Sweet Potato Quinoa Cakes
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Published Sep 16, 2020, Updated Nov 19, 2021
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These sweet potato quinoa cakes are made with wild rice and studded with dried cranberries. They are great for meal prep and taste delicious served hot or cold.
If you’ve only ever served quinoa as a fluffy side dish, get ready to have your mind blown because quinoa can do so much more! I’ve experimented with it so many different ways… from quinoa salads to quinoa flour bread and quinoa breakfast bowls. But today’s recipe is one of my faves because we’re turning quinoa into a tasty little cake/patty.
I’ll be the first to admit that these quinoa cakes do take a little bit of time to prepare, but the good news is that you can prep certain parts of the recipe in advance to save on time the day of. And they are absolutely delicious and worth the effort!
The first time I made these cakes was back in 2010 (when I originally posted the recipe). I remembered them being good, but after making them again recently I realized just how much I love them. They’ll now be making a regular appearance on our weekly menu.
Sweet Potato Quinoa Cake Ingredients
The nice thing about this recipe is that you only need 8 simple ingredients and like I mentioned before many of them can be prepped in advance.
- sweet potatoes – the sweet potatoes in this recipe are steamed and mashed and act as a binder to hold the patties together
- quinoa – you’ll cook the quinoa before making the patties so this step can be done a few days in advance to save on time
- wild rice – I really like using Lundberg wild rice and this is another ingredient that can be prepped in advance
- green onions
- dried cranberries
- dried sage – sage pairs with sweet potato beautifully, but you could also use dried thyme
- sea salt and pepper
How to Make Quinoa Patties
Cook your grains: Leftover quinoa and rice work perfectly in this recipe, but if you don’t have any on hand the first step is to cooking both the rice and quinoa according to package instructions. Set aside to cool when done cooking.
Steam sweet potatoes: While your rice and quinoa cook, you’ll steam the sweet potato chunks until soft and then puree in a stand mixer, food processor or blender.
Mix and form into patties: When your grains and sweet potatoes are cool enough to touch, combine the sweet potatoes, cooked quinoa, cooked rice, green onions, cranberries, sage, salt and pepper. Form and flatten portions of the “dough” into patties.
Bake: Lay the patties onto parchment paper and bake for 15-20 minutes until they’re lightly brown and crisp on the outside.
How to Serve Quinoa Cakes
These sweet potato quinoa cakes are delicious at any temperature. I love them fresh out of the oven, at room temperature and even cold right out of the refrigerator.
For serving, they make a great veggie-based side to just about any main dish… I personally like pairing them with my apple cider vinegar chicken. But you can also serve them as a plant-based main entree with a green side like roasted broccoli, green beans or a kale salad.
If you love sauces and dips, I have a few options that would work really well: dairy-free cashew sour cream, avocado ranch dressing or this zesty tahini dressing.
How to Store Quinoa Cakes
If you’ll be eating the quinoa cakes within the week I recommend storing in an airtight container in the fridge. They should stay good for up to five days. If you don’t eat them fast enough (has never happened to me, ha!) you can pop them in the freezer in an airtight container for up to three months. The consistency may change slightly after freezing, but they will still be delicious. I recommend reheating in a toaster oven or conventional oven to make sure you can enjoy the crispy edges.
More Quinoa Recipes to Try:
- Mushroom Kale Quinoa Risotto
- Chicken and Quinoa Meal Prep Bowls
- Mexican Quinoa Casserole
- Roasted Broccoli Quinoa Salad
- Quinoa Salad with Kale and Roasted Sweet Potatoes
If you make these sweet potato quinoa cakes please leave a comment and star rating below letting me know how they turned out for you. Your feedback is super helpful for the EBF team and other EBF readers!
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Sweet Potato Quinoa Cakes
Ingredients
- 1 lb. sweet potatoes, 2 medium sized, peeled and cut into 1 inch chunks
- 1 cup quinoa, cooked (1/2 cup dry quinoa)
- 1 cup Lundburg wild rice blend, cooked (1/3 cup dry rice)
- ½ cup green onions, sliced
- ½ cup dried cranberries, chopped
- 1 Tablespoon dried sage
- ½ Tablespoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Cook your rice and quinoa according to package instructions. Set aside to cool when done cooking.
- Steam sweet potato chunks for 20-25 minutes. Then mash/puree sweet potatoes in stand mixer. You could also use a food processor or blender. You want the sweet potato mixture to be thick and a tad chunky, not completely smooth like sweet potato soup.
- Combine mashed sweet potatoes, cooked quinoa, cooked rice, green onions, cranberries, sage, salt and pepper.
- Form and flatten portions of the “dough” into patties. You should get about 8 small cakes or 6 large cakes.
- Lay the patties onto parchment paper that has been sprayed with cooking spray (or stoneware) and bake for 15-20 minutes until they’re lightly brown and crisp on the outside. Serve warm.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months. Reheat leftovers in the oven to serve warm or enjoy cold straight from the fridge.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I’m sorry for the repeated question, but your answer didn’t quite clear it up for me. 🙂 Are you measuring 1cup dry quinoa and then cooking it? Or, are you measuring 1 cup cooked quinoa to the mixture? (Same for the rice.) thanks!
Sorry for the confusion! It’s 1 cup cooked. 🙂
The recipe calls for 1c rice & quinoa. Is the 1c measured cooked or raw?
Both the rice and quinoa should be cooked prior to making the cakes!
The recipe calls for 1 cup each of rice & quinoa; which is it, dried or cooked?
Both should be cooked prior to making the cakes!
Menu planning: please offer ideas & suggestions
Hey Judy – I have a lot of meal prep ideas here and I also have a 6-week meal plan if you’re interested.
I’d love to see the 6 week menu plan.
Thanks!