Sarra Ina Garten’s spinach gratin is a creamy baked side dish made with frozen spinach, a butter and flour sauce, heavy cream, milk, Parmesan, and Gruyère. It serves 8 and bakes in just 20 minutes at 425F (220C).
This recipe comes from Ina’s Barefoot Contessa Parties! cookbook and appeared on the Barefoot Contessa “Holiday Meal” episode. On the show, Ina calls frozen spinach “the secret of this dish” because it’s “just as good as fresh and it’s so much easier.” She also says this gratin “is so delicious even the children will eat it.”
The roux is the backbone of the sauce. Ina cooks the flour and butter together for a full 2 minutes before adding the cream and milk so you don’t get a raw flour taste in the finished dish. Skip that step and the sauce tastes pasty and starchy no matter how long it bakes
Ina Garten Spinach Gratin Recipe
Course: Side DishCuisine: American, FrenchDifficulty: Easy4
servings10
minutes45
minutes280
kcalA Barefoot Contessa Parties! classic that turns five packages of frozen spinach into an elegant side dish with a creamy béchamel, Parmesan, and a golden Gruyère crust on top. One of Ina’s most popular holiday sides.
Ingredients
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4 tablespoons (1/2 stick / 57g) unsalted butter
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4 cups (600g) chopped yellow onions (2 large)
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1/4 cup (30g) all-purpose flour
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1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg
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1 cup (240ml) heavy cream
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2 cups (480ml) whole milk
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3 lbs (1.4 kg) frozen chopped spinach, defrosted (five 10 oz / 280g packages)
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1 cup (100g) freshly grated Parmesan cheese, divided
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1 tablespoon kosher salt
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1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
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1/2 cup (55g) grated Gruyère cheese
Directions
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Sauté the onions: Preheat the oven to 425F (220C). Melt the butter in a large heavy-bottomed skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and cook for about 15 minutes until translucent.
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Build the sauce: Add the flour and nutmeg and cook, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes. Pour in the cream and milk and cook until the sauce thickens.
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Add the spinach: Squeeze as much liquid as possible out of the defrosted spinach. Add it to the sauce and stir to combine. Mix in 1/2 cup of the Parmesan. Season with salt and pepper.
- Bake: Transfer the spinach mixture to a baking dish. Sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup Parmesan and the Gruyère over the top. Bake for 20 minutes until hot, bubbly, and golden on top. Serve hot.
FAQs
Why does Ina use frozen spinach instead of fresh?
Ina says frozen spinach is “the secret of this dish” because it’s just as flavorful as fresh and saves you the work of cooking down pounds and pounds of leaves.
Three pounds of frozen spinach equals roughly 15 pounds of fresh. You’d need an enormous pot to wilt that much, and you’d still have to squeeze all the water out afterward. Frozen comes pre-cooked and pre-chopped, so all you do is defrost and squeeze.
How do you get all the water out of frozen spinach?
Place the defrosted spinach in a clean kitchen towel, gather the edges, and wring it over the sink as hard as you can. Repeat until almost no liquid comes out.
This is the most important prep step in the recipe. Wet spinach waters down the cream sauce and the gratin won’t set properly. You’ll end up with a soupy, runny dish instead of something thick enough to scoop.
Can you make this spinach gratin ahead of time?
Yes. Assemble the full dish, cover tightly, and refrigerate for up to a day before baking.
Add about 5 to 10 extra minutes of baking time since it goes into the oven cold. The center should be bubbling and the cheese on top should be golden and melted before you pull it out.
What makes this different from regular creamed spinach?
Regular creamed spinach is a stovetop side that stays saucy. Ina’s gratin starts with the same base but goes into the oven with Parmesan and Gruyère on top, which browns into a crispy cheese crust.
The baking also thickens the sauce further so you get a denser, more scoopable texture. It holds its shape on a plate instead of running across into your other food.
What should you serve this spinach gratin with?
Ina featured this on the “Holiday Meal” episode, which means it was designed to go alongside a Thanksgiving or Christmas roast. It pairs best with simple roasted meats that don’t have their own heavy sauce.
Roast turkey, filet of beef, or rack of lamb are all natural partners. Avoid serving it next to another cream-based side because two rich dishes compete with each other on the plate.
