This entire week I’ve been thinking of what type of fish I should make for the weekend. I almost just said “Forget it…” until I decided to test out a recipe that I saw The Defined Dish‘s, Alex, post on her Instagram.

Creamy Spinach Stuffed Salmon.

Before we get started, you can find this recipe right -> here!

The main reason I attempted this recipe was because I was honestly a little skeptical of stuffed salmon as I’ve never made it like that. Perfect. This would be my first attempt, which gave me that great burst of excitement, but also a healthy amount of stress.

From watching Alex’s post on Instagram for this recipe, I noticed that she served the stuffed salmon alone and without any other side dish. I think I’m more used to a “traditional” plate including at least 1-2 sides, which is why I was doubtful of it being filling. Let me stop you all right here. This stuffed salmon is ABSOLUTELY filling enough without having any other side on the plate.

I served this on a smaller plate and it looked like a whopping portion. The mind sees what it wants to see–but in all seriousness. The creamy spinach definitely fills you up, I promise.

Finding The Right Cut Of Salmon

One of the most important parts of this dish is the actual cut of salmon. You can’t use just any portion of fillet. You want it to be thick enough to be cut through halfway, so it can be stuffed. The reason I almost didn’t make this recipe was because I wasn’t sure if Whole Foods would have the cut I needed. Luckily, the fishmonger had an awesome selection of Atlantic Salmon fillets that were the perfect thickness. He cut a nice center-cut portion for me to make 2, 8 oz, portions. Thanks for the help, Mark!

At that point I still pondered if I should have maybe grabbed 3 portions, but ended up with listening to the recipe and stuck with 2.

Making The Filling

The recipe calls for using frozen spinach and dairy-free cream cheese. For this first attempt, I bought regular cream cheese, although now that this worked out so well, I would like to retry to this with dairy-free cream cheese.

In general, I prefer spinach to be lightly wilted, so I don’t often use frozen spinach, but this ended up being alright! Make sure that you drain as much liquid from the spinach as possible. You want this mixture creamy, not liquid. If you fail to drain the spinach, then your mixture may not come together as well. I didn’t have cheesecloth, so I ended up using paper towels and that allowed me to rid the spinach of the majority of the liquid.

Once all the ingredients are measured out in a bowl, combine them together and keep mixing until the cream cheese isn’t in clumps, but spreading evenly around all the spinach. When you take a bite of the stuffed salmon, you’ll want a forkful of all those delicious spices.

Cooking Times Do Vary, Friends…

The cooking instructions on the recipe were nice and clear, but because our oven is sometimes a bit finicky, I have to keep a close eye on cooking times. The recipe called for the stuffed salmon to be baked for 12 minutes at 400 F. At 12 minutes, the salmon was no longer raw, but could still use a few more minutes. I baked the salmon for a total of 14 minutes and achieved the right level of doneness.

Grey’s Grade: 5/5

Often times I feel like cooking with fish is a hit or a miss, but a lot of that depends on the flavor combinations. Some flavors work well with a certain kind of fish while others don’t. This recipe for Creamy Spinach Stuffed Salmon finally hit all of my requirements. This was so simple and didn’t take long to make. Prep time was under 10 minutes and cooking time was 14. That brings us a total of 24 minutes in the kitchen before being able to sit down at the dinner table and dig in.

If you’re looking for a meal with minimal ingredients that’s bursting with flavor, then you must give this one a try. It’s different because I don’t often stuff salmon, but all my expectations were blown away, truly. I didn’t find the need for another side dish and I was comfortably full after eating my portion.

My friends, this is another winner from The Defined Dish.

Now I hope that you take this as a great sign that this blogger truly shares some delightful recipes. Let this be that nudge today to try something new in the kitchen.

As always, happy nomming!

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