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Spinach dishes without hidden dairy

Spinach is easy to keep dairy-free until the pan, mash or finishing step changes the dish. Butter may be used to wilt it, milk can loosen a mash, cream can thicken a sauce, and parmesan often appears only at the table. This list is for two people who want spinach on the menu without having to inspect every familiar preparation from scratch.

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The dishes

These 13 dishes keep spinach useful across salads, sautés, soups, eggs, tofu, chicken and fish without relying on dairy. Check packaged stock, curry pastes and other prepared ingredients, then use oil instead of butter and leave cheese out rather than assuming the title tells you everything.

  1. 5 A Day Salad

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  2. Apple, Fennel & Chicken Salad with Couscous

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  3. Braised Chicken Thighs with Spinach

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  4. Chickpeas and Spinach Sauté

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  1. Curried Brown Rice with Pumpkin Seeds, Apricots and Spinach

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  2. Fish with Spinach

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  3. Grapefruit Spinach Salad

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  4. Leafy Tofu

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  5. Lemon Spinach

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  6. Egg shakshuka

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  7. Spinach Black Bean Salad

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  8. Spinach Salad with Apples and Raisins

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  9. Tofu, Tomato, and Spinach Soup

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How do I cook spinach without butter?

Use olive oil or another dairy-free cooking oil to soften spinach, garlic or onions. Spinach releases water quickly, so a hot pan and a short cooking time usually work better than adding extra fat. For a richer finish, use lemon juice, toasted seeds or a spoonful of dairy-free stock instead of butter.

Which spinach dishes most often hide dairy?

Creamed spinach, spinach sauces, mashed-potato dishes and gratins are the most obvious risks because milk, cream or butter can be built into the method. Sauteed spinach may also start with butter, while salads and finished pasta or rice dishes can receive parmesan at the end. Read the full method and the labels on stock, spice pastes and spreads, not just the recipe title.

How can I make sure a spinach dish is safe for someone avoiding dairy?

Replace butter with oil, milk with an unsweetened dairy-free alternative or stock, and cream with blended beans, coconut milk or a suitable dairy-free cream when the recipe needs body. Omit parmesan and add acidity, herbs, toasted seeds or nutritional yeast if you want more flavour. Keep separate utensils and check every packaged ingredient for milk, whey, casein and butterfat.

Updated: · About Nomme

Recipes from USDA MyPlate (public domain) and NHS Healthier Families (Crown copyright). Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.