We’re big fans of Dr. Praeger around here. Jackson loves the fish sticks, he loves the spinach cakes, and just about everything else we’ve tried so far. One of my favorites to keep on hand for him in the house is spinach cakes, because it’s a great way for me to sneak in some extra veggies, and he loves having them for breakfast – win win! The only problem? They’re not cheap! I don’t mind paying a little extra for a healthy option for him, but it adds up quick, and when he likes to have them on the daily it makes it hard to keep up.
So, I decided it was high time I figure it out on my own. I did some looking around and found out that the ingredients are incredibly simple (score!) and that almost no one online has attempted this before (dangit!). I did manage to find one or two recipes, but nothing I felt confident running with. So I decided to make it up on my own!
Ingredients:
– 2 medium potatoes (more if you want them more potato-y, less if you don’t)
– 1 bag of fresh spinach (you could do frozen, I wanted to avoid the extra water)
– 1 tablespoon of chopped garlic
– 1-2 tablespoons of oil (I used extra virgin, any kind will do)
– 1/2 medium onion
– 2 egg whites
– Salt/pepper to taste
– 1 teaspoon dried oregano
** Note: The ingredients in the real thing include arrowroot and oat bran…I skipped these because I didn’t have them laying around and it worked just fine, but next time I’ll make sure to have them on hand, as I imagine it will help it to stay together a bit better than mine do.
Putting it together is incredibly quick. Preheat the oven to 350. Chop up the potatoes and boil them until they’re soft. While they’re boiling, toss the spinach, onion, and seasonings in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. I added about 2 tablespoons of water to help it blend easier, but you could easily skip that. When the potatoes are cooked, mash them as thoroughly as you can – I was lazy with this step and my cakes are a bit chunky.
Put the garlic with a bit of oil in a pan and cook on medium heat for about 1 minute. Add egg whites, spinach mix, and potatoes and stir to combine. If you’re doing the arrowroot and oat bran, this would be the time to add that in too.
Allow it all to cook together until the egg whites are cooked through, then remove from heat and allow to cool. Once it’s cool enough to handle, form into small patties and toss onto a cookie sheet (I covered mine with foil first). Mine looked pretty loose at this point, and I was skeptical, but I promise it worked. Cook for 12-15 minutes.
Once they’re done cooking, you can eat them immediately, or you can Wrap in foil and freeze (which is what I did). They were still a bit loose when I took them out of the oven, but they set pretty nicely after freezing! When your’e ready to eat, grab one out of the freezer, toss it in the microwave for about 45 seconds, and you’re good to go!
This made about 2 dozen patties, and only cost me about $5 to get all of the ingredients…which is about what it costs at my grocery store to get five of the real thing! Jackson loves them and while I haven’t tasted them yet, they smell exactly like the Dr. Praeger version. I think I’ll be making these again and again!
What are your favorite quick breakfast items?
wonderful cherry / 21504 posts
They also have a huge box of these at Costco- I bought it only to discover my LO doesn’t like them. Oh well- I ate them all.
pomegranate / 3113 posts
Thank you!! I can’t wait to make these. I tried to DIY some a couple weeks ago and they were okay but not quite like the real thing. DD hasn’t agreed to eat one yet, so I think I’m stuck with them myself, haha. Yours look much better than mine, so fingers crossed she’ll like them!
How much arrowroot and oat bran would you suggest using?
pomelo / 5866 posts
Looks pretty interesting and love how healthy it is! Why haven’t you tried it yet? I was wondering if it’s not tasty. When my LO was a babe/toddler she would eat a ton of veggies. Now, not so much so I have to make sure she and I would eat it.
blogger / eggplant / 11551 posts
I bought these at Costco for my kids too, but no dice. They didn’t like them! That’s awesome you came up with your own version!
blogger / apricot / 378 posts
@PurplePeony: I would start with about a tablespoon of arrowroot and see how that goes. I think it works best if you mix it with some water before adding it in. For the oat bran, I honestly would just eyeball it and see how it affects the texture. Off the top of my head I’d start with a quarter cup or so and see how that looks, then guesstimate from there. I’ll be making another batch once he finishes these off so if I land on a good ratio I’ll have to let you know!
@808love: Haha, I just don’t eat much for breakfast so it never crosses my mind to try one when I’m making it for him. I actually have tried a bite of one this week and I think it’s tasty! But, I can’t really compare to the real thing because I never tasted those when we were buying them (mostly because they’re $$$ and I wanted to save them all for Jack, haha).
guest
I made these with half spinach half kale, and I added a 1/4 cup of quick oats. They came out amazing, my 9 month old could not get enough of them. I bet this is healthier than the store bought ones!
guest
The Costco patties were delicious and an essential part of my weight loss plan! I was so great full to find this listing!
I made a few alterations to the recipe by sautéed the garlic and onion in half of the oil.
This was added to the squeezed dry spinach and egg whites in a blender. Then I added this mixture to riced cooked potatoes. The seasoning was adjusted with seasoned salt and pepper.( don’t skip the seasoned salt) Did not use oregano. I put the patties on parchment paper and baked at 400 degrees for 10 minutes. They were flash frozen and 2 patties cook in the microwave for 1min 30 seconds.
To my taste better than the original!