Living, breathing proof that broccoli recipes don’t have to be boring…. These Baked Broccoli Cheese Balls are an outrageously delicious meat-free meal or fabulous bites to serve at a gathering. Make these with fresh or frozen broccoli, and watch as even the pickiest of eaters scoff them down!
“Freeze! Cut! Don’t move!”
“Faster, faster, faster!”
“Dozer, move! MOVE!”
“Chop chop chop, come on, let’s get this scene done!”
“Dozer. I said MOVE!”
One day, I need to use the sound that’s recorded on the footage that I shoot for the recipe videos.
When I watch the clips, I’m always in hysterics when I listen to the ridiculous conversation: me batting Dozer away, listening to my mother getting all stressed out when I crack the whip to chop faster, her mocking my Baby Hands and throwing her weight around as the “talent” in my videos. And sometimes, I deliberately shout out “FREEZE!” when my mother is in a particularly awkward position – like half squatting, mid ball forming – just for my own amusement. Ba ha ha, I’m SO MEAN!
Such is life when you’re an amateur videographer, working out of your home with a make-do-with-what-you-have video set up, on a $6 Bunnings DIY fake marble shooting surface, with your mother as your hand model and a dog who…..well, a dog who contributes nothing except gets in the way. We create our own amusement!
Now – let’s talk Broccoli Balls!
Baked Broccoli Cheese Balls: Perfect meat-free party snacks
Today is Monday Meatball Mania, yet another “thing” I do to create my own amusement. My friend Jo from Jo Cooks and I agreed to each share a meatball recipe on the last Monday of every month. And that’s just about the only rule there is.
Except….that it needs to be a meatball recipe… and these Baked Broccoli Cheese Balls are completely devoid of any form of meat. Hmm…..I wonder if Jo will declare this to be a foul? 😉 We shall see!
These babies certainly don’t taste healthy – but they are. You’ll be surprised how much broccoli you use – an entire very large head – and they are baked, not fried. They come out beautifully golden, they stay pretty round, and they’re really juicy and moist inside.
I haven’t served these Baked Broccoli Cheese Balls at a gathering yet but I definitely plan to in the near future because they reheat well and I think they’ll be a total crowed pleaser. And they’re fabulous as a meal too. In the photo below, I served this with a lemon pilaf and a quick sautéed kale side (recipe in the notes!). – Nagi x
More Fabulous Broccoli Recipes
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More fabulous Broccoli recipes
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WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT
Baked Broccoli Cheese Balls recipe video!
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Baked Broccoli Cheese Balls
Ingredients
- 2 cups (packed) roughly chopped soft cooked broccoli (well drained) (~400g/13 oz raw broccoli) (Note 1)
- 1 cup panko breadcrumbs
- 2 eggs
- ¾ cup shredded cheese (Cheddar, Colby or Tasty cheese are my usual)
- 2 shallots / scallions , finely sliced
- 2 cloves garlic , minced
- ¼ tsp salt
- Black pepper
- Olive oil spray
Garlic Lemon Yoghurt Sauce:
- 2/3 cup plain yoghurt
- Zest of 1/2 lemon
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- ½ garlic clove , minced
- 2 tsp extra virgin olive oil (adjust to taste, depends on fat % of yoghurt used)
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 200C/390F (all oven types).
- Line tray with baking / parchment paper. (Note 2)
- Place all ingredients (except oil spray) in a bowl. Mix well to combine, mashing up the broccoli as you go (like when you are cooking mince).
- Scoop up a heaped tablespoon, then press in firmly. Flick out into your hand then form into a ball. Place on tray. Repeat with remaining mixture – should make 15 – 18 balls.
- Spray with oil then bake for 25 minutes, or until the surface is slightly crisp and golden.
- Serve with Lemon Yoghurt Sauce – it also goes great with ketchup!
- Sauce: Mix ingredients together then set aside for at least 20 minutes to allow the flavours to meld.
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
LIFE OF DOZER
If it isn’t bad enough that he can’t even go for walks until the cut on his paw heals a bit, now I’m making him wear a sock…..!!!
PS Before you mock me (and him), it is VERY practical rather than re-bandaging every day because it gets so filthy. I mean, I have four of these socks. So I only have to wash them every 4 days! 😉
PS Reminder: let’s not feel too sorry for him. He lives a darn good life.
What can I substitute for dipping sauce?
Hi Carol, you can use any dipping sauce you like! N x
Hi Nagi, would it be possible to omit the eggs or is there a vegan friendly substitute I could use?
I’ve tried using oat yogurt (I used alpro) as an egg substitute. It binds super well! Only thing is it seems to have made the dough a bit soggier than eggs. I adjusted the oven temperature higher to 225C to absorb more of that moisture and it seemed to have fixed the problem.
Hi Meg, they are the binder here, I haven’t tried with any egg substitutes though sorry! N x
Sooo delicious! Loved these. So easy to put together. I made them in the day and then they were ready to pop in the oven at night for an easy dinner. They had such a lovely crunch to the outside and so fluffy inside. So yummy with the lemony yoghurt sauce too. Will definitely make again!
Can I do them in the air fryer?
Thank you Nagi! I’am glad to find your recipe, looks great!
I put the brocolli stems in a food processor so they were in nice small chunks, and pulsed the heads so they were chopped small but not teeny tiny. I also added 1/2 cup of parmesan cheese and reduced the cheddar cheese to 1/2 cup. I didnt have shallots so put in some diced onion too. They turned out great!
Such a quick, simple recipe and absolutely delicious! Made these for my vegetarian daughter, but even us carnivores were super impressed.
I added a little parmesan as well since I had some to use up, and next batch I’m thinking I’ll add a little smoked paprika.
The lemon yoghurt complemented them perfectly too. Thanks Nagi!
Love it thanks made it tonight and my boyfriend who hates veggies just ate all of them smile
I just realised that I added parmesan instead of tasty cheese… and forgot the shallots!
Doesn’t matter – I will make them exactly the same as I just did because they were perfect
Wahoo! That’s awesome Sue! N x
Has anyone tried almond flour in place of the bread crumbs? I’m doing low carb and wondering if it would work
Thanks so much for this wonderful recipe!
Hubby (who isn’t that keen on Broccoli) Absolutely loves these and said he could eat them every night for dinner.
I made them in patty sized serves and they were wonderful
Great recipe for all!!!!kids alike
I’ve made these bad boys a few times and over Christmas made them again but this time adding chilli flakes. Talk about next level.
Thank you 🙏🏿 for your receipt
Nagi, these look great! I can’t wait to try them. BTW, the expression is “scarf them down”, not scoff
New one for me, too, Liz! Scoff in the US is a mocking rejection, scarf is either worn or how we devour yummy food! I’m always keen to learn how English slang develops differently around the world…
SCOFF here in Australia! 😂 Hope you try them Liz! N xx
Scoff here in UK too 😹😉
Just made these tonight with the rice and the kale. So good. I had a little difficulty with the broccoli balls and getting them to form a ball and not fall apart. I diced one shallot because two seemed like a lot. You used scallions in the video and I don’t know if that made a difference with the balls not forming well.
Hi Kelly, I forgot to add the shallots to mine, and added parmesan instead of tasty cheese… and purposely made them into fritter/patty size and they were perfect. Maybe next time you could do one of these things?… because they do taste great don’t they
OMGoodness. Really tasty, simple to make!
Anxious to make these broccoli balls.
This was really good, will make this again, soon! I did not make the dipping sauce, next time I will.
Hello! I would love to make these for my baby but she reacts to egg. What do you suggest to substitute for the egg? Thank you!
Thank you Nagi, you have saved the day again! My child who will not eat greens/broccoli is devouring these (with the dip)!! Thank you so much!!