Spinach lends an eye-popping color spectrum and a ton of nutrition to soups and casseroles. However, spinach isn’t all-time available and remain fresh longer to be used in a soup. So, what about a great substitute for spinach in soup?
Well, it’s not a big deal to replace spinach because a variety of leafy green veggies available out there. You just have to know which alternative will work the best instead of spinach in soup.
Here, we made your replacement easy and quick by giving a collection of substitutes you can use in your recipes anytime. So, let’s move ahead.
Substitute For Spinach In Soup
Fresh spinach leaves are a splendid addition to soups owing to their delicate texture, flavor, and nutrition level. So, everyone wants to cook with spinach but its unavailability seems the real problem at the point of making a food dish.
This inaccessibility might be due to the shortage of spinach in your refrigerator or simply spinach went out of season. If you face this problem every now and then, you can use other alternatives to spinach.
For instance, frozen spinach, kale, iceberg lettuce, watercress, collard greens, and escarole are the most common and closest replacements.
However, some other substitute options may also prove helpful in soup such as romaine lettuce, arugula, curly endive, Swiss chard, and green asparagus.
1. Frozen Spinach
Frozen spinach can perfectly replace fresh spinach in soup. This is because prolonged soup cooking makes spinach leaves delicate and flavorful similar to fresh spinach. However, it may not work well in food dishes other than soup.
You can either buy the frozen packs of spinach or use the stored spinach you have placed in the freezer earlier. For soups, add spinach without thawing and you’ll end with a deliciously satisfying soup.
2. Kale
Kale is a great alternative when both fresh and frozen spinach isn’t on hand. Although it belongs to a distinct family, the mustard family, it’s similarly nutritious and flavorful as spinach.
Kale leaves are thick and coarser than spinach that blend wonderfully in soup. So, add kale to the soup in place of spinach to get the same greenish look and flavor.
3. Iceberg Lettuce
Iceberg lettuce is not as green as spinach but gives a nice light greenish shade to the soup. It’s mostly common in salads and consumed fresh and crunchy. However, it’s also a good substitute for spinach in soup when you’re craving something special and delicious.
The mild, sweet and peppery flavor of iceberg lettuce compliment well with other soup ingredients enough to delight you incredibly.
4. Watercress
Watercress is another green veggie of the mustard family and rich in essential nutrients and vitamins. Besides its nutrition level, its flavor is also closer to the spinach leaves with a different texture though.
People prefer it to use in cooking recipes rather than incorporating into salads and sandwiches. And in soups, it works as good as spinach in terms of flavor and eye-catching color.
5. Collard Greens
Collard greens offer a balanced combination of kale and cabbage flavor when used in soups. So, it’s an obvious and reasonable substitution for spinach in terms of flavor as well as nutrition.
Collard greens are easily available fresh, bagged, and frozen to make your staple recipes crazy and amazingly luscious.
6. Escarole
Escarole is a curly and thick version of regular lettuce common in a variety of food dishes. It’s versatile and flavorful enough to even replace spinach in soups and casseroles too.
So, pick up escarole if have it on the pantry to give your soups spinach-like flavor and delicate texture.
Other Substitute For Spinach In Soup
Besides all the above-listed alternatives, there are also a lot more interesting options to try in place of spinach. Here, we cover such substitutes to make your cooking experience broad and even more exciting.
1. Green Asparagus
Can you think of replacing spinach with green asparagus in soup? If not, you can try it once and find out the outstanding flavorful soup recipe.
Green asparagus, as well as green asparagus substitutes, work well instead of spinach. So, twist your recipes slight and enjoy a new flavor profile deliciously.
2. Arugula
Arugula offers a quite similar taste and texture to spinach but in a lighter intensity. So, one can enjoy a light, leafy green, and peppery flavor of arugula in soups and even in salads or other food dishes.
3. Curly Endive
Curly endive is all-time the best replacement for spinach in soup. It has a similar texture to regular lettuce with stronger taste notes.
Curly endive makes the nutrient profile of your dish higher and also lends a greenish look very close to spinach.
4. Swiss Chard
Swiss chard is a great substitute for people who’re creative enough to drive their recipes toward the next level. This is because it has a different flavor profile with a spinach-like texture and color.
Its mind-blowing earthy and peppery flavor with fresh aroma pair well in soups and other casseroles.
So, substituting spinach in soup and other recipes isn’t remain challenging when one knows all the possible substitutes.
