Best Ever Spinach Balls Appetizer
Savory little bites of spinach, garlic, spices, and two kinds of cheese, today I’m sharing with you my recipe for the Best Ever Spinach Balls Appetizer. You might want to make a second batch, because these go fast at parties!
Happy first Monday of the New Year, everybody!
I hope you’re all as excited as I am to take on 2016! New year, new recipes!
Today I’m going to share with you one of my fiance Andrew’s favorite party starters, the Best Ever Spinach Balls Appetizer. His mother used to make a version of this, and I’ve taken the recipe and added a few different ingredients of my own.
Savory, cheesy, and it even includes a vegetable! You may have to make a second batch of these, they’re THAT good.
As 2016 begins, now is the time we should take to reflect on 2015. What we liked, what we didn’t like, and what we can do to make 2016 even better. Do you have any good resolutions? I’m setting small, obtainable goals: Eat more vegetables, give the cat more treats, drink more water, finish binge-watching Breaking Bad, and to save more money (for our wedding, yay!).
I’m also (and most importantly!) stepping back and taking a good, looooong look at Dishing Delish to see what I can bring you that we’ll both love. The first thing I’m going to do this year is a little bit of re-branding. I’m still keeping the name Dishing Delish, but from here on out this blog will be 100% gluten free.
You’ll still be able to convert most of my recipes for my non-GF readers, so don’t freak out, there is still deliciousness in your future!
For the new year, I’d like to start with one of Andrew’s favorite recipes, the Best Ever Spinach Balls Appetizer.
I know you’re going to enjoy it as much as we do!
How to Make the Best Ever Spinach Balls Appetizer
First, preheat your oven to 350°F. Grease a large baking sheet and set aside.
Then add your 2 cups of thawed chopped spinach to a large bowl.
Next you’re going at add all of your other ingredients to the bowl.
That’s 2 cups of Italian seasoned breadcrumbs.
1 cup of grated Parmesan cheese.
Crack in your 3 eggs.
And all of that melted butter (1/2 cup).
Then you can throw in your 1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese and 1/2 tsp each of salt and black pepper.
And of course your 1 tsp of garlic powder.
There’s never enough garlic powder, in my opinion.
Then you mix it all together!
Next, you form it into balls and place on your greased baking sheet. You can use a small ice cream scoop to help make sure all of your balls are the same size, which will help them cook more evenly.
I used parchment paper, because I love it. It makes the pans much easier to clean after.
Parchment paper is pretty much the best invention ever.
Then bake at 350°F for 20-25 minutes, or until they’re golden brown and delicious looking.
That’s it, you’re done!
Easiest fancy appetizer ever.
If you like this recipe, be sure to follow me here on Pinterest!
Spinach Ball Appetizers
Ingredients
- 20 oz frozen chopped spinach, defrosted, drained
- 2 cups gluten free breadcrumbs
- 1 cups Parmesan cheese, grated
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
- 1 bunch green onions, chopped
- 3 large eggs
- 1 cup white cheddar, shredded
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp garlic powder
Equipment
- baking sheet
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- In a large bowl mix together spinach, breadcrumbs, Parmesan, butter, green onions, eggs, cheddar, salt, pepper, and garlic.
- Form into balls and place on a large greased baking sheet.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until spinach balls are golden brown and cooked through.
Notes
Nutrition
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Whoah – these sound and look delish! Exactly the kind of veggie health food I love 🙂
Thank you so much!
I’ve never heard of spinach balls before. These look yummy!
Thanks! To be honest, I had never heard of them until I met Andrew. Now we make them for every party!
They reminder me of the smoked Caillette I made a while ago! Curious how this veggie version tastes! They look delicious!
Could I make these in muffin tins? Would any changes need to be made? Thanks.
I think that’s a great idea! I don’t think you’d need to change anything, just grease the tin or use muffin liners. You’d probably be able to make them a little bigger, to fit the tin. Let me know how it goes!
Jacqui, by chance, do you have the nutrition info on these bad boys? They were absolutely delish! ?
Hi April, Thanks! I’m slowly working my way through nutrition labels for my recipes. But I plugged this one in and it’s (per ball if you make 36 balls), 74 calories, 5g fat, 5g carb, and 3g protein.
Are these best served warm?
Yes, these are best served warm. But I’ve had them set out at a party where they cooled on a table, and people still loved them 🙂
It looks like you used yellow cheddar in the picture of the recipe says white cheddar. Is there any reason for the difference or just whatever you have on hand? Im thinking of trying smoked gouda in this. Seems to go well with spinach. What brand of gluten free crumbs do you use? Thanks. Julie
Hi Julie, You can use what you have on hand. The only real different between white and yellow cheddar is the coloring added (and the sharpness level you get), but these are personal preferences. The white cheddar would probably look prettier as an appetizer, though. Smoked gouda sounds like a great idea! Let me know how it tastes. I also use 4C gluten free breadcrumbs, they’re my favorite.
Hi, what kind of dipping sauce do you think would go well with this? I’m thinking a marinara, but am totally open to any suggestions!
Hi Sarah, A marinara would go great with these! I’d also consider a garlic aioli (I have one that I like here). But I’d probably leave the cayenne out if pairing with these spinach balls.
Do you have to wring out the thawed spinach?
I usually just set it in a colander for a while and let it drain, but you can definitely wring it out to speed up the process.
I found this recipe last Thanksgiving time and it was a huge hit with all our family and this year they requested (actually demanded… in a nice way, of course) that I do it again.
I ‘m not a measuring person so I just threw in 24 ounces of spinach, 2+ cups of crumbs, extra cheeses and of course, garlic, garlic, garlic, and they’re in the oven right now with about 15 minutes to go. This batch made 48 altogether and they look beautiful.
Thanks so much for the recipe! Looks like it’s become an annual family Thanksgiving tradition 😉
That’s so awesome! I’m so happy you and your family likes the recipe 🙂
Hi, can these be frozen and cooked the next day? Would greatly appreciate a quick response as I plan to make them on a couple of days. Thank you! Marci
Hi Marci, yes definitely! I’m actually making a batch this weekend (fully cooked though), freezing them and re-heating for a Christmas party. But if you’re cooking the next day I don’t see a reason to freeze, just refrigerate them. Hope that helps!
I freeze them before baking on a cookie sheet then pop in a zip lock bag. Take out and bake as needed. Great to tuck into a cleaned destemmed white mushroom and then bake. Yum!
Questions! Can I use fresh spinach? About how much would you use if that is ok? Also, are the nutrition facts for one batch or for one ball? Thanks!
Hi Katie! Yes, you can use fresh spinach. Sautee it first and let it cool a bit, I’d use about 3-4 cups of sautéed spinach (I’m not sure exactly how much fresh spinach that is, but personally I’d buy two of the pre-cut bags to be on the safe side). The nutrition facts are per ball. Hope that helps! 🙂
What temp and how long would you reheat these spinach balls ?
I would wrap them in tinfoil (so they don’t dry out) and reheat them in the oven at 350F. Check every 10 minutes or so, they should be reheated within 10-20 minutes.
Will you not overcook them if you’re reheating at 350?
Is it the Parmesan cheese in a can?
Yes you can use canned or fresh parm.
These were amazing! I made them in the mini muffin tin. I think I am going to be adventurous and try them around New Years and maybe add some artichoke and switch up the cheese!! Thank you so much for sharing!!
Thanks, I’m glad you liked them! Artichoke and another cheese sounds amazing!
This looks delicious!!! I was wondering if zucchini could be substituted for the spinach for those people on blood thinners?
I haven’t tried it with zucchini, but I don’t see why not! I would cook it for a few minutes, then use a kitchen towel to squeeze some of the liquid out first. Let me know if it works, I might try it!
Hello do u have to use gluten free bread crumbs? Thank you
No, if you don’t have any dietary restrictions you can make this recipe with regular breadcrumbs, too.
Hi this sounds amazing…can this be made this without eggs for a pure vegetarian?
I think you could, but I haven’t personally tried it. I would try adding some olive oil (maybe 2-3 tbsp) instead of the eggs. If it’s too much, you can also increase the gluten free breadcrumbs slightly.
I just loved these spinach balls I changed the recipe instead of all butter I used half butter half olive oil and added red onion and I used. Gruyere 🧀 instead of chedder!!,,,
Could these spinach balls be frozen for use later?
Yes you can freeze these for later. If you cook them first, let them cool and then freeze in an airtight ziplock bag. If you don’t cook them right away, let them freeze on a sheet pan. Once frozen, you can move them into a plastic bag for later.
My Mother-in-law added smoked oysters to her recipe. So good!!
I just made these little balls. Because my spinach were shredded, they turned out green. They are so cute! And sooooo good. Next time I will double the garlic.