Spinach Parmesan Pasta Recipe {5-Ingredients} (2024)

FAQs

Do you cook spinach before putting it in pasta? ›

Plunge the spinach into the water, and cook until it wilts, less than a minute. Drain quickly, allowing some water to cling to the pasta, and toss pasta and spinach in the bowl with the garlic and olive mixture. Season with salt and pepper, and serve.

Bruning says you can use frozen spinach in applications, like adding it into soup, but she notes that this may lead to uneven cooking. "It may also cause more liquid to run off than if you thaw it first and squeeze out excess liquid in a towel or sieve, so this doesn't work well for casseroles or stir frys," she says.

Frozen Spinach

A good rule of thumb is fresh spinach cooked down equals about a cup and a half, which is roughly the equivalent of a 10 oz frozen package.

In fact, raw spinach packs a good amount of fiber, vitamin C, iron, and calcium into each serving ( 5 ). It's also incredibly versatile — you can mix it into tomato sauce, add it to pasta salad, or use it to brighten up cream-based sauces.

Remember that. The latter pasta smells really strong (sniff the box next time) and the taste is questionable (does it even pass for spinach?). Fresh spinach pasta is so light and subtle, you'd hardly know it was spinach pasta at all. On that note, please do not drown this pasta in sauce.

Anytime what you're making won't be ruined or made too soggy with excess liquid, feel free to use the spinach straight from the freezer.

Even better, one cup of frozen spinach has more than four times the amount of nutrients, including iron, vitamin C and calcium, compared to a cup of fresh spinach.

Listeria and e. coli can survive freezing. And there could be re-contamination after the blanching process.

Thawing :Allow the frozen leafy greens to thaw in the refrigerator or at room temperature. This step helps prevent excess water during cooking. - Heat a pan over medium heat and add a small amount of oil or butter.

How do you make frozen spinach not soggy? ›

Counter: Leave the frozen spinach on the counter in a bowl at room temperature. You can also thaw the frozen spinach in a colander over a sink so the excess water from the melted spinach can drain.

Frozen spinach is terrific to keep on hand for an easy nutrient boost in soups and sauces. For other uses, cook spinach (fresh or frozen) by steaming, microwaving, stir-frying or sautéing to retain folate and vitamin C. Boiling spinach in a pot of water can cut these vitamins' content in half.

Let's get into it. Frozen spinach is mechanically chopped, boiled or blanched, and then flash frozen. A single ten ounce package of frozen spinach usually equals one cup of greens once it's thawed and drained. To get that same cup with fresh spinach, you'd have to cook down about a full pound.

One package (10 ounces) of frozen spinach leaves yields about 1-1/2 cups after cooking. Therefore, you can substitute 1 package (10 ounces) frozen spinach leaves for 1-1/2 pounds of fresh spinach.

When a recipe calls for cooked fresh spinach, 1 pound of fresh spinach will yield 10-12 cups of torn leaves, which will cook down to about 1 cup. One package (10 ounces) of frozen spinach leaves yields about 1-1/2 cups after cooking.

The researchers concluded that the best way to get the most lutein from spinach is to not cook it. While eating raw spinach is good, it's better to chop it in a blender — for instance, by making a smoothie — or in a juicer, as this releases more lutein from the leaves, according to the researchers.

Highlights. Spinach is a green leafy vegetable that we all know to be really healthy, due to the presence of high levels of antioxidants in it. However, the best way to eat spinach is not after blanching or boiling it, but rather adding it to your smoothies or juicing it, says a new study.

Thankfully, there are ways to eat the veggie without giving up taste or nutrition. Instead of boiling spinach, Jessica Cording, R.D., suggests steaming or microwaving it so you get more nutritional value in every bite. She likes to keep baby spinach on-hand to add into smoothies, soups, or omelets.