Enjoy these ham cheese and spinach breakfast pies on your way out the door in the morning or even as an easy breakfast for dinner option!
A few weeks ago, around 9pm we let Ginger out while we were watching an episode of Dexter (I really can’t get into that show. 3 seasons in on Netflix and I’m still very meh about the whole thing).
To be honest, I don’t even know how long she was outside, I must’ve gotten tied up in some murder, cover up or horrible acting from Rita or Deb that goes down every.single.episode.
So when the deck lights popped back on to let us know she was back, I sorta jumped up in surprise.
This post is sponsored by Jones Dairy Farm. All content and opinions are my own.
When I got to the door to let her in though I realized she had something in her mouth.
It looked like a bagel at first but whatever it was she was quite excited about it as she stood there, tail wagging so vigorously her whole butt was shaking.
So, I let her in and repeatedly told her to “drop it!” until she finally obliged and carefully laid it down on her bed in the living room.
With two hesitant fingers I gently turned the bagel-esque looking thing over to discover it was a spinach bread pastry of sorts, fully intact, not even a nibble taken out of it.
I have my suspicions as to where it might’ve come from (a certain neighbor who likes to feed wild animals comes to mind) and I’m assuming it’s the same place she’s also found a slice of pizza and a whole potato in the past.
The whole thing was hysterical at the time; dog goes out for her evening business, comes back with spinach pastry.
Totally normal.
The best part was that she didn’t even eat it (maybe she prefers my homemade raw dog food), just proudly brought it back to us as if to show off her incredible find.
Looking back at it now, I feel kinda bad about throwing it out on her.
Weirdness of the whole situation aside, it did end up giving me the idea for these mini ham cheese and spinach breakfast pies.
Ginger’s was definitely just spinach but with the addition of some ham slices and cheese, these mini ham cheese and spinach pies transform into a perfect quick breakfast better than anything you can get at a cafe or Starbucks.
Don’t want to deal with puff pastry in the morning? Try this breakfast quesadilla recipe instead which uses similar ingredients.
You can use ham from the deli or even leftovers from a grilled ham steak to make these even easier.
Check out: 23 Brunch Recipes That’ll Make You Forget About Every Other Meal!
I guarantee you’ll like them way too much to want to throw in the backyard to feed the animals (or for your neighbors dog to find and bring home like treasure).
And whether it’s breakfast, brunch or dinner, don’t miss similar recipes like this everything bagel breakfast strata or this cheesy potato breakfast casserole filled with turkey sausage and grated apples!
Love this Mini Ham Cheese and Spinach Breakfast Pies recipe?
Try one of these breakfasts too:
Herbed cheddar sausage & egg waffle sandwiches
Savory Canadian bacon pancakes
Homemade hot pockets – this breakfast version is perfect for meal prepping and keeping on hand in the freezer!
Mini Ham Cheese and Spinach Breakfast Pies
Ingredients
- 1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed and rolled out
- 6 thick cut ham slices, leftover or deli slices, chopped
- 3/4 cup ricotta
- 1/2 cup grated mozzarella, plus more for topping
- 2 tablespoons milk
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 large shallot, minced
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 4 cups baby spinach
- 1 egg, beaten
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or silicone baking sheet.
- Combine the ham, ricotta, mozzarella, milk, nutmeg, salt and pepper in a medium bowl. Set aside.
- Place the olive oil in a small skillet over medium heat.
- Once hot, add the shallots and garlic and saute until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the spinach and cook until wilted. Remove from heat and transfer to the bowl with the ricotta mixture.
- Stir together until well combined.
- Cut the puff pastry sheet into 4 squares, place on the baking sheet and spoon the filling into the center of each.
- Gently fold up the sides of each square in a circular pattern pinching the creases together as you go.
- Brush each puff pastry with the beaten egg and top with a sprinkling of extra mozzarella.
- Bake in the oven for about 15-20 minutes until golden brown around the edges.
- Remove from oven, let cool a few minutes before serving.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Gina Matsoukas is an AP syndicated writer. She is the founder, photographer and recipe developer of Running to the Kitchen — a food website focused on providing healthy, wholesome recipes using fresh and seasonal ingredients. Her work has been featured in numerous media outlets both digital and print, including MSN, Huffington post, Buzzfeed, Women’s Health and Food Network.
I forgot to add that I kept out two of these – one raw and one baked – and put them in the freezer. I haven’t tried cooking the raw one yet, but I did thaw the baked one and reheated in the air fryer and it was just as good as fresh-baked. Although this was a pretty easy dish to prepare, I will love being able to prepare in advance and have ready in the freezer.
Hello!
Did you try the raw one yet? Also, how long and what temperature did you use in the air fryer to reheat the cooked one? Thanks
I made this for our family Easter gathering and it was a huge hit. Whenever I try a new recipe, I make it exactly as written the first time without making any changes. But when I saw nutmeg in the ingredient list for this dish, I hesitated. It just didn’t sound good to me, so I ended up including it, but reducing the amount, and it still just overwhelmed the dish to me. Other than that, this was a fabulous dish! It went together quickly and easily. I did cut my pastry into 5″ squares instead of the bigger pieces. I will definitely make it again without the nutmeg. I think it would also be great with some basil and sun-dried tomatoes in it. You really could change this up a lot with different meats, cream cheese instead of ricotta, Swiss or gruyere cheese, etc. I’m thinking it would even be delicious for Thanksgiving with some turkey and cranberries in cream cheese. I will be making this when I need to take a dish to parties or for bunco. SOOOO good!
I would love to make these for our annual 4th of July family vacation. I want to make them in advance. Can they be frozen, and, if so, how long?
Hello Marge! did you end up trying to freeze these? if so, how did they turn out? I ould like to freeze them and use on an upcoming family camping trip.
I’m going to try this yummy looking creation. I’m curious as to what type of dog Ginger is. A few years back we had a Boxer and named her Ginger. She also had the wiggle butt as all Boxers do. Cute story you wrote about her. I sure do miss my wiggle butt boxers. Thanks for the darling memories.
Hi Joan – She was a Weimaraner, we miss her every day :)
“Enjoy these ham cheese and spinach breakfast pies on your way out the door in the morning or even as an easy brinner option!”
What is BRINNER? This is repeated in this article over and over again??????? Do you mean DINNER?
Brinner = breakfast for dinner.
I made these for potluck at work, and they went crazy on them. Very delicious and super easy.