How To Store Spinach & Keep It Fresh

If you’re like most people, you go through spinach pretty quickly. It’s a great leafy green to have on hand for salads, sandwiches, and smoothies, but it can be tough to keep fresh once you’ve brought it home. Do you know how to store spinach, so it lasts longer?

To store spinach correctly, you shouldn’t wash it. Simply dust off any dirt and remove slimy and decaying leaves. Then layer the fresh leaves between paper towels and store them in a sealed plastic bag. It won’t last as long if your spinach is wet or wilted.

How To Store Spinach

The best way to store spinach is by keeping it dry without stemming. So, here’s how to store spinach when you get home from the grocery store:

1. Remove your spinach from whatever you bought it in.
2. Remove bad leaves. This includes slimy, yellow, or discolored leaves.
3. Shake off any clumps of dirt or foreign debris.
4. Ensure your spinach is as dry as possible. Carefully blot excess moisture off the leaves. Be careful not to bruise them, as this will cause them to spoil more quickly.
5. Wrap the leaves in clean paper towels or in a clean tea towel. You can place a couple layers of spinach per layer of paper towel. The toweling will absorb any excess moisture once the spinach is in the fridge, ensuring it stays fresh.
6. Put the spinach in a clean, sealable container. This can be a new plastic bag, a container with a lid, or even the clamshell you purchased it in. Airtight is best for spinach but is not required.
7. Store the spinach in the crisper part of your fridge for up to seven days.

How To Keep Spinach Fresh Longer

Here are a few tips to remember to help your spinach stay fresh for a longer:

Always buy the freshest spinach you can find with an expiration date well ahead of your shopping date. If there are any signs of spoilage, pass on it.

If you aren’t eating the spinach regularly, check on it every day or two. It’s important not to eat spinach that has gone bad.

Discard any darkened or “slimy” textured leaves immediately. Dry the remaining spinach if it isn’t already dry, and put it back in the fridge.

If you aren’t going to use it right away, don’t wash it. The extra washing, rinsing, stemming, and handling will cause it to spoil more quickly. Wait until the day that you are ready to eat it, then wash your spinach.

Be gentle with it, particularly if you purchased baby spinach in a bag. The more the leaves get banged and bumped, the quicker they will spoil. Any bruising will speed up the decaying process.

Store spinach in a crisper if possible to prolong its shelf life, as it keeps the temperature and moisture more controlled than the rest of the fridge.

Do You Have To Wash Bagged Spinach?

It depends on whether the bagged spinach is prewashed, but I always wash it.

I’ve found that even when I purchase organic spinach in a bag, there’s still some dirt or unwanted leaves. So it’s best to give it a good rinse and look over it before eating.

How To Keep Spinach From Getting Slimy

To keep spinach from getting slimy, you shouldn’t wash it until you’re ready to eat it.

You should also eat it within a few days of purchasing it and ensure it’s stored in a dry environment.

If you have too much spinach, you can blanch it and freeze it.

How To Keep Spinach From Wilting

To keep spinach from wilting, you should store it in the crisper drawer of your fridge in a sealed container.

Some moisture is okay to keep them alive, but just not sitting on the leaves themselves.

If they have wilted when you’re ready to use them for cooking, place them in a cold water bath to bring them back.

How To Store Spinach In The Fridge

Equipment

• 1 Roll Of Paper Towels
• 1 Plastic Container or Sealable Plastic Bag
• 1 Roll Of Plastic Wrap

Ingredients

• 1 Package Spinach

Instructions

• Unpack spinach from package.
• Remove bad leaves and debris.
• Remove dirt.
• Blot dry with paper towels.
• Layer spinach and new paper towels.
• Place in clean container and cover with lid or plastic wrap. Optional: place in sealable plastic bag.
• Store in refrigerator.