Baked Quinoa Cakes Recipe with Tart Cherries & Pistachios
Baked quinoa cakes with a creamy basil yogurt sauce are a healthy and delicious appetizer. Dried tart cherries and pistachios add a hint of sweetness and crunch. 136 calories and 3 Weight Watchers Freestyle SP.
Servings: 12 Cakes
Calories: 135.7kcal
Ingredients
The Sauce:
- 1 cup nonfat plain Greek yogurt
- 1 garlic clove minced
- 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
- ¼ cup finely chopped basil
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
The Quinoa Cakes:
- ¾ cup quinoa rinsed well
- 2 cups water
- 4 eggs beaten
- 1 cup whole wheat panko breadcrumbs
- 3 green onions thinly sliced
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- ¼ cup shelled pistachios chopped
- ⅓ cup dried tart cherries
- 3 tablespoons crumbled feta cheese
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground pepper
- water if needed
Instructions
The Sauce:
- In a small bowl, stir together the yogurt, garlic, lemon juice, basil and salt.
The Quinoa Cakes:
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray.
- In a medium saucepan, combine the quinoa and water. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Cook until the water is absorbed, 15 to 20 minutes. Fluff with a fork, spread on a baking sheet and let cool.
- In a medium bowl, combine the 2 ½ cups of the cooked quinoa, eggs, breadcrumbs, green onions, garlic, pistachios, cherries, feta cheese, salt and pepper. Stir to combine.
- The mixture should be fairly moist so they don't dry out when baking, but not too moist so that the cakes fall apart. Use extra water if the cakes are not moist enough.
- Using ¼ cup (packed) per quinoa cake, shape the quinoa mixture into a ¾-inch thick bake and place on the prepared baking sheet.
- Bake until the quinoa cakes are golden brown on the bottom, 12 to 15 minutes. Carefully turn over and cook for 5 more minutes.
- Serve with the basil yogurt sauce.
Notes
Weight Watchers Points: 3 (Freestyle SmartPoints), 3 (Points+)
Nutrition
Serving: 1Quinoa Cake + 1 Tablespoon Sauce | Calories: 135.7kcal | Carbohydrates: 18.5g | Protein: 7.1g | Fat: 3.5g | Saturated Fat: 0.7g | Cholesterol: 62.6mg | Sodium: 80mg | Fiber: 2.1g | Sugar: 3.7g