Yummy Spinach Pie

Spinach Pie is similar to a quiche
but made with fewer eggs and has a lot more flavor!

If you love spinach, you'll love this incredibly tasty spinach pie. It was one of the first low-carb recipes I experimented with when I returned to keto in 2007.

Packed with fresh spinach and sauteed mushrooms, it's a cheese-lovers dream come true. The cream cheese makes it flavorful enough to serve to company.

Hubby keeps asking me to make it again and again!

I tried quite a few new low-carb recipes when my in-laws were home this past week. One we particularly enjoyed was a Yummy Spinach Pie. I don't normally try new things when family is coming home, as I prefer to serve recipes that are Tried and True (TNT). 

I take pride in my cooking and work hard to dial in my recipes, so they come out perfect each and every time. That way, you can have a great experience when trying to use them in your own cooking.

Since the in-laws have moved to a low-carb lifestyle recently, I wanted to show them -- not only how versatile and yummy this way of life can be -- but that they don't have to be afraid to try new things.

You can see the same thing for yourself, as well as how easy it is to adapt recipes to fit in with your tastes.

How to Adapt Low-Carb Recipes to Suit Your Tastes

I found the original recipe for this incredibly tasty spinach pie on a low-carb recipe egroup over 10 years ago. I have no idea if it still exists in some form online, or not. Groups have changed hands several times over the years, and I can't even remember what the recipe was originally called.

I had to change the recipe quite a bit from how it was posted because I wanted to use fresh spinach leaves that I needed to use up, as well as some previously sauteed mushrooms I had in the freezer.

Low-carb recipes are easy to adapt to what you have
on hand. In this recipe I used fresh spinach instead of frozen
and tossed in a few sauteed mushrooms.

The original recipe called for frozen spinach. It also had you garnish the casserole with sliced fresh tomatoes and grated Parmesan cheese across the top, before baking. But my brother-in-law doesn't like Parmesan cheese or cooked tomatoes.

Adapting the recipe wasn't hard.

I simply sauteed the fresh leaves in a skillet until they had wilted a bit. That way, they looked more like frozen spinach. I then followed the recipe as written, except for the mushrooms, and I changed the topping.

I skipped the tomatoes and used cheddar cheese instead.

The results were quite surprising.

My husband, who isn't a low carber, raved about how good it was. He wants me to make it again really soon.

The texture is similar to a quiche, so it's light on spinach, but heavy on taste, especially if you enjoy cream cheese, which all of us do.

Yummy Spinach Pie

Ingredients:

• 1/2 small onion, chopped
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• 12 sliced mushrooms
• 1/4 cup butter
• 8 oz fresh spinach leaves
• 4 eggs
• 3 oz softened cream cheese
• 1-1/2 cups grated cheddar cheese

In a skillet, saute onion, garlic, and mushrooms in butter until softened. Remove with a slotted spoon and reserve.

To the pan drippings, add the fresh spinach leaves, and cook until they are well wilted. Pour the spinach into a colander and press the leaves with the back of a spoon to remove as much moisture as possible. Use your hands and squeeze the leaves into a tight ball if you need to. You want the spinach to be as dry as you can possibly get it.

If you want to use frozen spinach, just drain it well in a colander, and then squeeze it once thawed. You don't have to pre-cook it at all, as it will already be wilted. I'm pretty sure this will work with canned spinach too.

In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs until well combined and frothy. Add softened cream cheese, and then whisk again. The mixture will be a bit lumpy. That's okay. It will just leave flecks of cream cheese throughout the baked pie.

Add the veggies and 1 cup of grated cheese. Pour the mixture into a greased 1-quart casserole dish or deep-dish pie plate. Cover with the remaining cheese. If you'd rather use Parmesan cheese across the top, the flavor will be a bit sharper.

Bake the pie at 350 degrees, uncovered, for 45 minutes, until it is well browned and set.

Makes 4 servings, at 4 net carbs each