Savory bite-size spinach balls flavored with garlic, cheese, basil and sun-dried tomato pesto. Dipped in marinara or your favorite dipping sauce, they are the perfect healthy appetizer or snack!
Why spinach balls? Because I was blessed with a HUGE bag of spinach from my mom and dad’s garden and it was time to use it up before I got MORE. (I can never say “no” to a big bag of fresh garden spinach) … so I looked around for a recipe that uses a LOT of spinach and this recipe for Keto Spinach Balls (which used 6 cups) seemed like a great starting point.
But most importantly, I made these spinach balls because I wanted to bring a healthy bite-sized snack we could eat after our first Wednesday night “back-together-in-one-place” social distancing yoga class. We used to go out for drinks afterwards, but for now, we’re bringing our own beverages and staying at a distance while we chat, munch and sip after yoga. For this special occasion, I also made some strawberry rhubarb crumble bars which everyone LOVED. (Recipe coming soon.)
I secretly hoped there would be some spinach balls left because I adore bite-sized food and this would give me an easy snack I could grab whenever I needed a little something to take the edge off my hunger. Several other people brought food to share, so mine were not the only snacks presented and I was lucky enough to come home with some spinach balls to enjoy at home.
At yoga, I served them at room temp. without a dipping sauce, but these little balls of green really are much more fun when served hot out of the oven with a good dipping sauce. My personal favorite sauce for dipping my spinach balls was my creamy good vodka sauce, but a marinara, tzatziki or sun-dried tomato ranch would be equally delightful. They do keep well if stored in the fridge and reheated. I expect you could freeze them too.
I was a little tempted to add some bacon, but we have vegetarians in the group, so I added a little of my vegetarian bacon salt instead. If you don’t want to purchase bacon salt, it’s really quite easy to make it at home.
(Disclaimer: I do earn a small commission to help support the costs of running this blog if you make a purchase from an Amazon link on this site, but opinions are always my own. I totally LOVE that bacon salt!)
I modified this recipe, so it is no longer Keto, but better fits my low-cholesterol diet. I swapped out some of the almond flour for oat bran. Then I thought it needed some bread crumbs, so I added some. I really packed the spinach into my cup, so my spinach balls were VERY full of spinach. Popeye would be proud!
Print
Sun-dried Tomato Spinach Balls
- Prep Time: 15 min
- Cook Time: 30 min
- Total Time: 45 min
- Yield: About 24 spinach balls 1x
- Category: Appetizer
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: Italian
- Diet: Vegetarian
Ingredients
- 6 cups fresh spinach leaves, trimmed and washed
- 2 large eggs, beaten
- 1 cup grated Parmesan, Romano or Asiago cheese
- 1/4 cup chopped basil leaves
- 2 Tablespoons whole psyllium husk
- 1 Tablespoon sun dried tomato pesto (a.k.a., Pesto Rosso – store bought or use this recipe)
- 3 – 4 cloves garlic, peeled & chopped
- 1 teaspoon bacon salt
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/3 cup almond flour
- 1/3 cup breadcrumbs
- 2/3 cup oat bran
- Salt & pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with a silicon baking mat or spray with cooking spray.
- Put the spinach leaves in a food processor and pulse several times until the leaves are chopped to bits. Set the spinach in a large microwave-safe mixing bowl and microwave for about 3 minutes on high, stirring in the middle, until the spinach is wilted.
- Pour the leaves into a strainer over the sink and use a clean kitchen towel to press down and squeeze out the excess juices.
- Add the rest of the ingredients to the bowl and mix well. Take a taste and add salt & pepper if needed.
- Use a Tablespoon measure to scoop up balls of the “dough” and form into balls, setting them on the prepared pan as you go.
- Bake at 375 F. for 20 – 30 minutes or until they are golden brown. Serve warm with sauce for dipping.
Notes
© Copyright 2020, Sumptuous Spoonfuls. All images & content are copyright protected. I love it when you share, but please do not use my images on your own site/page without prior permission. If you want to publish any of my images, please ask first. Sharing, pinning, and tweeting is always appreciated as long as the shares and pins link back to here for the recipe. If you want to republish this recipe as your own, please re-write the recipe in your own words or link back to this post for the recipe.
Keywords: Spinach, Cheese, Garlic, Snack, Sun-dried Tomato, Italian
1 comment
[…] a couple weeks back for a social distancing yoga class … I brought these bars and some spinach balls to share (at a distance). Everyone raved about the bars and that made me SO happy! It had been so […]