Baked Sausage Meatballs with Spinach

I thought this recipe was interesting because the meatballs are rolled in bread crumbs and then baked in mini muffin tins. They do come out looking like mini meat muffins, but I've got nothing against those (why some of my best friends are mini meat muffins). I also liked the idea of sneaking some spinach in there. You don't really taste it much, which is good for people who like meat and don't get enough leafy greens (and by people, I'm talking about my kid). She and her friends happily scarfed these up and asked for more. Booyah.

BAKED SAUSAGE MEATBALLS WITH SPINACH

Yield: 20 meatballs (4 to 5 servings)

1/2 pound ground sausage

1/2 pound ground pork

1/2 pound ground beef

5 oz. frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained thoroughly

1/2 cup finely grated parmesan

1 whole egg

1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil

1 1/2 teaspoons dried parsley

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1/2 cup Italian bread crumbs, divided

1.      Preheat oven to 400º F.

2.      In a large mixing bowl, combine the sausage, pork, beef, spinach, cheese, egg, basil, parsley, garlic powder, salt, red pepper flakes, and 1/4 cup of the bread crumbs. Using your hands, mix all ingredients until well incorporated. Use immediately or place in refrigerator for up to 24 hours.

3.      Place the remaining 1/4 cup of bread crumbs into a small bowl. Using a scale, weigh meatballs into 1.5 oz. portions and place on a sheet pan. Using your hands, shape the meatballs into rounds, roll in the bread crumbs and place the meatballs in individual, miniature muffin tin cups. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden and cooked through.

slightly adapted from Baked Meatballs by Alton Brown

sausage, pork and beef

I used mild sweet Italian sausage. I also doubled the
recipe, since most meat is sold in 1 pound packages.
You can make this with any variety/ratio of meat you want.
I think sausage can be kind of overpowering, so I
mixed it with pork and beef for a milder flavor.

all the ingredients in a bowl

my little future food blogger getting into the action
(She probably thinks it's normal to take photos of your food.)

mixed

separated into meat globs

rolled into a ball and rolling in breadcrumbs

All I had on hand was Italian panko. It worked well enough,
but I would probably stick with regular Italian breadcrumbs
next time. The panko has a nice crunch, but didn't get as
golden and "well done" on top as I would have liked.

in the mini muffin tins

baked

baked sausage meatballs with spinach
(a.k.a. mini meat muffins)

.