Baked Spinach Meatballs

I am so very in love with this recipe. My kids love it. My husband loves it. It has superfood spinach hiding inside and it still tastes great. Serve them over pasta with marinara sauce or on a dinner roll to make a meatball slider. Eat them cold straight out of the fridge the next day. Delicious any way you eat them. 

Meatball Slider...Mmmmm

Ingredients

1 1/2 pounds ground beef (96/4)

5 ounces frozen spinach, thawed and drained thoroughly

1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan

1 whole egg

1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil

1 1/2 teaspoon dried parsley

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)

1/2 cup Panko or regular bread crumbs

Roll them about this big.

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

2. In a large mixing bowl, combine ingredients. Using your hands, mix until well incorporated. Use immediately or place in refrigerator for up to 24 hours.

3. Using your hands, shape the meatballs into rounds, about walnut size. Place in 9x13 inch glass pan spaced so the meatballs are not touching. Bake for 17-19 minutes or until golden and cooked through. 

Yield: about 35 meatballs



Freshly baked meatballs tossed into the crockpot

Notes: This is a great recipe to whip up at naptime. Once cooked, you can toss them into your crockpot on low with some marinara sauce. I recommend cooking them for a few minutes less (15-17 minutes) if you plan to keep them hot in the crockpot for later.

This recipe received three stars from my family.

*Healthy

*Plate-Licking Good

*Secretly Nutritious

For more about my rating system, head over to the Eats page.

Adapted from Alton Brown's Baked Meatball recipe.