Look Again is a series where I feature an old recipe that deserved a second look. These Spinach Nuggets have been buried in the archives since 2010, but are a great way to get your toddler or kids to eat more spinach! Save This Recipe! Enter your email and I'll send it straight to your inbox. Plus you'll get new recipes from me every week! By submitting this form, you consent to receive emails from Happy Healthy Mama.
I’ve been on a mission to get my kids eating more greens. Greens are pretty much the healthiest foods on the planet, and my kids turn their nose up at salads and any kind or cooked or sauteed greens. Smoothies with greens are an exception, but all winter long when I offer Meghan a smoothie for breakfast she says, “No I’m too cold for a smoothie!” If Meghan doesn’t want a smoothie for breakfast, guess who else doesn’t?
After asking for all of your advice on my Facebook page on how to get my children to eat salad, I was inspired to try some of your ideas. If you don’t like my Facebook page, by the way, you should check it out! Some great conversations go on over there. Oh! And I installed a Facebook Like Box over–>in the sidebar, so if you don’t already, you can simply click like right there. Easy! Thanks for your support!
Anyway, back to my salad issue. I took all of your great advice and made Meghan a small salad with her lunch. It included spinach leaves, defrosted blueberries and raspberries, and shredded cheddar cheese. I didn’t use a dressing at all, but instead let the juice from the defrosted berries coat the leaves.
She was not happy about having salad with her lunch. There was a lot of groaning and complaining. I finally got her to try a bite and she gagged and spit it out. She’s quite dramatic–we think she may have a future in acting. I tried to talk to her about why I want her eating greens, and it helped a little. She decided she’d try another bite, but she wanted just a plain spinach leaf. She ate that with a “this is gross” look on her face as she chewed. She finally swallowed it and agreed to eat one more leaf. So that was my big triumph. She ate two baby spinach leaves. Womp womp woooommmmp.
That same day I was browsing through the archives and came across this recipe for Spinach Nuggets. It was first published in March 2010 (!!) and I’d totally forgotten about it. I made these a bunch when Meghan was a toddler, but not since Luke was born. It was time to make them again! If Meghan and Luke won’t eat salads, maybe they’ll eat salad in the form of a nugget, I thought.
So how did it go? Well, let me start with Luke. I thought I’d escaped the toddler picky stage with him since Meghan hit hers at 2 1/2 and he was still happily eating most foods at that age. Well, apparently his picky stage started at 3 because his eating habits have changed. He took one look at the spinach nugget and said, “No! That’s too yucky!” I hear that line about fifty times a day lately. After I reminded him he’d never had spinach nuggets before, he replied, “No! It’s dirty!” Everything is dirty these days. Don’t you dare give that kid a banana with the smallest brown spot. So the introduction of spinach nuggets went nowhere fast with Luke.
Next up: Meghan. She looked at the spinach nugget on her dinner plate and scrunched up her nose, asking “Ugh! What’s that?” I told her it was a spinach nugget. She quickly replied, “No, I don’t want that.” I require Meghan to try everything I serve her at dinner. She doesn’t have to finish it if she doesn’t like it, but she does have to try it.
So she ate everything else on her plate first, then asked if she could cut the nugget. The nugget was cut into fourths and then she tried a bite. She closed her eyes and her body wrenched like it normally does when she is ready to gag and spit something out, but then she stopped. She opened her eyes and a tiny smile came over her face. She didn’t say anything, but quietly kept chewing. Without prompting, she ate a second piece. Then the third and then the fourth. The whole time she was looking at me with a sheepish grin. Then she announced, “Okay, I like spinach if you put it in a spinach nugget. But I still don’t like salad!”
While I couldn’t get Luke to try his (we don’t reinforce the “you must try everything” rule until around 4 years old–in our experience it’s pointless with a young toddler and don’t want mealtime battles), I was happy I found a new way to get at least one of my children to eat greens. I won’t give up on Luke. Once he decides he wants to try the nuggets, I’m confident that he’ll like them. He’ll get there.
I’m not including the dipping sauce I included in the original recipe because I ate these with ranch dressing and it was PERFECT. Although I did make these with the kids in mind, I loved them and found them addicting with the ranch dressing. My weirdo kids aren’t into ranch, but if yours are, serve these with ranch! I think these would also be tasty with a marinara sauce. The spinach taste is very mild here and the breadcrumbs and cheese give these a nice texture. If you want a new way to get your kids to eat greens, give these spinach nuggets a try! Here’s what some of my readers who have tried these have had to say about them:
I just have to tell you that my 21 month old son is absolutely crazy for these. He can eat an entire batch in 2 days. He loves the whole process, including mixing, “patting” them down and watching them cook. He runs through the house screaming “Nuggies” while they cook and it’s torture to wait for them to cool so he can eat them. THANK YOU!
Thanks so much for this recipe. Tried it with my toddler tonight and he ate a whole handful of spinach without pulling the ‘face’. He LOVED them!such a good idea x
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Look Again: Spinach Nuggets
- Total Time: 33 - 40 minutes
- Yield: 15 nuggets 1x
Description
These homemade spinach nuggets are perfect for toddlers, kids, or adults! They are totally addicting dipped in ranch dressing. This is a great way to eat more greens!
Ingredients
1/4 cup almonds
2 large handfuls fresh baby spinach
1 1/2 cups whole wheat breadcrumbs, divided
2 eggs
1/4 cup flaxseed meal
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 cup shredded cheese (I used cheddar, but any kind will be fine)
Instructions
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a cookie sheet.
2. Put the almonds in a food processor and process until they are a fine crumb (you could probably use almond meal instead if you prefer).
3. Add the spinach and pulse until the spinach is finely chopped and you have a green crumb-like mixture. Set aside. (If you don’t have a food processor, you can do the chopping by hand. Just chop everything very finely.
4. Whisk the two eggs in a medium bowl. Add the spinach-almond mixture, 1/2 cup of the breadcrumbs, flaxseed, basil, oregano, and cheese and mix well.
5. Place the remaining cup of breadcrumbs in a small bowl. Using your hands, form a small portion of the spinach mixture into a ball and roll it in the breadcrumbs until it is fully covered. Press it into a flat nugget shape and place it on the baking sheet. Repeat until you use all of the mixture.
6. Bake in the preheated oven 18-25 minutes*, turning the nuggets over half way through the baking time (optional. I forgot the second batch I made and they were fine…)
7. Allow to cool and serve. Enjoy!
Notes
*The original recipe said 25 minutes. The first time I made these again I cooked them for 25 minutes and they seemed slightly overcooked. The second time I made them i cooked them for 18 minutes and they were perfect. Ovens vary, so start checking them at 18 minutes.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 18- 25 minutes
- Category: main meal
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 nugget
- Calories: 80
- Sugar: 0.8g
- Sodium: 205mg
- Fat: 3.6g
- Carbohydrates: 7.5g
- Protein: 5.5g
At what point do you add the whole wheat? You mention it in the list of ingredients, but I do’t see it anywhere in the instructions?
The ingredient you’re talking about is broken into two lines, which would cause confusion. The recipe is calling for 1.5 cups of whole wheat breadcrumbs. No whole wheat flour needed!
I saw that much later. Silly me. Thank you. We love this recipe. My husband, son and I are big fans. It’s simply delicious.
My son LOVES these (so do I!) but I recommend cutting back or eliminating the flax meal. It’s a laxative and using 1/4 cup means each nugget has 3 times the recommended daily dose for toddlers. We’ve been dealing with the.. ahem.. fallout for two days now. I’m going back to the store today to make another batch without the flax!
Interesting. My daughter ate these like crazy when she was a toddler and it never had that effect for her. I hope they are great without the flax, too!
Is there something I can substitute for the almonds? I would love to make them for daycare but my son’s school is nut-free.
You can just leave them out and use more breadcrumbs in their place. I hope the little ones enjoy these! 🙂
Thank you! I made it tonight and it turned out GREAT!
So glad to hear it! Thanks for the feedback.
what kind of dipping sauce would you pair this with (for my husband)?
I think they are great with a marinara sauce!
how long do you head them up in the microwvave if you freeze them?
Not long. It only takes about 30 seconds.
This also works with steamed chopped broccoli! I use white cheddar in them and bake them in mini muffin tins. Broccoli Bites! Kiddos love them!
Yes, we love broccoli bites as well! Thanks! 🙂
What taste does the almond and flax seed give to the spinach nugget? As of now, no food allergies but I’m being cautious as to what my son does eat. I have a 19 month old. Is there a possibility of leaving these two ingredients out?
They add texture and extra nutrition, but the taste isn’t very noticeable. If you decide to leave them out, just eyeball it and add extra breadcrumbs if the mixture seems too wet. I hope your 19 month old enjoys these! 🙂
I really need to get more greens into my kids, and hope these will help. Would these turn out with frozen spinach? How much should I use?
Did these work with frozen spinach in the end?
Can I omit the cheese? My son is lactose intolerant. I will be trying your salmon cakes tonight. I like that the cakes don’t have cheese, hard to find recipes for toddlers that don’t use cheese as a binder these days.
With only 1/4 cup cheese, I feel like you could probably omit it without any issues. Please let me know how it works if you try it!
What could be a sub for flaxseed meal?
Wow these are delicious. I ate half of them despite being for my toddler so now I have to make more lol. I tried to chop the spinach myself, being lazy, and it totally didn’t clump. You really would need to chop finely to make it work and I clearly don’t have the skills for that! I ended up dumping the mixture into the food processor which I should have done in the first place.
They cooked up so well, slightly crispy and not greasy. Just perfect.
Thank you so much for sharing!
So happy to hear you liked these!
emm not bad. Thankyou Maryea
My son is on a special diet and can’t have flour or breadcrumbs. Is there a suitable carb free or low carb alternative?
I would try almond meal!
Is it okay to freeze the leftover?
Yes! I’ve frozen these.
How would you recommend going about freezing them? How would you package them?
I would freeze them on a large tray first, and then transfer them to either a Ziplock bag or a freezer-safe container.
Would you freeze these before or after cooking?
I would cook them first, then freeze.
Back in my college days, I used to babysit for a family and one of the little girls was allllll about these spinach nuggets from Trader Joe’s! Had I seen this recipe way back then, I’d be making these things for her on.the.reg. And now I needs me some spinach nugz. UGH so tasty and healthy!!
Seriously–I made these for the kids, but I can’t stop eating them!
I can just picture Luke running around to house screaming NUGGIES!! These look like the perfect snack, kiddos or not!
Love these!! Sharing for sure!
Thank you Amy!
Is it bad I think about trying them with my husband the way most people are talking about giving them to their toddlers!? haha. Actually hubs usually eats all my healthy creations but awhile ago I went too overboard with spinach (my favorite) so now he requests kale, swiss chard, anything but spinach… this recipe sounds like a great way to get him back onto spinach!
Do it!!
Hi Maryea,
Quick question – Can I assume that said basil and oregano is dried and not fresh?
Thanks! So excited to try these!
Yes–both dried. I’ll clarify that in the post. Thanks!
LOVE the idea of these nuggets! My toddler has an egg allergy and I see flax is already in the ingredient list. Do you think the recipe would work with an egg substitute or have you tried it without the eggs? Thanks 🙂
I have not tried it without the eggs. It could definitely work if you try two flax eggs. I’d take out the 1/4 cup flaxseed meal and replace that with an additional 1/4 cup of breadcrumbs, then I’d replace to two eggs with 2 flax eggs (For 1 flax egg I usually use 1 T flaxseed meal + 3 tablespoons water–is that how you make your flax eggs?) Of course, I haven’t tried this myself, but I’m just guessing that it would work. Please let me know if you try it!