Here’s another variation on my green pork sliders – this time with Asian flair, just like me! Seriously, my kids love these portable pucks and it makes me happy that they’re getting veggies and protein in each bite.
Time to make Green Pork and Shiitake Sliders!
Serves 6 (30 total patties)
Ingredients:
- 1 pound frozen chopped spinach
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil (or favorite fat)
- ½ cup finely chopped yellow onion (from ½ medium onion)
- 6 reconstituted dried shiitake mushrooms, finely chopped
- ¼ cup coconut milk
- ½ cup small-dice celery (from about 2 medium stalks)
- ½ cup loosely packed fresh cilantro
- 1 pound ground pork
- 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
- 1/8-¼ cup coconut flour (amount varies)
- 1 tablespoon of Red Boat fish sauce
- 1 tablespoon of coconut aminos
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more as needed
- 1 ½ teaspoons freshly ground black pepper, plus more as needed
- Additional 2-4 tablespoons of coconut oil for frying
Method:
First, I dumped a package of frozen spinach into a Corningware container…
…covered it with a lid, and nuked it on high for ~4 minutes to defrost it. Then, I dumped the spinach into a colander and pressed out all the liquid.
I heated 1 tablespoon of coconut oil over medium heat in a large cast iron skillet and tossed in the chopped onions and mushrooms along with some salt and pepper to taste. The veggies were sautéed until the liquid had evaporated and the onions were softened.
Next, the coconut milk, celery, and cilantro were blitzed with the hand blender.
I placed the ground pork in a large bowl…
…added spinach…
…the puree…
…‘shrooms and onions…
…eggs…
…coconut flour (Be sparing with it! Too much and your burgers will be dry.)…
…fish sauce…
…coconut aminos, salt, and pepper.
I used my hands to gently combine all the ingredients…
…and formed the meat mixture into small patties (about 2 inches in diameter).
I heated 2 tablespoons of coconut oil in a cast iron skillet over medium heat and fried the sliders in three batches.
I cooked the sliders for 3 minutes on each side, so each batch took about 6-7 minutes to finish.
Voila!
Looking for more recipe ideas? Head on over to my Recipe Index. You’ll also find exclusive recipes on my iPhone and iPad app, and in my cookbooks, Nom Nom Paleo: Food for Humans (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2013), Ready or Not! (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2017), and Nom Nom Paleo: Let’s Go! (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2021).
PRINTER-FRIENDLY RECIPE CARD
Green Pork and Shiitake Sliders

Ingredients
- 1 pound frozen chopped spinach
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil or fat of choice
- 1/2 cup yellow onion finely chopped, about half a medium onion
- 6 reconstituted dried shiitake mushrooms finely chopped
- 1/4 cup full-fat coconut milk
- 1/2 cup celery small-diced, about 2 medium stalks
- 1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves
- 1 pound ground pork
- 2 large eggs lightly beaten
- 1/8 cup coconut flour up to 1/4 cup
- 1 tablespoon Red Boat fish sauce
- 1 tablespoon coconut aminos
- 1 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- 1.5 teaspoon Freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoon coconut oil or fat of choice for frying
Instructions
- Dump the frozen spinach into a microwave safe bowl and cover it with a lid. Microwave the bowl on high for about 4 minutes to defrost it.
- Put the defrosted spinach into a colander and press out all the liquid.
- Heat 1 tablespoon of coconut oil over medium heat in a large cast iron skillet.
- Toss in the chopped onions and mushrooms along with salt and pepper to taste. Sauté the ingredients until the liquid has evaporated and the onions have softened.
- Blitz the coconut milk, celery, and cilantro using a hand blender.
- Place the ground pork in a large bowl and add the spinach, the puree, mushrooms and onions, eggs, coconut flour (start with 1/8 of a cup), fish sauce, coconut aminos, salt and pepper.
- Gently combine all the ingredients.
- Form the meat mixture into small patties (about 2 inches in diameter, you should get about 30).
- Heat up 2 tablespoons of coconut oil in a cast iron skillet over medium heat (the oil should make a thing layer). Fry the sliders in three batches.
- Fry the sliders for 3 minutes on each side.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.