All I can say is thank goodness I banked a few recipe posts earlier this summer because my inspiration has been pretty dismal during this kitchen reno. Combine that with the dreaded 3rd tri “preggo brain”, and my recipe mojo just isn’t flowing like it normally does. Then there was that disaster of a crock pot recipe I made on the weekend for Eric’s birthday. The pot is still soaking in the laundry tub because when you mess up a slow cooker recipe, you pay the price. I might have to chisel it out. Thankfully, I’ve been sitting on this recipe gem since June. I don’t know how I waited that long to share it because it’s a great one! When I first made these crispy quinoa cakes they disappeared at a record pace. I think I recall eating 5 of them straight from the pan. [Then I made you wait for the recipe for 2 1/2 months! Pure evil.] The next two batches were also quickly enjoyed and made easy meals for us without much fuss. We served them as part of a weekend brunch with home fries and avocado toast, for lunch on top of a salad, and for dinner tossed into a wrap or served with roasted veggies. Oh, and I also love them for a snack, straight from the fridge (yes, cold!) slathered in hummus. So unbelievably satisfying.
For those of you who can’t tolerate beans you will be happy to know these veggie cakes don’t have a bean in sight. In fact, I think this might be the only bean-free veggie patty on my entire blog! The quinoa provides a complete protein source and gives them a wonderful chewy texture at the same time. The oven bakes them up golden and crispy – no frying required. I also made the recipe gluten-free, soy-free, and nut-free so almost anyone can enjoy these delightful crispy cakes. Whether it’s breakfast, lunch, snack time, or dinner, they make a great addition to any meal. Just don’t be surprised if your favourite way to enjoy them is straight from the baking sheet…
Crispy Quinoa Cakes
Yield
1 dozen cakes
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
Crispy quinoa cakes packed with vegetables like kale, sweet potato, sun-dried tomatoes, and more! Enjoy these as part of breakfast, lunch, or dinner. They are great with roasted home fries and avocado toast, on top of a salad, in a wrap, or enjoyed all of their own. It's important to make sure the vegetables are finely chopped for this recipe. If the pieces are too large, the patties won't stick together as well. Recipe inspired by Vegetarian Times .
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups cooked quinoa
- 2 tablespoons ground flax + 6 tablespoons water
- 1 cup destemmed and finely chopped kale
- 1/2 cup rolled oats, ground into a flour (use certified gluten-free if necessary)
- 1/2 cup finely grated sweet potato
- 1/4 cup finely chopped oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes
- 1/4 cup sunflower seeds
- 1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, finely chopped
- 2 tablespoons finely diced onion
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon runny tahini paste
- 1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 1 1/2 teaspoons red or white wine vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon fine grain sea salt, or to taste
- 3 tablespoons gluten-free all-purpose flour (I used King Arthur) or regular all-purpose flour
- red pepper flakes, to taste
Directions
- Preheat oven to 400°F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Mix the ground flax and water in a small bowl and set aside for 5 minutes or so to thicken.
- Combine all ingredients together in a large bowl, including the flax mixture and the 1.5 cups cooked quinoa. Stir well until the mixture comes together. Don't forget the flour because it helps bind the patties.
- Shape mixture into 1/4-cup patties with wet hands. Pack tightly so they hold together better. Place on baking sheet.
- Bake for 15 minutes, then carefully flip cakes, and bake for another 8-10 minutes until golden and firm.
- Cool for 5 minutes on the sheet and then enjoy!
- Store leftovers in a container in the fridge for up to 5-6 days. To reheat, preheat a skillet over medium heat, add a bit of oil, and cook patties for about 3 minutes per side, or until heated through.
Tip:
Tips: 1) To cook quinoa, rinse 1 cup uncooked quinoa in a fine mesh strainer. Place quinoa in a medium pot and cover with 1 1/2 cups water. Bring to a low boil, reduce heat to medium-low, and then cover with a tight fitting lid. Simmer covered for 14-17 minutes until most of the water is absorbed and the quinoa is light and fluffy. Remove from heat, fluff with a fork, and then place lid back on to steam for another 4-5 minutes. Note that this makes almost 3 cups of cooked quinoa and you only need 1 1/2 cups for this recipe, so you will have leftover quinoa (which is never a bad thing if you ask me!).
2) To make oat flour, add the oats into a high speed blender and blend on the highest speed until a fine flour forms. You can also use store-bought oat flour if desired.
Nutrition Information
(click to expand)
Hi! Just wondering if you know whether oat flour could be swapped for something else, such as buckwheat or quinoa flour? My dietician reccommended I avoid oats (I forget why, now!) and they seem to be in so many of your beautiful recipes. If no one has tried yet, I’ll play around with a fewsubstitutions and report back ;) xx
Oh yeah! Finally made these. It was all so crazy – I had some tired Kale in the crisper, some sad looking sundried tomatoes (not in oil, but I soaked them in oil briefly), and AMAZINGLY, I had every other ingredient I needed for these right in the cupboard. Oat flour – check! Tahini – check! and on and on. I can’t tell you the last time I had everything I needed when I decided to cook some random recipe. And my tired kale and sad tomatoes became this awesome burger! Thank you!
Tried this recipe earlier today and it turned out delicious! I replaced the tahini for some regular tomato ketchup and omitted the sun dried tomatoes as I forgot to grab some on my grocery run.
It turned out so well, was just the right amount of crispy and I served with some guacamole and toasted energy bread.
Thank you so much for this gem, I’m definitely making this for the next time I have guests over.
Lots of love from Dubai xx
Made these for the 2nd time, with the sole intent to freeze them ALL. My 10 year old has already eaten half a pan. He declares them his favorite ‘burger’ ever, even though I told him they’re more like a type of latke. Thanks for sharing the wonderful recipe, my whole family is glad you did!
Loved it! they don’t look like yours but my picky now dairy intolerant 15 month old loves them! I made a meme of mine vs yours haha but can’t seem to post it
I recently tried a vegan cauliflower cakes recipe from another site and was disappointed. I made these for lunch today and are they ever a hit! I used what I had on hand so ended up subbing rice vinegar for the wine vinegar, spinach, used mostly dry basil, sundried tomato pesto, no sunflower seeds. They are delicious and i think we’ll finish them off before dinner! I had mine with tomato salsa on top. Thank you for a fabulous recipe.
I always come back to your site because so many other food blogs have real hit or miss recipes, whereas with your recipes I have NEVER been disappointed.
I also think I’ll try making these in mini muffin tins and keeping some in fridge or freezer so we can enjoy with a glass of wine in the evening.
First of all, kudos for a quite creative and flavorful quinoa patty. It is also very aesthetically pleasing. That said, I am giving this a three for the following reasons: I followed the recipe as it was written and the result was dry and chewy rather than moist and crispy. I’ll probably have to tweak it for my oven. For my tastes, of course, there was too much stuff in it. The sunflower seeds don’t add anything to it except make a lot of work to chew the patty. Will try again sans the sunflower seeds and maybe add more sweet potato to keep it moist. Thanks for something different.
Just made these and they are unbelievable! Will be keeping these in my freezer at all times!
hi . I am a novice with cooking & have most of the ingredients except red/white wine vinegar & the tahini paste – can I leave these ingredients out while making the recipeOR are these must haves ? if so, can you please suggest alternatives? e.g. will almond butter work instead of tahini paste?
These are amazing. But can you freeze them raw? I don’t think I’ll be able to eat them all!
Can you recommend a dipping sauce that would go well with these? Thanks!
These were AMAZING!! Even my mum who hates quinoa and sweet potatoes loved them. I used the leftover sweet potatoes to make Chips (fries) and they went perfectly with these cakes. Thank you!
These look truly heavenly! going to try this recipe today. Unfortunately we dont get sweet potatoes her in Costa Rica but will try with regular potatoes. Thank you so much! You have made me a much better cook.
Does anyone have a suggestion for sun-dried tomato substitution? Or how I can adjust the recipe to leave them out without messing up the consistency and balance?
These look delicious! I was wondering since I am allergic to quinoa, can I replace it with millet or brown rice????? TIA!! :)
I made these and used them as the base for “bennies” – put some sliced tomato, avocado, salt, pepper and a poached egg on top – it’s my new favourite meal! Awesome recipe.
I’ve read all the comments. I want to make this, but I don’t have all the ingredients. I’d like to use egg as a binder, but I am not sure what I can omit to do that (what serves as the binder here).
I believe the Flax seeds serve as the binder. They’re used often as an egg replacer in vegan baking. Since it’s 2 tbsp of Flax, that should be 2 eggs. Hopefully Angela can confirm!
Love this recipe. Just finished cooking them. My home smells like Sunday roast. Tillie my 2 year old Moodle is hanging around awaiting a taste. Struggled a lot lately trying to find vegetarian recipes and I think I’ve finally found what I have been looking for. Only new to vegetarian and not a very good cook but your recipes are not hard and I have success. Thank you
Do you have the nutritional information about these?
They are delicious.
I made these to take with me on a road trip with family and friends to a lake house. I’m a new vegan so I’m still getting used to being prepared food-wise for trips. These were the PERFECT thing to make for the weekend! I ate them as a burger, as my main non-meat dish for dinner, on salad, etc. They are so delicious and were super convenient to have for the trip – will definitely make these again!