Cheesy Spinach Bites Recipe
Have you ever bought a gigantic bag of fresh baby spinach leaves, only to realize that you have only made it half way through and must plow through the rest of it stat or else it will go bad? This happened to me last week. And hence the creation of these tasty Cheesy Spinach Bites. These are great as a side dish to a meal, or even as a main dish for lunch. We sometimes reheat and eat them for breakfast with some fresh fruit.
How to Make Cheesy Spinach Bites
The first thing I did was to saute an onion and a couple of cloves of garlic together – until browned and caramelized. Then into my food processor went a LOT of spinach (about 4 or 5 cups), the onion/garlic mixture, cottage cheese, mozzarella cheese, and Parmesan cheese. I pulsed it just to chop it up a bit and mix it together. Then I stirred in my eggs (which I had already whisked). Pour into greased muffin tins and bake. I used both a mini muffin tin because I felt like they would bake better this size – and they did!
After they bake, I let them sit for a few minutes to set up. Then give one to your hungry toddler. I’m pretty sure she is saying ‘Kiss me I’m Irish!’ in this picture. Or maybe just ‘Kiss me, I just ate a ton of spinach and loved it’.
Cheesy Spinach Bites
Ingredients
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Dice onion and mince garlic. Spray a muffin tin with cooking spray, then set aside.
- Heat oil in a sauté pan over medium heat and cook the onions and garlic until cooked through and caramelized – about 10 minutes.
- Whisk eggs together in a bowl.
- Add eggs, cottage cheese, mozzarella, Parmesan, spinach, salt, pepper, and onion/garlic mixture to a food processor. Pulse to combine.
- Pour egg mixture into the prepared muffin tin and bake for 20-25 minutes or until the filling is set and eggs are golden on top.
- Serve with orange wedges on the side.
Nutrition
www.superhealthykids.com
This is a fun and healthy way to serve something green on St. Patrick’s Day – for breakfast or lunch. These are packed full of protein, vitamins and flavor. Plus it is a great way to get kids to eat spinach. You never know when they are going to decide to like it!
Natalie Monson
I'm a registered dietitian, mom of 4, avid lover of food and strong promoter of healthy habits. Here you will find lots of delicious recipes full of fruits and veggies, tips for getting your kids to eat better and become intuitive eaters and lots of resources for feeding your family.
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i love that it gluten free
Yummy!
Yummy
Did you know that spinach freezes well for smoothies? You might miss creating new recipes but you can throw it in a freezer bag and then crunch it up once it’s frozen and use in green smoothies just like fresh spinach.
Thanks for the tip Emily!
Can they be stored in the freezer afterwards? If yes, how can I reheat afterwards? thx (It will be great if I can include one in my little one’s lunchbox everyday ^^)
Gina – I haven’t tried freezing them, but they store nicely in the fridge for about a week. I just reheated in the microwave for about 20 seconds – I am sure you could eat them cold though….
Hi, my son has diabeteS but I would love to incorporate these recipes for him.
how do I calculate the amount of carbohydrates?
This looks like a great recipe – for St. Pat’s Day or any day. For people who have trouble getting their kids to eat veggies, this is one thing that I do that has really helped in our family. Enjoy and Luck o’ the Irish to you in getting your kids to eat their veggies! http://frenchtwistedwoman.com/2012/03/01/eat-your-vegetables/
[…] Cheesy Spinach Bites […]
I made these yesterday and they were delicious.
Kids and DH loved it.
Thanks for a great recipe.
Gary – you are welcome! I am so glad your kids liked them!
Just made these today for my 17 month old. He hasn’t tried them yet, but if he doesn’t like them I will gobble them up! So good!
Hi Amy and Natalie,
I love your blog! I’d love to see if there’s some way we could collaborate with our sites. I’m open to guest blogging, link sharing, and whatever else you think would help spread the message of good health and nutrition.
Check out my blog below and let me know if you’re interested.
http://www.tomcorsonknowles.com/blog/
Let me know if there’s anything else I can do to help you.
Wishing you wellness,
Tom
They were delicious. We left out the onions. The blender wouldn’t cut it so we had to add some water and it still worked, but we baked them for longer. DOUBLE THE RECIPE if it’s for a whole family. The recipe doesn’t make that many.
Thanks for the feedback rw! Glad you liked them.
[…] 1 teaspoon rice vinegar Slice a section cross-ways out of your green pepper and save for a shamrock bowl Chop snow peas in half Chop the remaining part of the green pepper Heat one tablespoon olive oil in a skillet Add snow peas and green pepper, and saute until soft, about 5 minutes Add feta cheese Combine honey and vinegar in a small bowl Drizzle honey/vinegar on warm snow peas Scoop snow pea salad into your green pepper shamrock bowl3. Cheesy Spinach Bites […]
Does the egg goes into the food processor with the rest of the ingredients? The consistence was a bit soft. Is it how it turns out?
It was delicious!
Yes, you can put the egg in with the rest of the ingredients in the food processor or just wait and mix it in after. They are a bit soft because they are kind of a like a crustless quiche. Glad you liked them!
LOVED These! Just made them yesterday for my 17 month old and I. He really enjoyed them as did I, and my husband actually finished off what we didn’t eat for lunch when he came home, not one left 🙂 Thanks for this recipe, it will be going to the favorites list.
I’m making these as we speak, I used a blender and it cane out looking like soup. ..I baked for 30 min. And they are still soft, I assume we refrigerate what we dont eat? I have not tried them yet but I’m excited. My 3 year old had fun helping me.
can i use flax eggs, since my kid is allergic to eggs?
Hi. Was so looking forward to these but I was disappointed with the results. The muffins didn’t rise as much as in the photo. They came out of the oven looking good but promptly sagged and was barely an inch tall. Where did I go wrong, should I of separated the eggs and whipped the egg whites separately to get more air in them and then fold the rest of the ingredients in? I also used paper cases in the muffin tin and they felt a bit wet on the bottom. Maybe I under cooked them or didn’t dry the spinach enough? Any way ended up just chucking them away 🙁
They do flatten a little once removed from the oven. These are definitely more ‘eggy’ and wet than a regular muffin. I probably wouldn’t use papers for these, that might be part of the problem. Did you use a mini muffin tin? A regular size muffin might be a bit too much moisture and cause the flattening. Sorry they didn’t turn out because they are delicious.
Has anyone tried freezing these yet? I make them at least twice a month and my 13 month old shoves them in her mouth whole! She can eat 5-6 of them in one sitting! 🙂 Anyways I usually make a half recipe because the full recipe makes a ton, but it would be great if they were freezer friendly. I might try to freeze just one or two out of the next batch to see if no one else has tried.
These are FANTASTIC!! Although, my little one didn’t eat them (we’ll try again tomorrow), I however, ate 7 of them!!! Do you know a calorie count for them? Thanks!
I just plugged this in as a recipe in My Fitness Pal – you can just copy the recipe and it will do most of the work for you (but you do have to check, e.g. the eggs were listed as ‘fried’ and I changed them to raw) – and for 2 mini-muffins (assuming the mix makes 24) it’s 64 calories, 3g carbohydrate, 3g fat, 5g protein, and 1g sugar.
Hope this helps.
Thank you!
I used broccoli instead of spinach.
My daughter loved these bites.
Maria
Did you use cooked broccoli or raw?
It is steamed broccoli.
The receipe sounds great! I have one question though, I read that milk ( milk products ) prevents iron absorbtion from spinach (or was is it slow it down ) .. at least that’s What I’ve been told
Yes – calcium from the milk can block some iron from being absorbed.
I don’t have a mini muffin tin. Has anyone used a regular muffin pan with success? Or maybe there is something else I can use?
Delish!
Is it 4-5 cups of spinach (as described in intro) or 2 cups (per the ingredient list)?
Im going to give these a try!!
I don’t think there is any way this calls for 2 cups of spinach to 6 eggs. I just pu mine in the oven and added about 6 cup so of fresh spinnach. It was still liquid enough to pour. It would be way too runny with 2 cups. Unless it’s two cups of chopped frozen spinach?
Sorry wanted to love it but couldn’t. Won’t make again. Didn’t taste good and completely stuck to my pan. At least it’s healthy.