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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.
Its really yummy n adding onion gives a relly good taste
Thank you! 🙂
I literally just finished eating a plate of this, made with the cream sauce and mixed with fettuccine noodles. So good. Amazing flavor. I'm going to love eating the leftovers this week...if I can resist eating the rest of it tonight!!
Just made this (without addition of cream) and sliced some leftover steak at the end and added it in. Served with rice. It's delicious! Thank you for the recipe.
I've been reading through all the comments waiting to find someone who did not use the cream sauce. Thank you! Can't wait to try this.
You can certainly use this recipe and skip the cream sauce!
It was absolutely delicious. Followed the recipe. Will make again.
Thanks for the recipe. I'm going to serve this on grilled chiabatta as a starter or as a light lunch x
I made this tonight with a few minor adjustments...added 6 cups of spinach (instead of 3), about 1 lb of cubed grilled chicken, about 1/4 of a cup of additional parm., and light cream (instead of heavy). Hubby & I ate it as a main dish...there was NO leftovers. Excellent recipe 🙂
Truly stunning flavor thanks for the recipe
Recipe was good but website is HORRIBLE. If you Want people to look at your blog then you need to stop all the ads and redirects. I couldn't even leave this message let alone look at the recipe without being redirected 30 times. Most frustrating thing ever. I will not be using your website again until it is more user friendly.
I made this recipe for dinner tonight. It was the main dish with the cream sauce. My husband is still raving about it and can't wait to have the leftovers tomorrow! I am so doing this one again soon!!
I just made this tonight. I did not do the creamy version, but I did add a cup of Orzo to it. I wanted a complete side with veggies and carbs in one...smells delish
Wow! This was YUM! I cut back a little on the onions, but it was still so tasty! Really does make a complete dinner option when served over rice....! I will definitely make this one again, Everyone loved it!
I made this tonight and it is absolutely delicious.. I made it exactly to receipe with one exception, when it called for salt I only used it at the end and very very little , otherwise I used Mrs. Dash table blend.. I only wish I had made more as my husband also loved it..