Sometimes I like to create new recipes from scratch based on what I have in the fridge, or I try to recreate dishes I remember from my childhood. I call this my test kitchen 😀 . As you would expect, the results aren’t always great, but sometimes I come up with a real winner, like these vegetarian spinach rolls. They are savory, filling, and just a little bit spicy!
Easy rolls!
Whenever I see a recipe called “something-roll”, I always assume that it will be complicated and time-consuming to make. I mean, how often do you make any type of roll on a Thursday evening after getting home from work?
Well, these spinach rolls are the exception! They look fancy, but you can make enough to feed your family for several days in less than an hour. And of that hour, almost 40 minutes is time spent in the oven, so you can do something else.
I can spend an hour making spinach rolls on a Sunday if it means that my Monday and Tuesday dinners are taken care off as well.
How to make vegetarian spinach rolls
It’s a really easy process and you don’t need a lot of equipment. You can see the main steps here, or jump to the end of the post to read the detailed recipe.
Step 1
Mix spinach, eggs, mozzarella, garlic, salt, and pepper and spread the mixture evenly on a sheet of parchment paper. Bake for 15 minutes at 400° F (200° C).
Step 2
Fry the rest of the veggies in a pan.
Step 3
After about 3 minutes, mix in the cottage cheese and spices.
Take the pan off the heat and quickly mix in an egg (do it quickly so it doesn’t turn into a lump of scrambled egg). Spread the filling over the baked spinach mixture and roll it up.
Step 4
Bake the spinach roll in the oven at 400° F (200° C) for 25 minutes. The filling is REALLY hot when it comes out of the oven, so let it rest for 5-10 minutes before serving.
Healthy spinach rolls
The best thing about this recipe (besides how great it tastes and how easy it is to make – so really the third best thing, I guess) is how high it is in protein. You can easily use the spinach rolls as the main source of protein in your meal. I would suggest just adding a salad and perhaps a light sour cream dressing.
These spinach rolls are perfect for vegetarians (who don’t mind eggs or cheese), people with gluten intolerance or anyone following a low carb diet.
They’re also great if you are simply looking for a tasty and healthy meal!
More healthy vegetarian recipes
We have a lot of great healthy vegetarian recipes on Diabetes Strong. Here are some of them:
When you’ve tried these healthy vegetarian spinach rolls, please don’t forget to let me know how you liked them and rate the recipe in the comments below!
You can also sign up for my diabetes newsletter (and get a sign-up bonus) in the form below the recipe description. I send out a weekly newsletter with the latest posts and recipes from Diabetes Strong.
This is my favorite vegetarian recipe! It’s easy, savory, and filling. Super yummy!
- 16 oz. frozen spinach leaves
- 3 eggs
- 2½ oz. onion
- 2 oz. carrot
- 1 oz. low-fat mozzarella cheese
- 4 oz. fat-free cottage cheese
- ¾ cup parsley
- 1 cloves garlic
- 1 tsp. curry powder
- ¼ tsp. chili flakes
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. pepper
- Cooking spray
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Preheat oven to 400° F (200° C).
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Thaw the spinach and squeeze out the water (you can use a strainer). To speed up the thawing process, you can microwave the spinach for a few minutes.
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Mix spinach, 2 eggs, mozzarella, garlic, half the salt, and pepper in a mixing bowl.
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Place parchment paper on a baking sheet and spray with cooking spray. Move the spinach mixture to the sheet and press it flat, about 10x12 inches in size and roughly ½ an inch thick.
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Bake for 15 minutes. When done, set aside to cool on a rack. It will get the texture/look of a really thick seaweed mat (if you ever have sushi, you know what I’m talking about). Don’t turn off the oven! You’ll need it again in a bit.
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Finely chop onion and parsley. Grate the carrots.
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Fry the onions for about a minute in a skillet with a little cooking spray. Add carrots and parsley to the pan and let it simmer for about 2 min. Add cottage cheese, curry, chili, the other half of the salt, and pepper and mix briefly.
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Take the skillet off the heat and add an egg. Mix it all together and spread the filling over the now cool spinach mat. Don’t spread it all the way to the corners, or it will spill out when you roll it up.
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Carefully roll up the spinach mat and filling. Bake for 25 minutes.
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Take out the roll and let it cool for 5-10 min before cutting it into slices and serving.
Absolutely delicious….I did not use salt at all as I added a low fat cedar cheese mixed with low fat feta cheese. I find cottage cheese to runny and the consistency not great. Great recipe for me, a type 2 diabetic.
Keep them coming Christel, please.
Absolutely delicious! Will be adding these to a meal rotation, family loved them! Thank you!
Good morning, I’ve tried these spinich rolls they are very good. now for the question do you think it would be possible to shred zucchini, cook it down a little then do the same thing with it? I would load the middle with tvp, cheese and a little marinara sauce.
Thank you for any advice. Robert
Cooking it would probably not be a bad idea since you’ll get even more of the moisture out of the zucchini. I’m not entirely sure if it would become dry though.
Is there a substitute for cottage cheese . I do not like the taste or texture.
Not really for this one. Since it’s baked the cottage cheese consistency changes some, but of course if you don’t like it you don’t like it
Sure there’s a sub for cottage cheese: ricotta. Get a good one, whole milk preferably. Lay out a clean smooth kitchen towel (not a terry cloth one) then spread the ricotta on the towel about 1-inch thick. Lay a few thicknesses of paper towel over the ricotta and press gently. This will remove excess water. Peel off the paper towel then gently peel the ricotta off the towel. Water is a significant amount of weight in ricotta (and cottage cheese); use the same amount called for (4oz) after draining. You can use the same method to remove water from cottage cheese though I would recommend blending the cottage cheese using a hand blender before OR after draining to smooth out the curds.
Hello, I was wondering how much salt and pepper is supposed to go towards the wrap and how much towards the filling? The recipe calls for 1 tsp of each without specifying how it’s divided. Thanks! 🙂
I did about 1/2 and 1/2
So has anyone made it with fresh spinach, how much did you use and did it work out? Also, how many servings does it make and how many slices in one serving? It looks really good
Problem with using fresh spinach (aside from the large amount) is the amount of water. If you do choose to use fresh spinach I suggest cooking it and then really squeezing as much liquid out as you can.
The listed recipe is 2 servings, and I think that was 3-4 slices per serving, but that really depends on how thick you want them
Does one roll make two servings?
Yes, two pretty large servings. If you are eating a side dish as well, the spinach roll can probably make 3 servings.
Loved the recipe !! But unfortunately cannot have eggs. Do you suggest anything that can replace eggs here especially in spinach layer ? OR do you think I can just minus eggs from the recipe ?
Oh that’s too bad. The eggs both serve as a protein source as well as the glue that makes the spinach layer stick together. You could try omitting the eggs and increase the amount of cheese, but that might make the shell or the roll somewhat stiff. However, it could be worth a try.
Let me know how it turns out
If you can’t eat the eggs, try making “flax eggs”, ground flaxseed mixed with water give many vegan baking recipes their egg-y consistency.
has anyone tried frezzing this. for i do meal preps. and would like to add to the list
I think they might fall apart when you thaw them, so not sure I’d recommend freezing them. But if you try anyway, please let me know how it works out for you
I’m eating a whole food vegetarian diet and I’m diabetic. These spinach rolls are super delicious and fit perfectly into my diet plan! I shared some with my sister and she loves them too. My digestion has been really great since temporarily cutting out raw vegetables so I was looking for some delicious cooked vegetable recipes. These are awesome for a light lunch or to have in the fridge for snacking and when hunger strikes.
I tried today your spinach rolls and they where amzing. I hardly ever eat something without meat but I should start doing it more often! <3
Can you use fresh spinach for this?
I think you can but you wold probably need to fry it for a minute or two first and then drain the water to get the right consistency.
Hang on so just bear with me – I have a tonne of fresh spinach and want to make these – so should I cut the spinach like makes strips of spinach and then fry it you say? Gawd!! Hahaha what consistency am I looking for?? Sorry for the questions
I would throw the fresh spinach in a large pot or pan and saute it until the structure of the leaves is gone. You’ll have a ton of fresh spinach that will basically turn into nothing 🙂 Let it cool and then press out the excess water and it will be ready to use.
Made them for dinner yesterday and they were amazing! I added a little fresh chili to give it even more kick.
Thank you 😀
I have made them with extra chili as well once and really liked it.
Hey guys!
This just became another addition to my breakfast meal-prep list! Weight training + protein breakfasts = ULTRAWIN!
Do you have an idea of how well it keeps in the fridge and how long for + how you’d store it? Alternatively, any idea if it’s freezable/how you’d store it?
Thanks! 😀 😀
Hi Max,
Glad you like the look of them!
We couldn’t eat the whole roll so we kept them in the fridge for a few days in a Tupperware. They reheat very well. I image any airtight storage will work.
I’m not sure about freezing, I think they’ll fall apart. Please let us know if you try and how it works out.
I could def see myself making this vegetarian dish! Looks so good!
Minus the cheeses and BAM – in the teeth trap this recipe goes!!
These look awesome, and how creative! Pinning for sure! X
Thank you 😀