Looking for a fun and healthy side or snack? These Sweet Potato Quinoa Cakes are a delicious way to pack in lots of nutrients and are incredibly easy to make! Make up a batch in advance for a quick ready-made option throughout the week! {gluten-free & vegan}
Every week, I’ve made it my personal mission to make a new fun snack or side recipe for our little guy to test out. In case you don’t know, he’s the official taste tester for H & H Living (along with my husband, of course).
By making new recipes on a weekly basis, it keeps things fresh and exciting, exposes him to different textures and flavours, and also`provides me with new recipes to share with all of you!
It’s a win-win for everyone.
The latest recipe that got the thumbs up were these Sweet Potato Quinoa Cakes.
These cute little patties are so simple, yet so flavourful and they make for a great fun side or snack for the whole family!
Sweet Potato Quinoa Cakes – The Perfect Make-Ahead Option
So if you’ve been following along with me, you know that I always enjoy recipes that can be made in advance.
Who doesn’t want to open the fridge or freezer and find food that’s already been made?
The busier life gets, the more I gravitate towards these easier options.
The good news is, there are a couple of different options for prepping this recipe in advance.
Tips for Preparing Sweet Potato Quinoa Cakes
First, you can cook the quinoa and sweet potato up to three days ahead of time and simply assemble into the patties when ready to eat. The only part about this recipe that takes a little time is cooking the quinoa and sweet potato, so if you do this part in advance, it will save you some time in the long run.
You can either bake the sweet potato in the oven for about 50-60 minutes at 375 degrees F, or if you want the shorter method, you can pop it in the microwave for 5-7 minutes or until it’s nice and soft.
For the quinoa, you’ll simply want to rinse it and then bring it to a boil in some water or broth and allow to simmer for about 12-15 minutes, or until nice and fluffy.
By doing this prep work, those patties be all ready to assemble when that time comes around!
Nice and easy!
The other option, of course, is to make the cakes up in advance and store in the fridge or freezer, so you just have to reheat when ready to serve.
How to Reheat Sweet Potato Quinoa Cakes
If you choose the latter option, there are a couple of ways to reheat these little cakes.
You can either heat them up in the oven and bake for about 10-15 minutes or until heated through.
If you’re really in a time crunch, you can microwave them for about a minute or so.
Either way gets the job done!
Are these Sweet Potato Quinoa Cakes Healthy?
Yes! Let’s break it down a little bit further:
- Quinoa: is classified as a ‘complete protein’ since it contains all your essential amino acids. It also happens to be naturally gluten-free and a good source of dietary fibre, iron, vitamin E, calcium, and potassium
- Sweet potatoes: provide 400% of your daily vitamin A requirement. They are also a good source of vitamin C, fibre and potassium.
Can you really go wrong with these super nutritious ingredients?
I think not!
How to Serve these Sweet Potato Quinoa Cakes
What I love about recipes like these is that they’re SO versatile. You can really serve them up at any meal or even as a snack!
Here are some fun ways to serve them up!
- As a snack, dipped in this roasted garlic spread
- For breakfast or brunch along with these Turkey Sausage Spinach Egg Cups
- For lunch with Turkey Apple Meatloaf Muffins
- For dinner with Mini Salmon Dill Cakes
Those are just a few ideas, but the options are endless!
How would you serve up these Sweet Potato Quinoa Cakes?
More similar recipes
- Broccoli Cheddar Quinoa Bites
- Easy Zucchini Fritters
- Chicken Avocado Poppers
- Sweet Potato Lentil Tater Tots
- Spinach Zucchini Frittata Fingers
Did you make this recipe? Scroll down to leave a rating and review!
Sweet Potato Quinoa Cakes
Ingredients
- 1 cup mashed sweet potato from about 1 large sweet potato
- 1 1/2 cups cooked quinoa about 1/2 cup dry quinoa
- 1 tsp. onion powder
- 1/2 cup finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
- 1/2 tsp. salt optional
- 1/4 tsp. freshly ground pepper
- 1 tsp. olive oil
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Cook the sweet potato in the oven for 50-60 minutes or in the microwave for 5-10 minutes, until soft.
- Cook the quinoa according to package directions. I usually like to do steps 2 and 3 in advance to save time later on.
- In a medium-sized bowl, mash the sweet potato with a fork. Mix in the quinoa, parsley, onion powder, pepper and salt (if using).
- Using your hands, form the mixture into 12 mini patties, packing the mixture so that it all sticks together. Place the patties on the prepared baking sheet. Brush the top of each patty with half the olive oil.
- Place in the oven and bake for 10 minutes. Carefully flip the patties and brush with remaining olive oil. Cook for an additional 10 minutes. Allow to cool for about 10-15 minutes. The patties will firm up during this time.
- Store in the fridge for up to four days or in the freezer for up to three months.
Nutrition
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Can these be pan seared?
I haven’t tried it myself but I can’t see why not! If you really pack together the mixture and flip them carefully, you should be good! Keep me posted on how they turn out if you decide to try it!
I made these but they fell apart even after cooking. They tasted great but was hoping they would stay together so my little one could pick them up. Any idea what I did wrong or any tips to help them stay together? Thank you! :)
Hmm sorry to hear that they fell apart on you! The only thing I can think of is that perhaps the proportions of sweet potato and quinoa might have been slightly off? Enough sweet potato is needed in order to help bind it all together since quinoa is naturally pretty crumbly, so you could try increasing the sweet potato slightly next time. And also be sure to pack the cakes tightly with your hands before baking. Hope you have better luck next time!
I just made them using stuff up in the fridge I used quinoa from the cupboard, sweet potato, spring onion and I had some mixed seeds. Delicious
So glad you enjoyed the quinoa cakes! Love your modifications!
Delicous! My 19 month old daughter loves them. Easy to make.
*Delicious…swear I can spell. Have pity on me, i’m a sleep deprived mother of a 19 month old.
Hahaha no worries, I totally get it! And that’s fantastic! So happy you guys enjoyed the recipe! Thanks for the feedback and hope you’re able to get some rest :)
I made these using Cous Cous .. ( I swore I had Quinoa when I went to make these) .. it worked also!! These are very tasty and addictive! I plan on getting Quinoa and making them the correct way as well :D
Love how you subbed in the couscous! I’ve done that so many times, where I go to make a recipe, think I have all of the ingredients…and NOPE! I’m so happy that they worked out for you! I appreciate you stopping by to comment :)