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Substitutions · 29 dishes here use it
Volume that vanishes. A pan-filling pile cooks down to a few spoonfuls, and the water it gives up will dilute whatever it lands in unless you wring it out first.
Everything below is judged against that job. A swap that covers it is a swap; one that only looks similar is not.
2 of the 29 dishes here that mention spinach list it as optional — 7% of them. In those, the correct substitution is nothing.
Functional substitution system
For spinach, the page's working definition is: Volume that vanishes. A pan-filling pile cooks down to a few spoonfuls, and the water it gives up will dilute whatever it lands in unless you wring it out first. The swap cards below are judged against that job rather than visual resemblance.
Job → candidate → side effects → small test → correct.
1 · Job
What is the missing ingredient doing?
2 · Candidate
Choose the shelf item that replaces that function.
3 · Side effects
Check water, fat, salt, acid, sweetness, and texture.
4 · Small test
Change a spoonful or small portion first when possible.
5 · Correct
Taste again and move only the axis that is still wrong.
Instead · 1
one for one by weight
Instead · 2
ten ounces frozen per pound fresh
Instead · 3
one for one by weight
These dishes list spinach as optional. They were written to work without it, so no ratio is needed and nothing has to be bought.
These need it and are short enough that nothing hides: 4 required ingredients or fewer. Make the swap a decision rather than a repair.
The company spinach keeps in this library, counted off required ingredients. A swap that argues with the top two is the wrong swap, whatever a chart says.