Stir-Fried Spinach with Garlic and Parmesan
Stir-Fried Spinach with Garlic and Parmesan is perfect for an extra quick and easy low-carb side dish that’s loaded with flavor! And this easy recipe for cooking fresh spinach can literally be on the table in minutes!
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This Stir-Fried Spinach with Garlic and Parmesan is such a great idea for a super easy side dish! I love to buy those enormous containers of organic baby spinach from Costco and use it for spinach salad. Then when I still have spinach that needs to get used, I make this easy and quick version of stir-fried spinach which tastes wonderful.
This stir-fried spinach recipe uses the same stir-frying technique of seasoning the oil that I use for my Asian stir fry dishes. But for this spinach recipe it’s just garlic that gets cooked for a minute in the hot oil, seasoning the oil so it will give the spinach a delightful garlic flavor. And then the quickly-cooked spinach is topped with freshly-grated Parmesan cheese and seasoned with black pepper.
I hope you try this recipe soon for an amazingly easy side dish to make with fresh spinach!
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What ingredients do you need?
(This is only a list of ingredients; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)
- baby spinach leaves
- Olive Oil (affiliate link)
- whole garlic cloves
- freshly grated parmesan cheese
- fresh ground black pepper to taste
Do you have to use baby spinach for this stir-fried spinach?
I love to make this with baby spinach because it cooks so quickly when it’s stir fried. But if you want to make the recipe with larger spinach leaves, just cook them a minute or two longer.
What other kinds of cheese could you use?
I loved this recipe with the freshly-grated Parmesan, but you could use other hard cheeses like Pecorino-Romano or Asiago with spinach for this recipe. And I think this would also be delicious with Feta.
How low in carbs is the Stir-Fried Spinach side dish?
This extra-easy spinach side dish has only 4 net carbs per serving, with 5 grams of protein!
How to Make Stir-Fried Spinach with Garlic and Parmesan:
(This is only a summary of the steps for the recipe; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)
- Use a large heavy frying pan or wok.
- Wash spinach if needed and spin dry or blot with paper towels. (I buy pre-washed spinach.)
- Heat pan or wok for about one minute over medium high heat, until it feels hot when you hold your hand above it.
- Add olive oil and heat until oil shimmers, then add garlic cloves and stir-fry for 30 seconds to one minute, or until you smell garlic. (Don’t let garlic start to brown.)
- Remove garlic and discard.
- Add spinach to hot seasoned oil and immediately start to stir, lifting spinach as it wilts and letting uncooked spinach move to the bottom.
- Cook only until spinach is hot and wilted, about 2 minutes for baby spinach.
- Remove spinach to serving plate.
- Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and season with fresh-ground pepper.
- Serve the Stir-Fried Spinach hot, and enjoy.
Make it for part of a Low-Carb Meal:
This amazingly easy Stir-Fried Spinach recipe would be perfect with one of these extra low-carb main dishes:
- Sausage, Peppers, and Mushrooms Low-Carb Cheesy Bake
- Air Fryer Pork Chops
- Slow Roasted Salmon with Butter, Garlic, Capers, and Lemon
- Chicken Cutlets with Mustard Sauce
- Baked Mayo-Parmesan Fish
More veggie stir fry recipes you might like:
Check out my category for Stir Fry Recipes to find lots more veggie stir fry recipes you might enjoy, as well as some main dish stir fries!
Stir-Fried Spinach with Garlic and Parmesan
Easy Stir-Fried Spinach with Garlic and Parmesan is perfect for a low-carb side dish!
Ingredients
- 16 oz baby spinach leaves
- 2 T olive oil
- 6 whole garlic cloves
- 3 T freshly grated parmesan cheese (or more)
- fresh ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Use a large heavy frying pan or wok for this recipe.
- Wash spinach if needed and spin dry or blot with paper towels. (I buy pre-washed spinach so I can skip this step.)
- Heat pan or wok for about one minute over medium high heat, until it feels hot if you hold your hand over it.
- Add olive oil and heat until oil shimmers, then add garlic cloves and stir-fry for 30 seconds to one minute, or until you can smell garlic. (Don’t cook it so long that the garlic starts to brown or it will taste bitter.)
- Remove garlic and discard.
- Add spinach to hot seasoned oil and immediately start to stir, lifting spinach from the bottom of the hot pan as it wilts and letting the uncooked spinach move to the bottom. Cook only until all spinach is hot and wilted, about 2 minutes.
- Remove spinach to serving plate.
- Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and season with fresh-ground pepper.
- Serve the Stir-Fried Spinach hot and enjoy!
Notes
Recipe created by Kalyn.
Nutrition Information
Yield
4Serving Size
1Amount Per Serving Calories 110Total Fat 8gSaturated Fat 2gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 6gCholesterol 3mgSodium 148mgCarbohydrates 7gFiber 3gSugar 1gProtein 5g
Nutrition information is automatically calculated by the Recipe Plug-In I am using. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee 100% accuracy, since many variables affect those calculations.
Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
Easy Stir-Fried Spinach with Garlic and Parmesan is a great dish for low-carb or Keto diet plans, and for any phase of the original South Beach Diet.
Find More Recipes Like This One:
Use Stir Fry Recipes to find more recipes like this one. Use the Diet Type Index to find recipes suitable for a specific eating plan. You might also like to follow Kalyn’s Kitchen on Pinterest, on Facebook, on Instagram, on TikTok, or on YouTube to see all the good recipes I’m sharing there.
Historical Notes for this Recipe:
The stir-fried spinach recipe was first posted in 2008, probably with a photo that would make me shudder if I saw it now! It was updated in 2022 with greatly improved photos and last updated with more information in 2025.
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23 Comments on “Stir-Fried Spinach with Garlic and Parmesan”
Easy Stir-Fried Spinach with Garlic and Parmesan sounds like a delicious and low-carb side dish! The combination of garlic and Parmesan adds a fantastic flavor boost to the spinach. It’s perfect for a quick and satisfying addition to any meal.
Glad you like it!
After reading this; I’m going to make it with a slight variation. I’m going to cut the garlic down to 3 cloves & mince them. Then I’ll saute them a little bit just before adding the spinach. Turned out awesome! 👍
Glad you enjoyed it!
Kevin, you are free to use any oil you wish.
Hi Kalyn, Love the stir-fried spinach recipe, but a little concerned about the use of olive oil as it has a low burning temp that can cause it to be carcinogenic, it would be better to use an organic cold pressed rapeseed or sunflower oil as this can be taken to a much higher temp without burning.
🙂
Yummy! Spinach is one of my three year old’s favorite foods. I will definitely try this!
Lauren
this is a great entry for the event Kalyn! spinach is so versatile!:)
Gotta love bags of baby spinach… could there be anything easier to cook? This looks so simple and delicous 🙂
I buy that spinach too- it is so versatile- spinach salad, sauteed spinach and white beans, creamed spinach-good thing the Costco only sells the big bags!
This sounds like a simple and tasty was to enjoy one of my favorite vegetables!
Margot, I am speechless! Thank you for the honor!
Hi Kalyn,
Just a short note to let you know that you have been nominated to IFP (Inspiring Food Photography) in May:
http://www.coffeeandvanilla.com/?p=2198
Have a great day, Margot
Oh Kalyn, I really love this. Most excellent cause!
I make a very similar dish with Swiss Chard…SO good.
j
This is a perfect way to use up all that Costco spinach! And so simple. Thanks!
Oh no. I’ve been snooping around your archived recipes for something delicious to do with asparagus. And the home page lads up and I see this! It’s a tough choice between the delicious sounding asparagus and garlic and this delightful spinach dish!
I eat a lot of fresh spinach because it so nutritious and low in calories. I agree that simple seasoned with garlic and cheese is absolutely delicious. Have you ever added Kalamata olives to it? Mmmmmm….
Yum! This is one of my favorite ways to eat spinach!
Spinach stir-fried with garlic is my new favorite side dish, part of a conscious effort to eat more dark greens. A sprinkling of good sea salt and black pepper at the end makes it just perfect — and of course you can eat a massive amount of it for very few calories.
Another fabulous recipe! I am pleased/honored to have you part of CCC2. Thanks for your continued support!
All hail spinach, once hated as kids, held dear as adults.
Fight cancer!
First time I came to NZ, I was a bit surprised to see how different spinach and its treatment in the kitchen compared to those grown in Indonesia. I always love leafy vegetables. This is another sample for me what to do with spinach other than just cook them for quiche filling or phyllo parcels. Thanks, Kalyn!