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)
My wife is not a huge fan of quinoa, and she loved this recipe. 5 stars for this one!
So happy it won her over, Lisa!
I’d like to make this but can I sub the oats ground into flour? Maybe with whole wheat? I’m allergic to oats. Thank you!
I’d like to clarify that I’m not gluten intolerant. I’m allergic to oats and I’ve found they’re popular in veggie patties and bars. Is there a grain I can sub with? Thank you!
Hi Monica, I haven’t tried this recipe with anything else, so I’m not totally sure! But another type of flour might work—if I remember right, a couple readers have had success with corn flour (I’d suggest skimming back over past comments to see if anyone has reported back on other subs, too). Whatever you try swapping, you may want to add a bit at a time until the mixture is the right consistency for shaping into patties. If you decide to experiment, please report back and let us know how it goes!
I omitted oats and used flours I had at home – 2 spoons of millet flour, 1 spoon of corn polenta (uncooked) and 1 spoon of almond flour. You can taste the millet and corn while they are still warm, but once they have cooled a little bit they are perfect. :)
It looks wonderful but very labor-intensive. From start to finish four hours, including homemade tsaziki sauce will see if it is well received at the Super Bowl party today. Thanks for your recipe.
Helllooooo Angela! These veggie burgers look awesome! Although I am wanting to cook them for a sweet potato and pumpkin free crowd and I was wondering if you had any substitute ideas? I read someone in the comments used beets instead, although admittedly I find the flavour a little overpowering. Is the sweet potato used for binding or filling or..?
Thanks for your help and amazing recipes! :-))
Hey there Oliviah, Thanks for your question! I know a number of people have used shredded/grated carrots instead of sweet potato, and really enjoyed the results. So I think that may be a good substitution to try! If you experiment, please let me know how you find the swap works out for you.
These were delicious! I doubled the recipe for a family gathering and everyone loved it.
I will be making these again soon!
Mmmmmmmm! looks so good! we are making this tonight for dinner!! Check out our blog! lots of good plant based recipes!!!
Thanks for all the inspo Angela
Thanks so much Angela for this recipe which is so versatile…definitely a keeper. I think you could change it up with whatever you have in the fridge and not go wrong! I almost made a special trip to the shops to get some sweet potato but decided not to…so used a small potato (for the starch) and half a carrot (for the sweetness) instead which worked well. I didn’t use the white flour and substituted with a little Besan (chickpea flour) – the patties held together perfectly. We just enjoyed them beside a salad… and some homemade vegan avocado lime mayo to dip them into. Delicious.
I made these for Fathers Day breakfast. I substituted grated carrot as I did not have sweet potatoes. I added some diced red peppers and chives for color. My husband enjoyed them. I will definitively make these again.
I’m so glad he enjoyed them! Thanks for sharing those successful swaps, too :)
Hi :-)
I am wondering how many serves I can get from this ?
Hey Bryony, The recipe should yield around 12 quinoa cakes. How many cakes make up an individual serving can really depend on how you’re eating them/what you’re eating them with — and, of course, how hungry you are! We’ve made them accompanied by fries and avocado toast, served them on a salad, tossed them into wraps, slathered them in hummus…the possibilities are endless.
Cooked these for the fam with a simple salad, none of us are vegan but one veggo and two boys who love meat but they were a big hit ? very pleased with the turn out!!
Hi,
These sound great and I can’t wait to make! I was just wondering if there is a substitute for the red/ white vinegar?
Thank you!
This looks amazing! Is there any possible substitute for for red/ white vinegar?
Thank you!
Hey Lisa, I think fresh lemon juice would be a nice swap, although I haven’t tried it out myself. :)
I am looking for plant based recipes for my mom to reheat which freeze well and I found this one. Two quick questions: what is the diameter of your veggie patties-thinking of using a mold to help shape them such as a biscuit cutter or English muffin ring-don’t want to make them too thin or thick? Do you have any other suggestions for your most popular plant based recipes which freeze well and are easy to reheat? Thanks for the inspiration!
Hey there, I’m not positive, but the approximate diametre is probably 2.5 inches or so? Have you seen my blog post on freezer-friendly meal ideas? I would suggest checking that out (and the comments for helpful tips too!) http://ohsheglows.com/2014/07/30/21-vegan-freezer-friendly-mealsnack-recipes-my-tips-for-freezing/
I hope this helps!
What kind of sauce would you suggest to go with these?
Thanks
Hey Sunita, I really love them with my Lemon-Tahini Dressing or even simply dipped in hummus or BBQ sauce
Hi Angela!
I don’t have any sweet pototoes in. Can I replace them with grated carrot or a grated carrot and grated potato mix or another vegetable? what are your thoughts?-
Hey Laurie, I haven’t tried the sub but I can’t see why that wouldn’t work! They are similar texture wise. please let me know if you try it out :)
holy moly. this turned out SO well. this is one off my new favorite recipes along with your red lentil, kale, and tomato soup.
I’m so glad it was a hit! Thank you for letting me know :)
This has been on my list to try for far too long. Finally made and wanted to let you know how much we loved it. So nice to have a change from most veggie patties that use beans. Really loved the flavor combinations. I heated up some leftovers in the toaster oven at work and everyone wanted to know what smelled so good! Thank you!
Hey Karen, I’m so glad you enjoyed these so much. I agree they are such a fun change. :) Thanks for letting me know!
Hi Angela,
I’m cooking for a crowd of 29, a few of whom are vegan. Can I prep these the day before and then cook them after storing in the fridge for 24h? Or would you recommend just mixing all the ingredients and forming them right before cooking?
Same question for your Bread-Free Stuffing Balls.
Thanks!!
Hi Will, You can definitely mix and shape the bread-free stuffing balls in advance for 12-24 hours (just tightly wrap up in the fridge to avoid drying out), but I’m not positive about these quinoa cakes are they are a bit drier due to the quinoa. If you try anything I’d love to hear how it goes!
Um, these are awesome. So easy to make and they reheat great in a toaster oven, too (haven’t tried panfrying as recommended). There are a few comments about the time estimate being off, but I think the time estimate is accurate because it’s for the recipe ingredient list as written – already prepped. The single ingredient amounts to chop are so small, it really takes no time to do that pre-prep work. And I feel like I’m breaking a fundamental vegan law if I don’t have cooked quinoa in the fridge, so it’s always a good idea to batch cook it. They are a tad messy to shape, but using a greased 1/4-cup measuring cup and then slightly flattening them and shaping them into patties worked well, as did wet hands as suggested. And they hold together really well.