These spinach and quinoa patties are delicious, vegetarian and packed with protein and nutrients! They almost make me think I’m eating a chicken cutlet or meatball, without the meat.
Spinach and Quinoa Patties
These vegetarian patties make a delicious main, perfect with an egg on top or serve them along a salad. And because they make a lot, they are also great to make ahead for meal prep! If you love quinoa, you may also like Salmon Quinoa Burgers, Quinoa Huevos Rancheros Bowls and Southwestern Black Bean Quinoa Mango Salad.
These Spinach and Quinoa Patties make enough for several meals which makes them perfect for meal prep. I had one topped with a poached egg for breakfast which was super yummy. The rest I served as a main course for dinner with a big avocado salad and felt quite satisfied. I can’t help thinking how good this would be with melted cheese on top in place of a burger to make it more of a veggie-quinoa burger.
Another bonus, these quinoa patties are inexpensive to make, and can be adapted for gluten-free diets.
The recipe was adapted from Heidi Swanson’s cookbook Super Natural Every Day (affil link). Her original recipe calls for kale, but since I made them on a whim, all I had was spinach and that worked out just fine. My (meat-loving) husband even thought they were great.
Variations:
- Swap the spinach for kale
- Make them dairy free by swapping the Parmesan cheese for nutritional yeast.
- If you prefer to bake them, Bake in a preheated oven 375 for 8 to 10 minutes on each side.
More Quinoa Recipes You Will Love
- Quinoa Huevos Rancheros Bowls
- Southwestern Black Bean Quinoa Mango Salad
- Salmon Quinoa Burgers
- Quinoa Fried Rice
- Mediterranean Quinoa Salad
Quinoa and Spinach Patties
Ingredients
- 1 cup uncooked quinoa
- 2 cups water
- 4 eggs, whisked
- 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese*
- 3 large scallions, sliced thin
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup steamed spinach, chopped (frozen is fine)
- 1 cup plain breadcrumbs, for GF, be sure to use GF breadcrumbs
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
Instructions
- Rinse the quinoa thoroughly and place the grains in a medium sauce pan with 2 cups of water. Bring the water to a boil and reduce to a simmer.
- Cook until quinoa is tender and has absorbed the liquid, about 20 minutes. Let it cool.
- In a large bowl, combine the cooked quinoa, eggs, Parmesan, scallions, garlic, salt, steamed spinach, and breadcrumbs. Let everything sit for a few minutes to absorb the liquid. The batter should be moist, but not runny. Form patties 1/4 cup each.
- Heat the oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium-low heat. In 2 or 3 batches, cook the patties covered for 8-10 minutes on each side, or until browned and golden.
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I make these in the reg! They are quick and easy and so versatile. I actually throw it all in the blender (besides the cheese, I add it in after) to make a more consistent texture. I started doing that to get my one year old to eat them. I’m now calling them chicken nuggets!
Lol! Glad you all enjoy them!
This is in constant rotation in my home. We love it! I do use seasoned breadcrumbs because it’s usually what I have on hand. I like to make potatoes and hollandaise as a side/topping. Does it need it? No. But I love a poached egg with hollandaise and it’s a delicious add-on that’s just a little less skinny :).
Delicious. I make these all the time and freeze them too. Great for a quick vegetarian meal when you don’t have time to cook.
Can I cook these in my air fryer? Time and temp?
Love these! Make them all the time!
These have been a breakfast staple for me for several years. I add Italian seasoning, basil and oregano to the original recipe to give it a little more taste. Recently, I decided to make a Southwestern version adding red bell pepper (chopped), cilantro, substituted shredded cheddar for parmesan, added a 1/2 tsp of pepper, 1 Tbsp each of cumin, oregano and coriander. I loved the Southwestern version even more.
Also added 2 jalapeño peppers (chopped).
its terrible
I made these tonight. I was making a different quinoa recipe and found I had too many missing ingredients. I had already cooked red bell peppers and Onion so I added those to the written recipe mixture. Parmesan bread crumbs. I cooked the quinoa in vegetable broth. I did fry mine to golden brown and a bit crispy. I made a creamy lemony dip with sour cream, Mayo and fresh lemon and they were delicious. I’ll be trying leftovers in the morning with an egg. ’ll definitely make these again and use vegetable ingredients I have on hand.
So flavorful!
So confused can anyone explain what kcal is in actual calories???
Kcal is an abbreviation for calories. 🙂
LOVE these. I need to make them without the Parmesan cheese…so today I’m trying them with nutritional yeast. Such an awesome snack.
I have another batch of these freezing and just want to say I LOVE them have been making them for years.. I used light parmesan from the can cause that is all I usually have and can get the points down to 1 per patty on Purple.
The one thing I’ll say of you find the flavour bland is that make sure you cook them long enough for the patty to ‘set’ you want them to be firm and the heat to get through or else the onion/garlic flavour won’t come through as strong. I find if I undercook them (even if the sides are brown) they just don’t sing the same way.
This recipe was great! We are trying to cut down on meals with meat and my husband commented multiple times on how meaty the patties were. It was especially satisfying with the egg. I did use Italian seasoned breadcrumbs because it was all I had on hand, but no regrets because it was delicious. I also cut up and threw fresh spinach into my cooked quinoa to wilt a bit before I mixed everything together. We will definitely be making this again.
These were “OK” in my book. I baked them as suggested and found them very dry and bland even though I added Guajillo pepper to them. I made the whole big batch so today I’ll experiment with some additions to moisten them and spice them up – like chopped roasted poblanos! Good idea but not my favorite. Looks like a lot of people liked them and you can’t please everyone!
Loved this! Used kale instead of spinach and cooked in air fryer 400 degrees, lightly sprayed with oil, five minutes on each side. Served with a big salad and even my kids and husband thought they were delicious!
Hi! How did you prep the kale as a substitute? Did you steam it?
Healthy & Delicious!?! YES YES YES. This recipe is sooo delicious. I added onions instead of scallions. Added BBQ sauce drizzle to top & and a side salad! Will be making this recipe again. I love this recipe!!!!
Reviewed this, but don’t see my review here. I made these per the recipe and have made a number of quinoa patties before, but I found these bland. I’m not sure what would be a useful addition – perhaps some other kinds of spices or fresh herbs?
I love most skinnytaste recipes but not this one. It was horribly blah. Will not try again. Probably won’t try any quinoa cakes after this..sorry.
Perhaps quinoa is not your thing?
Delicious. My favorite quinoa dish that I’ve made.
Could you use almond flour instead of bread crumbs to make it more diabetic friendly?
These were so yummy. Several comments said they were “messy” to make but I found if I used a 1/4 cup measuring cup I could form the patty in the cup and pop them on an oiled sheet for baking.
I do see that they can be frozen before cooking but can they be frozen after cooking as well. How long can they be kept in the refrigerator after cooking?
What can I substitute bread crumbs with. I do not. Do bread
How long do these keep in the fridge and do you think they could be frozen individually for meal prep?
This recipe is amazing. I didn’t have any scallions, so I used chopped onions instead and boiled the quinoa with some stock powder.
My daughters are usually fussy eaters and they enjoyed these babies and even asked
me to pack some for school. I will definitely make these again.
Going to make these this weekend. Question – Did you wring out excess water in spinach or no?
I found that if you use fresh spinach and add it exactly when the quinoa is done, but still VERY hot, it will wilt and cook by using the heat of the quinoa.
So yummy! This is now in my regular rotation for breakfast, lunch or dinner! I’ve made several times already and I followed the recipe but used Italian flavored breadcrumbs instead of plain. It sure does taste like a meatball or chicken cutlet. I’ve even made this with gluten free breadcrumbs for my aunt who has celiac. She raves about them! Thank you 😊
Awesome!