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!

These Broccoli Cakes can be made in 30 minutes & are a delicious healthy meal that your whole family will love! #broccolicakes #quinoa #broccolirecipes

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’de 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.

 

Broccoli Quinoa Cakes! |30-sec video

cook quinoa

To get this started, cook 1/2 cup quinoa in 1 cup water.  This will take about 15 minutes.

While the quinoa is cooking, steam 8-10 ounces of broccoli florets, which is about 4-5 cups, packed tight.

These Broccoli Quinoa Cakes can be made in 30 minutes & are a delicious healthy meal that your whole family will love! #broccolicakes #quinoa #broccolirecipes

***The key to this recipe is NOT overcooking the broccoli (you want it al dente) and patting it dry. 

Add the steamed broccoli (pat it dry), scallions, seasonings, egg, cheese and quinoa to the food processor. Pulse until combined. Add almond flour or bread crumbs to bind.

borccoli cakes in the food processor

You’ll end up with a coarse mixture that can be formed into patties.

It should look like this! A dry, sticky mix.

Form patties with damp hands.  If they feel wet, you could coat in bread crumbs, but I don’t usually need the bread crumbs.

Sear the broccoli cakes up in a well-oiled skillet over medium-low heat.

FYI: If you don’t fiddle with them, they won’t stick, naturally releasing from the pan as they form a crust.

These Broccoli Quinoa Cakes can be made in 30 minutes & are a delicious healthy meal that your whole family will love! #broccolicakes #quinoa #broccolirecipes

Cook them until slightly puffed and store in a warm oven until ready to serve.

At this point, the Broccoli Cakes can be refrigerated and reheated for lunches.

These Broccoli Quinoa Cakes can be made in 30 minutes & are a delicious healthy meal that your whole family will love! #broccolicakes #quinoa #broccolirecipes

So as you can see I did not have to coat the broccoli cakes in flour or bread crumbs.

Using a metal spatula helps here (it has a thinner edge) as well as being patient, letting them release themselves from the pan as they from the crust, very gently flipping.

These Broccoli Cakes can be made in 30 minutes & are a delicious healthy meal that your whole family will love! #broccolicakes #quinoa #broccolirecipes

The crispy quinoa edges add great texture!  Feel free to add a sauce (see notes) or leave them plain!

These Broccoli Quinoa Cakes can be made in 30 minutes & are a delicious healthy meal that your whole family will love! #quinoacakes #broccolicakes

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. 😉

More recipes you may like: 

Have a lovely weekend.

Sylvia

 

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These Broccoli Quinoa Cakes can be made in 30 minutes & are a delicious healthy meal that your whole family will love!

Broccoli Cakes

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 4.4 from 104 reviews
  • Author: Sylvia Fountaine
  • Prep Time: 20
  • Cook Time: 10
  • Total Time: 30 minutes
  • Yield: 4 patties 1x
  • 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

Units Scale
  1. 1/2 cup uncooked quinoa (or sub 1 1/2 cups cooked quinoa)
  2. 45 cups fresh broccoli florets (8 ounces)
  3. 1 scallion, diced
  4. 1/4 cup chopped herbs- basil, dill, Italian parsley, or cilantro (use what you have)
  5. 1 egg
  6. 1 teaspoon salt
  7. 1/4 teaspoon pepper
  8. 1 garlic clove, finely minced (or 1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic)
  9. 1/4 cup almond flour (or use bread crumbs), more as needed
  10. 1/2 cup grated cheese (cheddar, jack, mozzarella or vegan cheese)
  11. 23 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

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Comments

  1. I tripled the recipe and refrigerated the “batter” so I could fry up the cakes fresh for each meal for best texture. I found it easier to use a non-stick frying pan instead of cast-iron skillet. It only takes 4-5 minutes for each side to brown up beautifully. I served it with the vegan cilantro crema. Yum!






  2. Easy and delicious. The cakes held together very well while cooking. Definitely a make again recipe.






    1. Sorry about that- it does get faster and easier the 2nd go around Mandy. 😉

  3. This recipe was literally outstanding! I used dill for the herb and freshly grated parmesan for the cheese. The second time I made it, I added a bit of lemon zest and used panko breadcrumbs instead of the almond flour and and it was even better! The flavors all go so well together. I will be making this again and again. Thank you Sylvia!






    1. thanks, Katrina- the dill sounds yummy! So does the panko. I think I’m hungry!

    1. Hey patty- I originally had a flax egg replacement but people were really struggling with it falling apart, so I basically removed that option. You could give it a try, but have had mixed results.

  4. Haven’t tasted these yet, but considering I’m 2 hours in and they’re still in the oven… 2 stars. Not exactly easy to make or cook, do not try this recipe if you don’t have time to waste, otherwise I’m hoping to eat them soon.






    1. Hopefully, they turned out good and it was worth the time. They do get much faster the second go-round. 🙂

    2. Maybe next time sautee them like the recipe says. Doing it that way only takes a few minutes on each side.

  5. I can’t remember if I already left a comment but it can’t hurt to say again how amazing these are! They are so simple in ingredients but it all comes together perfectly! The crunchiness of the quinoa, the nuttiness of the almond flour, and the beautiful broccoli taste taking center stage. If anyone thinks that vegetarian meals are boring they need to try these. I’ve made them at least 4 times now and have even shared with family. I tend to be too lazy to dry off the broccoli and just let the mixture be a little on the wet side. I use an ice cream scoop to place smaller scoops of batter directly in the pan and flatten off slightly. Even if they fall apart slightly doesn’t change how delicious they are. Thank you thank you for a new favorite recipe!






    1. Thanks Wendy- and I like the idea of the ice cream scoop- way easier!

  6. Holy lord!
    These are amazing.
    Added more onions (just my taste)
    For a sauce I did a ranch dressing with some dried dill. Made for an amazing (easy) dipping sauce the kiddos loved.
    Absolutely keeping this recipe.






  7. I’ve made these three times now, in three weeks. It’s pretty much all I want to eat! We had them as broccoli burgers, on buns with the vegan cilantro crema and then the usual burger toppings (tomato, lettuce, onions and pickles) and a slice of cheddar (Kerry Gold). They are phenomenal! I used the mozzarella cheese for the cheese the first time, and Trader Joes’ double gloucester with chives the second time. Mozzarella is much much better, so I suggest using that. We didn’t have almond flour (well, we did, but my husband guards it closely for making desserts) or breadcrumbs so I used regular flour the first two times which worked well. For this last round I used breadcrumbs. There isn’t a noticeable difference in my opinion, but I will probably continue using breadcrumbs now we have them in the house. All round excellent recipe!






  8. This is my first time cooking vegetarian and after a mishap cleaning my food processor (my own stupidity) I have to say these are DIVINE!! I may have slightly undercooked them but with a bit of a more crisp crust these may be my new favorite go to! Slapped on a piece of cheese and put them on a bun and I love these more than burgers!! Thank you !!!






  9. These were really good. Even my 5 year old who doesn’t like broccoli loved it and asked to have it for lunch the next day. I used some minced red onion instead of scallions, a Tbsp of ground chia instead of an egg, Panko bread crumbs, and grated Parmesan cheese. Turned out delicious, and the crust on the outside was to die for. Easy too!






  10. Perfect and delicious! Will keep this recipe forever! As you suggested, since I had leftover brown rice to use up and didn’t have almond flour (used dried plain panko bread crumbs), I used those instead. I fresh-grated the colby jack I had on hand. I used up my cilantro for the herbs. Continuing my quest to make this fast and use up things in my fridge, I had previously blanched and frozen some broccoli so I steam-thawed it, then squeezed it out using paper towels since it was wet. I had to use all 17 ounces of my frozen broccoli though – no worries – happy to use it up. I weighed it when frozen. I was happy to see how large the patties were. Again, being in a hurry and having eaten a lot of salad lately, I served it like a veggie burger with toasted hearty bread and your wonderful chipotle mayo Mexican secret sauce (used one canned chipotle) – was also thrilled to find out how much of that mayo I have left over for later, and that will also be a permanent addition to my recipe file to make over and over again! Thank you! (Newish to vegetarianism).






  11. These broccoli cakes are so delicious. I doubled the recipe and used Grana Padano cheese instead of cheddar. It’s so delicious, my teenager son really liked them too with some garlic sauce. I did find that browning them well on each side gave them a nice crunchy texture and still a delicious soft inside. Thank you Silvia for all these delicious healthy recipes, I’m having so much fun trying them out and each of them has been a success 🙂






  12. My 2.5 year old genuinely thinks these are the most delicious things in the world (we make em small and call them broccoli bites, sub chickpea flour for almond meal). Thanks so much, love having this healthy staple to turn to. You’ve also finally taught me how to cook quinoa right!






  13. Had a last minute vegetarian add-on to a dinner party of carnivores; Kobe steak was the main course. Knowing that my 1 guest would be resigned to a salad & baked potato if I didn’t figure something out,, I hit the net in search of veggie options, and found this. Everything came together easily, fried perfectly, and finished product was a platter of delightful little patties that surprisingly, everyone dove into (thinking they were appetizers) and gobbled up, carnivores and herbivore alike. I will definitely save this and plan on making again! May even try them as a meat(less)ball. That good!!! Thank you!






  14. I never commented on a recipe before but I read through the comments here and I thought I’d share another perspective.

    I absolutely loved these cakes. I followed the recipe, pat the broccoli dry and didn’t need more almond flour. I put 2 scallions instead of one and added 3 cloves of garlic instead of 1/2 tsp minced because my family and I like garlic, and even still it wasn’t overpowering at all.
    I used an ice cream scoop to put the mixture on the frying pan and flattened them a little bit. I fried them in olive oil on medium low, 5 minutes on each side without touching them (this was the hardest part!) and it worked completely fine.

    They didn’t crumble, they didn’t fall apart, they didn’t burn, I didn’t need breadcrumbs on them. They’re soft inside like a falafel.

    I didn’t find the recipe time consuming and literally used one pot for the quinoa, one pot to steam the broccoli, one blender and one frying pan.

    I actually went ahead and made the sautéed greens recipe the author suggested to pair with the cakes and it was wonderful. Just to offer another experience. Thanks for the recipe, definitely a keeper!






    1. Thanks so much! Really appreciate it- some folks have really struggled with this one and for the life of me, I jsut can’t figure out why- it turns out for me too. So appreciate you sharing.

      1. Mine came out a bit wet and i had to coat with bread crumbs. I think I wayyy over processed the mixture, leading to a less coarse and more blended consistency. They turned out super yummy though!

  15. Delicious! I did the laziest possible version of these…forgot to dry the broccoli, and just used a potato masher instead of a food processor. I also didn’t have any cheese and didn’t bother trying to come up with a substitute. Still tasted great. Crumbled a bit, a smaller patty worked better. Would be great with some fresh dill and lemon zest in there.






  16. The garlic and scallions overpowered taste. Though everything was so dry it was hard to mix, they still did not stick together. Not recommended 😕






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