Quinoa and Greens Patties

Crisp, light, and with plenty of leafy greens, these quinoa patties are a weeknight favourite for us and have been for over a decade now. They come together quickly and make good use of leftover cooked quinoa, great if you’re a fan of bowl food or batch cooking.

Since the recipe is flexible in terms of herbs and greens, I do make it just about year round. Right now I have some spinach recovering from a frost – it died back and is re-growing – so it’s been featured here, alongside overwintered parsley. Chard, beet tops, and just about any other hardy green can be used. Options are outlined in the ingredient substitution section below.

Try these as a light meal with some salad or roasted vegetables, or add to a grain bowl for a more filling meal. You can also increase the size to make a veggie burger. I often make more legume-based versions, like chickpea burgers or red lentil patties, but these make a good neutral patty and taste great with any variety of toppings.

I first shared this recipe in 2016. It’s been updated with improvements to the recipe instructions and slight improvements to the recipe, new photos, including step-by-step photos, and more helpful information.

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Ingredients You’ll Need and Why

The primary ingredients are cooked quinoa, eggs, and some kind of flour. Changing any of these or trying to omit them will cause problems. Everything else can be altered to an extent – these are my notes from recipe testing, and you can find the full recipe card below with complete measurements and instructions.

• Quinoa: this can be any colour of quinoa, but be sure to rinse beforehand if it doesn’t say that it’s already been rinsed. Most store bought quinoa now comes pre-rinsed so you won’t usually need to do this.
• Eggs: I’ve heard from readers that they’ve had success using aquafaba to make these vegan, but I have never made a version of these without eggs that I found good enough to share. Replace the eggs at your own risk!
• Greens: spinach, rucola (rocket/arugula), chard, kale, beet/turnip greens, even celery greens, are all good here. Use what you have. I personally find curly kale a bit too hard but cavolo nero works well.
• Herbs: switch up the parsley for your favourite herbs. Cilantro is the obvious substitute, and I like dill, but you can go for smaller-leaved herbs like oregano and thyme, too. See parsley substitutes.
• Lemon: if you don’t have a lemon on hand, you can omit the lemon zest and use about two teaspoons of white wine vinegar instead of lemon juice. Adjust this to taste and two tablespoons of water to make up the difference in added liquid.
• Chickpea flour: any kind of wheat flour can be used in place of chickpea flour. I most often use whole grain rye, sometimes spelt – and if you want to keep it gluten-free, use buckwheat flour. I haven’t tested with other GF flours like rice.

How to Make Quinoa Patties

This is an easy recipe, really, where everything is simply mixed in a bowl and then spoon the mixture into a hot frying pan to form patties. It’ll be too loose to shape before frying, and that’s normal – it holds together when cooked thanks to the eggs.

Step 1: add all of the ingredients to a large mixing bowl. The onion, greens, and herbs should all be finely chopped. Large pieces can cause the patties to fall apart when flipped.

Step 2: use a wooden spoon or spatula to mix very well, making sure no clumps of chickpea flour remain. There’s no risk of over-mixing here and the eggs and flour need to be fully incorporated for the patties to cook evenly.

Step 3: heat a large frying pan and coat the base with a thin layer of oil (this is important. Like any egg-based recipe, it will stick otherwise). Cook each patty for 2-3 minutes each side, and serve hot. These can be shaped slightly in the pan with a spoon before flipping.

Expert Tips for the Best Patties

• Do a fine chop: make sure you chop the greens very finely, because large pieces will cause some difficulty. I always remove the stems but it’s not necessary if you like them. The same goes for the onions.
• Cook the onions: if you don’t like raw onion, or it gives you heartburn, you can sauté the onion and garlic for 3-4 minutes before adding to the patty mixture. I like the texture and flavour of the almost-raw onion – and not having an extra step – but the option is there.
• Press when cooking: this is what will give you that nice shape on the patties. After flipping, use the spatula to press on the patty to make sure the entire side has contact with the frying pan.
• Make sure the pan is hot: it’ll seem like the patties aren’t going to hold together enough to fry, but they will! The batter is loose but keep in mind that it includes eggs, so they will come together nicely in a properly preheated frying pan.
• Try baking: some readers have noted that they’ve baked the quinoa patties with good success, so it can be done! Frying will give you a better texture, though. Be sure to use enough oil to prevent sticking, especially if using a cast iron pan.

More Recipes with Quinoa

• Moroccan Quinoa Carrot Salad – a personal favourite also for the colder months, this uses raw carrots with quinoa and other vegetables with Moroccan-inspired flavours
• Sweet Potato Bowls – with quinoa, chickpeas, and roasted sweet potatoes
• Chickpea Quinoa Salad – a flexible recipe for quinoa salad with a mustard vinaigrette
• Roasted Vegetable Salad – something we make all the time, this is a warm salad featuring pumpkin, apples, and roasted onion with a base of quinoa

• More Vegetarian Dinner Recipes

Mushroom and Pumpkin Shepherd’s Pie

Mushroom Pot Pie (Vegetarian or Vegan)

Roasted Vegetable Salad

Carrot, Red Lentil, and Spinach Soup

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