These crispy, vegan Quinoa Cakes (made with no eggs, flour or bread crumbs) are topped with a flavorful Tomato Chickpea Relish- a healthy flavorful, plant-based VEGAN dinner that is delicious and gluten-free! Make it ahead. Video.
What makes this Crispy Vegan Quinoa Cakes Recipe unique is that they have no eggs, no bread crumbs, no flour of any kind, no binder, or coating, or any other additions other than seasonings. Purely plant-based. I discovered these quite by accident many years ago, and since then they became a godsend at catering events with gluten-free/vegan folks.
This is an old recipe that I’ve updated with much clearer instructions. Getting the quinoa to bind can be a little tricky at first, but if you follow the directions exactly- you’ll have no problem!
how to make quinoa cakes | 50-second video
What I love about Quinoa Cakes
What I love about this recipe, besides how tasty, and healthy these are, and of course, the “no binder” is how wonderful these are made ahead, stored in the fridge, on the ready for midweek meals. A tasty meal that can be made ahead!
Ingredient Notes
Only use WHITE QUINOA. Tri-colored, red, or black quinoa will not work as well, and will be much more difficult and finicky.
Here is why: The white quinoa grains break down more easily when cooked, and it is this “breaking down” of the grain that acts as the binder or glue- the secret to making these into a patty or cake. Red and black quinoa grains do not break down as easily.
How to make Quinoa Cakes
STEP ONE:
Cook the white quinoa according to the recipe directions and be very precise with the measuring. Because we are adding a little more water than normal, this will take 25 minutes, rather than the typical 10-15 mins.
Cook quinoa until all the water is gone and visible steam holes appear. You want the quinoa dry, not watery.
STEP TWO
Then you are going to stir with a fork until the actual grains start breaking apart, about 1 minute.
This breaking apart will be visible to the eye. STIR FOR A FULL MINUTE!
Look closely at the broken grains here, you’ll see the white edges, actually break apart!
When the grains break, they become sticky like glue.
Hence, the secret to how these are able to bind.
Stir in some lemon zest and fresh herbs if you like.
Let this cool on the counter until cool enough to handle with your hands, 15-20 minutes.
STEP THREE
While the quinoa is still slightly warm, wet your hands, and form 4 balls roughly the size of a tennis ball.
With wet hands, flatten and smooth any cracked edges. They are really workable at this point.
Refrigerate 15 minutes to set, or overnight (or for several days).
You can do all this ahead for meal prep.
STEP FOUR: Then pan sear. You can pan-sear these with no coating at all, or feel free to dip in rice flour or GF panko for extra crispy. But I personally like to pan-sear them without any coating at all.
Just make sure to use a well-oiled pan or skillet – and a thin metal spatula -and do not fiddle with them. This is key! Let them develop a crispy crust before moving, which will help them naturally release from the pan.
I like to use a very thin, metal spatula ( more precise) to flip.
Can They be Baked?
Yes, Quinoa Cakes can also be baked. I toss these in our toaster oven right on the rack for a quick easy meal.
Or bake them in a 400F oven on a parchment-lined sheet pan, until warmed through, about 20 minutes.
Step Five: Make the Relish.
The fresh tomato chickpea relish with herbs and a simple balsamic vinaigrette complements the crispy vegan quinoa cakes well.
Optional: For heartier eaters feel free to add crumbled goat cheese– super tasty. Garnish with a balsamic glaze.
Hope you enjoy this as much as we do- a favorite around here!
xoxo
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Quinoa Cakes with Tomato Chickpea Relish
- Prep Time: 45
- Cook Time: 30
- Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
- Yield: 4 large cakes 1x
- Category: vegan main
- Method: stove top
- Cuisine: mediterranean
- Diet: Vegan
Description
Quinoa Cakes with Tomato Chickpea Relish- a delicious, healthy, flavorful plant-based vegan dinner that is gluten-free. Please watch the how-to video to see how to get the quinoa to “clump”.
Ingredients
Units
Scale
Quinoa Cakes ( use white quinoa – tri-colored, or other colored quinoa will not bind)
- 2 cups water
- 1 cup rinsed, white quinoa (rinse and drain!!! DON’T SKIP)
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 teaspoon granulated garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon herbs de Provence ( or Italian dried herbs)
- ——
- zest from one small lemon (optional)
- 1/4 cup chopped Italian parsley (optional)
Fresh Tomato Chickpea Relish
- 2 cups cherry or grape tomatoes, sliced in half
- 1 cup cucumber, diced
- 1/4 cup fresh basil ( or flat-leaf parsley, dill, or mint, or a combo!) chopped
- 1/4 cup chopped scallions (or finely sliced red onion)
- 1 1/2 cup cooked chickpeas ( 1 can, drained and rinsed)
- 3 Tbs olive oil
- 3 Tbs balsamic vinegar
- 1/4 tsp salt… more to taste
- 1 small minced garlic clove (optional)
Optional Garnishes: Crumbled Goat Cheese, balsamic glaze
Instructions
- Read directions and watch the video before starting- this recipe can be tricky.
- In a medium pot, over high heat, add water, rinsed white quinoa, salt, garlic powder, cumin, dried herbs, olive oil, and stir. Bring to a boil. Cover, lower heat to low, and simmer gently for 20 minutes. Set timer.
- While the quinoa is cooking make the Tomato Chickpea Relish, stirring all ingredients together in a medium bowl.
- Check quinoa– making sure all the water is gone. If not, continue cooking covered, 5 more minutes, and until steam holes appear (this usually takes me a total of 25 minutes) and quinoa has soaked up all the water and looks fairly dry.) It is important that quinoa is dry-ish and not watery. Be patient here, all stoves are different.
- While it’s still warm, stir the quinoa vigorously with a fork, for a one whole minute, until you begin to see the individual grains break apart. This is imperative, to getting the quinoa to bind. Eventually, after a full minute of stirring, the grains will break apart and begin to clump. You can visually see this. Remove from stove, let cool down in the pot to where it’s cool enough to handle with your hands, about 15 minutes. Stir in the lemon zest and fresh parsley if you like.
- Using wet hands, shape into 4 balls, the size of a tennis ball. Place on a plate or sheet pan. Using wet hands press into a 1 – 1 1/2 inch thick cake (about 3-4 inches wide), smoothing any cracks on the edges, making them nice and tidy. Wet hands is key.
- Refrigerate 15 minutes to set. As the quinoa cakes cool they will become even more sturdy. (These will keep 3-4 days if made ahead, just lightly oil them, cover, and store in the fridge.)
- Gently Pan-sear the Quinoa Cakes in a well-oiled skillet (using a thin metal spatula to flip) over medium heat. You can pan-sear them without any coating, or for an extra crispy crust, dredge in rice flour or GF Panko. I often do these without any coating at all. Just be sure to not fiddle with them- letting them develop a good crust before flipping. As then develop the crust, they will naturally release themselves from the pan. I like to use a thin metal spatula to flip (more precise).
- You can also bake these in a toaster oven ( right on the rack) or in a 400F oven ( on a parchment-lined pan) until warmed through, about 20 minutes, but the crust for a skillet gives these the BEST texture.
- Divide among plates and top with the fresh tomato chickpea relish. Spoon any remaining dressing over top and around the cakes.
- Garnish with OPTIONAL crumbled goat cheese if you like or a balsamic glaze.
Enjoy!
Notes
USE WHITE QUINOA. Other colors will not work.
Can be made ahead, will keep up to 4 days in the fridge.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cake with 1 cup relish
- Calories: 388
- Sugar: 4.9 g
- Sodium: 560.1 mg
- Fat: 17.6 g
- Saturated Fat: 2.4 g
- Carbohydrates: 48.2 g
- Fiber: 9 g
- Protein: 12.3 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
They are very delicious! They are so beautiful i wish i could take a picture. I was afraid they wouldn’t come out so well because i made a mistake on the olive oil, i put 3 tablespoon in the quiona and not 3 teaspoons. Even as i eat them they are not falling apart. I used Lundberg Antique white organic Quinoa.😃😃😃😃
Great to hear, thanks Claud!
I followed this recipe exactly as written and allowed the cakes to form overnight. The next day, they all fell apart as I placed them in the pan or as I tried to flip those that I tried to sear. They definitely need a binder ingredient. They’re all in the trash now. This was the worst recipe I ever followed!! Extremely disappointed.
I’m so sorry Carolyn. I totally feel your frustration. All I can say is, they are a bit tricky.I’ve made them hundreds of times in my catering business with great success, I promise- but it seems the type of quinoa can affect the outcome and amount of liquid. Some quinoa- just doesn’t work (it doesn’t break down, like in the photos) and it is the strangest most infuriating thing. I use the white quinoa from Costco- and it holds together well.
Turned out beautifully!
This one is the coooolest recipe with quinoa
I have added a pinch of saffron powder from https://sevensaffron.com/
and i loved the overal taste as always!
thank you guys
Love love the flavor if this dish. It did crumble alot but next time I will coat them with panko. But still, it’s delicious. Thanks for the recipe!
This recipe is genius! I missed quinoa patties after going vegan. I couldn’t figure out how to make them hold together without eggs and cheese. These are awesome!
thanks Lisa- glad they worked for you!
Flavours were fantastic, but I couldn’t get the cakes to stick together, so we just had some tasty fried quinoa!
I followed the recipe closely but they just fell apart completely as soon as I put them in the pan
Shoot- sorry about that. Sometimes I think it is the kind of quinoa. Multi colored doesn’t work. White seems to work the best. Did you see the grains break apart?
Great recipe. I love how the quinoa binds without any flour or breadcrumbs.
Next time I will try a variation on the spicing.
Thank you
I know- isn’t it kind of cool how it binds to itself?
These look lovely, can they be eaten cold as part of a packed lunch?
I haven’t tried them cold- but I don’t see why not? Let me know what you think.
Delicious and easy! Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for the comment and great to hear Kerry!
Goat cheese isn’t vegan either! Vegan is no animal products whatsoever ever!
The goat cheese is optional. 🙂
Excellent
My cakes wound up crumbling but no biggie!! I just pan-seared the quinoa anyway and it was DELICIOUS!! So flavorful! Thank you for this.
Great & easy recipe. Me & my son really liked it.
Hi Sylvia! We try and eat Vegan most of the time at home; this recipe was a
timely addition to our rotation. I’ve been trying to incorporate more quinoa into our meals. We just made these and loved them! The crispy quinoa cake along with the fresh relish was delicious ! How can you go wrong with sun gold tomatoes from the garden…
Thank-you
Followed this to the letter using white quinoa and they turned out perfect. Surprising how well they held together. Going on regular rotation – our whole family loved them even picky eaters.
I enjoy quinoa patties so much I have blogged about them myself. But I always used egg and cheese. I love this idea of keeping them pure and healthy. I cannot wait to try your version. I guess every cookingmistake has its silver lining 😉
My fiance made this for dinner today and it was glorious . He added panko for extra crispiness and it worked perfectly.
Great to hear! thanks for sharing, panko is always a good option.
Thank you! No egg quinoa cakes! I’m cooking them now and they look perfect! I added shredded carrot and roasted garlic and thyme!!! Found this on Pinterst! I like exclamation marks!!
I recently had my first quinoa burger in a brewery in Durango and have been trying to copy it ever since adding eggs, etc. but I think yrs in on the right track and can’t wait to try it with feta and spinach. Thanks.
Thanks, I will!
These look so great! I love all your pictures. They look absolutely delicious!
This is my kind of camping food! We upgraded to an air mattress and one of those huge tents when we started camping with the kids, definitely the way to go! I tried to make quinoa cakes the other night – kept adding eggs, bread crumbs, flour… just wouldn’t stay together, thanks for shedding light on my problem. I am trying this soon!
Great recipe! I’ve never thought to add more water to the quinoa, but I’m definitely going to have to try this. Thanks for sharing!
You are welcome! Let me know how it turns out.
What a lovely quinoa cake! Fantastic clicks.
Thank you Angie!
So beautiful. Your pictures evoke a sense of peace and delight.
thanks Tonia!