Community Pick
Spinach Balls
"I got this recipe from my mother-in-law, who says these were my veggie-hating husband's favorite childhood snack. They are a great way to get kids to eat spinach!! Prep time includes chill time. This can be a little salty depending on the butter, cheese and bread crumbs you use, if you are concerned about saltiness use unsalted butter and garlic powder in place of the garlic salt. I have also made these with only 1/2 cup of melted butter (1 stick) and they are just as good but you need to spray the cookie sheet because they will stick."
photo by Izy Hossack
- Ready In:
- 2hrs 30mins
- Ingredients:
- 8
- Yields:
-
2 dozen
- Serves:
- 10
ingredients
- 2 (10 ounce) boxes frozen spinach, drained well
- 3⁄4 cup melted unsalted butter
- 1 medium onion, finely chopped
- 4 eggs
- 1⁄2 cup fresh grated parmesan cheese
- 1⁄2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1⁄4 teaspoon pepper
- 2 cups seasoned bread crumbs
directions
- In a large bowl, combine all ingredients until well mixed.
- Roll into 2 inch, walnut-sized balls.
- Chill in the refrigerator for 2 hours.
- Place on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake at 350ºF for 20 minutes.
Questions & Replies
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Sauté onions in butter. Much better
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Hello! Can this be made days in advance and frozen? Then thaw before baking?
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Can you use salted butter in place of unsalted -
Instead of garlic powder and pepper, can I add Hidden Valley Ranch dressing mix? Maybe a 3/4 to 1 teaspoon? -
I started to ask about freezing them and see that's the first question. I will check out the answer, thanks.
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Reviews
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I make these all the time for my toddler who loves them. I noticed she would sometimes gag when she got a long piece of spinach so I experimented with the process a bit and I will never make them the old way again! Turned out so much easier and tastier! I used my food processor to cut the onion finely and then sautéed it with 1/4 c of the butter, sautéed the spinach separately to evaporate even more moisture then added the remaining 1/4 c butter, salt, pepper and garlic, cooked for 2 min on med heat. Put the spinach in a food processor. Mix onions and spinach well, mix in bread crumbs well, mix in cheese well, and then the eggs(make sure mixture is cool before adding eggs). The consistency was more like a nice dough so no refrigeration needed and held together so well I used a mini ice cream scoop to make the balls instead of rolling by hand. Took longer to sauté and process but I saved so much more time not refrigerating and not hand rolling! -
these were great! only change i made was to use stovetop stuffing instead of the seasoned breadcrumbs. they were a bit tedious to roll into balls, so i refrigerated the mixture until it firmed up a bit and then rolled up. i flash froze and threw into a large ziplock until i needed them, which was great because i was able to make them well in advance. thanks for posting, will make again! -
These were amazing! I halved the recipe and I'm glad I did or I would have eaten them all! I found them flavourful and as I cooked mine for 30 mins they were fantastically crispy YUM YUM YUM! It is worth noting that prior to the chilling the mix can look a little loose and sticky don't be tempted to add anything else, they firm up beautifully -
Use nutmeg instead of garlic salt -
Okay, this was very good, and those who liked it loved it. Unfortunately, most of the kids didn't like it. I prefer a lighter recipe I have been using for years, but this was rich and delicious, very decadent! I used fresh spinach, chopped it small, and sauteed it in 1 T evoo for a couple minutes then drained the water.
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Tweaks
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these were great! only change i made was to use stovetop stuffing instead of the seasoned breadcrumbs. they were a bit tedious to roll into balls, so i refrigerated the mixture until it firmed up a bit and then rolled up. i flash froze and threw into a large ziplock until i needed them, which was great because i was able to make them well in advance. thanks for posting, will make again!
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Oh, these are SO good and SO easy! I only had a 16-oz bag of spinach so I adjusted the measurements (and, since I eat low-carb, I used ground pork rinds in place of the bread crumbs). Well, I wish I'd gone to the store for more spinach. Much, much more. These are yummy, and even though my kids will probably adore them, they aren't going to get a chance tonight. This batch is mine, mine, MINE!
