Southwest Quinoa Cakes

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This healthy quinoa cake recipe is packed with protein from the black beans, eggs, cottage cheese and quinoa. We like to serve the quinoa cakes with a mouthwatering and incredibly easy blender salsa; if you don’t like the heat, leave out the chipotle pepper. We like the look of red quinoa, but any color quinoa will work just as well

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  • 6
  • 35 mins
  • 60 mins

Ingredients

  • 2 cups water
  • 1 cup quinoa, preferably red quinoa
  • 4 large eggs, lightly beaten
  • 1 cup canned black beans, rinsed
  • 3/4 cup reduced-fat cottage cheese
  • 1/4 cup sliced scallions
  • 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt, plus a pinch, divided
  • 1 cup shredded pepper Jack cheese
  • 1 14-ounce can fire-roasted diced tomatoes
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 1 small chipotle pepper in adobo sauce (see Tip)
  • 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
  • 1 avocado, chopped

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat oven to 375°F. Coat a 12-cup nonstick muffin tin with cooking spray.

Bring water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Stir in quinoa. Reduce to a simmer, cover and cook until the grains are tender and reveal their spiraled germ, about 15 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl and let cool for about 10 minutes.

Add eggs, beans, cottage cheese, scallions, flour, baking powder and 1/4 teaspoon salt to the quinoa and stir until well combined. Divide the mixture among the muffin cups (about 1/4 cup each). Top each quinoa cake with about 1 tablespoon cheese.

Bake the cakes until puffed and a little brown on top, about 20 minutes. Let cool in the pan for 5 minutes. Gently loosen and remove with a paring knife.

Meanwhile, place tomatoes, garlic, chipotle pepper and a pinch of salt in a blender and puree until smooth. Transfer to a small bowl and stir in cilantro.

Serve the cakes with the salsa and avocado.

Makes: 6 servings

Serving Size: 2 cakes & 1/4 cup salsa

Nutrition

Per serving: 365 calories; 17 g fat (6 g sat, 5 g mono); 140 mg cholesterol; 35 g carbohydrates; 0 g added sugars; 6 g total sugars; 19 g protein; 7 g fiber; 662 mg sodium; 515 mg potassium.

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