Quinoa Patties Rule the World

Updated Quinoa Patty Tips in red! 
This is STILL a staple in our home and one of the most requested meals by my husband. You can bet at any time that either I have a batch of these in my freezer OR I have quinoa cooking to get ready to make them. They're so easy to pack for lunches and re-heat in a microwave very well. 

My husband and I have a slight obsession with quinoa patties (and that's a sentence I never thought I'd say!). The patties started when my mother in law gave me a jar of quinoa. I had no clue what to do with it. I had never cooked quinoa in my life and never really enjoyed eating it anyways. But I had this jar... and I hate to waste.. so I experimented with some recipes I found online. The recipes were pretty good but full of items that seemed to negate the healthfulness of the quinoa (the whole point of eating quinoa is to be healthy, right?). Finally, I came up with my own basic recipe:

3 cups cooked quinoa
4 eggs
1/2 t salt

1/2 cup diced onion3 cloves of garlic
1 cup almond flour OR bread crumbs
Then I throw in other italian seasonings or whatever herb is abundant in my little window plants
Optional: This is a very forgiving recipe and it's easy to add in whatever you'd like for your dietary desires! Some examples: drained + mashed garbanzo beans, green onions, crab meat (I can't vouch for this one but my parents can!), cheese, grated carrots, grated zucchini (just make sure you absorb as much moisture as possible since zucchini is so water-filled), etc. 

Skillet:
Heat up olive oil in a nonstick skillet (very important! I learned the hard way) and form into patties, cook on low-medium heat until both sides are crispy. It's easiest to use your hands to form the patties then squish the edges inward with the spatula, otherwise they tend to fall apart at the edges.

Oven:

I'm all about making meal prep easier these days so I've been experimenting with baking these. It's my new favorite way to make them in bulk.

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Choose your size measuring cup (I like big patties so I use 1/2 cup). Pack the mixture into the cup and dump it onto the paper. Use a fork to press the mixture down into the correct shape.

Bake for 15 minutes. Flip and bake the other side for 10 minutes. Done.

prior to baking

Ready to eat or freeze!

Our favorite ways to eat it:

• Smothered in marinara sauce
• On a 100 calorie rounds with chipotle mayo, fresh basil, tomato
• On a 100 calorie round with cheese, then dipped in marinara sauce (feels like eating a vegetarian meatball sub!)

Tips:

• Buy pre-washed quinoa in bulk (Costco has a big organic bag). Washing quinoa is too hard.
• Freeze remaining patties, separated by parchment paper and heat up for an easy meal
• Make in bulk (I usually double the recipe), put on a good movie and cook in bulk to freeze
• Use a big electric skillet to make more patties at once or bake!

My version of cooking in bulk: electric skillet + drinking chai + watching "Anne with an E"