- Prep-time: / Ready In:
- Makes 25 to 28 balls
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Tasty both right out of the oven or at room temperature, these savory snacks are filled with homemade potato-based vegan cheese. The melty center surprise is encased in a tasty veggie ball that gets its vibrant green hue from green beans and spinach. Corn, jalapeño, and onion bring extra zesty flavor to the mixture while crunchy bread crumbs prevent this vegan finger food from falling apart. Dip them in marinara sauce for an extra decadent treat that tastes like pub grub—minus all the unhealthy ingredients. Feel free to bake the spinach bites ahead of time to pack them into lunch boxes or picnic baskets.
Tip: Chile peppers contain oils that can irritate your skin and eyes. Wear plastic or rubber gloves when working with them.
For more vegan finger food recipes, check out these tasty ideas:
- Creamy Vegan Spinach Knishes
- Spiced-Couscous Cucumber Bites
- Crispy Baked Polenta Sticks with Ranch Dip
- Zucchini Fritters
Ingredients
- 2¼ lb. Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
- ¾ cup unsweetened, unflavored plant-based milk
- ¼ teaspoon agar powder
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice
- 8 small cloves garlic, minced
- 1½ teaspoons sea salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ½ cup fresh or thawed frozen corn
- 1 fresh jalapeño chile, stemmed, seeded, and finely chopped (see tip)
- 8 oz. fresh green beans, cut into 1-inch pieces
- 2 cups finely chopped onion
- 8 cups packed fresh spinach
- 2 cups dry bread crumbs
- 1 cup almond flour
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
- 3 cups oil-free marinara sauce , warmed
Instructions
- Place potatoes in a steamer basket in a large saucepan. Add water to saucepan to just below basket. Bring to boiling. Steam, covered, 15 minutes or until tender. Let cool 10 minutes. Transfer 2 cups of the potatoes to a high-speed blender. Place remaining potatoes in a large bowl; mash.
- For vegan cheese filling, in a small saucepan combine ½ cup of the milk and the agar; mix well. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered, 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove from heat. Let cool 5 to 10 minutes.
- Transfer milk mixture to blender with potatoes. Add the remaining ¼ cup milk, the nutritional yeast, 1 tablespoon of the lemon juice, 2 of the garlic cloves, ½ teaspoon of the salt, and ¼ teaspoon of the black pepper. Cover and blend until very creamy. Stir in corn and jalapeño.
- Carefully pour blended mixture onto a large baking sheet in a layer no more than ½-inch thick; let cool. Cover tray in plastic wrap; freeze 1 hour or until cheese is set.
- In a food processor combine green beans and onion; pulse until very finely chopped. Transfer to bowl with mashed potatoes. Place spinach in food processor; pulse until very finely chopped. Transfer to bowl with mashed potatoes. Add bread crumbs, almond flour, Italian seasoning, and the remaining 2 tablespoons lemon juice, 6 garlic cloves, 1 teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon black pepper. Mix well to combine.
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Remove cheese from freezer.
- Roll ¼ cup of potato-spinach mixture into a ball. Flatten to a 4-inch disk between your palms. Place 1 tablespoon of the cheese in the center, then fold the edges of the disk toward the middle to enclose cheese; roll into a compact ball. Place ball on prepared baking sheet. Repeat with remaining potato-spinach mixture and cheese.
- Bake 20 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool 5 minutes. Flip balls over and return to oven. Bake 20 minutes more. Serve immediately with warm marinara.
Comments (6)
(5 from 3 votes)Get ready for a commitment to make this dish. Pad about an additional 2.5 hours to the time and then another .5 hr to wash up. The end result is quite good and unique ~ I wouldn't say it's fabulous. I had a hard time getting the "dough" to stay together to make a disk and roll around the cheese mixture. After making half of it, I was exhausted, so I put 1/2 of the remaining green mixture s in the bottom of a casserole, the remaining cheese, and the rest of the greens on top. It's frozen right now, because, you know, cooking for one, it's hard to eat on the same thing again and again. Btw, that cheese is really unique and yummy. I could see it being a layer in a lasagna.
What could be used as a substitute for almond flour? (Due to nut allergy). Thank you
Hi Sally, We reached out to the recipe creator about substitutions and these are her thoughts: "While I have not tried it, I think extra firm tofu, that has been pressed well to remove moisture, could work in place onf the almond flour. Other ingredients I would try are bread crumbs, gluten free bread crumbs, or ground-up rice puffs cereal." We hope this helps, and let us know how it goes!
These are delicious! They are definitely a bit time-consuming to make but well worth the effort as an occasional treat (I think they will be a regular item on our St. Patrick's Day menu).
Why don't your recipes have nutrient values?
That would be so helpful!!!!!!