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
If you love broccoli as much as me, have a browse of all my broccoli recipes! -> Broccoli Recipes
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.
My favourite way to eat broccoli! These freeze really well before baking. I usually make a double batch and stick them in the freezer. Then I take some out and air fry them for a quick dinner or when I need a veggie side.
My whole family loves these! I steamed the broccoli, pressed it with a paper towel to squeeze out any extra moisture, used 4C Gluten Free Bread Crumbs, and mixed finely shredded cheddar and Pecorino Romano cheese. I rolled half the mixture into balls, and made patties out of the rest. I skipped the dip – they’re delicious on their own.
Loved it! Perfect pairing with the lemon rice and lemon yoghurt
Hi,wondering if you could make these with cauliflower? My daughter is seriously fussy, if she sees the green she won’t go near them, thought cauliflower might work? Any tips on whether this will work?
Can confirm, works with cauliflower!
So easy & flavoursome. Served with cheese dip which was perfect
Love these, and so easy!! I made a batch of these and had to make a second batch straight away as I wolfed down quite a few 🙂
Super easy and quick recipe. Turned out great. Next time I think I will add a bit of dried sage, thyme and garlic salt (personal preference). I didn’t have any plain yogurt to make the yogurt sauce, so I just used bottled Ranch dressing as the dip. Delicious! Thanks, Nagi!
Nagi, the broccoli cheese balls are fabulous, next party, these will be centre, I’m eating my way through them now 😁
Easy..Delicious..Healthy.. Great hot or cold. A winner that I’ll be making again & again!! Thanks Nagi
Hi there, can these be frozen successfully,… 🌹
See Note 2 under the recipe – they freeze well once cooked! N x
Dear Nagi, I’m in love with your recipes! I’m looking for egg free baking options for savoury as well as sweet food items. It would really great if you could post how can we make these broccoli balls without egg. Thank you so very much for delivering one delicious recipe after the other. I see that you’re in Australia and we are moving there later this year as well. Hope I can catch up with you sometime and learn a few recipes😊
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.
Excellent recipe . I added spinach in with broccoli . Enjoyed by all .
So wonderful: children demolished them. I did not have quite enough weight in broccoli so added some lightly-microwaved grated carrot. Another fantastic Nagi recipe, thank you heaps!
I have a couple of ’bring a plate’ affairs to go to, so will make these.
What happened to dear Dozer?
Dozer is fine…Thanks for asking! N x
Have you cooked these in an air fryer?
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!