A new year always brings new resolutions. And I do have new resolutions (in a post to come), but this would be the same resolution I've had pretty much every year that I can remember - get healthier. Hopefully this is the year that sticks. It has to stick through January, because I'm in a group of ladies trying to lose 10 pounds by February 4th. Even if it doesn't stick all year, a month of healthier eating/exercising is better than nothing, right?
So far this year, I've exercised everyday (*cough* ignore that the grand total is only two days)! That's a success rate of 100%! I'm all over this exercise stuff.
But eating is the other half of the equation. Oh, I have a hard time eating the right foods. I love my processed, refined, fried foods with creamy white sauces. It's true. My very popular response to my husband's question, "What would you like for dinner?" is "All the french fries." I'm not planning on giving up all of my favorite foods. I need fried potatoes in my life. But I am planning to try to monitor my portion sizes and add more healthy foods to my repertoire. Enter Cheesy Quinoa Bites.
These babies are amazing. Quinoa is filling, so I felt completely satisfied from these. I calculated the calories of all of the ingredients on My Fitness Pal and assuming their entries are correct, there are only 130 calories in 4 bites! I may have eaten 8 for dinner, because they still fell under my calorie count! Score! And if you decide to pass on the food processor and grate your carrots by hand, then you've added an arm workout! ;-)
I may try to play around and sub fresh parsley for the cilantro at some point, but Daniel loved the cilantro, so he doesn't want me to tweak this recipe! We used Kraft's Light Honey Dijon salad dressing as our dipping sauce, but ranch or even sour cream would probably taste great!
Cheesy Quinoa Bites
Makes ~28 bites
2. Mix together quinoa, carrot, egg, green onion, garlic, cilantro, cheese, flour, salt and pepper.
3. Distribute mixture into a greased mini muffin tin, filling each cup to the top (1 heaping Tbs each).
4. Bake for 15-20 minutes.
*The dipping sauce pictured is Kraft's Light Honey Dijon salad dressing*
So far this year, I've exercised everyday (*cough* ignore that the grand total is only two days)! That's a success rate of 100%! I'm all over this exercise stuff.
But eating is the other half of the equation. Oh, I have a hard time eating the right foods. I love my processed, refined, fried foods with creamy white sauces. It's true. My very popular response to my husband's question, "What would you like for dinner?" is "All the french fries." I'm not planning on giving up all of my favorite foods. I need fried potatoes in my life. But I am planning to try to monitor my portion sizes and add more healthy foods to my repertoire. Enter Cheesy Quinoa Bites.
These babies are amazing. Quinoa is filling, so I felt completely satisfied from these. I calculated the calories of all of the ingredients on My Fitness Pal and assuming their entries are correct, there are only 130 calories in 4 bites! I may have eaten 8 for dinner, because they still fell under my calorie count! Score! And if you decide to pass on the food processor and grate your carrots by hand, then you've added an arm workout! ;-)
I may try to play around and sub fresh parsley for the cilantro at some point, but Daniel loved the cilantro, so he doesn't want me to tweak this recipe! We used Kraft's Light Honey Dijon salad dressing as our dipping sauce, but ranch or even sour cream would probably taste great!
Cheesy Quinoa Bites
Makes ~28 bites
- 2 cups cooked quinoa
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup shredded carrot
- 2 stalks green onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 2 Tbs all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp seasoning salt
- 1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper
2. Mix together quinoa, carrot, egg, green onion, garlic, cilantro, cheese, flour, salt and pepper.
3. Distribute mixture into a greased mini muffin tin, filling each cup to the top (1 heaping Tbs each).
4. Bake for 15-20 minutes.
*The dipping sauce pictured is Kraft's Light Honey Dijon salad dressing*
106 comments:
I can't wait to try these! Not suppose to have white flour ... I wonder if rice flour would work?
I can't wait to try these! Not suppose to have white flour ... I wonder if rice flour would work?
These look wonderful!
I love the idea of using the muffin tin instead of shaping patties. Looks much easier. You have inspired me to bring quinoa back into my life - it's a tricky one to pull off on the family!!
Linda, I haven't really worked with rice flour before, but it should work! The flour is just used as a binder, so it might work just the same! Let me know if it works!
Tessa, thank you so much!
Sara, boy do I understand that! My husband was SO skeptical of this recipe, even though I've made quinoa before and he liked it! He ended up loving them so much that he asked me to make more!
The rice flour would probably work if a bit of xanthan gum, potato starch and rice flour were mixed together to make up the 2 tbsp.
Then it could be considered to be gluten-free as well (as long as the other ingredients are GF).
I love the idea of these. I have Quinoa, but am looking for ways to use it. Hubby isn't a fan of cilantro, so we would go the parsley route here!
Where is quinoa found in the grocery store?
These look awesome! I bet my kids will love these - plus who doesn't need more healthy snack ideas like this? I can't wait to try them :D
I am making these for lunch today and I'm going to add a little minced jalepano!
I found this recipe through pinterest and I am so glad I did. I bought quinoa and have not been able to find a recipe to use them for!
Came over via Foodgawker. I love this recipe! I will be making these and topping them with fried eggs for breakfast. Thank you so much!
Lastly, YOU HAVE A TACO KITTY?! My best friend had a black and white kitty and named him Taco as well! He lived a beautiful long life for almost 20 years. He was such a wonderful kitty and such a unique name. Its so great to see someone with another black and white kitty named Taco too. :)
Where in the world did you find THESE? Can you make us some to try?
Laurie
Gwendolyn - Thanks so much for that great info! I know some gluten-free people that will really appreciate that variation!
Erin - My sister doesn't like cilantro either! But I bet the parsley would taste great!
Anonymous - I've found quinoa in a few different places in the grocery store - in the rice section, the gluten free section, or in the ethnic foods section. I usually buy quinoa from the bulk bins at Sprouts. I hope you find it! :-)
Heidi - Great idea! This would be a great snack! And if my husband likes them, I'd bet they're pretty kid-friendly! ;-)
Vicki - Ooooo...minced jalapeno would be GREAT in these! Amazing idea!
Tricia - I did the same thing! I had a bunch of quinoa in my pantry for quite a while and didn't know how to use it!
Noel - Oh my goodness...a fried egg on top sounds HEAVENLY! Brilliant! I can't believe that you know someone else who had a cat named Taco! How crazy! I had never heard of Taco used as a pet name before my husband spontaneously suggested it!
Laurie - I came up with the idea while we were in Colorado! And of course I'll make some for you guys!
I'm going to try these with gluten free Bisquick instead of flour...I've done it before in other recipes & works great.Plus, it's an easier substitution. I'll know how they turn out!
These look fantastic!!! I'm all about continuing to eat healthy, and this would be a perfect snack! Love the idea!!
I love quinoa, and I am so excited to try it in this new and different way! Thanks so much for sharing!!!
Yum!! The quinoa bites look super tasty!!!
That. Looks. Amazing. I am very happy I found your blog. I am definitely searching for clean eats like this, thank you!
I like the sound of quinoa bites!
What is the dipping sauce??? I love quinoa and love the idea of dipping! :-)
Talent! Pure Talent!!! That's what you have. Your food photos and recipes are always so enticing. Would love to try these for Bridge night.
How small do the carrots have to be? The pre-shredded bag I buy always seems to be too large. I could pop them in the food processor quickly....
Would these work in a regular muffin tin or just the mini?
aaflood - That sounds much easier! I'd love to know how they turn out for you!
Natalie - Thank you so much! I love bite-sized food, because it's so easy (and much more fun, in my opinion) to eat!
Laura - You are so welcome! I love quinoa, too!
Ambika - Thank you so much! My husband went nuts over them! I hope you like them!
Sgt SSD - Thank you so much! I'm trying really hard to get rid of some of the junk from our diet!
Kevin - Thank you! I love bite-sized just about anything! ;-)
Anonymous - I used a Kraft honey dijon salad dressing to dip ours!
Jenyy - Thank you so, so much! You know how much that means to me coming from you!
Skinny Fat Kid - I'd pop them in the food processor if I were you. I agree that the pre-shredded carrots in the store are pretty chunky!
Elisha - These would work great in a regular muffin tin! You'd just have to cook them longer. I'd recommend 25ish minutes, but I'd start checking them at 20 if I were you! Let me know how they turn out!
What is the dipping sauce please?
these look amazing! and only 1 weight watchers point per bite!
Anonymous - The dipping sauce is Kraft Honey Dijon salad dressing.
Cecilia - Wow! I didn't know the Weight Watchers point value! Thanks for telling me!
I'm going to try this recipe, hopefully tonight, and let you know how it turns out. :) By the way, I read your bio and our husbands would get along great. Mine also eats, sleeps, breathes soccer and he's a foreign physician so pharmacology is another interest. :)
Just a thought: To reduce fat and make them vegan, you could replace the eggs with 1/3-1/2 cup of blended silken tofu, and replace the cheese with 2-3 Tbsp nutritional yeast (bonus -- this adds b12, as well). You could even add in some ground flax seeds for added fiber and omega-3s.
Oooh...This looks amazing! I want to use brown rice flour though...and due to severe msg issues which parmesan can mimic for me...I want to try either white cheddar or jack cheese. Has to be a white cheese. Hmmm.... Can't wait to try this! Thank you so much for the idea!! :)
These sound delicious and a great way to sneak in some veges for my toddlers! Pinning it for later!
I gotta try this! Thanks for sharing.
What are you dipping these into?
what is the dip
Elsa - That's amazing! I never find any other soccer wives. Lol. Went to your blogs and LOVED them. :-)
decaf - Thanks for the idea!
Anonymous - You're so welcome! And I bet white cheddar would be delicious! It's one of my favorite cheeses!
Tracy - Thanks so much! I think it would be a very toddler friendly snack!
Lisa G - You're welcome! Thanks for trying it!
Anonymous - Kraft Light Honey Dijon salad dressing
I used a half a TBSP of potato startch, 1/2 TBSP of tapioca flour and 1 TBSP of rice flour. Didn't need to add xanathan or guar gum as it is less than 1 cup of flour. It worked well and they tasted great!!
YAY!! I'm so glad you liked them! And I'm so glad that the substitutions worked, so that they could fit into your diet!
I can't wait to try these, and I'm sharing them on my Friday Food Finds page next week. Kids are drooling over the pics. Thanks for sharing.
These look great. As a vegetarian, I love to find new ways to use foods I have as staples in my pantry. I'll be trying these tonight!
These look great. The other night I made these. They were delicious!! Instead of frying them you could probably bake them on a cookie sheet. I just used some cooking spray on the pan instead of oil. (This is not my blog...I just came across the recipe.)
http://eatingwelllivingthin.wordpress.com/2010/11/01/love-my-quinoa-burger/
Quinoa contains whole amino acids & is really great for you. It can be found in the grocery store near rice. Costco sells it. It cooks like rice. Tastes great alone too.
Sharyl - Thanks so much! I hope you and your kids enjoy them as much as we did!
morningtempest - I sure hope you like them!
Anonymous - I've seen the quinoa burgers pinned on Pinterest. They look great! Thanks for sharing!
Can you give me an idea of how much uncooked quinoa makes 2 cups cooked? Did you just boil up hot water and cook/drain the quinoa like you would pasta? Thanks for the recipe and tips. Found this on Pinterest. :)
Andrea, quinoa is pretty similar to rice in the fact that it just about doubles when it's cooked. I started with 1 cup of uncooked quinoa to get the 2 cups of cooked quinoa. To prepare quinoa for this, I put the one cup of quinoa in a fine meshed strainer, rinse it, then let it soak in the water for about 15 minutes. Then, I rinse it again and put the quinoa and 2 cups of water (double the amount of quinoa) in a saucepan. Cover it, bring the water to a boil, turn it down to low and simmer until all the liquid is gone. That usually takes about 15 minutes. Depending on the recipe, I'll use low sodium chicken broth in place of water for some extra flavor. Hope that helps! :-)
FYI - You can make Quinoa/cous cous etc in a rice cooker. WAY easier than the 42 step methods. Comes out perfect every time and you can add in broth, herbs etc to it to cook aswell. SUPER easy. Just made this recipe - 3 minutes till 'done' time. I added in some fingerling peppers and eliminated the cilantro/parsley because i just dont have any. Hope it still works!
Laura - Thanks for letting me know! I had heard that you could make it in a rice cooker, but I haven't tried it myself yet! I bet the peppers will taste great and you may not even miss the herbs! ;-)
Has anyone tried freezing them? I would love to know how they would hold up. Thanks.
Any idea of the calorie count in them,?
I figured it out to be around 43 calories per bite!
I just finished making a sample batch. These are delicious! I made them two ways. First as per the recipe and baked for 20 minutes. I also took 2 slices of prosciutto and cut them into thirds. I lined each of 6 mini muffin wells with a piece and then filled with the quinoa mixture and baked for the same length of time. Both were great. My hubby liked the prosciutto ones more, but he said both were good. I will definitely be making these again and will try freezing them to see how they hold up. Thanks!
Sorry, one correction to my previous post about the prosciutto. I used parsley, not cilantro which I detest, so I didn't quite make them as per the recipe.
Great idea, and a great way to help achieve that 'healthier' goal!!!!
I CAN'T WAIT to try these. :)
Could anyone think of a homemade dip that would go well with these?
Anonymous - I was planning to try to freeze part of the first batch, but they all disappeared! I'm hoping to try to pop some in the freezer from my next batch.
Rachael - My count was a little lower than that, but I may have missed something!
Anonymous - Oh, my mouth is watering thinking about adding prosciutto! What a great idea!
Julia - Thank you!
Liesl - I hope you like them!!
Rossana - I haven't come up with a specific dip for these yet, but I'd love to know if anyone else has one!
Do this freeze well?
Awesome recipe. My husband said it was a keeper.
I made these BUT I omitted the egg, shaped into thinner 'patties' and put them on a baking sheet, flipping them half way through the 12 minute cooking time. Gave them a bit of a crust--oh, and I added some shredded marble cheese, just for fun. THANK YOU for the inspiration!!!
Oh my WORD! I am so all over these!!! Thanks for the recipe!!!
Hi! I just made these and they are awesome! I used spinach instead of cilantro- picky roommates. I also used a full sized muffin tin and they took about 20 mins to cook at 350.
Thanks for the awesome idea!
Jaimie - I'm not sure yet! I haven't gotten to freeze a batch yet, but it's on my to-do list!
Anonymous - I'm so glad! I love it when my husband likes my food and asks me to make it again. :-)
Krissy - YUM! That sounds delicious! Thanks for the idea!
Brandy - You're so welcome!
Njlewicki - Great idea! I bet the spinach tasted great! And it's good to know the cooking time for the normal muffin tins. Thanks for letting me know!
I am trying to find ways to use my quinoa, but my family is not a big fan. However, I sneak it into soups and chili and they never even know.
What a great idea! That's how I sneak zucchini into my husband's diet. I shred it and put it in spaghetti sauce. ;-)
I have always found mine at Kroger in the healthy food isle. I think ours is next to the produce. I live 20 minutes away from the nearest Kroger so I stock up every time I go!
These look delicious!!! I love quinoa, just bought a 3 lb. bag today :) YUMMEEEEE
Okay apparently I am obsessed with this. I've got em in the oven again, and this time I added two diced chicken breasts that I cooked with seasoning and diced. I also threw the veggies and spinach (not cilantro) into the pan with the chicken and sauteed the whole thing real quick. Added to the quinoa, egg, flour and cheese- and they're baking now!
I just made these as finger food for my 1 year old. She's hogging them! And I am too :)
Love, love, love! Thanks so much! Daughter ate quite a few, I'm loving them. I sauteed onion, used parsley, and made a few little pancakes, which I liked for the crunch. It will be in my rotation! - Lynn
These are in the oven as I type, found on pinterest yesterday and couldn't wait to make them despite not having all the ingredients. So I subbed diced red onion for green onion and left out cilantro altogether as I didn't have anything to replace it with. As mentioned in another comment I added some shredded marble cheese and chicken as well.
They turned out AMAZING!!!
Do you think this is more of a snack or a side (like fries or tator tots)?
Thanks, Karen! We just restocked our quinoa supply, too!
You have such great ideas! I can't wait to try them with chicken and spinach!
Ha! That's hilarious! I'm so happy you both like them!
Yay! You're so welcome! Great idea to make little pancakes out of them! I love adding crunch to things!
I'll have to try adding marble cheese...it sounds delicious! I'm so, so happy you like them!
Sue, I've used them more as a main meal or snack/appetizer so far than as a side, but they're pretty versatile!
Great recipe! I made a tex-mex version yesterday and they were excellent. Thanks so much for the idea!
http://cupcakesandcardigans.com/2012/01/17/spicy-tex-mex-quinoa-bites/
those were delicious!
thanks for sharing this wonderful recipe.
I made these tonight only used yellow onion, green and orange peppers, zuchini and squash instead if the parsley, cilantro and green onion. I also used mexican cheese mix and served them with salsa. Turned out great! Thanks!
great suggestion! I've had these on my Pinterest board and one day soon I'll be veganizing them. :)
I featured this recipe in my Living A Bona Fide Life: Recipe Box #22. Can't wait to try it!
Mmmmmm, these sound so yummy!! I adore quinoa!
Just tried these today. they taste pretty good! I measured the quinoa wrong though. I realized AFTER that it called for 2 cups of COOKED quinoa and that stuff really swells in water. Great with the honey dijon.
Ok, I HAVE to make these now! I don't have mini muffin tins so I'm going to make them in regular muffin tins using quinoa flour for the flour (need to eat gluten free) and add some ham. I'm trying to eat better breakfasts and this should fit the bill perfectly!
Thank you so much for this!
Hi! I am really anxious to try these, but I can't have eggs. I typically use a mixture of ground flax seed and water to substitute. Do you think that would work with this recipe?
Thanks!
Laura
Making these for superbowl! I am going to sub the flour for quinoa flour or whole wheat... going to share this on my blog if you don't mine (crediting you OF COURSE!)
WWW.JUSTKEEPSWEATING.COM
I made them this morning and they were AWESOME! Was going to eat some at lunch with my soup, but decided to eat them right from the pan for breakfast!
I subbed some fresh basil for the cilantro (not a fan) and instead of the all-purpose flour I used a combo of brown rice flour, potato starch, and quinoa flour. Rice flour probably would have been fine on its own, but I am new to this and I have all the flours so figured why not mix!
Thanks very much for the yummy recipe!!
I have got to make these. They look fantastic!
I cannot wait to try these! They look amazing! Thanks for sharing!
I can't wait to try these! Quinoa is so good for you and these look so awesome!
I just left the flour out and they still stayed together great. Love the recipe!
Did you use mini muffin cups? I used egg white, but mine didnt stay together, I was dissapointed. Maybe the carrots were shredded to thick? They seemed a bit big.
Anonymous, no, I didn't use any cups! I believe the yolk helps hold these together so maybe that was the issue? And it could have been the carrots - mine were pretty thin! I'm so sorry they fell apart on you! That's so frustrating!
I am going to try these out on my family tomorrow night! If all goes well, I'm going to make them for a baby shower I'm planning - except I'll make them in a mimi muffin pan so thy will be bite size!
I made these last night. They are yummy! I used wheat flour, because that's what I had readily available. It worked fine. Also, my carrots were not finely shredded. I just ran them through the food processor and chopped them up. I had some big chunks. They held together fine...was even able to pluck them out of the muffin tin with a fork stabbed in them.
And thanks for the clue about the doubling in size. I cooked way too much quinoa...guess I have enough cooked quinoa to make another batch!
By the way... we were discussing these after we tried them last night and it might be good to mix them up one night, refrigerate them overnight and then bake them the next night. This would give the flavors a chance to meld and taste even better.
Thanks for sharing the recipe!
You can substitute one tablespoon of cornstarch for the 2 of flour in the recipe for a gluten-free variant. I tried it and just dissolved the cornstarch in a bit of water before adding it to the mix. It came out the same as when I did the recipe with flour! Voilá! Great recipe! Big hit at parties and a good way to use quinoa!
I'm loving all your quinoa recipes! Keep them coming!
Surprisingly, we didn't eat them all at the first sitting and had plenty left over. I put them into a bag, crumbled them and into a sauce pan with some chicken stock. I'm amazed to find that they're even better the next day! So yummy!
Seriously good! I used a regular size muffin pan and it made 18 bites, using a heaping tablespoon for each. I substituted egg whites for whole eggs to cut some of the calories.
We loved them and I can't wait to try the other flavours too!
I just want to say these are really tasty and a GREAT(healthy) finger food for babies. I just omitted the salt.
I was wondering if instead of using a mini muffin tray, could I make them into little balls and bake on a cookie sheet?
I made these and YUM! I used Greek Yogurt to make a dipping sauce. I've used instead of sour cream with Ranch dressing mix or just added a little garlic salt. That way you are getting even more protein in! (I'm 98% vegetarian so I'm always trying to sneak extra protein in!)
Thanks for the recipe!
I made these last night and they are awesome and addictive. I added 1 cup of shredded cheddar to mine and I got 30 bites. 28 calories each. Nice!
I used fl parsley instead of cilantro just because it seemed a better combo with the Parmesan cheese. I'm ping to serve them with a fresh tomato marinara sauce for dipping when my boys wake up. I've already popped half a dozen myself.
I'd love to make them with shredded apple and cinnamon as a breakfast option.
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