Spinach Powder - Enjoy The Health Benefits All Year Long

Spinach is an exceptionally healthy leafy green vegetable that is absolutely packed with vitamins, minerals, and powerful antioxidants. Unfortunately, spinach has a very short shelf life, so it can be difficult to enjoy its nutritional benefits year-round. That's why turning your spinach into a shelf-stable powder is such a great idea.

In this comprehensive guide, you'll learn how simple and easy it is to make your own spinach powder right at home using your oven. With just a few basic pieces of kitchen equipment and some fresh spinach leaves, you can make enough bright green spinach powder to reap the rewards of this superfood for months to come.

Why Make Spinach Powder?

The Immense Nutritional Value Spinach powder gives you a highly concentrated form of all the nutrition found in fresh spinach leaves. Just one ounce of spinach powder is nutritionally equivalent to an entire bag of fresh spinach. It contains substantial amounts of vitamin A, vitamin K, folate, magnesium, iron, and manganese along with numerous antioxidants.

Having a supply of spinach powder makes it easy to add a mega-dose of nutrients to your smoothies, soups, sauces, baked goods, and more. Just a spoonful or two provides tremendous health benefits.

Increased Shelf Life Fresh spinach leaves last less than a week when properly stored in the refrigerator. Spinach powder, on the other hand, keeps its nutrient content intact for 6 months or longer when stored in an airtight container in a cool, dry, dark place.

You don't have to worry about your spinach going bad before you get a chance to eat it. And you can have nutrient-packed spinach whenever you want, regardless of the season.

More Uses For Spinach

Because spinach reduces so significantly when dehydrated and ground into powder, it can be seamlessly incorporated into more types of recipes. The mild spinach flavor blends smoothly into both sweet and savory foods and beverages.

Some tasty ways to use your homemade spinach powder include:

Smoothies, juice, and health shakes

Soups, sauces, and gravies

Pestos, dips, and hummus

Omelets, frittatas, and scrambled eggs

Pancakes, muffins, breads, and other baked goods

Homemade crackers and energy bars

Casseroles and pasta dishes

Guacamole and green salsas

Equipment You'll Need Dehydrator The best way to make spinach powder is by using a food dehydrator. Food dehydrators are specially designed to remove moisture slowly at a low, even temperature. This preserves nutrients and gives you excellent powder quality. Spread fresh spinach leaves across dehydrator trays in a single layer and set the temperature between 95 to 115° F.

Oven If you don't have a dehydrator, don't worry. Your oven works nearly as well. The key is keeping the temperature low and leaving the oven door propped open to encourage moisture escape.

High-Speed Blender or Food Processor A powerful blender or food processor makes quick work of grinding the crispy dried spinach leaves into a fine powder. A standard home blender will also get the job done, it just takes a bit longer to achieve a super-fine texture.

Mortar and Pestle For small batches of spinach powder, you can also grind the leaves using a mortar and pestle. Crush and grind in batches for best efficiency.

Containers for Storage You'll want some airtight glass jars or storage containers for your finished spinach powder. Keeping it in an opaque container in a cool cupboard or pantry prevents degradation from heat, light, and air.

How To Make Spinach Powder

Step 1. Rinse and Dry Spinach Rinse fresh spinach leaves and shake off excess moisture. Lay leaves on a lint-free kitchen towel or paper towels and pat the tops dry. Remove thick stems or any wilted leaves - your end product will have more flavor and better texture if you start with just the rich green leafy parts.

Step 2. Spread on Dehydrator Trays or Baking Sheets
For a dehydrator: Lay a single layer of spinach leaves directly onto open mesh trays, making sure none of the leaves overlap.

For the oven: Line baking sheets with parchment paper and spread leaves out in a thin layer on top. Make sure no leaves are overlapping.

Step 3. Dehydrate or Bake at Low Temperature Place trays in your dehydrator set to 105° F and let spinach leaves dehydrate for 6 to 8 hours. Check that all moisture has evaporated and leaves crumble easily in your hand, almost crispy.

Or, put lined baking sheets with spinach into your oven with door propped open at least 4 inches. Bake at the absolute lowest temperature setting, ideally between 95° to 115° F if possible, for approximately 8 to 14 hours. Time will vary based on how packed your spinach is and your oven's lowest temp.

Step 4. Grind Dried Leaves into Powder Working in small batches, put the dried spinach leaves into your high-speed blender, food processor, or spice grinder. Process for 1 to 2 minutes until reduced down into a fine green powder.

Alternatively, crush leaves by hand with mortar and pestle. Keep grinding leaves for 3 to 5 minutes per batch until powdered consistency is reached.

Step 5. Store Spinach Powder Properly

Transfer finished spinach powder into airtight containers right away. Glass jars with tight sealing lids are perfect. Store containers in a cool, dark place like the pantry where your spinach powder will keep fresh the longest - up to 6 months.

Tips Harvest spinach early in the morning after dew has dried for highest nutrient concentrations in leaves.

Soak and thoroughly wash leaves to remove any dirt or grit before dehydrating.

Rotate trays midway through oven drying for most even results. Rearrange any dark or wet looking leaves on top.

Best drying temps are between 95° - 115°F. Higher than that risks lowering nutrient content.

Check leaves about every 30 minutes at the end. They go from flexible to super crisp quickly. Don't walk away for too long to prevent burning.

Use larger leaves and stems in juicer or compost instead of powderizing. Powder works best with just the tender leaf pieces.

Store your precious spinach powder away from heat, sunlight, humidity, and oxygen to maximize shelf life.

Don't be tempted to make huge batches at once. Work with smaller amounts of leaves at a time for higher quality results.

Enjoy Your Nutrient-Packed Spinach Powder Homemade spinach powder is easy, economical, and lets you harness the full benefits of spinach's incredible nutrition all year long. Just a spoonful or two mixed into your favorite recipes delivers a huge health boost.

The next time you prepare a meal or snack, remember your spinach powder waiting in the pantry. Whip up some superfood muffins, blend yourself a green goddess smoothie, or mix into your scrambled eggs. With so many ways to enjoy it, you can finally make spinach a daily part of your diet thanks to the magic of dehydration.

To learn more about spinach powder, feel free to contact our team at angel@angelbiology.com.