Our Family’s Favorite Holiday Side: Spinach Madeline

I’ve been eating Spinach Madeline for every single holiday as long as I can remember. In fact, a holiday isn’t a holiday in our house without this amazing dish! Spinach Madeline is best described as a creamed spinach with a slightly spicy southern twist. Except I wouldn’t touch creamed spinach, but I can devour this stuff like there’s no tomorrow. That’s how good it is!

One caveat about this dish is that it is decidedly not as healthy as the average dish I make. It’s laden with butter and cheese. So we only eat it about twice a year. And boy do we enjoy the treat! I’ve always made Spinach Madeline with Velveeta Cheese like my mama taught me. This year, at my mama’s advice, I used freshly grated cheese. I’m so glad I did. There’s something yuck about a cheese that can sit in a box without any refrigeration!

Ingredients
2 16 ounce bags of frozen spinach
8 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
12 ounces jack or cheddar cheese, grated
1 cup evaporated milk
4 teaspoons jalapeno peppers, finely chopped
4 tablespoons of onion, finely chopped
3/4 cup vegetable liquor*
1 teaspoon black pepper
2 teaspoons Worcestershire Sauce
Red pepper flakes to taste
4 tablespoons water
cayenne pepper to taste (optional)

*the juice you’ll drain from spinach after cooking in microwave

Instructions

Place the frozen spinach in a microwave-safe bowl. Add the water, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and cook according to package instructions.

When spinach is cooked, you need to save the vegetable liquor. The best way to do this is to press the juice through a colander into a bowl. Then set it and the spinach aside.

In a large pot, melt the butter over low heat. Add the onions and jalapeno and cook until they are soft.

Next add the flour. Stir continuously until it is smooth, but not browned. Add the milk, Worcestershire, vegetable liquor and all the seasonings except the cayenne pepper. Add the cheese and stir until melted.

Yumminess is happening! Now it’s time to stir in the spinach. Once the cheese mixture and spinach are thoroughly combined, taste it so that you can adjust seasonings to your taste. You may want a little more spice. If so, add a dash of cayenne pepper and stir well.

Now stop eating it. Seriously. You’ll want to snack on it. Instead, pour it in to a rectangular casserole dish. Spinach Madeline really tastes best if you cover and refrigerate overnight. To cook, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake for 30 or 40 minutes — until it is bubbly.

You can also freeze this dish before cooking. Which is what I just did. It will be all ready to pop out of the freezer and into the oven on Thanksgiving Day! 

Ohhhhhh- it’s so GOOD. Creamy, cheesy, spicy, yummy. I can’t wait! And wondering what you might do in the outside chance you have leftovers? Check out these Spinach Madeline Leftovers Enchiladas!

xoxo,

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