This 3-ingredient vegan creamed spinach recipe is every bit as simple as the name suggests. You just need fresh spinach, some coconut milk, and a bit of nutritional yeast. A seriously tasty side dish or meal prep component can be yours in 5 minutes of cooking.
What’s special about this vegan creamed spinach?
I take it as an everyday quest of mine to find new ways to make really tasty veggie dishes with fresh ingredients and as little effort as possible. I know it sounds lazy, but the more I can simplify the process of cooking wholesome and interesting everyday meals, the more time I have to focus on other things. These simple dishes also make a long day much less exhausting. So every time I stumble on something like this, I’m eager to share it with you.
This vegan creamed spinach is an example of such a dish. When I created it, I wanted something more interesting than steamed spinach. But I also wanted something that was basically as easy as steamed spinach. By adding just coconut milk and nutritional yeast, we get great flavor dimension with almost no added effort. No chopping, mixing, blending, or any other extra process. I can’t overstate how simple this is.
What does the cooking process look like?
If your spinach isn’t pre-washed, you’ll need to wash and dry it. Pre-washed makes it even simpler. Heat up a tiny bit of water in a skillet. Get your coconut milk and nutritional yeast and set them by the stove. Briefly steam the spinach, then stir in the coconut milk and yeast. You’re done and it hasn’t even been five minutes.
As I said, this is a really easy one. But the flavor combination works surprisingly well. Your taste buds will thank you.
Cooking Notes
I tested this recipe with regular coconut milk, not light coconut milk or the coconut beverage sometimes sold as a milk alternative. Coconut milk is somewhat calorie dense due to fat content but the flavor is totally worth it. If you’re using a lower-fat, less dense liquid, you should use less of it, so the dish won’t be watery.
Speaking of a watery dish, take care to dry the spinach before cooking it. If it is wet from being washed it can also make for a watery final result.
If your dish does turn out watery, you can add more nutritional yeast – up to 2 tablespoons more. This will help thicken the sauce.
You should cook the spinach until it is just wilted and still has a vibrant green color to it. Spinach tastes best at this point.
Other Massively Simple and Quick Veggie Recipes:
Roasted Portobello Mushrooms (oil-free)
3-Ingredient Vegan Creamed Spinach
Ingredients
- 1/2 pound spinach washed and dried
- 1/4 cup coconut milk
- 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
Instructions
- Heat 1 tablespoon of water in a medium nonstick skillet over medium heat.
- When water is boiling, add spinach. Cover skillet.
- After 1 minute, remove cover. Use a spatula to move spinach to one side of the skillet. The spinach should be beginning to wilt and shrink at this point.
- Pour the coconut milk and yeast onto the empty side of the skillet. Stir them together. When the nutritional yeast has dissolved into the coconut milk, stir the mixture together with the spinach.
- Continue to stir and cook until the spinach is just wilted and still has a bright green color.
- Serve spinach with sauce.
This is delicious! Thank you for sharing!
Thanks for the feedback, Sam. I’m happy to hear you enjoyed it.
This is genius. And really good! I added some diced baby turnips and a bit of fresh horseradish. Thank you for the recipe!
Thanks Beth! Appreciate the kind words. The turnips and horseradish strike me as great additions – a boost to the texture and the depth of flavor.
Excellent!!! Thanks so much for sharing this. So easy and so flavorful!!!
Thanks, and I’m happy you enjoyed it! Easy and tasty is what I was going for 🙂
I enjoyed this! Thank you. I look forward to trying your other recipe offerings!