MOM’S SPINACH “SOUFFLE”😍

Welcome to my new series: recipes from my childhood, where I post family recipes that are near and dear to my heart. First up is my mom’s spinach “souffle” - now before I get crucified in the comments, she knew this is not a real souffle, but I think my mom called it that to give sophistication to a dish made up of frozen spinach and canned cream of mushroom soup.

We didn’t have a lot of money growing up, so my mom was always figuring out creative ways to get cheaper meals on the table for us. And of course this meal was memorable - we practically had it every week and I mean, it got two teenagers to fight over spinach so it’s pretty special. And as much as we love the cheesy, slightly crunchy corners, and the creaminess of the middle, the beauty of this dish is what it represents. That food is so much more than what we fuel our bodies with. Meals are where we could come together, huddled around our old kitchen table, laughing and telling stories during the one time a day we could. I hope you love this dish as much as we do, and more importantly, make memories doing so. 

Note: the inspiration for this recipe came from my grandmother’s friend Rhona, who use to make a similar version with frozen chopped broccoli. This recipe has been adapted from Rhona’s recipe and passed down 3 generations.

For Serving:

• We used to eat this as a side dish to anything we had for dinner - salmon, chicken, pasta, it goes well with most everything. If you happen to have leftovers, I highly recommend reheating in the oven to maintain the crunch!

Servings: This should serve 4 as a side, but my sister and I could eat this between the two of us EASILY.

Ingredients:

For Mom’s Spinach “Souffle”:

• 2 10oz packages frozen chopped spinach, defrosted

• 1 can cream of mushroom soup

• 2 eggs

• 1½ cups shredded mexican blend or cheddar cheese 

• ½ cup Italian seasoned breadcrumbs

• Cooking spray

Directions:

For Mom’s Spinach “Souffle”:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

• Squeeze out all the liquid of your defrosted spinach by wringing it out in the sink or patting dry with paper towels. Removing as much liquid as you can is crucial to ensure you get the right texture for this.

• Add the spinach, cream of mushroom soup, eggs, and 1 cup of shredded cheese to a bowl and mix until well combined.

• Grease a 9x9” baking dish and add in the spinach mixture. Top with ½ cup shredded cheese and breadcrumbs.

• Bake at 375 for 30 minutes or until golden brown and bubbly. Let set for 2-3 minutes before serving and enjoy!