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…
Featuring all new, protein-packed salads, hearty toppers, flavour boosters, and dressings you'll want to drink, my new cookbook will transform the way you think about salads. Oh, and be sure to flip to the back for a surprise dessert chapter!
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)
These are gorgeous, I love all the earthy colors. They look amazing :)
Thanks for giving me yet another recipe to add to my “to make” list! These sound absolutely (and so easy, which is an added bonus)!
I can’t wait to make these!! Can you substitute quinoa flour for the other flour?
Hi Diane, See my reply about this above – I haven’t tried it, but it might be ok!
Hi Angela, thank you for another inspiring recipe! I just love your blog!
On a different note – after my own last slow cooker disaster, I covered the pot with bicarbonate of soda (powder) and was v surprised how quickly burnt parts became clean, as if the powder dissolved all the burnt parts. No need for chiseling ;-) Maybe you could try this?
Take care! Hanna
How many calories are there in one of these quinoa “cakes”? :-)
Enter the recipe into MyFitnessPal or another recipe analyzer to get a good estimate.
This looks delicious! I love all of these ingredients, so I know I would love them all together. Thanks for having such great blog. I have tried many of your recipes in the past, and they are always amazing. Way to go!
Wow another great recipe! You are such an inspiration to me. I can’t wait to try it out and see what you have coming up next.
Ps. Good luck with the pregnancy – it’ll all be worth it when you hold your bundle of joy for the first time.
I love a good crispy quinoa cake at 3pm for a snack. I mean, I’d rather eat a giant piece of chocolate cake, but we have to be better than that, don’t we? :)
Yum!! now you’re making me wish I could be in my kitchen :( I still have two weeks of travel food for students to go and I’m not getting enough fruit and veggies!!
I’m probably going to make this along with many smoothies as soon as I get home!
Okay, this might sound like a dumb question, but for the kale and basil, did you chop then measure, or measure then chop? One cup of chopped up kale/basil gives a lot more than 1 cup of the actual leaves, so I just want to make sure! Thank you! And I can’t wait to try these :)
Not a dumb question at all! For the kale, I believe I measured it after chopping and the basil I measured before chopping. Now that I think about it, I should’ve stuck with one or the other to avoid confusion.
Anyway! I do go by a rule of thumb for recipe writing. In my recipes, when I write the action (like chopping) BEFORE the ingredient (such as: “destemmed and finely chopped kale”) it means that I chop it first and then measure after, whereas when I write the action AFTER the ingredient (such as: “fresh basil leaves, finely chopped”) it means I measure the ingredient whole and then chop after. Does that make sense? :)
So glad to hear it’s not just me that has kitchen disasters. Thanks for being so open and sharing it with us all :).
This recipe looks fabulicious! I will so give this a go.
Thanks for being such an inspiration
P.S. LOVE your cookbook :)
Thanks Kimberly! So happy to hear that.
Oh and kitchen disasters…it’s a regular thing around here! hah.
I love this idea! A twist on veggie burgers. I love the sweet potato/quinoa combo too. Gotta try this! Sadly for whatever reason I hate red quinoa lol, so I’ll try it with just white. Yum! :D
This looks delicious! I will definitely be making this soon.
Also, I have a question about one of the recipes from your cookbook – I am going on a road trip tomorrow and I want to make a batch of your classic glo bars, but I’m worried that they will melt in the car. Will your glo bars melt at room temperature when they’re not in the fridge? Please let me know :) Thank you!
Hi Elle, They won’t melt, but they will definitely soften up at higher temps. If your car is going to be quite warm, I would suggest putting the bars in a cooler or near an ice pack. :)
Oh wow this looks so so sooooo good!!
Do you think it’s freezer friendly? Thinking of baking a big batch and just freezing some to have in hand. Thanks!!
teffyperk.com
Ooh I love that you’ve used sundried tomatoes AND sweet potatoes AND greens in these, Ange! They sound fabulous and so full of flavour… and a good thing to snack on while thinking about the best approach for cleaning that crockpot! :) I hope whatever plan B was for Eric’s birthday was a raving success!
Can I leave out the all purpose flour, or perhaps use 3 tbsp more oat flour instead? This is such a perfect vegan meal!
The all-purpose flour really helps with binding, so I’m not sure oat flour would hold together as well.
I used chickpea flour and it held together great!
I used millet and that is sticky so my burgers really have holding power now.
Has anyone tried buckwheat as I love the taste of that too?
Those look so good. Love that it’s a vegan recipe :)
They look fantastic and banked recipes are the best…whether it’s hot weather, preggo brain, or whatever the reason for not wanting to be in a hot kitchen, amen for those little gifts from heaven :) Pinned!
Those look like the perfect option to take to work for lunch. I am a teacher and just went back to work after summer holiday (International School, where we go Aug-June), and I’ve been brainstorming big batch recipes that freeze well to make on weekends. These are going on my list this weekend. Pinning!
I hope you enjoy them Michelle!
My family is not vegan, but my sister is. She introduced me to your blog! I just wanted to say, I made these tonight, and they were a huge hit! (especially with my 2 year old!!) My husband usually does the cooking (hes a chef), and he was uber impressed. I did use eggs (we have chickens) and chard instead of kale. Also, I topped them with a tiny bit of goat cheese and a drizzle of EVOO. THEY WERE DIVINE!! I don’t think we’ll be having any leftovers, but I’ll be making these again for sure! Also, what do you think about making these to freeze? We have a vacuum sealer, and should I bake them through and then freeze? or just patty, then freeze, and cook when we’re ready to eat them? Thank you so much for your amazing recipes!
I just ate one that I had frozen :) I froze them after baking and I actually think they hold together better after freezing than when they came out of the oven. I wasn’t over impressed when I first made them, but this has made me think twice about them!