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Sautéed Spinach, Mushrooms, and Caramelized Onions - a delicious side dish recipe that will go great with lots of main dishes. Serve it with pasta, grilled meats, or seafood. You can also make it instead of gravy for the holidays (Thanksgiving and Christmas).
The flavors of mushrooms, spinach, caramelized onions, garlic, and Parmesan cheese mingle really well in this meatless recipe. It's quite versatile: you can eat it as-is, especially if you're craving some good-tasting, creamy vegetables. You can serve it alongside some pasta, ravioli, or tortellini. It is also great with grilled steak, pork, or chicken.
For me, personally, this delicious Sautéed Spinach with Mushrooms and Caramelized Onions is a favorite side dish for grilled meats. The recipe is flexible: you can exclude the creamy sauce and Parmesan cheese if you're trying to eat a little bit healthier (even though the recipe doesn't use much of either). You can also omit onions if you don't like them, or, if you don't have time to caramelize them, saute them.
Sautéed Spinach, Mushrooms, and Caramelized Onions
Ingredients
Caramelized onions
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 3 yellow onions , large, sliced
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
Other ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 10 oz mushrooms , sliced (I used button mushrooms)
- 6 oz spinach
- 1 cup half-and-half
- 1 cup Parmesan cheese , shredded
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Instructions
How to caramelize onions:
- Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil on medium-high heat in a large skillet. Add sliced onions and cook on high heat for about 10 minutes, constantly stirring with the spatula.
- The onions should start to brown, but without burning.
- Reduce heat to medium and continue cooking onions for 10 more minutes, continuing to stir, as onions brown even more without burning. At this point add a pinch of salt over onions.
- Continue cooking for 10 more minutes on medium or low heat, stirring occasionally to make sure onions don’t stick to the bottom of the pan or burn.
- In total, you should have cooked onions for 30 minutes.
- Remove the skillet from heat and sprinkle the onions with a small amount of balsamic vinegar to deglaze the pan.
- Using a spatula, stir the onions, scraping the bottom of the pan and coating onions with a pinch of balsamic vinegar you just added. Remove caramelized onions to a plate.
How to cook mushrooms and spinach:
- Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in the same skillet on medium heat. Add sliced mushrooms. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt.
- Cook mushrooms for about 5 minutes, occasionally stirring, until mushrooms are soft.
- Add fresh spinach to the skillet and stir on low heat just until spinach starts to wilt.
How to make a creamy sauce
- Add half-and-half to the mushroom and spinach mixture and bring to a quick boil. Immediately reduce to simmer.
- Add ⅔ cup of shredded Parmesan cheese and ¼ teaspoon salt. Keep stirring while the sauce simmers until the cheese melts.
- Add caramelized onions back to the skillet with the pasta sauce.
- If the sauce is too thick, add a small amount of half-and-half to thin it out. If it is too thin, add a small amount of shredded Parmesan cheese, and stir it in, while the sauce simmers.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition Disclaimer:
The nutritional information on this website is only an estimate and is provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed. It should not be used as a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
This looks AMAZING! Cooking it today! Thanks so much for sharing. Hope it turns out as beautiful as your photos look 🙂 I will definitely be trying out more of your recipes!
This looks delicious. I can't wait to try it. Now that I've tried a few of your recipes I make sure to keep certain cheeses on hand (and always heavy whipping cream or half and half). I was always a fan of whipping cream but never knew that half and half was an awesome staple to have on hand for creamy sauces. ..YUM!
This looks amazing! Could you add red wine to this similar to your Mushroom Sauce recipe?
Julia,
This recipe looks fabulous!! I am making it tonight! Love your photos.
Mary Ann
Thank you for posting this! I made it tonight for my boyfriend and me, I substituted a pint of half and half to make more sauce, and added seared steak tips and pasta. It was amazing!
Made this recipe tonight and it was amazing.
Thank you, Jackie! I am glad you enjoyed this recipe!
Hi Julia,
This is one of my favourite things to toss with plain pasta and, sometimes if I'm in the mood for it, I'll throw in some chicken too. Technically, if you remove the spinach and use creme fraiche instead, along with chicken and cidre, it becomes the French dish 'fricassée', which we ate quite a bit in France (particularly the Auvergne). Yummy!
Oh deliciousness! There is nothing as indulgent and delightful to the senses as mushrooms and cream. Add some pasta and you've got a complete meal. Thanks Julia!
Oh my. This looks amazing! Something I must try asap!
Made this tonight and everyone had seconds. It was delicious and I followed the recipe exactly as written. Thanks for submitting such a tasty meal.
Sounds wonderful Julia, I could probably figure out a way to enjoy this for breakfast, lunch or dinner.
What a yummy, juicy and flavorful dish! 🙂 ela
Beautiful photos Julia!
i love sauteed mushrooms...and spinach and onions. this sounds so good!
Wow - Julia, your pictures are amazing! I never thought spinach, mushrooms and onions could look THIS good!