Guilty pleasures. We all have them. Things we do or enjoy that may not quite be the very best thing for us. For some it’s about clothes or shoes, monthly massages or ice cream. For me, it’s about Spinach Squares. Starbucks spinach squares. Oh. Em. Gee. They are INSANE.

I’ve had to put myself on restriction y’all. They call to me. Every morning I hear their faint little bready, spinachy voices calling to me from just down the street. They NEED me to come eat them. I NEED to go eat them. We have a very co-dependent relationship.

Now this wouldn’t necessarily be a bad thing right? I mean they are wheat and spinach and not like I’m eating cake pops for breakfast every morning. (Although….hmmm. The birthday cake ones ARE deeevine.) This is less though about nutritional value and more about my budget. Every time those little green jewels scream YES, my checkbook screams NO!! I think by now I should have a full share in Starbucks. They should be paying ME to eat Spinach Squares.

The way I saw it, I had only one way out; To learn to create these babies at home. So, last night out came the puff pastry and the gorgeous bag of fresh spinach. After a few slight experiments with the sauce, I realized it was basically a Spinach Alfredo filling. Easy enough. The best part is now I can also add chicken sausage, Chorizo, feta, sun-dried tomatoes or anything else to the filling I want! Homemade is ALWAYS better. Take THAT evil Starbucks.

I am proud to say, the rest of this week, we are having homemade Spinach Squares for breakfast! And these are HEALTHY! And affordable! I Guess I’m going to have find a new guilty pleasure. THAT shouldn’t be too hard.

Puffed Spinach Squares

(My copycat version of Starbucks Spinach Squares)

Ingredients:

• 1 bag fresh spinach (chopped) or 1 container chopped frozen spinach, thawed
• 1 box puff pastry, homemade or store bought; thawed, but VERY well chilled
• 2 cups Alfredo sauce, homemade or store bought
• 1/2 tsp. Nutmeg
• 1 tsp. minced garlic
• 1/2 cup Parmesan Reggiano cheese, finely grated
• Salt & Pepper to Taste

   

Directions:

In a large pan, saute spinach until wilted (fresh) or warmed (frozen chopped). Add Alfredo sauce. Allow to cook until thickened about 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Add cheese and allow to melt. Add Nutmeg, garlic, salt & pepper. Stir well and remove from burner. Set aside.

   

Cut the pastry unfolded into three equal squares. Open/unfold each pastry square and using a biscuit cutter, cut and remove circles on two sections (see on the pic above). Fold the cut squares over the third uncut square which serves as the bottom of your pastry (see pic below). Fill each center with spinach mixture.

   

Bake at  400 until the pastry is golden brown, approximately 12-15 minutes.

Add-Ins & Substitutions: You can substitute Bechamel sauce for Alfredo in this recipe.  You can also add Pesto, Sausage, Chopped Bacon, Onion, Eggs or Sun-dried Tomatoes. This recipe is very versatile and easily customizeable to suit your taste preferences. You can also brush with a little butter for a more golden brown top. I also used the center cut out puff pastry holes to dip in the extra filling for a snack. You could also roll these in cinnamon and brown sugar for a sweet treat and for a two in one recipe.

Life is too short to eat ugly food. Bon Appetit y’all!