My name may not really be Mrs. Bacon Onion Cheddar-Spinach, but I could happily be called Mrs. Spinach. I adore spinach and wish I could eat it every day.
For years I cooked spinach far less often than I wanted because most of my kids weren’t fans. I added it to one of our many homemade pizzas, made the occasional spanakopita, and otherwise let it sit on the sidelines. I’m the kind of person who could eat spinach almost every day, yet I found myself serving it only once a week.
Then I visited Oklahoma, and everything changed. What does that have to do with spinach? Quite a bit, actually.
While I was away my kids stayed with a friend who is nothing short of a saint. When I returned one of my sons — a founding member of the “no-green-stuff-in-my-food” club — asked if I could get his quiche recipe from her because it was “the best thing ever.” When I asked what kind of quiche it was, I nearly fell over: “Spinach!” he said.
She is the kind of person who agreed to look after all five of my sons and my dog (ages five through thirteen), in addition to her own four children, fed them, took them hiking, helped pull leeches off them (which provided dinner conversation for a month), let them watch Doctor Who, and returned them safe and sound. Getting my kids to eat spinach felt like a miracle — thank you, Mrs. Casda Danner!
I was stunned because not only had my son eaten spinach, he’d actually noticed and liked it. I asked my friend how she did it. Her answer was simple and brilliant: people serve spinach the wrong way. She said most people serve it wilted with vinegar, but what kids respond to is generous amounts of butter, cheese, or cream.
Inspired by that advice and after some browsing for ideas, I adapted a picture I found of broccoli-cheese bites and decided to try something similar with spinach. I channeled Casda’s approach, piled in Cheddar (extra-sharp if possible), added bacon because Cheddar and bacon belong together, and the result converted even the picky eaters at my table.
My family named them Spinach Bacon Cheddar Munchy Cakes. They’re small savory cakes that combine spinach, bacon, and Cheddar into a crunchy, cheesy bite. They come together quickly and are very economical to make. Leave out the bacon to make a vegetarian-friendly version.
A batch of these vanished almost instantly. Even the baby tried them — and liked them. We served ours with hot sauce; I prefer dainty dots of sriracha, while my husband loads his on without restraint.
I won’t pretend these are a health food — they’re indulgent — and I don’t mind. They’re simply delicious.
Spinach Bacon Cheddar Munchy Cakes
Rebecca Lindamood
Ingredients
- 1 pound package frozen spinach thawed and squeezed to remove most of the liquid
- 3 cups shredded Cheddar cheese extra-sharp works best
- 1 1/2 cups fine dry bread crumbs seasoned or plain
- 6 large eggs
- 1/2 pound bacon cooked, drained and crumbled
- 3 tablespoons finely minced onion
- 1/4 teaspoon dry mustard powder Coleman’s is recommended
- freshly ground black pepper to taste
Optional:
- Hot sauce for serving
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C).
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Line a baking sheet (or two, depending on size) with parchment paper.
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Combine the spinach, Cheddar, bread crumbs, eggs, bacon, minced onion, dry mustard, and black pepper. Stir until evenly mixed.
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Scoop about 1/4–1/3 cup of the mixture (roughly the size of a plum) and form into a patty. Place on the prepared pan.
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Repeat until all the mixture is formed into patties.
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Bake 25–30 minutes, flipping the patties after about 15 minutes, until golden brown and crisp on the outside.
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Serve hot, warm, or at room temperature with your preferred hot sauce.
Nutritional information is an estimate and provided as a courtesy. Calculate nutrition using the exact ingredients you use with your preferred nutrition calculator.
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