36 Simple but Sensational AIP Spinach Recipes
By now, everyone knows how nutritious spinach is. And how can you not? It’s the original superfood! And, although it’s perfect for people on AIP, a spinach salad day after day can get a little dull. That’s why I’ve put together this list of 36 AIP-friendly spinach recipes.
Forget the salads – we’ve developed tons of finger-licking recipes chock full of this hearty green! From savory spinach chicken meatballs to creamy spinach and avocado dips, you’ll find spinach in every nook and cranny of this list.
From super-trendy “green smoothies” bursting with greens to spinach guacamole (trust us, it’s delicious!) to salt and lime spinach chips (perfect for snacking!), every recipe is nutrition-filled green bomb of delight! You’ll be as strong as Popeye with this list of AIP-friendly spinach recipes.
Here are just a few of the AIP Spinach Recipes we’ve included:
- Spinach Basil Chicken Meatballs Recipe With Plum Balsamic Sauce
- Spinach and Pancetta Sauté
- Keto Garlic Spinach Sauté
- Avocado Green Smoothie
- Beet + Berry Detox Smoothie
If you click or tap any of the links above, it will instantly take you to the recipe below. Or download the entire list by clicking on the green button below.
AIP Spinach Recipes – Appetizers
Spinach Basil Chicken Meatballs Recipe With Plum Balsamic Sauce
– Paleo Flourish
Ingredients: chicken breasts, spinach, salt, basil leaves, garlic, olive oil, avocado oil, plums, balsamic vinegar, honey, water.
In my opinion, basil is one of the most aromatic herbs you can use and it adds freshness to a multitude of recipes. These tasty paleo-friendly meatballs would grace any table at dinner time and don’t take very long to prepare. They can also be helpful if your kids don’t eat vegetables, as you can hide the spinach in the mixture. These are just as good warm or cold and make great party food too!
Spinach-Avocado-Herb Dip
– Water and Rock Studio
Ingredients: spinach, hass avocados, basil, cilantro, yellow onion, garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, Himalayan sea salt.
Spinach is really rich in nutrients and using it in dips like this paleo one can be a good way to up your intake. The spinach is combined with avocado which adds healthy fats and gives the dip a smoother consistency. The garlic and herbs give a really deep flavor and this tastes great with veggie sticks. It is also a great color to serve on St. Patrick’s Day!
Paleo Spinach Artichoke Dip
– Empowered Sustenance
Photo Credit: Empowered Sustenance
Ingredients: coconut or avocado oil, onion, garlic, summer squash, chicken broth, artichoke hearts, nutritional yeast, mace, spinach.
Although the wonderful dip in this recipe is rich and creamy, it is totally dairy free and uses the vegetables to give the right texture. It has a subtle cheese flavor from the nutritional yeast and it may not need any added salt as the artichoke hearts are often in brine. This dip can be served with paleo pitta chips or vegetable crisps for a party or as an appetizer.
AIP Paleo Spinach Artichoke Dip
– The Health Nut Mama
Photo Credit: The Health Nut Mama
Ingredients: artichoke hearts, spinach, extra virgin olive oil, avocado oil or fat of choice, garlic, onion, coconut milk, nutritional yeast, sea salt, plantain chips or cucumber or carrot or celery.
Here is another slant on an old favorite that you can whip up next time you have folks round and need a dip to share. In this AIP and paleo-compliant recipe you are using coconut milk to add to the creamy texture and the dip has a chunky look. However if you prefer a smoother dip you can put it in the blender until smooth. This tastes great served with celery and carrot sticks.
Spinach Avocado Pesto
– Adventures in Partaking
Photo Credit: Adventures in Partaking
Ingredients: baby spinach, parsley, lemon, Haas avocado, sea salt or pink Himalayan salt, garlic, olive oil.
If you like the flavors of pesto but can’t have it on the AIP eating plan, here is a great alternative to try. This pesto is an amazing color and full of flavor from the garlic, lemon and spinach and is such a versatile dish. You can use this pesto as a dip with vegetable crudités, mix it into chicken salad or even use it to top your homemade burgers!
Simple Spinach Guacamole
– Healthy Life Redesign
Ingredients: avocado, fresh baby spinach, onion, garlic, lime juice, Herbamare or sea salt, pepper (omit).
Using spinach in guacamole increases the nutrients in the dish without detracting from the flavor. This simple recipe has all the flavors and textures of traditional guacamole and can be used wherever you want – to dress a salad, top a pizza or use as a dip with vegetable sticks. This dish has quite a vivid color and would be perfect to serve on St. Patrick’s Day.
Sea Salt & Lime Spinach Chips
– Primal Palate
Ingredients: lime, sea salt, spinach, extra virgin olive oil.
Vegetable chips are becoming more and more popular as a healthy alternative to potato chips, so why not rustle up a batch of these super-tasty spinach chips next time you have friends over! The sea salt and lime give these amazing paleo AIP chips a zingy flavor and they can be served as they are or with a dip. These are best eaten right away as they go softer when stored.
Oven-Baked Spinach Chips
– Popsugar
Ingredients: baby spinach, olive oil, garlic powder, sea salt.
This is a really healthy way to cook spinach chips as they are baked and not fried. They can be ready in about ten minutes so would be great if friends drop in unexpectedly. This is a good low carb snack as the spinach retains a lot of its nutritional value even after baking, and they are a fantastic way to increase the vegetable intake for the family.
Stuffed Zucchini Boats
– The Health Nut Mama
Photo Credit: The Health Nut Mama
Ingredients: zucchini, extra virgin olive oil, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, sea salt, hamburger, onion, garlic, kalamata olives, mushrooms, baby spinach.
Stuffed vegetables can be so appealing to look at and are a great way to serve simple ingredients like ground beef in a super-tasty way. These delicious zucchini boats are influenced by Italian cuisine and involve Italian seasoning and ingredients like olives which are common in Mediterranean cooking. However if you are like me and don’t like them, just leave them out!
AIP Spinach Recipes – Side Dishes
Spinach and Pancetta Sauté
– Paleo Flourish
Ingredients: pancetta, spinach.
If you have had a really busy day and need something quick and simple for dinner, this recipe is the one for you. It is tasty, healthy and filling but only takes a few minutes to make. This is a versatile dish as you could have it as a Paleo-friendly main or as a side for roast meats. I recommend you don’t season with salt as the pancetta is salty enough, and if you can’t get pancetta just use bacon!
Keto Garlic Spinach Sauté
– Keto Summit
Ingredients: avocado oil, spinach, garlic, salt.
Spinach is actually better for you when it is cooked as it releases more vitamins, so makes a great healthy side dish to serve with roast meats or fish. It goes well with the flavor of the garlic and is a quick and easy dish to prepare. Try serving this lovely side with your turkey at Thanksgiving or Christmas as a healthy alternative to some of the more traditional sides.
Wilted Baby Spinach
– The Curious Coconut
Photo Credit: The Curious Coconut
Ingredients: baby spinach, cooking fat, sea salt, black pepper (omit).
If you are not confident in the kitchen or you are new to cooking altogether, recipes like this one are invaluable! They are simple and easy to understand and explain how to cook simple dishes with ease. Wilted spinach is a regular Paleo side dish that can be used to serve with all sorts of meals, but is also packed with nutrition, so if you are starting out on the cookery journey, this would be a good place to start!
Simple Spinach Salad with Warm Bacon Dressing
– Adventures in Partaking
Ingredients: baby spinach, onion, strawberries, bacon, bacon fat, olive oil, lime juice, salt
In this great salad you are using baby spinach leaves and they are a milder flavor than regular spinach and a bit more palatable for kids. The bacon turns this from an AIP side into a main that would be good for a lunch or light supper dish and the strawberries add a bit of fruity sweetness.
Sautéed Spinach with Bacon and Garlic
– Paleohacks
Ingredients: spinach, bacon, garlic, salt, pepper (omit).
On the AIP diet it can be a challenge to keep coming up with new dishes to have for breakfast, so this recipe can help. It is a healthy bacon and spinach sauté with the added flavor of garlic and can also be served as a side with grilled meats or fish. It is a good idea to taste the sauté before you add in any extra salt as there is some saltiness from the bacon.
Easy Sautéed Spinach
– Feasting Not Fasting
Ingredients: baby spinach, olive oil, onion, garlic, black pepper (omit) salt, lemon juice.
This is one of those recipes that describe a simple and basic side that you can make in minutes. Although most of us know how good spinach is for us, it can be difficult to find enough variety in the dishes we make with it. So next time you are serving a nice piece of salmon or a simple chicken breast you can pair it with sautéed spinach to boost your greens.
Dairy Free Creamed Spinach
– Girl in Healing
Ingredients: garlic, yellow onion, olive oil, tapioca flour, coconut milk, baby spinach, sea salt.
Creamed spinach has been a popular side dish for many years but it usually involved using heavy cream which is not tolerated in the autoimmune protocol, so here is a dairy free alternative that still gives that lovely creaminess. This dish has a rich texture and would make a great side to serve with turkey at Thanksgiving, but it goes really well with fish too.
Turmeric Spinach
– AIP Lifestyle
Ingredients: baby spinach, coconut oil, turmeric, lemon juice, salt, avocado, kumquats or mandarin.
If you are a fan of spinach you will know that it is packed with nutrients, so cooking it with turmeric can only boost its healthy qualities. If you can find fresh turmeric you will realize that it is quite expensive to buy, so just buy a little and it can be stored in the freezer like fresh ginger, then grated frozen when required. In this AIP recipe you are pairing the spinach with fruits but it can go well with meats too.
AIP Creamed Spinach with Opo Squash
– Sycamore House
Ingredients: coconut milk, mace, garlic powder, onion powder, dried marjoram, nutritional yeast, bone broth, sea salt, opo squash, coconut oil or lard or duck fat, spinach.
With all the added herbs and spices in this creamed spinach side, the flavor is boosted to a whole new level, making it a great side dish for steaks or chicken dishes. In our family it is also served along with pork chops and because of the creamy sauce it even goes down well with the younger members of the family. You should be able to find Opo squash at your local Asian market.
AIP Spinach Recipes – Main Dishes
Paleo Chicken Noodle Soup with Spinach
– Indu’s International Kitchen
Ingredients: olive oil or coconut oil, red onion, celery, carrot, sea salt, ginger, black peppercorns (omit), water, chicken thighs, spinach, broccoli, mushrooms, dried sweet potato noodles.
There are a lot of Asian influences in this paleo recipe because of the ginger and garlic and although this is not strictly an AIP-compliant recipe, the options to make it AIP are clearly stated. The soup is hearty and filling because of the noodles and this would be great for a tasty lunch. There are two cooking methods listed here but I find the stove top soup has a richer flavor.
Fennel and Spinach Soup
– Healing Family Eats
Photo Credit: Healing Family Eats
Ingredients: lard or other solid fat, red onion, fennel bulb, lemon juice, spinach, chicken broth, salt.
Because fennel has an aniseed flavor it is one of the best herbs to use with spinach dishes like this tasty soup as it offsets the earthy flavor of the spinach. This recipe is AIP-compliant and does not involve dairy. It also looks really impressive garnished with the chopped fennel fronds and would be great as an appetizer for a dinner party. You can also add in coconut milk if you like your soup a bit creamier.
Sausage, “Potato” and Spinach Soup
– Sweet Potatoes & Social Change
Photo Credit: Sweet Potatoes & Social Change
Ingredients: olive oil, ground pork, salt, dried sage, dried thyme, garlic, onion, oregano, basil, chicken broth, bay leaf, white sweet potatoes or Japanese sweet potatoes, baby spinach, coconut cream.
If you like your soup to be filling enough to serve as a main course, you might enjoy this protein-rich paleo and AIP recipe for sausage soup. It has the added flavors of fresh basil and oregano, which can leave a lovely aroma in the kitchen. If you find it hard to source white sweet potatoes then the yellow ones would work here but might make a slight difference to the overall flavor.
Skins with A Sweet Potato Vinaigrette
– Sweet Potatoes & Social Change
Photo Credit: Sweet Potatoes & Social Change
Ingredients: sweet potatoes, chicken breasts, bacon, spinach, yellow onion, garlic, dried oregano, dried ginger, sea salt, olive oil, balsamic vinegar.
If you like baked sweet potatoes you are going to love this recipe for stuffed skins as it is a tasty lunch dish that is completely autoimmune protocol-compliant. The stuffing is made from cooked chicken and bacon with spinach and the sweet potato flesh, then you are making a balsamic sauce to top it all off, and the balsamic vinegar adds richness to the flavors of the fillings.
Lamb, Bacon & Spinach Burgers
– Adventures in Partaking
Photo Credit: Adventures in Partaking
Ingredients: ground lamb, spinach, garlic flakes, green onion, mint, Himalayan salt, cinnamon, bacon, olive oil.
If you have problems getting the family to eat spinach it can be a good idea to ‘hide’ it in soups or dips, but you could also make these delicious burgers! The lamb and bacon give these AIP burgers a wonderful meaty texture, and the kids won’t even notice the spinach if you don’t tell them. They can be served on portobello mushroom ‘buns’ or on slices of zucchini and topped with whatever toppings you like.
Tuna Spinach Salad with Lemon and Olive Oil
– My Big Fat Grain Free Life
Ingredients: spinach, albacore tuna, extra virgin olive oil, lemons, sea salt, garlic powder.
This is a simple AIP-friendly salad that is full of fresh flavors and would be perfect for a light lunch. It combines tuna with spinach and a citrus and oil dressing to give you a zingy hit to offset the fattiness of the tuna. This is a grain and gluten free recipe that is also suitable for the Paleo diet. Canned tuna can be bought quite cheaply, making this recipe really budget-friendly too.
Lemon-Garlic Shrimp with Zucchini Noodles and Spinach
– Livin’ the Crunchy Life
Ingredients: zucchini, shrimp, extra virgin olive oil, garlic, parsley, lemon juice, lemon zest, coconut oil, baby spinach, salt.
Zucchini noodles are gradually taking the place of traditional pasta for Paleo and AIP followers, and personally I prefer them now as they can carry all the flavors of the sauce without causing any inflammatory issues. I don’t really like al dente vegetables, so I increase the cooking time for the zoodles, but feel free to cook them to taste. They make the perfect side for these delicious shrimp with their garlic and lemon sauce!
Spinach Meatloaf
– Wholehearted & Healthy
Ingredients: ground beef, spinach, onion, garlic, coconut oil, coconut flour, mace, Himalayan salt.
There are no eggs used in this meatloaf, making it ideal for AIP followers, and it is a good way to get spinach into the family! You will probably find that most meatloaves taste as good if not better second day, so there is no reason why leftovers would go to waste. This loaf can be sliced and frozen to give you lunch for the week or it can be served right away with veggies for a hearty family meal.
Plantain Beef Stew
– Lichen Paleo, Loving AIP
Ingredients: stewing beef or moose, arrowroot, Himalayan pink salt, avocado oil, onion, celery, carrots, green plantains, baby spinach, parsley, pumpkin, bone broth, cloves, garlic.
When you see the picture of this delicious AIP stew it will remind you of the comfort food we were given on chilly days! It is thick and satisfying and because it is cooked in an Instant Pot it can be ready in under an hour and the beef will be tender and moist. This is a great example of how to use plantain in a savory dish and it helps to make the beef go further which cuts down the cost.
AIP Spinach Recipes – Smoothies
Collagen-Berry Green Smoothie
– Autoimmune Wellness
Photo Credit: Autoimmune Wellness
Ingredients: banana, water, berries, coconut concentrate, collagen, spinach.
This is a very healthy green smoothie that is not green – a great idea for getting spinach into kids who don’t ‘do’ veggies! As this recipe is not strictly AIP-friendly because of the added collagen, it is advisable to only have this one occasionally. If you have digestive problems with bananas or coconut then these can simply be replaced with some avocado which will make it even creamier.
Green Smoothie
– It’s All About AIP
Photo Credit: It’s All About AIP
Ingredients: coconut water, coconut milk, collagen hydrolysate, honey, coconut oil, coconut manna/butter, lemon juice, pear, orange, celery, kale or spinach.
Because this AIP green smoothie is not a vivid color and looks more natural and less grassy than some, you might find the family are more willing to try this one. It has sweetness from the pear and a good hit of citrus from the orange, which also gives freshness to the drink. I prefer to make this one with spinach rather than kale as it has a milder flavor.
Tropical Winter Smoothie
– It’s All About AIP
Photo Credit: It’s All About AIP
Ingredients: coconut milk, water or coconut water, coconut butter, tigernut flour, honey, cinnamon, baby spinach, raspberries, cranberries, pineapple, bananas, strawberries, ice cubes.
This is a popular AIP smoothie with the younger generation as it takes its color from the berries and they don’t even notice the spinach! This is a fresh and flavorful drink that you can use as a snack between meals and it is a true taste of summer whenever you choose to make it. It also freezes well, so you can turn the mix into creamsicles for summer days.
Avocado Green Smoothie
– Paleo Flourish
Ingredients: avocado, banana, coconut milk or water, greens of your choice, ice.
Green paleo smoothies are packed with nutrients and fiber and can be very filling, keeping you going all morning, and this one definitely will. The consistency will be quite thick, but smooth and creamy as you are using avocado and banana as the base, but you can water it down by adding more coconut milk if you prefer. The banana also adds a natural sweetness.
AIP Morning Smoothie
– The Paleo Mom
Photo Credit: Sarah from The Paleo Mom
Ingredients: banana, avocado, vegetable juice or water, leafy greens, Vital Proteins Collagen Peptides.
If you are a fan of green shakes and are following AIP, then this recipe is suitable for you. It does taste very green, so if you prefer a lighter flavor, cut down slightly on the kale and increase the amount of lettuce and banana. Green smoothies are a great way to wake up your system in the morning or to use to boost your energy levels after a workout.
Beet + Berry Detox Smoothie
– Grazed & Enthused
Photo Credit: Grazed & Enthused
Ingredients: baby spinach, berries, beets, coconut milk, water, Wild Foods Wild Vanilla Powder, lemon juice.
Many AIP smoothies like this one have been used to detox your system and get your digestion to work properly, and I find they can be really helpful especially when you are starting out on the auto-immune journey. Beets are a great source of folate and are recommended for pregnant ladies, but anyone can benefit from their high levels of vitamins too. You can use whatever berries you have in this refreshing smoothie.
Coconut Mango Spinach Smoothie
– Green Thickies
Ingredients: coconut milk, mango, water, spinach or Amazing Green Powder, maple syrup, protein powder of choice.
It is a really clever idea to use coconut milk cubes for this recipe as they chill the drink but don’t water it down, so you can keep the smoothie thick. This AIP-friendly smoothie has a really tropical flavor from the coconut and mango which can help to mask the flavor of the greens of you have picky people in the family! This can also be thickened by adding some avocado to boost the level of healthy fats.
Super-Dooper AIP Paleo Smoothie
– Autoimmune Response
Ingredients: banana, blueberries, pineapple, baby spinach, kale, chard, dates, kombucha, coconut milk yogurt, water.
If you are pushed for time in the morning or just find it difficult to eat first thing, then AIP smoothies can come to the rescue, giving you all the vitamins and nutrients you need to get you through the morning. This one is really tasty and uses dates to give natural sweetness and a richness to the flavor, and the pineapple adds a lovely tropical taste.
Green Pina Colada Smoothie
– LeelaLicious
Ingredients: coconut milk, spinach, banana, pineapple.
This pina colada is packed full of tropical flavors from the pineapple and coconut and can be served in a decorated glass for an impressive drink to serve to friends. However, the goodness from the spinach means that this AIP smoothie is actually a great choice for breakfast as it gives the system a boost with the vitamins and iron, and slow-release energy from the banana.
