Baked Quinoa Patties

I wasn’t planning on sharing this recipe, but after eating these little gems (happily) three days in a row for lunch, I figured they were worth writing a post about. As much as I like quinoa and for all the talk surrounding how healthy and wonderful quinoa is, I don’t actually cook it that often. When I do cook quinoa though, I always seem to have leftovers, and those leftovers always get turned into quinoa patties.

I first discovered quinoa patties from Heidi Swanson’s Super Natural Every Day and I loved them right away. Leftover quinoa, a few fresh ingredients, and a little effort go a long way! The patties in the book are browned and cooked on the stove and I always wondered if I could bake them in the oven instead. Lo and behold, I found instructions for baking quinoa patties on Heidi’s blog. With a few tweaks to her recipe, I’ve been baking up (instead of frying up) quinoa patties all week.

In addition to being a great way to use up leftover quinoa, it’s a great way to use up any leftover veggies, herbs, and cheeses that you may have. These quinoa patties are filled with sautéed onions and garlic, a bit of smoky cumin, and fresh kale, chives, and parsley. Parmesan cheese, whole grain bread crumbs, and eggs help hold everything together.

For a well-rounded meal, I like eating these with a salad, but they are good on their own if you can’t be bothered with one. Also, you don’t have to bake off all 12 patties at the same time. The mixture keeps well in the fridge for a few days, so you can bake off however many you want as you need them.

Baked Quinoa Patties
Adapted from 101 Cookbooks

Olive oil
1 yellow onion, finely chopped
1 teaspoon cumin
Coarse salt
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 1/2 cups cooked quinoa, room temperature
5 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
1 cup finely chopped kale
1/3 cup finely chopped chives
1/3 cup finely chopped flat leaf parsley
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan
1 cup whole grain bread crumbs (I blitzed part of a day old whole grain baguette in the food processor to make mine)
1 teaspoon baking powder

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Heat a glug of olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the chopped onion, cumin, and pinch of salt. Cook until the onions are soft and translucent (you don’t want them to brown) and stir in the minced garlic. Cook for about 30 seconds more, until the garlic is fragrant. Turn off the heat and set the onions aside to cool slightly.

In a large bowl, mix the quinoa, eggs, and fine grain sea salt. Add the kale, chives, parsley, Parmesan, and cooled onion mixture and mix well. Then stir in the bread crumbs and baking powder. Let the mixture stand for a few minutes so the bread crumbs can absorb some of the moisture. If needed add more breadcrumbs or water to adjust the consistency of the mixture—it should hold together, but leave it on the wet side if you can so that it stays moist throughout when cooked.

Oil a baking sheet with 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Form the quinoa mixture into 12 patties and arrange them on the oiled baking sheet, leaving a couple of inches between each patty.

Bake for 20 minutes, until the bottoms are brown and crusty. Flip the patties over and bake for another 5 minutes. Sprinkle the tops with just a tiny bit of coarse salt and serve hot or room temperature (I prefer them hot).

Makes 12 quinoa patties.

See more: Appetizers • Olive Oil • Snacks • Vegetables • Whole Grain