These Potato Spinach Cheese Balls Pack 38g of Protein Per Serving

Potato spinach cheese balls start with a simple dough: instant potato dumpling mix, quark, egg, chopped spinach, shredded cheese, and a mix of flours, combined and chilled briefly, then rolled into small balls. Instead of frying or baking, the balls go straight into boiling salted water and cook until they float to the top, the classic sign that a dumpling is done. No oil, no oven, just a pot of water and a few minutes of shaping.

Potato spinach cheese balls are boiled dumplings made from instant potato dumpling mix, quark, chopped spinach, and shredded cheese, fortified with a mix of flours and ground psyllium husk for extra protein and structure. One serving comes to roughly 500 calories with about 38 g of protein, making this a filling, protein-forward take on a classic comfort food.

Why This Version Works

Most spinach-and-cheese ball recipes online are deep-fried or baked, and built around ingredients like ricotta, paneer, or breadcrumbs. Those versions are good, but they tend to be lower in protein relative to their calories, and frying adds extra fat and mess. This version takes a different base entirely: instant potato dumpling mix instead of mashed potato from scratch, which keeps the prep quick, combined with quark for a real protein boost without needing a specialty protein powder.

Ground psyllium husk is the other detail doing quiet work here. It absorbs moisture and helps bind the dough, which matters because boiling is a gentler process than frying or baking, and the dumplings need enough structure to hold together as they cook and float rather than falling apart in the water.

Ingredients

This recipe makes about 2 servings.

• 400 g (about 14 oz) instant potato dumpling mix (half-and-half style)
• 80 g (about 2.8 oz) light shredded cheese
• 150 g (about 5.3 oz) frozen chopped spinach, thawed
• 1 egg
• 200 g (about 7 oz) low-fat quark
• 20 g (about 2 tbsp) spelt flour
• 20 g (about 2 tbsp) almond flour
• 10 g (about 1 tbsp) ground psyllium husk
• Seasoning: vegetable broth powder, Italian herbs, basil, parsley, to taste

Ingredient notes: If quark isn’t available, a thick Greek yogurt or well-drained cottage cheese blended smooth can work as a substitute, though the texture and tang will be slightly different. Make sure the frozen spinach is well thawed and excess liquid is squeezed out before mixing, or the dough can turn out too wet.

How to Make Potato Spinach Cheese Balls

1. Mix the dough. In a large bowl, combine the potato dumpling mix, shredded cheese, thawed and drained spinach, egg, quark, spelt flour, almond flour, ground psyllium husk, and seasoning. Mix everything together until you have a cohesive dough.
2. Chill briefly. Place the dough in the refrigerator for about 5 minutes; this makes it easier to shape into balls.
3. Shape the balls. Form the chilled dough into small, evenly sized balls.
4. Boil. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil, then gently drop the balls in. Reduce to a simmer, cover, and let them cook until they float to the surface.
5. Remove and serve. Once the balls are floating, they’re done. Remove them with a slotted spoon and serve warm.

Tips and Variations

• Don’t skip draining the spinach thoroughly, since excess water can make the dough too soft to hold its shape while boiling.
• Swap the cheese for any shredded cheese you have on hand; the amount is small enough that the type used won’t dramatically change the outcome.
• Adjust the seasoning to taste, especially the vegetable broth powder, since brands vary in saltiness.
• Serve with a simple sauce like a light tomato sauce or melted butter with herbs if you want something beyond the dumplings on their own.
• Leftovers reheat well by briefly simmering them again in hot water or pan-warming with a splash of water to keep them from drying out.

Key Takeaways

• Potato spinach cheese balls use an instant potato dumpling mix as the base, boiled rather than fried or baked.
• Quark and ground psyllium husk fortify the dough, pushing the protein content notably higher than a typical spinach-cheese ball recipe.
• One serving comes to about 500 calories and roughly 38 g of protein.
• Draining the spinach well is the key detail for getting a dough that holds together properly.
• The balls are done boiling once they float to the surface of the water.

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