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These Whole30-friendly and paleo spinach and artichoke meatballs are the perfect party or game day food. The tangy creamy sauce is a must!
Can you believe Super Bowl is almost here? Those of you who aren’t into sports are probably like, “Yes, and I don’t give a fuuuuuuu—.” I get it. I don’t much care about the teams playing this year, but I do enjoy watching football with friends and it’s so exciting to get into a game that so many people care about.
If you don’t agree, then can’t we all at least agree that game day food is the best? Nachos, wings, dips, chili, finger foods… What’s not to love?
Today’s recipe was created out of my love for both spinach and artichoke dip and meatballs, and it’s the perfect game day food that won’t make you feel tired and sluggish afterwards.
I love these spinach and artichoke meatballs because they literally come together in 5 minutes and all you really have to do is throw them in the oven. And they are seriously so delicious! The meatballs are a bit veggie heavy so I didn’t think the fiancé would love them, but he gobbled them up and told me how amazing they were. I think the sauce really pulls all the flavors together so definitely definitely make the sauce! It adds the creaminess and tanginess that’s so amazing in a spinach and artichoke dip.
Whether you are hosting or going to a Super Bowl party, I know these meatballs will be a popular crowd pleaser. It’s so healthy (they are sugar detox-friendly!) but still so healthy and flavorful. I promise, you won’t miss the cheese but if you aren’t lactose intolerant like me, you can also replace nutritional yeast with some cheddar or parmesan. I hope you love these as much as we did!
Spinach and Artichoke Meatballs
Ingredients
Meatballs
- 1 1/2 lb ground pork
- 1 14- oz can of artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
- 2 cups frozen spinach, thawed and drained
- 1/3 cup nutritional yeast
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- Fresh cracked black pepper, to taste
- 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes, optional
Dipping Sauce
- 1/4 cup paleo mayonnaise
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 tsp dijon mustard
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1 stalk of green onion, finely minced
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
Meatballs
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Use your hands to squeeze out the liquid from the artichoke hearts and spinach.
- Mix all ingredients for the meatballs in a large bowl.
- Shape into 24-30 meatballs, about the size of golf balls.
- Place on the lined baking sheet, making sure that they don't touch each other.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes until the meatballs are cooked through.
- Serve drizzled with dipping sauce (recipe below) or you can serve the sauce on the side to dip the meatballs in.
Dipping Sauce
- While the meatballs are baking, mix all ingredients in a small bowl and set aside until ready to serve.
I made these last night and they were AMAZING. Super moist, a great flavor, and an awesome way to sneak veggies into meatballs. Ate these with roasted acorn squash and cauliflower rice and dabbled the sauce on the whole plate – it goes with everything!
Some notes:
– Didn’t have a lemon so I skipped the zest, but will make sure to add it the next time I make these because I could see how it would be brighter with zest included. They were still delish without.
– I had a jar of marinated artichokes in oil, so I used those instead of canned. Seemed to work just as well. The oil may have added some additional fat, which may have contributed to keeping the meatballs moist.
So glad you liked it! Gotta try the marinated artichokes. What a great idea.
I made these with ground turkey and they came out bland and dry, so I threw them in a pot of tomato sauce to soak up some mositure. Somehow that made the lemon zest stand out more.
Do you have suggestions for substituting turkey instead of pork?
You can try to add an egg to the meatball mix. I never tried this though so I can’t guarantee the results!
Ok, thanks. I think I found a nutritional yeast without the synthetic Vitamin B. Sari Foods. I’m waiting to hear from the company.
I don’t eat dairy, I’ve always found it gross. I guess that might be a good thing I’m probably the only kid growing up, pulling cheese off my pizza. Ha ha.
Love the recipe for the meatballs. I’ll figure something out and can’t wait to make it.
Great! The first time I made this, I didn’t use nutritional yeast and it came out delicious. I just wanted that more cheesy flavor so it can taste more like a classic spinach and artichoke dip!
If I’m not using nutritional yeast, should I replace it with something else. It appears all companies use cyanocobalamin, not methylcyanocobalamin. I have to watch what B’s I put in my body, and cyanocobalamin is not good.
You can just omit it! Nutritional yeast will add the cheesy taste. If you can handle dairy, you can substitute with real cheese of your choice, but it’ll still be delicious without it as well.