool, tart counterpoint I’d pair with it. And if you want another warm, creamy vegetable dish for the same meal, my keto green bean casserole is made the same no-flour way.
Spinach is a leafy green, so rinse it under cold running water before it goes in the pot. The FDA’s page on selecting and serving produce safely covers washing and keeping produce cold, and it’s worth a read before a big holiday cook.
In a lot of houses the vegetables are the first thing to get pushed aside on Christmas Day, so I like a side that gets passed back around the table for seconds. Give the spoon a place to land and it usually does.
Swaps
Every swap here keeps the carbs where they are. The numbers on the card are for the recipe as written.
- Frozen spinach
- use a 10-ounce package, thawed and squeezed completely dry. Squeeze twice.
- Extra garlic or a pinch of cayenne
- for more kick without adding carbs.
- Cheddar or Gruyere
- in place of half the Parmesan, for a different kind of melt.
- Crumbled turkey bacon
- over the top for a smoky finish.
Make ahead, storing and reheating
On a busy holiday you want to do as much as possible before guests arrive. Make the whole dish, let it cool, and keep it covered in the fridge for up to two days. Reheat it gently in a saucepan over low heat with a splash of cream, stirring as it warms. It thickens a lot when it’s cold, so don’t worry if it looks stiff.
Leftovers keep in an airtight container in the fridge for 3 to 4 days. Get them into the fridge within two hours of serving, which matters on a table where dishes sit out all afternoon. The USDA’s guidance on leftovers and food safety says to reheat leftovers to 165°F (74°C). You can freeze it too, best used within 2 to 3 months. Thaw it in the fridge overnight and stir well, since cream sauces can look a little loose after freezing.
Questions people ask
What are good low carb Christmas side dishes?
Anything built on vegetables, cheese and cream instead of potatoes, rolls or sugar. Creamed spinach, a no-flour green bean casserole and roasted Brussels sprouts all fit.
Is this keto creamed spinach?
Yes. A serving has 4 grams of net carbs (5.5 g total carbs minus 1.1 g fiber, rounded), which is under the 5 gram line for a side, and there’s no flour, sugar or cornstarch in it.
How do I keep creamed spinach from getting watery?
Wilt the spinach first, cool it, and squeeze out as much liquid as you can before it goes into the sauce. Frozen spinach needs the same treatment.
Set a bowl of this next to the roast and watch how fast the spoon goes around the table.
Casseroles
Side Dish
Side Dish
