Chilled sesame spinach is a simple recipe that turns spinach and sesame seeds into the perfect cool summer side dish. Healthy and delicious!
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Why we love this recipe ❤️
This chilled sesame spinach is probably my favorite way to eat a side dish of spinach.
Cool. A simple sesame and soy sauce adding just the right amount of tangy flavor. Super easy to make. I mean, what more can you ask from a spinach recipe?
Please don’t tell the corn and the tomatoes (their turn will come!)…but for now chilled sesame spinach wins the day. Let’s make it!
Ingredients you need 🥬
Ingredient notes and substitutions 📝
- Spinach: We like baby spinach for this recipe, but you can also use regular large leaf spinach…just chop it into bite-sized pieces after you cook it. And if it isn’t pre-washed, give it a good rinse to get any sandy dirt out.
- Sesame Oil: This super flavorful oil is usually in the international aisle of your supermarket.
- Rice Vinegar: This slightly sweet vinegar is also either in the international aisle, or with the other vinegars. You can also use white wine vinegar.
- Sesame Seeds: Look for these flavorful little seeds in the spice aisle.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities and nutritional information.
How to make this recipe 👩🏻🍳
You can make this dish with any kind of spinach, but I like baby spinach the best. It’s nice and tender, and you can usually get it pre-washed, which saves you the step of rinsing and also cutting all the stems off of the bigger spinach leaves.
STEP 1: Fill a large mixing bowl with ice water.
STEP 2: Dunk your spinach leaves into some briskly boiling salted water just until it is wilted, which is literally going to take all of about 30 seconds.
Dump it into a strainer and then transfer it to a bowl of ice water – this is where the chilling down starts!
STEP 3: Swirl it around for another 30 seconds and then drain it again. Now using your hands, squeeze every drop of liquid you can get out of it – and when you are done, squeeze it once again for good luck. Spinach is absorbent stuff!
If you have used big spinach leaves transfer it to a cutting board and give it a nice rough chop and pop it into a mixing bowl while you whisk up the sauce. If you have used baby spinach it can go right to the bowl.
STEP 4: The sauce is a quick mixture of sesame oil, soy sauce and rice wine vinegar. Whisk it up in a small bowl.
STEP 5: Pour your delectable dressing over the spinach, toss it throughout the spinach with tongs, sprinkle in some sesame seeds and that’s it! Your perfect summer side dish is finished.
Recipe FAQs 🧐
Sesame oil is made from, yep sesame seeds! It is usually used as a finishing oil in dressings and marinades, but not for high-heat frying because it burns easily. It has a lovely smooth consistency and smells HEAVENLY!
Rice wine vinegar is a vinegar produced from fermented rice or rice wine, and it is widely used in various Asian cuisines. It’s slightly sweeter than regular white vinegar.
You bet! It can be refrigerated for up to 2 days. I, however, have trouble not eating it between mixing in the sesame seeds and putting it on the plate, that’s how good it is. If you love spinach, that is. 🥰
Pop your question in the Comments section under the recipe card and I will answer pronto!
Equipment we used for this recipe 🥣
These are some of my favorite kitchen tools! These are Amazon affiliate links, which means I get a little something if you buy through my links at no extra cost to you. (Which helps pay for all that bacon I keep buying! 😄) And I only share things I use and love. I’m so grateful for your support!
- Measuring Spoons: These handy magnetic spoons are not on a ring, so you can just pick the one you need.
- Cutting Board: These sturdy, dishwasher-safe cutting boards come in all different sizes.
- Large Pot: We have a lot of these but this is our fave!
- Pyrex Mixing Bowls: These classic sturdy bowls come in all different sizes and are great for everything from mixing ingredients to being casual serving bowls.
- Tongs: We have this essential kitchen tool in all sizes from short to extra long.
- Strainer: This classic version is just right for these potatoes and your favorite pasta recipe (one of ours is pasta with egg sauce!)
What to serve with this recipe 🍽️
This is an amazing side dish to serve up with grilled steak or chicken, or on the side of a pasta dish. And don’t forget dessert (blueberry cheesecake squares, anyone?)
Other side dish recipes we love! ❤️
We want to know what you think! 🤔
If you try this recipe, we would love to hear how it came out for you! I’d be super grateful if you could leave a star rating (you pick how many stars! 🌟 ) and your thoughts in the Comments section below the recipe card.
Chilled Sesame Spinach
Chilled sesame spinach is a simple recipe that turns spinach and sesame seeds into the perfect cool summer side dish. Healthy and delicious!
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 minute
- Total Time: 16 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: Side Dish
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Asian
- Diet: Vegetarian
Ingredients
- Salt
- 2 pounds baby spinach, washed
- 1 1/2 tablespoons sesame oil
- 1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 3 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 3 tablespoons sesame seeds
Instructions
- Fill a large bowl with ice water, set aside.
- Bring a large pot of water to boil, season with salt. Add spinach and cook until just wilted, about 30 seconds. Drain immediately in colander and plunge into ice water.
- Let spinach cool completely for about 30 seconds, tossing it around with tongs, and then drain it again. Using your hands, squeeze excess water out of spinach. When you think you are done squeezing, do it one more time. Spinach is absorbent stuff!
- Put your spinach in a mixing bowl and set it aside while you make the dressing.
- Whisk together the sesame oil, soy sauce and rice vinegar. (I do this while the water is boiling).
- Add the dressing and sesame seeds to the spinach and toss it until everything is nicely combined.
Notes
-
- Spinach: We like baby spinach for this recipe, but you can also use regular large leaf spinach…just chop it into bite-sized pieces before you cook it. And if it isn’t pre-washed, give it a good rinse to get any sandy dirt out.
-
- Sesame Oil: This super flavorful oil is usually in the international aisle of your supermarket.
-
- Rice Vinegar: This slightly sweet vinegar is also either in the international aisle, or with the other vinegars. You can also use white wine vinegar.
-
- Sesame Seeds: Look for these flavorful little seeds in the spice aisle.
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