Cranberry and Kale Quinoa Patties
These wholesome quinoa patties taste yummy all by themself or as an accompaniment to your salad, dressed with, say, a cilantro-lime sauce and served with black-pepper banana chips on the side... mmmm...the possibilities are endless!
Prep Time10 mins
Cook Time55 mins
Resting Time15 mins
Total Time1 hr 5 mins
Servings: 4
Calories: 200kcal
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp oil
- 2 tbsp minced ginger
- 0.5 cup cranberries, coarsely chopped
- 1 cup uncooked, rinsed quinoa
- 2 cups water
- 2.5 tbsp chia seeds
- 6 tbsp water
- 1 to 1.25 cups chopped kale, tightly packed
- 1 tbsp lemon juice (or lime juice)
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp lemon zest (or lime zest)
- 0.5 tsp celery salt
- 0.5 cup pumpkin puree
Instructions
- Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat until shimmering. Saute the minced ginger until golden brown, about 1 minute.
- Add the cranberries, quinoa, water and salt to the saucepan. Bring to a boil. Cover and let simmer until the quinoa is cooked, about 15-20 minutes. Note: This step can also be done in an Instant Pot under the pressure cook setting (1 minute on high pressure) to cut down on the amount of time you're in the kitchen. Unselect the 'keep warm' setting.
- Remove the quinoa from heat and let cool for 15 minutes. This helps to keep the quinoa from becoming a mushy mess while you're mixing in the other ingredients.
- In the meantime, set 2.5 tbsp of chia seeds to soak in 6 tablespoons of warm or hot water.
- Add the chopped kale, gelatinous chia seeds, celery salt, black pepper, lemon zest and lemon juice. Mix with a spatula to combine the ingredients.
- Add the pumpkin puree 1/4 cup at a time until the mixture is moist enough to easily form into patties.
- Form the mixture into patties using about 1/2 cup of mixture per patty. This should result in 8 patties, total
- Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium heat until shimmering.
- Carefully lay 3-4 patties in the skillet and cook until well-browned on one side, about 5 minutes. Gently flip the patties and continue to cook until sufficiently browned on the second side, another 5 minutes.
- Transfer to a plate and serve!
Notes
Save time by making the cranberry/quinoa in advance in the Instant Pot. Simply saute the ginger in oil using the 'Saute' setting. After adding the cranberries, quinoa, water and salt, set to 'Pressure Cook' and manually set the timer to 1 minute under 'high pressure.' Uncheck the 'keep warm' setting.
The pumpkin puree is used for additional binding within the patty. I like that the neutral flavor of the pumpkin keeps the flavors of cranberry and kale front and center. That being said, it can easily be substituted for ingredients with similar texture. Just be sure to add your chosen ingredient into the mixture 1/4 cup at a time so you can test the mixture first and ensure that it does not become too 'wet.' The goal here is to be able form patties that hold together without crumbling (too dry) or dripping (to wet) apart.
I like the flavors of cranberry and kale so have kept the ingredient list simple here. However, feel free to experiment with and add any additional spices to this recipe that you enjoy using.
Nutrition
Calories: 200kcal