These healthy Vegan Spinach Balls are the perfect appetizer for your next party and even make for a kid-friendly snack! 
It's been quite a while since my last recipe post. I've got to thank colds, flus, family visits, and vacations for that :) Before all this happened I had cravings for spinach balls. My grandma makes some delicious spinach balls but sadly they aren't vegan. I tried googling "vegan spinach balls" but came up empty. Most spinach balls have egg, bread crumbs, and frozen spinach. I wanted to make a vegan spinach ball that used fresh ingredients and also happened to be gluten-free.
I came up with this simple recipe that is a delicious appetizer or snack. My Grandma usually makes these for Thanksgiving and Christmas but I think they are a great appetizer all year around. Spinach is in season in the winter and spring months making it especially great when you can buy fresh spinach locally. That being said, you can also makes these using frozen spinach (check notes on the recipe below for how to). However, I find that the spinach ball burst with more color and flavor when using fresh spinach as opposed to frozen.
I do have to mention one more thing about the color. For some reason it reminds me of "How the Grinch stole Christmas". I was so tempeted to call these Grinch Balls but realized that no person in their right mind would actually want to eat something called a grinch ball. Sadly, I stuck with boring Vegan Spinach Balls but be my guest to call these grinch balls at next year's Christmas party :)
These spinach balls are really easy to make. Pop all the ingredients into a food processor and pulse...
Once the mixture is nice and thick, scoop out tablespoon sized balls and bake in the oven until they are nice and brown on the bottom.
Delicious! Both boys were popping these in their mouths non-stop. I didn't mind. These are filled only with healthy clean ingredients and even Flax seeds (or Chia seeds). We ate them as snack but are actually meant to be served as an appetizer.
Vegan Spinach Balls
Delicious and easy to make Vegan Spinach Balls! They're the perfect healthy appetizer for any party or even great as a snack!
Ingredients
- 3 cups Spinach fresh, washed and dried, 3 ounces or 90g
- ½ cup Cashews whole and raw
- 1 cup Almonds whole and raw
- 3 tablespoon Olive Oil
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- 1 Chia or Flax Egg see notes for directions
- 1 small Red Onion quartered
- ½ cup Oats
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 350F and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
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Place all ingredients in a food processor and pulse until nuts are slightly ground. If too much for food processor, process ingredients in batches. and mix together in a bowl.
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Scoop tablespoon sized balls of the spinach mixture out of the food processor or bowl and place on cookie sheet.
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Bake in oven for 15-20 minutes until bottoms of the spinach balls have browned.
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Remove from oven and allow to cool for a minute on a cookie rack. Serve warm.
Recipe Notes
1) Prepare Flax or Chia eggs by mixing 1 tablespoon of ground Chia or Flax Seeds with 3 tablespoons of water. Allow to sit for 15 minutes until a thick gel forms. This is your egg replacement!2) Spinach balls can be eaten cold as well but taste best when warm and fresh out of the oven. If this is not an option pop them in the microwave for a few seconds to warm up before serving.3) You may use frozen spinach if needed. Allow the spinach to thaw completely and drain it of any excess water before using.4.) If your mixture is too wet to form balls, add more oats or almonds. If your mixture is too dry, add a bit more olive oil or a bit of water.
Looking for another great vegan recipe that uses lots of spinach? Make this yummy Kale Spinach Smoothie!
Jess says
yum! My mother used to make spinach balls. Can't wait to try!
Vanessa says
Thanks Jess, Your mother was a smart lady. Spinach balls are the best! Hope you like them!
Karley says
Can I make this recipe without oats?
Vanessa says
Hi Karley,
You can omit the oats by adding more almonds to dry up the spinach ball mass. I won't be able to tell you the exact amount though. Slowly add more almonds until it begins to thicken. Enjoy!
Maria G. says
These actually look delicious, even though I have never had spinach balls. Are they kind of like falafels with spinach flavor?
(By the way, I think there is an error in note numer two: Pop them in refrigerator to warm up?)
Vanessa says
Thanks Maria,
Yes, my bad! Thanks for letting me know. Just fixed it. There a little bit like falafel but the flavor is a bit milder. The cashews give it a bit of a cheesy flavor too. I've even used these spinach balls as vegan "meatballs" on pasta.
Trinity Bourne says
What a fantastic idea! These sound really awesome.
Vanessa says
Thanks Trinity :) They are so good. The pictures don't do them justice!
Trinity Bourne says
I can tell by the ingredients that they are brill!
Greg Murray says
Does the nuts need to be soaked first?
Vanessa says
Hi Greg, There is no need to soak the nuts. If you think your food processor can't handle so many nuts at once then you can soak them or just make it in batches. Hope this helps and you like them :)
Jenny D says
Do you know if these can be frozen, either before or after being baked? I would love to make a huge batch and save some for later. Thanks!
Vanessa Croessmann says
Hi Jenny, I like freezing them before I bake them. Just roll them into balls and then put them in a ziploc bag. When you want to eat them, just let them thaw slighlty and then pop them in the oven. It will take a little bit longer. Just keep a good eye on them in the oven. I think mine took about 30min. Someone else wrote me though once saying they baked them first and the froze them and that that worked out well too. So I guess you can do it either way :)
Jenny D says
That is awesome news! Going to make a huge batch today - I have so much spinach in the garden!
Paola says
I'm going to try these - but I'll use home made toasted curried nuts - since they are baked there is really no difference in using raw .
Helen says
Hello, This recipe looks great - I was going to use them in a curry, like spinach koftas, have you tried this or do you think from the consistency it would work?
Helen
Vanessa Croessmann says
Hi Helen, I haven't tried this. I usually just make these an appetizer but have actually put them on spaghetti as a vegan meatball substitute. Let me know if you try it. Would love to hear if they are good in a curry :)
Kierstin W says
Just made these as a quick way to use some of the boatload of spinach I didn't want to go to waste this week and WOW! These are soooo good (my only adjustment was adding a bit of nutritional yeast into the mix). They look and taste so fresh, and they're really getting me through studying for finals right now…might have to eat the whole batch myself. Thanks for the recipe!
Vanessa Croessmann says
Hi Kierstin, Adding nutritional yeast to these sounds delicious! These spinach balls are definitely addicting. Last time I made them, I tried hogging them but failed miserably. As soon as my boys know we have spinach balls in the house...they are gone. Good luck on your finals!
Ali says
Just wanted to let you know these are amazing I make them all the time and even my husband loves them and asks me to make them!
Katherine says
So I have made these twice now, first time I used breadcrumbs and blah did not work for my taste over seasoned. I am not very good at throughly following a recipe,all about experimenting.
Followed this but with just almonds, all we had on hand. But after baked was told needed more. Was bland, edible but bland. So to eat them we mixed sour cream and sambal, not vegan but neither were the family that were eating them. What could I add? because these can be a hit for everyone's lunch box for work here.
Vanessa Croessmann says
Hi Katherine,
I like experimenting with recipes as well. It's all about the trial, error, and the occasional "OMG that tastes amazing" moments. I would definitely give a try with the cashews. They definitely gives these spinach balls more of cheesy and creamy taste. You could also add one or two garlic cloves to the mix and experiment with different seasonings (paprika, cumin, pepper, cayenne pepper, turmeric, etc.).
David Aldred says
I've finished making some Grinch Balls (hee hee!) Half of them are in the oven right now; the other half are headed for the freezer. I've added garlic, dill and thyme to mine … oh, and black pepper. I would've added nutritional yeast too, but I've already added it to a herby cauliflower and broccoli bake that I've just frozen, and I'll be serving it all for a meal for my mum at the weekend, with some butter beans in tomato sauce.
Alison says
I made these yesterday to bring to a friend's family for a Shiva call and all I can say is that they were the talk of the Shiva! Everyone loved them! Will be making these again! I made a double-batch and used chia "eggs" and left the nuts a little chunky for some crunch. Yum!!!
Vanessa Croessmann says
Thank so much, Alison! I'm so happy everyone enjoyed them. I love these little vegan spinach balls. Always makes me happy to hear that others like them as much as I do ;)
Lucy says
These look delicious! What can I substitute the cashews and almonds with? I want to make this a school friendly snack.
Cas Rifkin says
I am in the process of making these and made the assumption that oats means oatmeal, but I wonder if it is supposed to be instant oatmeal, steel cut oats, or whole oats What did you use? I love this recipe although I haven't eaten them yet. Easy peasy and with great ingredients. Thank you.
Vanessa Croessmann says
Hi Cas, I've made these with both steel cut and whole oat and it works perfectly. I usually don't have instant oatmeal at home so I've never tried making it with that. Hope you liked the Spinach Balls :)
VeggieTater says
I try to go easy on the nuts and never use oil since I tend to put on the pounds, so I used besan (chickpea flour) to replace most of the nuts and it still came out great, thanks!
Vanessa Croessmann says
That's great to know that chickpea flour works as a substitute. I'll try that out next time. Thanks so much!