Crispy Quinoa Patties with Green or Red Tomato Chutney
Our quinoa patties recipe is a great vegetarian patty that can be served in different ways. It’s a recipe that we originally shared in 2013 and it’s still a favorite! We updated the recipe to use red tomatoes if you can’t find green tomatoes.
What are Quinoa Patties?
They’re basically a quinoa patty, just like it sounds. Think of a veggie burger patty made with wholesome quinoa. What a delicious surprise these quinoa patties were. Wow. Not that we were expecting them to be bad, but we weren’t expecting them to have much flavor. Don’t get us wrong, we absolutely love quinoa and usually use it as a base for salads and main entrees. But we really thought these fritters would be rather bland when fried up. That’s why we added parmigiano reggiano cheese into the recipe and maybe that was what made it so good! Either way, bad on us for judging a dish before we could even make it.
Video: Quinoa Patties Recipe with Tomato Chutney
Tomato Chutney Using Your Favorite Tomatoes
The green tomato chutney certainly brings out the flavor of this quinoa fritters recipe and we have plenty of green tomatoes to go around in the garden. We originally made these with green tomatoes because for two reasons. First reason is because we had grown so many green zebra tomatoes and had to find some new recipes. Second, the tang and acidity of green tomatoes adds to the perfect balance in a chutney. But we know green tomatoes can be hard to find if you’re not growing tomatoes. So red tomatoes are just as delicious in the chutney.
Crispy and Easy Vegetarian Quinoa Patties
Oh goodness, these are so good, gobbled up 2 fritters within 2 minutes flat. Of course, not both at the same time. But certainly, one after the other quicker than lightening.
What makes these fritters so good is that they’re crunchy on the outside and flavorful on the inside. The Parmesan cheese definitely helps on flavor, but we also seasoned the fritters well, giving them extra flavor and balance. Coupled with the tangy or sweet and spicy tomato chutney, it was the perfect marriage of crunch, sweet and tangy flavor all in one. It’s one of our favorite quinoa vegetarian recipes to make.
Crispy Quinoa Patties with Green Or Red Tomato Chutney
Ingredients
Crispy Quinoa Fritters
- 1 cup (170 g) raw quinoa
- 1/2 medium onion , finely minced (@ 1 cup) (the smaller the mince is, the easier it will be to mold the patties)
- 1/2 cup (50 g) grated parmesan cheese
- 3/4 cup (94 g) all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup (60 ml) minced parsley
- 1/2 teaspoon (2.5 ml) smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon (5 ml) garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon (5 ml) Kosher salt , or to taste (I liberally seasoned the quinoa mix)
- 1 teaspoon (5 ml) fresh cracked black pepper , or to taste
- 3 large eggs , beaten
- vegetable oil for frying
Sweet & Spicy Green Tomato Chutney
- 1 pound (454 g) green tomatoes or red tomatoes , roughly cut
- 1/2 cup (110 g) brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon (5 ml) minced fresh chilies or to personal taste (Serrano, Thai chilies, jalapeno, habanero, etc.)
- 1/4 teaspoon (1.25 ml) ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon (1.25 ml) ground cloves
- 1 Tablespoon (15 ml) white vinegar , or more depending on how tangy you want it
- 1 Tablespoon (15 ml) fresh lime juice
Equipment
- Large Cookie Scoop optional
Instructions
Quinoa Fritter Instructions
- Cook quinoa to package instructions (should be about 2 cups water-1 cup quinoa. Simmer covered for 12-15 minutes). Allow to cool completely.
- In large bowl, combine cooked quinoa, onions, parmesan cheese, flour, parsley, paprika, garlic powder, salt, black pepper, and beaten eggs. Mix thoroughly to combine all the ingredients, but be gentle to not make the quinoa mushy.
- Lightly oil hands to keep quinoa mix from sticking. Use about 3 Tablespoons of quinoa mix and form into a tight ball, then press down to form a patty (a large cookie scoop works great to make this fast and even).
- In large skillet, add oil for frying, about 1/2 inch in depth. Heat the oil over medium/high heat until hot (350-375°F)(175-190°C).
- Gently place the quinoa patties in the hot oil, cooking both sides about 3-5 minutes per side or until crispy brown.
- Blot hot fritters on paper towels. Serve quinoa fritters with tomato chutney.
Sweet & Spicy Green or Red Tomato Chutney Instructions
- Roughly chop the tomatoes and finely mince the chilies.
- Combine all the chutney ingredients in a saucepan (tomatoes, brown sugar, chilies, cinnamon, clove, vinegar, and lime juice.)
- Bring to a simmer then adjust heat to medium-low. Simmer, stirring occasionally and gently. Cook for about an hour, or until mixture thickens to a jam-like consistency.
- Set aside to cool and store in the fridge to keep for a couple weeks. Or for longer term storage, put chutney into sterilized jars and can in a water bath (cover lidded canning jars with water about 1" above jars & simmer for about 15 min.)
Video
Nutrition Information per Serving
Other Ideas to Serve with Quinoa Patties
The chutney is a great sauce to add on top but you’re not just limited to tomato chutney. Here’s some more inspiration to serve with the healthy quinoa patties:
- Make small burgers, sliders or sandwiches out of the quinoa patties.
- Serve them as appetizers along with your favorite dips.
- Make quinoa patty lettuce wraps!
- Chop them up and serve on top of a salad.
- Add some chili crunch on top for a spicy chili crunch quinoa patty. Check out our popular homemade chili crunch or chili crisp recipe.
Have Fun Growing Green Zebra Tomatoes
Have you ever grown green zebra tomatoes? They’re like monsters. We’ve never had a green zebra that didn’t fruit like mad, giving plenty of tomatoes to feed the neighborhood. Unlike other heirloom tomatoes that are sensitive to disease, our green zebras seem to hold up o their own and don’t take much care. Every time we turn around, there’s a new cluster of green zebras waiting to be plucked, picked or chutney-ized.
We made this the other day and it wowed us completely. That chutney sauce was so flavorful.