Healthy sweet potato balls with spinach
These delicious and healthy sweet potato balls are made with spinach and are easy to make. Perfect as a side dish for dinner or even as a little healthy snack in between meals.
Sweet potato balls with spinach
By the time you are reading this there is only one day left of our whole30 adventure. We will have completed 30 days, well almost! And looking back, it kind of went pretty quickly too. We ate these delicious sweet potato balls somewhere on day 24 if I remember correctly, but I am guessing you couldn’t care less.. 😉 The recipe I found on one of my favorite paleo sites. It was previously called Eat, drink, paleo but has since rebranded to Cooked and Loved.
How to make the sweet potato balls
Making these sweet potato balls is not complicated at all. You cook the sweet potato and you wilt the spinach. This is easiest done if you place the spinach in a colander and pour boiling water over it. Leave to stand for a bit and then squeeze as much moisture out as you can. Chop the leaves finely. You need about 1,5 cup of the wilted spinach.
While the sweet potatoes are boiling you use a large skillet with a bit of coconut oil or olive oil and you sauté the onion. Once the are cooked through (and give it time!) add the spinach, thyme leaves, lemon zest and sauté for a few more minutes.
Once the sweet potatoes are cooked, drain them and let them steam a bit so the excess moisture evaporates. Now using a potato masher break down the sweet potatoes. it’s ok if they’re not super smooth. Some chunky bits is fine to have.
Making the balls
Now is the time to assemble the sweet potato balls. You add your spinach mixture to the sweet potato and season with salt and pepper. Add the arrowroot too. That will hold everything together. If you do not have arrowroot you can substitute for corn flour or tapioca starch.
Now using your hands rolls all of the sweet potato into balls. That is easiest done if your hands are wet so it sticks less. Heat some coconut oil in a skillet and fry the balls golden and brown on all sides. Serve with your meal as a side dish.
Fan of sweet potato?
- Sweet potato tempura fries
- Sweet potato smoothie bowl
- Sweet potato breakfast bowl
- Loaded sweet potato
Sweet potato balls with spinach
Ingredients
- 2 medium sweet potatoes peeled and cut into cubes
- 1,5 cup wilted spinach see instructions below
- 1 large brown onion diced
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves diced
- 4 sprigs thyme leaves only
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1,5 tsp sea salt
- 2/3 tsp ground black pepper
- 1 tbsp arrowroot flour
- Oil for frying
Instructions
- Wilt your spinach by placing a big two handfuls into a bowl and pouring boiling water on top. Leave to stand for about a minute, then drain, leave to cool and sqeeuze out any moisture you can. Chop your spinach.
- Put the sweet potato cubes into a pan with cold water and bring to the boil. Cook for about ten minutes or when done.
- Heat two tbsp of oil in a frying pan and saute the onions on medium high for about ten minutes until translucent and golden. Add your chopped spinach, the garlic, lemon zest and thyme leaves to it and cook for a further 3-4 minues. Drizzle with lemon juice.
- Drain the sweet potato and put into a bowl. Use a potato masher or a fork to mash them. It’s doesn’t have to be super smooth. A few lumps are ok. Add the spinach mix, salt, pepper and the arrowroot flour and mix everything well together.
- Heat a thin layer of oil in a frying pan until piping hot. Then turn down the flame, wet your hands and make golf ball sized balls. Fry them for about 2 minutes on each sides, making sure they get golden all over.
- Serve with lemon wedges and thyme
Nutrition Information
Disclaimer
The nutritional values above are calculated per portion. The details are based on standard nutritional tables and do not constitute a professional nutritional advice.
Thanks for this recipe! – I had some roasted sweet potatoes left over, so I fried the onion and garlic together, added the spinach and some chopped chili-pepper and the potatoes and mashed it all together!
Sounds good too!