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
You May also like:
Quinoa Cakes with Tomato Chickpea Relish
- Prep Time: 45
- Cook Time: 30
- Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
- Yield: 4 large cakes
- 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
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
I happened to have all the ingredients for this recipe and make this for dinner tonight. It was super easy and so good! I have leftovers and can’t wait to eat it tomorrow. Thanks!
Awesome, so glad this worked for you Kate!
Really lovely especially if plenty of herbs and savoury yeast is added
The only quinoa I have is tricolor, could I use chia seeds as a binder?
I haven’t tried using chia seeds here- and truthfully have not had good luck with tri-color quinoa – somehow it is less “sticky”. Of course, feel free to experiment, and if you do, please let us know how it turned out- super curious!
Great recipe.
In step 2, you omitted to say add the water.
Got it, thanks!
Thank you so much for this great recipe, had to make a dinner and one of the guests was vegan, and with your simply instructions I managed to pull these off. Was thinking about adding some more vegetables inside and trying them out as vegan patties for burgers? Do you think that could work? Thanks once again!!
Thanks Danny- The more you add, the more crumbly they become. But it is doable! I would almost grind the cooked veggies in a food processor first.
I’ve just descovered your site and it is amazing! This is just what I need: easy, fast, healthy and delicious! Thank you very much for what you are doing!
Thanks Natasa!~
This is a new favourite, easy to make and the patties held together with no issues. I made them in advance and fried them up throughout the week. The tomato relish got better over time as well as everything marinated together. It’s going to be a summer staple in my house for sure.
Awesome Jenn, I really enjoy this one too. 🙂
Loved this. They are fairly easy to make and they taste delicious. I didn’t have garbanzos so I used black beans and it worked great.
Perfect Claudia!
Where’s the video? I want to make these
Hi Bonnie, it is towards the top under the first photo. If you have your ad blocker turned on in your browser, you may not see it.
Why goat cheese? Isn’t that an animal product? That means vegans can’t eat goat cheese!
Hi Peter the goat cheese is optional here- feel free to leave it off. 😉
Excellent! Followed the recipe exactly as written although I did serve over a bed of baby kale. Amazed at how easily the quinoa was able to bind together. The tomato chickpea relish on top was delish! Will become a regular in my rotation. My daughter and her boyfriend are both vegetarian but my husband likes his fish. This dish served as a main dish for 3/4 of us and I baked a salmon for my husband and he had this as a side – He really liked it as well and said it could easily be a main dish for him in the future.
We used red quinoa and an immersion blender which broke up the grain nicely. Thanks for the great recipe!
These were great, lovely flavour. Next time I would use lemon juice instead of balsamic so I can use the whole lemon.
Great idea!
This is a great recipe! For all of the vegan patty recipes that fall apart super easy, it’s amazing that this one binds and holds together so well with just quinoa! I didn’t think it was difficult at all, just followed the instructions exactly as written. I’ll definitely be making this again! This is 100% a vegan meal that will please any crowd.
Awesome Mae- glad this worked for you!
This meal was way above my expectations. The flavors and textures were remarkable. And I made the cakes in advance and they were as easy as promised. I think these will make into the regular meal rotation.
can you frezz these
Yes, wrap up tightly first.
These quinoa cakes are wonderful. I really like that there’s no binding agent.
wonder if I can add beans to the cakes or if they will fall apart? can’t wait to make these! we are going vegan and your recipes are our favorite!
Haven’t tried with beans? If you do I would mash them a bit first.
These were delicious! One of my favorite dishes at ale Pain Quotidien was always the seared quinoa cakes, which resemble these a lot. I’m so glad to have found a version to do at home. Thank you!
Absolutely fantastic! Made as directed and turned out great. This recipe is a keeper. LOVE this blog!! Daughter is a vegetarian and I find the best recipes here. Thx, Sylvia!
Doesn’t using goat cheese to garnish make these not vegan-friendly?
Right, so leave it off if going vegan. 😉
Excellent and easy to make yummy
super yummy and pretty easy! Loved how the flavors were all unique but combined well.
This is SO tasty! I made a double batch and my family ate it all in one sitting. This is something I will make again and again.
Happy you enjoyed this!
I would love to make these for my vegan friends! I have a question though. If I follow the recipe, how many cakes in the recommended size should it make? And how many cakes would serve one person?
These make 4 large cakes. One cake is 3-4 inches wide and one inch thick- so pretty big. One is usually enough per person unless you are heartier eaters. 🙂