Vegan Creamed Spinach

My Mom and I were recently out to one of our favorite restaurants, one known for creatively using seasonal veggies, and she ordered the creamed spinach.  She said it was really good, but of course it had dairy in it, so I couldn't try it.  But, she said "I bet you can recreate this at home using vegan ingredients, and it would be even better!"  She has confidence in my veganizing and cooking skills.  Of course I was all for it, I love making new (or old classic) recipes for people who want them without the animal products.  So, I went for it!  Something like cream is not hard to recreate when you have cashews and coconut milk on hand.  No, this is not a low fat recipe because that is not what she wanted.  Yes, I know you could use some sort of veggie pureed in the sauce if you wanted it to be but I will leave that for another day. Cashews and coconut milk are darn delicious and are staples of vegan mac and cheeses and fettuccini alfredos everywhere!

The creamed spinach she had at the restaurant had parmesan cheese in it, so I decided to give this a little cheesy flavor along with the richness by adding a little miso, nutritional yeast and lemon juice for zip!  A touch of garlic, and voila!  Cheesy creamy deliciousness ready for the spinach!  Now 18 oz of spinach might seem like a lot mind you (it is like 3 bags baby spinach), but it wilts down to practically nothing, and this does serve 4 people.  If you want to get a lot of spinach in fast, this is definitely a way to do it.  I think Popeye would be proud.  Just take care not to overcook it, you don't want to lose those nutrients!

This is sooo good!  It better than just regular creamed spinach that most people make, not only because it is vegan, but because it is delicious!  My Mom was excited about it, and she much approved!  I think this would be a good addition to your Thanksgiving or Holiday table.  You could just make the cream part ahead of time, reheat and add the spinach at the last minute before serving.  Because one can never have too many veggie dishes on the table for the Holidays right?

Vegan Creamed Spinach
Serves 4-6

• Ingredients:
• 1 1/4 cups organic coconut milk
• 1/2 cup raw cashew butter
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 2 Tbsp nutritional yeast
• 1 tsp white miso
• 1/2 tsp lemon juice
• 1/4 tsp sea salt or to taste
• 1 Tbsp arrowroot powder dissolved in 1 Tbsp filtered water
• 18 oz  organic baby spinach leaves

Directions:

1. In a medium saucepan, combine the coconut milk and cashew butter and heat until almost simmering and they are combined.
2. Add the garlic, yeast, miso, lemon juice and sea salt and cook until combined.
3. Add the arrowroot and cook until thickened slightly.  Remove from heat.
4. Add the spinach in batches until it is all wilted down (taking care not to overcook it).
5. Pour into a dish, and serve!