Food storage

How long does spinach last?

Updated 15 October 2026 · 4 min read

Fresh spinach lasts about 3–5 days in the fridge — the trick is keeping it dry. You can also freeze it to make it last for months.

How to keep spinach fresh for longer

Moisture is what turns spinach into a slimy mush. Don’t wash it until you’re about to use it, and pop a dry piece of kitchen paper in the bag or tub to soak up condensation. Keep it in the fridge drawer.

How to tell if spinach has gone off

• Slimy, wet leaves
• Dark, mushy or yellowing patches
• A sour smell

Check the bag

Bagged spinach has a use-by date, and many bags also give a short time to use it once opened, often a day or two. Follow the label. If the bag says it is ready washed, you don’t need to wash it again.

Keep it dry, and keep it cool

Store spinach in the fridge, in its bag or a container with a sheet of dry kitchen paper. Change the paper if it gets damp. Loose bunches from a market or greengrocer need washing before eating. Wash them just before you use them, then dry the leaves well, as wet leaves go slimy quickly.

How to freeze spinach

Freeze spinach while it is still fresh, not once it has started to go limp. For the best result, blanch it first: put the leaves in boiling water for a minute, then into cold water. Squeeze out as much water as you can, press it into small portions and freeze them in a bag. Frozen spinach is for cooking, not salads. Add it straight to curries, soups, pasta sauces and omelettes. Cooked spinach in a dish freezes for about 3 months.

Cooking uses up a lot

A big bag of spinach looks like a lot, but it shrinks to a few spoonfuls when it is cooked. That makes it an easy ingredient to use up. Wilt a few handfuls into hot pasta, rice, dal or scrambled eggs at the end of cooking. It only needs a minute or two.

Is it still fine?

Leaves that are a little limp but not slimy or smelly are usually fine to cook with. Throw away spinach that is wet and slimy, dark and mushy, or smells sour. Throw out the whole bag if it has gone slimy rather than picking out the bad leaves.

Keeping track

If you would rather not keep track in your head, What’s in my Fridge can help. Snap your shopping and it files each item where it usually lives, and freshness counts from the day you bought it. Anything that needs using soon goes to the top of the list, and you can ask what you can make from what you’ve got.

Use it up

Wilting fast? Spinach disappears into a curry, pasta, dal, omelette or a smoothie — cooking uses up a big bag in seconds. Ask What’s in my Fridge what to cook with it. See also: the full storage chart.