This is one of my favorite little easy appetizers and I wanted to post the recipe because it is a really great finger food for holiday entertaining or perfect for watching football.
You can make these ahead and pop in the freezer. They are a yummy mixture of bread crumbs and parmesan and a bit of Spinach so you don’t feel badly about eating 100 of them. (ha ha!)
This recipe is from The Party Guys who had a Food Network show several years back. I have been making these for a few years now and they are always a hit. Seriously– give them a shot and see what you think. I bet they become regular rotation for you- plus they are so easy to make ahead and keep in the freezer.
- Frozen Chopped Spinach- 1 lb
- 1¾ cups seasoned bread crumbs
- ½ teaspoon cayenne
- 5 eggs
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 1 large onion minced (I use ½ onion for this recipe)
- 10 tablespoons melted butter
- 1 cup shredded Parmesan
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Thaw frozen spinach in microwave in a large bowl.
- Place spinach on top of a clean kitchen towel or paper towels and squeeze out excess water. You can get ½ cup or more.
- Add the remaining ingredients and mix with a spoon or your hands.
- Form the mixture into balls- about 1 inch or smaller (so they are bite sized) and place on the baking sheet.
- Sprinkle kosher salt over the top of the balls.
- Bake 20-25 minutes until firm and golden.
- Let cool and serve!
So a few extra notes. The first is to carefully measure the bread crumbs because you don’t want to add too much and dry out the spinach balls.
The next is to take a minute and shred the spinach. If the spinach is clumpy the balls won’t look as appealing or taste as good.
I like to lay it out on paper towels and use a fork to sort of spread it out so it mixes easily with the other ingredients. Oh and see the bowl on the right- that is all the water drained from my package of spinach so it is important to squeeze the water out.
This is what it looks like all mixed up together and this is the messy part. I just man up with my hands but if you have gloves that is better.
And I like to use parchment paper lined on the baking sheet because you will get a little bubbly butter around each bite. You can put the bites really close together because they won’t expand. When I remove them from the oven I like to put the bites on a plate lined with paper towels to catch the last bit of butter. (Like you would for bacon)
If you want to freeze these just take the bites after you salt them and place them on a plate or I use a pie dish. Pop in the freezer for a quick fast freeze. Then get them out and place in a freezer bag.
Oh and one last thing is that when you make the bites be sure the size is uniform so they cook evenly.
And a yummy plate of salty, bready, parmesany perfection ready to go!
If you try these please come back and let me know what you think. I like these just like this but you can also try dipping them in marinara sauce (here is a delicious crock pot marinara sauce recipe). Some people serve these spinach balls as a vegetarian alternative to meatballs in spaghetti.
And you might also want to check out my easy Crock Pot French Onion soup recipe! This is vegetarian or make with beef broth.
Dumb question – do you reserve and use the water to mix with the other ingredients? Or dump the water?
Ashley- dump the water. You don’t want that 🙂
These look so yummy!!!! Thanks!
I will make them for my next gathering for sure. If I make them now, I will eat 100 🙂
Nicole, I may or may not have had 6 for lunch today. #sorrynotsorry
Thanks for sharing! These look great! I am always looking for healthier, easy, make ahead appetizers. If you make them ahead & freeze, can you bake them from frozen? If so, for how long?
Brenda,interestingly the time doesn’t seem to change for me when they are frozen vs fresh.
Oh my goodness! We had these today for lunch as a side to hearty vegetable beef stew, and my 9yo was in ecstasy! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe – it’s going into my files. 🙂
Emily I am so glad! And don’t you feel good that there is Spinach going into that little tummy.
Charlene – I want to tell you how much I appreciate that you posted this particular recipe. The pediatrician recently told us that my teen daughter has low iron. She is not a picky eater at all, and we eat pretty healthy so I was surprised. This recipe came at the perfect time. I made them and they were absolutely delish!!! I love that the ingredients are typical things you have at home all the time. This is going to be a weekly dish for sure.
Oh so glad Sandra! It has been one of my favorites for a long time. So sorry about your daughter— I just found this recipe from Weelicious I am going to try on my little girls:
http://www.pinterest.com/pin/7599893095396268/
Either Kale or Spinach would work
If you are going to freeze them, do you cook them first?
Joni, I don’t cook them. I freeze them raw like you would cookie dough.
Charlene, I made a double batch of these for a potluck lunch at work. Everyone absolutely raved, and at least 5 people asked for the recipe! I even had a request to make them for a party. Thanks again!!!
Oh I am so glad Sandra! Darn I love those things too. I can eat a batch myself 😉
Hello Charlene. The recipe sounds delicious and from all the positive feedback, it must be!! How do you think they would taste “cold”. Am going to a distant gathering and can’t/don’t really want to have to keep something warm. Regards, Barbara Robeson
Barbara,
I like these cold :). Don’t put them in the fridge but if they are room temp they are fine. I prefer warmed up but I have no issues gobbling them down at room temp too! Let me know how they go over for you 🙂
Just made a batch for a football game party tomorrow. I froze them but cooked one just to try!!! OMG….I will be at the store in the morning for more spinach to make another batch. These will go fast!! So yummy and dipping them in marinara puts it over the top :)! Thanks for recipe!!
Oh so glad you liked them Kimberly! I need to make this recipe again soon too 🙂
We are low carbing here..do you know of a substitute for the bread crumbs by chance?
Hmmm… Sorry Kristen I can’t think of a substitute. The bread crumbs help hold everything together.
just wondering if anyone has tried using fresh spinach? If so, how much did you use?
For those of you who eat less healthy, I bake these in mini muffin tins placing each of them on a pepperoni piece.
Hi, are the breadcrumbs fresh or packaged dry type? I’m going to try these for a Boxing Day party. Thanks
Hi Carole- I haven’t tried fresh breadcrumbs 🙂 Just packaged.
I am going to try quinoa instead of breadcrumbs and I wonder if I could use coconut oil instead of all that butter? what do you think? Try to make it more healthy.
Thanks for the great recipe idea!!
Holly- hmm.. I would love to hear how that turns out. I am not a fan of quinoa myself so I don’t use it often.