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Easy Spinach Balls

January 25, 2016 by Lindsay 26 Comments

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These Easy Spinach Balls are a perfect party appetizer. Prep the recipe ahead of time for easy entertaining or serve them as a kid-friendly vegetable option at dinner!

These Easy Spinach Balls are a perfect party appetizer. Prep the recipe ahead of time for easy entertaining or serve them as a kid-friendly vegetable option at dinner!

Hi friends!

As I’m sure all you football fans out there know, The Super Bowl is coming up in a couple weeks! And that means one thing – party time! And the best part about parties is food! Specifically, finger food! Enter these Easy Spinach Balls.

These are one of my dad’s all-time favorite foods. My mom has been making these for years but my dad always complains that she doesn’t make them often enough. While we were visiting them for Christmas, she made some and would you believe that Squish literally gobbled them up? He thought they were the greatest!!

So, these could alternately be titled- how to get your one-year-old to eat a green vegetable. #winning. Problem was, my mom’s recipe was slightly lacking in the nutrition department…so when we got home from our visit, I did some playing around with the recipe in my own kitchen and came up with a slightly modified version that still tastes just as good!

Here’s how you make them:

Print

Spinach Balls

Spinach Balls 3

These Spinach Balls are a perfect party appetizer. Prep the recipe ahead of time for easy entertaining or serve them as a kid-friendly vegetable option at dinner!

  • Prep Time: 5 minutes
  • Cook Time: 15 minutes
  • Total Time: 20 minutes
  • Yield: 15 balls 1x
Scale

Ingredients

  • 1– 10 oz package of chopped, frozen spinach
  • 1 egg
  • 3/4 cup breadcrumbs
  • 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
  • 2 Tbsp melted butter
  • 2 Tbsp plain yogurt
  • 2 Tbsp green onion, thinly sliced
  • 1/2 tsp papper
  • 1/2 tsp paprika

Instructions

  1. Defrost spinach and wring well in a towel to remove excess moisture.
  2. Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix well to combine.
  3. Form into balls with your hands, squeezing tightly.
  4. Bake at 350 degrees for 13-15 minutes, turning once.

Did you make this recipe?

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You can easily eat these plain, but if you’re feeling fancy, you could whip up a quick dipping sauce to go along with them! I mixed some thai chili sauce with plain yogurt and sriracha and it was a great combo!

These Easy Spinach Balls are a perfect party appetizer. Prep the recipe ahead of time for easy entertaining or serve them as a kid-friendly vegetable option at dinner!

If you are serving these at a party, you could easily prep them ahead of time and then just pop them in the oven right before party time. My next test will be to see if these freeze well. Since Squish loves them, it’d be nice to have some on hand in the freezer that I could just pop out and defrost to serve him with dinner. I’ll keep you guys posted on how that works. My parents are coming into town this week so it’ll be the perfect time to test them out.

These Easy Spinach Balls are a perfect party appetizer. Prep the recipe ahead of time for easy entertaining or serve them as a kid-friendly vegetable option at dinner!

Serve these Easy Spinach Balls from @leangrnbeanblog at your next party!

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Enjoy!
–Lindsay–

 

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Filed Under: Appetizer, Side Dish Tagged With: Breadcrumbs, Egg, Green Onion, Spinach, Yogurt

About Lindsay

Lindsay Livingston is a Registered Dietitian and new mom from Columbus, Ohio. On her blog, she shares simple, healthy recipes, nutrition tips, workouts and snapshots of her life. Follow her on Twitter @LeanGrnBeanBlog and Instagram @TheLeanGreenBean and be sure to subscribe via RSS or email so you never miss a post!

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Comments

  1. Angela @ happy fit mama says

    January 25, 2016 at 5:13 AM

    I make a very similar spinach “burger”. The whole family loves ’em. I never thought to make them in ball form. What a perfect appetizer!

    Reply
    • Lindsay says

      January 25, 2016 at 9:56 AM

      oooh i’ll have to try a burger version now!

      Reply
  2. Alysia at Slim Sanity says

    January 25, 2016 at 9:26 AM

    I’ve been trying to add more greens to my diet these days! It’s so hard when you look at all the food you eat and realize it’s mostly brown and yellow lol.

    Reply
    • Lindsay says

      January 25, 2016 at 9:56 AM

      More green is always good!

      Reply
  3. Kelli @ Hungry Hobby says

    January 25, 2016 at 9:28 AM

    Yum! Way to go for the veggie win! I feel like sometimes it can be so hard to get veggies in at super bowl/ game day parties aside from the veggie tray!

    Reply
    • Lindsay says

      January 25, 2016 at 9:55 AM

      yes! these are an easy way to change things up!

      Reply
  4. Kate says

    January 25, 2016 at 11:08 AM

    Yum!! I love spinach and easy. Definitely plan to make these. & Go panthers!

    Reply
  5. Erin @ Erin's Inside Job says

    January 25, 2016 at 12:22 PM

    These look great! I will probably be eating a mac ‘n cheese pizza because I have a serious carb problem on the weekends. I need carbs on top of my carbs.

    Reply
  6. rachel @ Athletic Avocado says

    January 25, 2016 at 5:31 PM

    So perfect for game day. Even the sickest of eaters will eat spinach with these!

    Reply
  7. Amy says

    January 25, 2016 at 10:36 PM

    These look awesome! I’m trying to find more ways for the kiddos to eat veggies- these look perfect! Pinned 🙂 Thanks girl!

    Reply
  8. GiselleR @ Diary of an ExSloth says

    January 25, 2016 at 10:52 PM

    Ohh, these look so good! Definitely going to have to find a way to replicate them in dairy free form. Thanks for sharing! 😀

    Reply
  9. Liz @ I Heart Vegetables says

    January 26, 2016 at 8:54 AM

    These sound amazing!!! Almost like a spinach dip, in bitesize form, haha. Love this idea!

    Reply
  10. Sonali says

    January 28, 2016 at 7:42 PM

    Lindsay do you have to use frozen spinach? If so, if I have a surplus of fresh spinach could I just freeze that and use it? Thanks!

    Reply
    • Lindsay says

      January 28, 2016 at 8:12 PM

      if you’re going to use fresh i would maybe blanch it to cook it and then wring the water out. you may need to chop it up before you cook it!

      Reply
  11. Charlotte says

    February 3, 2016 at 2:06 PM

    Yum! Love a recipe that already uses ingredients I have in the fridge/cabinet–thanks for sharing. These would be perfect for a Superbowl party 🙂

    Reply
  12. Sheryl Uss says

    February 4, 2016 at 4:01 PM

    Hi, Lindsay. Do you think this would work with finely chopped broccoli or another veggie in lieu of spinach? I made the spinach balls, and I personally thought them delish, but my husband happens not to like spinach. Thanks, Sheryl

    Reply
    • Lindsay says

      February 4, 2016 at 9:18 PM

      hmmm you could definitely try something like broccoli. i think that would work!!

      Reply
  13. Kira says

    May 30, 2016 at 5:20 PM

    can u freeze these and thaw them to eat later? thx

    Reply
    • Marilyn says

      July 17, 2018 at 7:19 PM

      I have made these and yes they do freeze well. Our instructor encouraged us to make a batch and keep them in the freezer for unexpected guests

      Reply
  14. Rachel McConnell says

    March 3, 2017 at 9:13 AM

    Hey Lindsay!

    I was wondering how freezing and cooking these later went? Trying to find a recipe to make for my long term care centers!

    Thanks,
    Rachel

    Reply
    • Lindsay says

      March 3, 2017 at 1:23 PM

      i remember they turned out well but can’t remember the exact time and temp. def worth trying and playing around with though!

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Creating with Kids – Texas Farm Girl Blog says:
    September 28, 2017 at 11:46 AM

    […] The Lean Green Bean. We had a lot of fun creating together, and we came out with some delicious spinach balls. We even took our own spin on the recipe by using vanilla yogurt instead of plain, adding a ½ cup […]

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  2. 10 Perfectly Mouthwatering and Healthy Thanksgiving Appetizers - Hot Tips to pick up hot dates says:
    November 10, 2017 at 10:09 PM

    […] Easy Spinach Balls {via the lean green bean} […]

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    December 15, 2017 at 1:19 PM

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lindsay livingston, Registered Dietitian from Columbus, OH, owner of the lean green bean

Hi, I’m Lindsay! I’m a Registered Dietitian and mom of three from Columbus, Ohio. I use this blog to share simple, healthy recipes, nutrition tips, and an honest glimpse of motherhood!

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