My little man is definitely a veggie eater, and I couldn’t be happier. But I’ll admit I’ve been lacking in the creativity department lately. A little boy can only be expected to eat so many lentils and sweet potatoes. So, I challenged myself to find a way to get more greens in that sweet little tummy…the result? Mommy and Me Spinach Mozzarella Bites!
I’m really excited about this recipe for a few reasons. First, it’s super easy to make, and loaded with fresh spinach. It’s also toddler-friendly without being messy. We barely even had to wash hands after these! And, given that we always have extra spinach from our garden during the growing season, these are an easy way to use it up without having spinach salad every. single. day.
Mommy and Me Spinach Mozzarella Bites
- 1 1/2 – 2 cups baby spinach leaves, washed
- 1/2 cup Organic Valley shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1 Organic Valley egg, lightly beaten
- 1/2 cup bread crumbs (use panko, whole wheat, seasoned or whatever you may have on hand.)
- 1 dash salt (or omit if you prefer)
- 1 dash garlic powder
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking pan with foil and spray lightly with nonstick cooking spray. (I used a baking stone, which I highly recommend for even baking.)
Chop spinach in food processor, or finely chop by hand. Combine all ingredients in a bowl, mix well. Form into patties of desired size (we chose slightly larger than silver dollar size.) If patties do not stick together, add more bread crumbs until mixture seems a little more solid.
Bake 6 minutes on one side; turn, bake 6 minutes on the other side until lightly browned. (Cook times may vary slightly due to oven variations.)
Remove from oven and serve.
Crispy on the outside, soft on the inside, with a yummy toasted cheese flavor. And perfect for little fingers!
Wondering why I included them as a “Mommy and Me” recipe? Because they are terrific floating on top of a bowl of soup! I will definitely be packing a few of these in my lunchbox. Mommy needs her greens, too, right?
My little man gobbled down 5 of these while they were still warm from the oven. Can you tell they were a hit? 😉
These sound great! I’ll definitely give them a shot. I’m a BIG fan of all food that can be eaten without utensils. Though my little one is pretty much convinced that forks are TEH BESTEST EVER right now…he can stab these to his little heart’s content.
That’s too funny! My son is also just getting the hang of the fork, and he’s having a blast with it. Stabbing everything, and laughing each time. I love this age…
I hope you like them! Thanks for stopping by 🙂
Found you through the green blog hop!
These look delicious and I may try and see if my little man would like them.
http://www.jenandjoeygogreen.blogspot.com
OooooOOOhhhhhh…..I LIKE this! I buy Dr. Praegers Spinach Bites and Zander LOVES them….I’ll have to give these a shot! Thanks for posting – I’ll come back and let you know what I think. <3
Please do! These have quickly become a favorite for us…I love that I only need to have a few simple ingredients on hand to make them.
I hope your son likes them!
I am so going to try these! I’m trying to find more ways to get my kids to eat veggies. My son only eats them when I sneak them into a smoothies and my daughter currently only eats broccoli and corn (which is better than nothing). Thanks.
Isn’t it amazing what you can do with a smoothie! 😉
Wow! These look delish!
And I *just* put us on a 4-week no-dairy trial! Arg! 🙂
I’ll file it away for when we’re done. 🙂
They really are good (I like them in tomato soup like croutons!) but we are slowly moving toward less and less dairy, too. We don’t do milk, but cheese is so hard to replace! Good luck!
Mmmmm….greens! The only spinach dish in my repertoire is saag aloo but my daughter loves it. These sound like a great way for me to include a bit more of the stuff in our household. I may have to “veganize” your recipe 😉
Veganize away! I’d love to see what you come up with! 🙂
These are great, thank you! I was browsing for recipes for “Mommy and Me” and found these. I just got my stoneware and manual food processor, so I had to try them! My 3 year old is eating them right now, and as soon as my 1 year old wakes up, he’ll dig in too!
Yay! I’m so glad to hear that you made them, and that they are finding their way into little tummies 🙂
I’ve been looking for ways to get more spinach into my diet besides salads, this recipe looks perfect!
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These look delicious!!! I bet even my husband would like them, and he’s not a big veggie fan!
Um, yum! What a great finger food! My kids love spinach, but my son is a little iffy with cheese. But I will try them nonetheless. My daughter and I will gobble them up!