This extremely tasty spinach casserole made with German-style creamed spinach (Rahmspinat in German), pasta, and bratwurst is SO GOOD! And it's ready in just over half an hour!
I wasn't always a spinach fan, but became one after trying garlicky, creamed spinach at a friend's house. Now I love it so much, I made it the star of this pasta casserole. The savory, browned bratwurst meatballs are pushing this meal over the top and I know you and your family are going to love it!
You can optionally bake this casserole in a large, oven-safe pan to save on cleanup!
If you love this easy spinach recipe with clear step-by-step instructions, also check out my Maultaschen (German stuffed pasta with spinach) or my super delicious Turkish pide (flatbread boats) with spinach and feta.
How to make spinach casserole
- You'll start by making your bratwurst meatballs using uncooked bratwurst, removing the casings, and shaping them into balls. Cook them in a large skillet (use an oven-safe skillet if you want to save on cleanup) for about 10 minutes or until browned from all sides.
- In the meantime, boil some pasta (I like fettuccine) until al dente.
- Prepare your creamed spinach using tons of fresh or frozen spinach, onion, garlic, cream, cream cheese, and vegetable bouillon, blending the mixture until smooth.
- Toss the cooked noodles in the spinach and add the meatballs on top.
- Top with the gruyere cheese and broil for a few minutes. Finish with some finely grated parmesan or pecorino cheese before serving.
This spinach pasta bake is such a tasty way to sneak tasty veggies into your meals! I know your kids will love this, too, as this garlicky, creamed spinach turned me into a spinach lover.
Ingredients
The ingredients for making a spinach casserole recipe aren't fancy by any means, but they are effective at drawing out the BEST flavor!
- Spinach. I use SO MUCH fresh spinach for this recipe! You could also use frozen spinach instead.
- Butter. For cooking the onion and garlic.
- Onion. I use yellow onion for this recipe.
- Garlic. I always use fresh garlic for all of my cooking and my garlic press is my best friend.
- Bouillon. Using bouillon is a great way to get tons of flavor in this spinach casserole without watering down a dish. Use either the cubes or the paste.
- Cream. I use heavy whipping cream.
- Cream Cheese. I use regular cream cheese but feel free to use a low-fat version.
- Nutmeg. My Oma Inge inspired me to always add freshly ground nutmeg to my meals. It's perfect in this spinach casserole, and this nutmeg grinder looks so stunning on our counter.
- Cheese. I use a mixture of gruyère (an aged Swiss cheese) and parmesan cheese for this meal.
- Bratwurst. Use an uncooked bratwurst, so you can remove the casing and shape it into meatballs. I used a beer bratwurst for this recipe.
- Pasta. I love using fettuccine for this meal, but tagliatelle or bucatini are amazing options, too. You can really use any pasta shape you like.
Is spinach healthy?
This spinach casserole also is full of vitamins and minerals like vitamins A and C, potassium, and iron! And they mostly come from the crazy amount of spinach you're using. So eat up and feel good about this super creamy, spinach-garlicky pasta dish! My kids love it too, and I bet you could turn any spinach skeptic into a spinach lover with this casserole!
Can I use frozen spinach?
As for the spinach in this casserole, feel free to sub out with frozen spinach instead. It doesn't matter if it's chopped or whole-leaf spinach because you will blend it in the process. In total, you will use about 1 pound of spinach (fresh or frozen).
More creamed spinach serving suggestions
You can also skip the pasta and the bratwurst and serve the creamed spinach with Bratkartoffeln or boiled potatoes and a fried egg like we often did growing up!
Want the noodles to be more German? Make a batch of German egg noodles called Spätzle instead!
Feel inspired to make your own German-style bratwurst? Make my bratwurst recipe using ground pork and bacon and skip stuffing them, which is the hardest part anyway!
German Spinach Casserole (with pasta and bratwurst)
Equipment
- Oven-safe skillet or casserole dish Make sure it's high heat safe since you're using the broiler of your oven, such as this cast iron skillet I linked.
Ingredients
- 500 g pasta fettuccine or tagliatelle or bucatini
- 200 g fresh, raw bratwurst from the meat counter or you can make my Bratwurst recipe (freeze what you're not using)
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 450 g fresh spinach that's one giant clamshell, reserve one handful to fold in with pasta before baking. Can also use frozen (same weight)
- 1 yellow onion Medium sized onion. Medium dice.
- 1 garlic clove Minced
- 1.5 teaspoon vegetable bouillon I like using bouillon paste.
- 150 ml heavy whipping cream
- 100 g cream cheese
- freshly grated nutmeg to taste
- salt and pepper to taste
- 75 g gruyère cheese finely grated, add before broiling
- 50 g parmesan cheese finely grated, add after broiling
Instructions
- Remove the casing from the bratwurst and shape into meatballs. In an oven-safe, extra large skillet (such as the cast iron one I linked), cook over medium heat until browned from all sides, about 10 minutes.If you don't have a high-temperature, oven-safe skillet, transfer your meal to a casserole dish before going in the oven.
- In the meantime, sautee the onion in the butter over medium heat until translucent, about 2 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
- Now turn the heat to low, stir in the spinach and let it wilt in steps until it's all worked in. Reserve one handful of spinach to fold in with the pasta before baking.
- Add the cream and blend (I like to use an immersion blender for this) until smooth.
- Add in the vegetable bouillon and cream cheese and heat until all the cream cheese has incorporated. Season with salt, pepper and freshly ground nutmeg.
- Cook the pasta according to directions (cook to al dente, so on the low end of the recommended time).
- Add the cooked pasta to the spinach mixture and stir together, adding the reserved handful of spinach.
- Transfer to a casserole dish if your pan is not oven-safe.
- Top with the meatballs and gruyère cheese, then bake for 20 to 30 minutes. Top with freshly grated parmesan cheese.
