What should I make for dinner tonight? Something simple, quick, and tasty! Ricotta and spinach meatballs are a great choice, especially for those always in a hurry!
These ricotta and spinach meatballs are creamy and delicious and contain no eggs.
The main ingredients for this recipe are spinach and ricotta. Those who are intolerant can use lactose-free ricotta.
Since I’m on a diet, I decided not to add eggs to the mixture to make my dinner lighter and healthier.
If you want, you can enrich these meatballs with pieces of cheese of your choice or speck, mortadella, or cooked ham 😋
Once ready, the spinach and ricotta meatballs are passed through breadcrumbs (gluten-free for those who are intolerant).
To make them different from the usual, we can also use coarse cornmeal instead of classic breadcrumbs.
In this case, the cornmeal will give our meatballs an even more intense color and a rustic and very pleasant taste.
The beauty of this main course is that it is prepared in no time and without any stress! Just boil the spinach for about ten minutes and then combine all the ingredients in a bowl!
Moreover, these very soft ricotta and spinach meatballs can be cooked either in a pan, as I did, or in the oven or air fryer.
If you feel like tasting them, it’s the right time to see how they are made!
Make sure you read to the end; you will find useful tips for making this recipe and a little gift for you ❤️
Additionally, I leave you some delicious recipes to try based on spinach or ricotta 😉
- Cost: Economical
- Preparation time: 25 Minutes
- Portions: about 23 meatballs
- Cooking methods: Electric oven, Stove, Boiling
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons
Ingredients
- 25 oz ricotta
- 5 oz spinach (fresh or frozen)
- 2.5 oz breadcrumbs (gluten-free for those intolerant)
- 2 tbsp grated Parmesan
- as needed chopped parsley (only if you like it)
- 1 pinch salt
- as needed lemon zest
- as needed garlic (only if you like it)
- 1.5 oz breadcrumbs (approximately)
- as needed rosemary (only if you like it)
- as needed black peppercorns
- 1 tsp grated Parmesan
Tools
- Saucepan
- Bowl
- Frying Pan
- Sieve
- Grater
- Spatula
Steps
To prepare these tasty meatballs, you first need to boil the spinach. You can use either fresh or frozen ones.
Take a not too large saucepan and pour some water into it. Bring to a boil and toss in the spinach.
I used frozen ones. If you prefer fresh ones, first wash them well under water.
Cook them for about ten minutes. Then drain and wring the spinach well until they are as dry as possible.
Let them cool, then chop them with scissors and place them in a bowl along with the ricotta.
As for the ricotta, I use cow ricotta, but mixed or sheep ricotta is also fine.
An important tip I leave you is to buy a dry ricotta; otherwise, you will first need to drain it in a sieve.
In the bowl with the ricotta and spinach, add grated Parmesan, a pinch of salt, breadcrumbs, lemon zest, and pepper if you like.
A generous handful of fresh parsley and a little finely chopped garlic (if you don’t like garlic, you can skip it).
At this point, mix all the ingredients well until you get a mixture compact enough to be worked with your hands.
If you notice that the mixture is still too soft, it might be necessary to add more breadcrumbs.
This can happen if the ricotta or spinach contains too much liquid, but don’t worry, it’s normal.
Take small portions of the mixture and shape the meatballs into the shape and size you prefer.
Place the meatballs on a tray as you prepare them. Once the mixture is used up, prepare the breading.
In a bowl, mix breadcrumbs, rosemary, grated Parmesan, a pinch of pepper, and mix.
Now roll all the meatballs in the breading and then you can choose how to cook them.
I chose to cook them in a pan with very little olive oil.
A few minutes per side will be enough, and once golden, they will be ready to serve!
If you prefer, you can cook them in the oven/air fryer at 340°F for about ten minutes.
Once ready, you can finally enjoy them! They are also excellent cold!
If you want, you can dip them in a nice tomato sauce previously cooked in a pan so you can also do the “scarpetta”!
I hope you enjoyed this recipe! Let me know in the comments if you try it and come back soon to visit me!
Article protected by copyright © – Gabriella Geroni © All Rights Reserved
FAQ (Questions and Answers)
How can I substitute ricotta?
Since ricotta and spinach are the main ingredients of this recipe, suggesting a substitution would mean completely changing the dish!
However, those who do not eat ricotta can replace it with Greek yogurt. Having never tried this substitution, I can’t say if the breadcrumbs’ quantities will remain the same because ricotta and Greek yogurt have different consistencies.
In case of substitution, the breadcrumbs should be added little by little until you get a mixture that can be worked with your hands.What can I use instead of spinach?
Instead of spinach, you can use the vegetables you prefer. For example, zucchini, peppers, peas, carrots, kale, etc. The amount remains the same as for spinach.
You must first clean and wash the vegetables, boil them in boiling water, drain them well from the water, and chop them. Then you can combine them with the ricotta, and also in this case, adjust with the breadcrumbs dosage.Can I stuff the ricotta and spinach meatballs with a little mozzarella?
You can enrich your ricotta and spinach meatballs using the cheeses you like the most, but I do not recommend mozzarella! Or rather, if you really want to, pizza mozzarella is more suitable as it does not release too much liquid during cooking.
Otherwise, you can use other types of stringy cheese like Provola, Provolone, Scamorza, Caciocavallo, etc.
In the case of adding cheeses, the amount is equal to 100 grams.If I wanted to add some cooked ham, how many grams?
These tasty meatballs can be enriched using, as already mentioned, speck, mortadella, cooked ham, cut into small pieces. The amount is 100 grams.
If you decide to add both cheese and ham, the amount will be 50 g for one and 50 g for the other.How do I store ricotta and spinach meatballs?
Ricotta and spinach meatballs can be stored in the fridge both before and after cooking. If you decide to put them in the fridge uncooked, cover them well to prevent absorbing the odors of other foods and store them for about a couple of days. If they are cooked and leftovers, you can still store them in the fridge, always for about two days.
These meatballs are excellent both hot and cold. If you like them warmer, you can heat them in the microwave for a few moments or in a pan with a drizzle of oil, and they will be like newly made!Can I freeze spinach and ricotta meatballs?
Yes, and you can freeze them both raw (after breading) and cooked, for about a month.
For cooking, proceed with the meatballs still frozen, in a pan with a couple of tablespoons of oil, or in the oven. The cooking time will obviously be different if it is already cooked or raw meatballs. Proceed with low temperatures to control them more easily.
