Easy Spinach-Almond Balls {paleo+GF+vegan)

With its unapologetic green color and earthy flavor, spinach is not a vegetable about which most people are indifferent.

Particularly in the frozen spinach category, too many fall into the “you’ve got to be kidding” category, most likely based on memories of grade school lunches past where the innocent green was boiled to brownish-grey oblivion (I think I can still recall the smell).

It’s because of this that I relish the challenge of winning over a larger subset of the population to this healthy, convenient, and, yes, potentially scrumptious, vegetable.

If a single recipe can aid in the conversion, it is my spinach almond (not meat)balls. They are tender, delicious, and easy to make—all of my favorite dinner criteria. They work especially well for me and my husband because I can make them in advance, store them in the refrigerator or freezer, and reheat later. Plus, they are baked! Easy peasy.

You can enjoy the spinach balls in multiple ways, too. Try adding them to a simple soup (chicken broth, small pasta, more of the spinach and a few other vegetables—in the style of Italian wedding soup), make a spinach ball sandwich, pita or pizza, or go classic by simmering in marinara sauce and then spooning atop pasta. A final option is to serve the meatballs (again, simmered in marinara) on a bed of rice (brown or regular); that’s how I grew up eating them.

 

For even balls, I use a cookie scoop (specifically a 2-tablespoon size scoop for this recipe; it’s the OXO medium size cookie scoop).

These are loaded with good nutrition and deliciousness–gobble some seconds if you are really hungry!

Buon appetito!

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