These vegetarian Broccoli Quinoa Cakes can be made in 30 minutes flat & are a delicious healthy meal that your whole family will love! Video. See 20+ Fresh Yummy Broccoli Recipes or our 20 Best Quinoa Recipes!
Do not try to save the world or do anything grandiose. Instead, create a clearing in the dense forest of your life and wait there patiently, until the song that is your life falls into your own cupped hands and you recognize and greet it. Only then, will you know how to give yourself to this world so worthy of rescue.
Martha Postlewaite
Here’s an easy healthy recipe for Broccoli Cakes that are made with simple ingredients you probably have on hand. It’s a quick and healthy nutritious meal that really satisfies! Filling yet light, I love these best served with a generous side of salad or simple sauteed greens.
If you would like to add a flavorful sauce, the possibilities are endless here and I’ll list a variety of options in the recipe notes. Here I’ve served them with this Vegan Cilantro Crema that I had from leftover tacos.
Also, I intentionally left the seasonings pretty basic here, to make them easy and accessible—and I know you will find ways to jazz these up to your liking!
Why You’ll Love This
- Easy, 30-minute recipe. Made in 30 minutes flat for quick lunches or dinners.
- Healthy and vegetarian. Quinoa is an energizing superfood and broccoli is full of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants!
- So versatile! Jazz these up with your favorite spices, and serve with greens, as a burger, in a wrap, or on top of a bowl.
- Family friendly! A freezer-friendly meal with veggies that kids will love.
Ingredients
- Broccoli: Fresh broccoli florets are preferred, however you could use frozen broccoli if it’s all you have.
- Quinoa: 1/2 cup uncooked quinoa or 1 1/2 cups cooked quinoa.
- Scallion and fresh herbs: Basil, dill, Italian parsley, or cilantro. Use what you have!
- Egg: Essential for binding the cakes together.
- Garlic: Use a garlic clove or 1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic.
- Almond flour: Or sub breadcrumbs (use gluten-free if needed).
- Grated cheese: Cheddar cheese, jack, mozzarella, or vegan cheese (you could add parmesan cheese in addition to any of these).
- Spices: This recipe just calls for salt and pepper, but feel free to jazz the cakes up however you like with spices like onion or garlic powder or chili flakes.
- Oil: For searing. Use olive oil or whatever you prefer.
How to Make Broccoli Quinoa Cakes
Step 1: Cook quinoa. Bring rinsed quinoa and 1 cup water to boil in a small pot. Cover and lower heat to simmer 10-12 minutes until tender and water is gone. Turn off heat and cool 5 minutes, covered.
Step 2: Steam broccoli. While quinoa cooks, steam broccoli until fork tender, being careful not to overcook. Drain, cool, and pat dry.
Step 3: Combine and pulse. Place broccoli, scallions, herbs, cooked quinoa, egg, salt, pepper, garlic, and cheese into a food processor and pulse repeatedly until finely ground. Pulse in the almond flour.
Step 4: Form patties. The mixture should slightly sticky and easily form a patty. If it seems too wet, add a tablespoon almond flour at a time until manageable. With damp hands, form 4 large patties, pressing them together.
Tip: You shouldn’t need to coat these in flour or breadcrumbs, but if they feel very wet then feel free too. Use gluten-free breadcrumbs if needed.
Step 5: Sear. Heat oil in a cast iron skillet or frying pan over medium heat. Carefully place broccoli fritters in the skillet, lowering heat to medium-low or low. Resist the temptation to fiddle with them! As they form a golden crust, they will naturally release from the pan. Flip after about 5 minutes.
Pan-sear the other side until slightly puffed in the center (indicating the egg is cooked through), lowering heat more if need be.
Tip: You can also finish cooking these through in 350F oven after pan-searing if they are getting too dark on the stovetop.
Step 6: Serve. Serve with a slaw, side salad, or sauteed greens. Top with a flavorful sauce if you like!
How to Serve Broccoli Quinoa Cakes
Serve with a side dish of greens or a salad with sauce drizzled on top, or serve for breakfast with Greek yogurt or sour cream.
- Simple Sautéed Greens
- Lemony Kale Slaw
- Mediterranean Swiss Chard Salad
- Vegan Cilantro Crema
- Chipotle Mayo
- Tzatziki
- Authentic Zhoug Sauce Recipe with Yogurt
- Avocado Cilantro Sauce
Storage & Reheating
These Broccoli Quinoa Cakes are perfect for making ahead of time to refrigerate or freeze for later when you need a quick meal!
Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. You can store in the freezer for up to 3 months.
To reheat, place on a baking sheet and bake in the oven at 375F for about 6-8 minutes until warm. You can also place them in the toaster oven.
FAQs
When steaming the broccoli, be careful not to overcook and make sure to pat dry thoroughly. This ensures that the cakes stick together! The quinoa should be dry and not watery as well.
You can substitute 1 1/2 cups cooked short-grain brown rice for the quinoa in this recipe.
Health Benefits of Broccoli Quinoa Cakes
Creating delicious vegetarian dishes like Broccoli Quinoa Cakes is not just about pleasing the palate, but it’s also about nourishing the body with essential nutrients. Broccoli and quinoa, the main ingredients of these cakes, bring a powerhouse of benefits to your table.
- Broccoli: Packed with vitamin C and K, contains good amount of folate, potassium, and iron, and is high in fiber to aid digestion and maintain low blood sugar. Antioxidants, like sulforaphane, can help reduce oxidative stress and lower the risk of chronic disease.
- Quinoa: Contains all nine essential amino acids, making it a complete protein that builds and repairs tissues. Rich in fiber for digestive health, with a low glycemic index, having less impact on blood sugar levels. Quinoa is also high in magnesium, phosphorus, manganese, and folate.
When brought together in a tasty cake form, broccoli and quinoa offer a balanced meal with complex carbohydrates, protein, and essential nutrients, keeping you satiated and energized! Pair with even more vegetables with a side salad!
Let us know what you think of these Broccoli Cakes. I’ve made several batches this week and all have quickly disappeared. Always a good sign. 😉
Have a lovely weekend.
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Broccoli Quinoa Cakes! |30-sec video
Broccoli Cakes
- Prep Time: 20
- Cook Time: 10
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 4 patties
- Category: main, vegetarain
- Method: stove top
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
These vegetarian Broccoli Quinoa Cakes can be made in 30 minutes & are a delicious healthy meal that your whole family will love!
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup uncooked quinoa (or sub 1 1/2 cups cooked quinoa)
- 4–5 cups fresh broccoli florets (8 ounces)
- 1 scallion, diced
- 1/4 cup chopped herbs- basil, dill, Italian parsley, or cilantro (use what you have)
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1 garlic clove, finely minced (or 1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic)
- 1/4 cup almond flour (or use bread crumbs), more as needed
- 1/2 cup grated cheese (cheddar, jack, mozzarella or vegan cheese)
- 2–3 tablespoons oil for searing.
Instructions
- Cook Quinoa: Rinse quinoa in a fine-mesh strainer. Drain. Bring quinoa and 1 cup water to boil in a very small pot, cover, lower heat to low and simmer 10-12 minutes until tender and all the water is gone. Turn off heat, let stand 5 minutes covered.
- Steam broccoli: While cooking the quinoa, steam the broccoli until tender, being careful not to overcook. Drain well, let cool, and pat dry. (It is imperative that broccoli is not overcooked and is patted dry in order for cakes to stick together.)
- Combine and Pulse: Place broccoli, scallions, herbs, cooked quinoa, egg, salt, pepper, garlic, and cheese into a food processor and pulse repeatedly until finely ground. Pulse in the almond flour, mixing in well. The mixture should easily mound on a spoon and just be slightly sticky, easily forming a patty. If the mixture seems very wet, continue adding almond flour a tablespoon at a time until manageable. With damp hands, Form 4 large patties, pressing them together. You shouldn’t need to coat these in flour or breadcrumbs- but if they feel very wet, feel free to.
- Sear: Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat. Carefully place patties in the skillet, lowering heat to medium-low or low — resisting the temptation to move or fiddle with them. As they form the deep golden crust, they will naturally release themselves from the pan, and not stick- making flipping so much easier. (I like to use a thin metal spatula here. Rubber spatulas have thicker edges, much harder to get under delicate things.) Flip when golden and releasing, about 5 minutes. Pan-sear the other side until slightly puffed in the center (indicating the egg is cooked through) lowering heat more if need be. You can also finish cooking these through in 350F oven after pan-searing if they are getting too dark on the stovetop.
- SERVE: At this point, you could refrigerate if making ahead, and reheat down the road. Or keep in a warm oven until serving. Serve with a slaw, side salad or sauteed greens. Top with a flavorful sauce if you like (see options in notes).
Notes
Feel free to sub 1 1/2 cups cooked short-grain brown rice for the quinoa.
Making sure the steamed broccoli is as dry as possible (pat it dry) will allow you to use less flour or bread crumbs. The first time I made this, I did not pat dry the broccoli, and it needed 1/2 cup almond flour. The second time, I patted the broccoli dry, and only needed 1/4 cup flour, if that.
Make sure the quinoa is dry and not watery.
Pick a sauce to serve these!
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 Broccoli Cake
- Calories: 255
- Sugar: 2.6 g
- Sodium: 743.5 mg
- Fat: 11 g
- Saturated Fat: 1.5 g
- Carbohydrates: 23.5 g
- Fiber: 5.1 g
- Protein: 13.2 g
- Cholesterol: 43.5 mg
These burgers fell apart despite that I was gentle and followed the recipe. So I dumped them back in a bowl added 1/4 cup of all purpose flour and 1 more egg and made 7 smaller burgers. They seem to be holding together now.
My dad who is the meat and potatoes type made these for me for Easter dinner because I eat vegetarian/mostly vegan, so that was pretty special! We had a fully vegetarian dinner which is maybe a first for our family as a holiday meal! He hasn’t really made too many vegetarian entree recipes but this was a big hit! He said it was kind of a lot of steps but not too hard 😉 He didn’t use a food processor, just chopped the broccoli up with a knife, there were some marble size chunks of broccoli in our version which I really liked.
These had a very good taste, re-heated up as leftovers super well and I am excited to try making these myself. I will try a vegan version with a flax egg and vegan cheese 🙂 Thank you for this tasty recipe!
Please clarify step 3. I’m only seeing dashes. Thank you.
it’s just a separator.
I finally made these and they came out delicious! I served them with salmon and some roasted potatoes. My tip – no need to dip your hands into them. I used a big spoon and flattened with a spatula in the pan. I needed to flip 3 times – the first flip was a little messy, but not a problem. Just reshaped them into a patty with the spatula and the rest was fine. Something funny – my teenager came home later and saw them and didn’t know what they were. He thought they were “Iranian kotlets” so he put them in a burger bun, but he said they were really good like that. I will definitely make these again.
Awesome Denise- thanks!
I wasn’t a big fan of the taste. The garlic overpowered everything else. I did the exact steps instructed and they would crumble when I tried to flip them and they would stick to the pan even though I used oil on the pan. They also did not cook all the way even when they were almost to a burnt color on either sides, it was still soft and not cooked inside. Would not recommend because I not only did I not enjoy the taste, but it was very time consuming. When I say time consuming it took a while to find the ingredients, measure everything, put them on the pan and wait 5 minutes per side. Then after that, the clean up process was very time consuming because I had to clean the blender, the measuring cups, my counter, and much more. Very disappointed. Once again I would not recommend this to anyone (including kids) unless they have the time, like raw broccoli cake, and especially love garlic.
Sorry Nelly- maybe not for everyone.
I could not get these to cook through. First my batter was quite wet but added almond flour to get them formal-able but jeez could not get them cooked. Such a mess. Tried baking some and that also took forever. Do not understand. I followed the recipe to a T
Hey Amy- sorry about that. When you say you couldn’t get them to cook through, do you mean they fell apart, or something else? Sorry just trying to get a clearer picture here! Did you use a food processor? Just curious. 😉
Inedible, after nearly 2 hrs of effort. Mushy texture in the middle. I tried making some smaller fritter sized versions, but it’s all going in the trash. Thank goodness for frozen pizza.
Oh dear. Were they cooked all the way through? Sorry sounds like I’ll have to remake this one.
Excellent.
Turned out good!
Can I skip the eggs? What can I put instead?
You could try a flax egg- but I haven’t personally tried this so not sure if it would bind?
I made it and my kids and I loved them
very good and easy to make
I tried this recipe and the children just loved it! My child’s friend who hates broccoli gorged them and made me promise I send this recipe to her mom. Thank you Sylvia!
Can I skip the eggs? What can I put instead
The eggs help bind the recipe here. I haven’t tried experimenting without it, so don’t want to lead you astray here. I suppose you could try flax eggs?
Delicious and I was amazed at how well they held together. I added some wild garlic leaves, which is growing locally now. Will definitely be making them again.
Made this tonight – I’ve recently become the designated cook, since I’m not currently working – and I prefer to eat vegetarian. My husband, a committed carnivore, has been cautiously supportive, a little skeptical, and I am pleased to say that this recipe went down a treat. Bookmarked to make again. I did use plain flour, as I had no almond, but everything else was as directed. Patted the broccoli dry with a teatowel (dishtowel?) and also left it to dry off for a few minutes. Served with garlic aioli, which covers a myriad of mistakes if required!
Great to hear and glad you enjoyed.
Hi Sylvia, is it possible to make the broccoli cakes in the oven instead? I want to make many (over 20) so baking in a pan seems too much effort
I havn’t tried baking them- so not sure here. You may have to test one?
I tried yesterday, and the outccome was even better than baked in a pan! 20 minutes at 180 degrees Celius!
Forgot to press 5 stars. Thanks.
Forgot to press 5 stars
Loved the recipe, very simple and helps me expand my vegetarian options. I roasted the broccoli, the final texture was perfect. Served it with spicy avocado and cilantro sauce and tzatziki and big salad. Kids loved it too. Thanks from sunny Costa Rica!!
I only had rice and regular flour rather than almond flour and quinoa, and cut the broccoli into small pieces, mixing it with a fork instead of a food processor but still loved it and got a lot of compliments from my flatmates! very flavourful and delicious, will definitely make again!
How much calories are in 1 patty?
255 calories.
took a lot of time to make and did not hold together but tasted pretty good. I will not make this again just because of how much work it was.
My kids and I loved this! I think it was a little mushy for my husband’s liking but he said it had good flavor. Will definitely make it again! Made my own version of your ‘chipotle Mayo’…I used sour cream instead and added cumin instead of chipotle. My 4yo was eating it with a spoon! Lol.
Thank you for adding a great new recipe to my list of “do agains”!
Can you make these with regular flour or without flour?
I’ve only tried this with almond flour. Waht about using bread crumbs? That might be better?
I’ve used regular flour twice and it’s been fine for me.
I made these tonight for dinner and they were so good!! I used Mediterranean feta cheese with some dry Parmesan for my cheese. And I served with a cilantro aoli. This is now officially a staple dinner for my non-vegetarian family 😘
Please let me know how it goes! Sounds like a great idea.
Have you tried making these in an air fryer? I was thinking of cooking both the broccoli and the patties in my air fryer toaster oven.
I haven’t but that sounds awesome!
It worked great in the airfryer. I cooked the broccoli in the airfryer from frozen, and it dried/roasted nicely.
The patties also cooked quickly and evenly in the airfryer.
To anyone who wants to try it, I cooked it at 375* in my cuisinart airfryer toaster oven.
That is GREAT to know! Thanks for sharing!!! We got an air fryer but haven’t experimented with it yet. Did you coat with oil?
how long did you cook it for in the air fryer?
Hi Elyssa: How long did you cook the broccoli cakes in the air fryer for at 375? I assume you didn’t have to turn this is that right? And how long and what temp did you air fry the broccoli?