February 23, 2026 Ellen 0 Comments

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Easy Broiled Beef and Spinach Meatballs

Elevate your dinner game with these Easy Broiled Beef and Spinach Meatballs. Packed with a full pound of fresh spinach and grated zucchini, these meatballs stay incredibly juicy while offering a major nutritional punch. The addition of soy sauce and beef bouillon creates a deep savory flavor, while the oven-broiling technique gives them a perfect, restaurant-style sear. High-protein, veggie-loaded, and family-approved—this is the ultimate healthy meatball recipe for busy weeknights.

Yes, a healthy meatball does exist

Did you ever have to hide vegetables in food to get your kids to eat them? One great outcome from having to do that is realizing that some recipes are BETTER with the addition of healthy greens. These spinach meatballs are quite frankly better than any meatball with just plain meat, eggs and breadcrumbs. The addition of spinach and zucchini gives a little bit of texture and tenderness and breaks up the heaviness of the meat. The panko and egg holds this all together perfectly. I loathe having to fry anything that I can just pop in the broiler instead. Broiling a large baking sheet of meatballs is just easier than standing over a frying pan trying to get an even sear and having to do so in batches.

Make it umami rich

Don’t skip the soy sauce and beef bouillon here. Have you ever eaten something and felt like something was missing? Well, you would feel that way after every other meatball you will ever eat after this. Soy sauce just goes so well with beef and doesn’t make it taste Asian-y on its own. It just enhances the beefiness. The beef bouillon adds another savory component you won’t want to miss. Trust me.

Form meatballs on place on a parchment lined baking sheet — Form meatballs and place on a parchment lined baking sheet.

Spinach meatballs cooking in marinara sauce — After a total of 20 minutes in the broiler, the meatballs should be evenly seared. Transfer meatballs to a pot of marinara sauce and continue to cook on low for all the flavors to meld together.

Spaghetti and meatballs with grated parmesan cheese

What’s in the meatballs

ground beef
spinach
zucchini
onion
garlic
panko
eggs
parmesan cheese
soy sauce
beef bouillon
dried basil
dried parsley

Spinach Meatballs

Best method to sear meatballs in the broiler

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Meatballs are an easy meal that can be served so many ways. On its own, in red or white sauce, on bread for hero sandwiches, or with any kind if pasta. These spinach meatballs doesn’t taste like spinach, but the addition of the chopped spinach and zucchini adds to the tenderness of the meat. The panko and eggs do a great job of keeping these meatballs light yet meaty, tender but not fall apart crumbly. They hold up well in sauce and sandwiches. Broiling in the oven helps give the outside a wonderful even sear. Soy sauce and beef bouillon doesn’t give this recipe any kind of Asian-y taste. It simply enhances the robustness of the meaty taste of the beef and gives it another level of wonderful savoriness.

Author: Ellen
Category: Dinner

Ingredients

Units Scale

2 pounds of ground beef
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pound spinach, (fresh: cooked and squeezed or frozen: squeezed), chopped fine
1 cup zucchini, finely shredded and drained
2 eggs
2 teaspoons dried basil
2 teaspoons dried parsley
2 teaspoons garlic granules
2 teaspoons beef bouillon powder
2 teaspoons salt
4 cloves garlic, smashed and minced fine (or through a garlic press)
2 cups panko
1 cup grated parmesan
3 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
2 32 ounce jars of marinara sauce or or an equivalent amount of tomato sauce

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Instructions

In a large pot, heat the olive oil and sauté the spinach until soft. Transfer the spinach on to a colander to cool and drain the liquid. As it cools, press down on the spinach with the back of a large spoon to squeeze the liquid out. Discard the liquid.
Using a strainer over a bowl, strain the shredded zucchini for about 10 minutes. Discard the liquid.
Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Combine all the ingredients, except the marinara sauce in a large mixing bowl; ground beef, eggs, basil, parsley, garlic granules, beef bouillon, salt, fresh minced garlic, panko, parmesan, soy sauce, drained zucchini and spinach. Use your hands to gently combine all the ingredients together. Form meatballs and place them evenly spaced on the baking sheet.
Turn the oven to broil on medium (2) and set the top rack on the highest level. Broil your meatballs for 5 minutes. This will give the top of the meatball a nice sear. After 5 minutes, remove the baking sheet from the oven and turn the meatballs so that an un-seared part is facing up. Broil for another 5 minutes. Repeat 2 more times so that the meatballs have a nice sear all around, for a total broiling time of 20 minutes. You may have to lean the meatballs against each other so that the meatballs stay in position.
While the meatballs are broiling, warm up the marinara sauce in a large pot. After the meatballs are done broiling, add the meatballs to the sauce and continue to cook the meatballs in the sauce on low heat for 1 hour. Enjoy on its own or over pasta.