Vegan Quinoa Patties

Lately, I’ve been tinkering with a lot of my existing recipes seeing if it was at all possible to turn them into decent vegan quinoa recipes. You all may remember my love for quinoa patties. Seriously, the one recipe alone was well worth the price of Super Natural Every Day. (Although the book is quickly becoming one of my all time favorites)

Anyhow, I love the quinoa patties but they do have 4 eggs in them which is a whole lot of cholesterol Not to mention I won’t be able to enjoy them on my 21-Day Weight Loss Kickstart, which although I said I wasn’t starting until after we got settled, I must say that I’m actually in the third day of following the plan.

I’m feeling pretty good about it. Vincent, on the other hand, thought the Taco Salad I fed him from the book for lunch was me trying to take out my frustration about some current stressors on him. Something about it not being a taco salad without cheese and sour cream or my jacked up Greek yogurt.

Anyhooooooowww….

I actually had to make two attempts to get these right. The first time they were really dry and lacked a whole lot of what the original recipe had. I had the thought to add the avocado and they did the trick to help keep the patties moist.

I can’t say these are as good as the original but they are pretty darn close with fewer calories and a lot less fat.

2 1/2 cups cooked quinoa
4 T ground flax seeds
3/4 cup water
1/2 tsp sea salt
2/3 cup fresh chives, chopped
1 yellow onion, chopped fine
1/2 avocado, mashed with a fork
2 T nutritional yeast
6 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
1 cup whole grain or GF breadcrumbs
1 T olive oil
1 T extra virgin olive oil

In a medium saucepan, combine flax seeds and water. Simmer for 5 minutes over medium heat. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly.
In a large bowl combine flax seed mixture, quinoa and salt. Stir in chives, onion, avocado, nutritional yeast, garlic and cayenne pepper. Add breadcrumbs and allow to sit for a few minutes. If necessary, add a bit more water or breadcrumbs to achieve the desired texture.
Form 12 patties. Heat one tablespoon of olive oil over medium low heat. Add patties and cover. Cook for 8 to 10 minutes until a crisp crust has formed. If patties break apart as you flip them you need to let them cook a bit more. Flip and cook 8 more minutes. Enjoy!

Preparation time: 10 minute(s)

Cooking time: 20 minute(s)

Diet type: Vegan

Diet tags: Low calorie, Reduced fat, Gluten free

Number of servings (yield): 6

Calories: 197

Fat: 6.2 g

Protein: 8.1 g

5 : ★★★★★ 1 review(s)

Recipe by Cooking Quinoa.

{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }

Monica June 20, 2011 at 3:42 PM

I made these yesterday for my husband and I who are on the CLEAN program cleanse. (It sounds a lot like the 21-Day Kickstart plan.) We both enjoyed them very much. I made my own breadcrumbs with a brown rice based bread because our plan excludes all wheat and soy. The instructions on how to cook them were great as mine held together well. They were very flavorful. While they were great on their own, I’m trying to think of a good sauce that might accent them too.
Thanks!

Wendy Polisi June 20, 2011 at 10:12 PM: Yeah Monica – I’m so glad you liked them! I agree – a sauce would be great. Since I’m on the 21 day plan I’m struggling with sauces a bit. My normal go to sauce is fat free Greek yogurt with garlic and other spices depending on what I’m having.

Vegan Quinoa Patties