Recipe Rescue: Spinach Goo

by The Meal Makeover Moms on August 14th, 2009

When Barbie D., a mom of five from Scotch Plains, NJ, sent us her recipe for Spinach Goo and asked us to give it a healthy makeover, we couldn’t say no.  With a name like “goo,” we knew the recipe was sure to be rich and well, gooey.  Barbie told us that Spinach Goo (AKA Cheesy Spinach Casserole), is a favorite at family gatherings, but given the ingredients, she always felt a twinge of guilt when serving it.  “I originally got the recipe from my 90-year old mother, and for years, I’ve been serving it at parties as a side dish.  It’s been in the family for a long time,” Barbie said.

This family classic is made in the slow cooker so it’s oh-so easy.  The recipe calls for spinach, eggs, cottage cheese, half a stick of butter, 1 teaspoon of salt, and nearly half a pound of American cheese. When we crunched the numbers, we found that each small serving (it serves 12 as a side dish) has 180 calories — not bad — but 7 grams of saturated fat and nearly 800 milligrams of sodium … not so good.

Experts suggest eating no more than 2,300 milligrams of sodium a day and no more than 20 grams of saturated fat. When you consider that half a cup of regular cottage cheese has over400 milligrams of sodium and that the butter and American cheese contributed about 6 grams of saturated fat to the dish, you can see why this recipe needed a rescue!

cheesy-spin-casserole-ingredients

For the fix, we switched from regular cottage cheese to a no-salted added, lowfat version. We also swapped reduced-fat Cheddar cheese for the American cheese and nixed the butter and salt all together. Admittedly, our makeover was a bit on the extreme side, so we added grated Parmesan cheese for a kick of flavor. The result is a healthy vegetable side dish with less than half the fat and sodium.

barbie-spinach-casserole-drain-spinach-400

Cheesy Spinach Casserole
Makes 12 Side Dish Servings (or 6 Main Dish Servings)

  • 3 large eggs, beaten
  • One 16-ounce container 1% lowfat, no salt added cottage cheese (2 cups)
  • One 10-ounce package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed very dry
  • 1 ½ cups shredded reduced-fat Cheddar cheese (6 ounces)
  • ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
  • ¼ cup all-purpose flour
  • ¼ teaspoon black pepper

1. In a large bowl, stir together the eggs, cottage cheese, spinach, Cheddar cheese, Parmesan cheese, flour, and pepper until well combined.

2. Spray the bowl of your slow cooker with nonstick cooking spray.  Add the spinach mixture, and use a spatula to smooth the top.

3. Cover and cook on low until set, 3 hours.

Nutrition Information per Serving: 120 calories, 5g fat (2.5g saturated), 340mg sodium, 6g carbohydrate, 1g fiber, 13g protein, 120% vitamin A, 25% calcium

barbie-spinach-casserole-ingr-in-bowl

Overall, Barbie was happy with the new recipe. While clearly the dish was less salty and not nearly as rich, she said she was “pleasantly surprised” as was her husband. “I think I could pass this off at the next party!” Barbie suggested adding a pinch of nutmeg next time for added flavor. We agree and also think this dish would be great as a vegetarian main dish.

Check out our Flickr page for more photos of the Cheesy Spinach Casserole.  Let us know if you try this recipe and be sure to post your comments right here to our blog.

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8 Comments | Filed Under Dinner, RecipeRescue, SlowCooker, Vegetarian 

8 Responses to “Recipe Rescue: Spinach Goo”

  1. Mindy on August 18th, 2009

    I don’t have a slow cooker. Any chance of baking this in the oven??

  2. Meal Makeover Moms on August 20th, 2009

    Hi Mindy: We haven’t tried it in the oven but can’t imagine it wouldn’t work. We would put it in a casserole/baking dish and bake it at 350F for about 30-40 minutes. Be sure to spray your casserole dish well with nonstick cooking spray first. Let us know if you try it and how it comes out!

  3. Podcast 69: Slow Cooker Favorites | Meal Makeover Moms' Kitchen on August 25th, 2009

    [...] to devote our weekly Cooking with the Moms podcast show to the slow cooker. Our first recipe for Spinach Goo was recently featured on our blog, so be sure to check it out.  Our second recipe is for Sweet [...]

  4. Kendra on August 27th, 2009

    I have fresh baby spinach from my co-op what would be the equivalent to the 10 oz frozen?

  5. The Meal Makeover Moms on August 28th, 2009

    Hi Kendra:
    We suggest you saute all the baby spinach you got! It cooks down to a small amount so use whatever you end up with. If you want to weigh the spinach before and then measure how much you get after sauteeing, it would be useful for everyone to know! We hope it works and your family enjoys the recipe. Good luck!

  6. Kendra on September 12th, 2009

    In researching the conversion of frozen vs fresh spinach I found most sites to say 16oz fresh is equal to 10oz frozen BUT I used 9oz of fresh baby spinach (and whole wheat pastry flour) since thats what I had. This worked well my normally picky 6 year old ate it and took what little leftovers we had to school in his Laptop Lunch. 16 oz would have been too much. Even though my husband is not a fan of spinach this will become a regular for the rest of us. My 1 year old seemed to enjoy it as well and keep most of it in her mouth not on her(or the floor, or the wall etc).

    The only thing we missed was a crunchy element.. Baby carrots or corn on the side didn’t do it maybe corn in the goo?

  7. The Meal Makeover Moms on September 12th, 2009

    Hi Kendra: I’m the queen of crunch! What I like on the side is a crisp salad made with romaine lettuce and croutons or nuts on top. Glad your family liked the goo! Thanks for the update about the fresh baby spinach. We’ll try that next time.

  8. Abigail on October 1st, 2009

    I was just wondering if this could be cooked on high for half the time or if it is crucial to cook this for the 3hrs. Thanks

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