These vegan and gluten-free crispy quinoa-cauliflower cakes with herbed brazil nut cream are the perfect light lunch or appetizer. They're served with a dollop of herbed brazil nut cream that takes the flavors to soaring new heights.
Golden.
Baked.
Crunchy on the outside.
Light and fluffy on the inside.
Slather-worthy.
To make the cakes, you'll combine cooked quinoa, grated cauliflower, oat flour, a chia egg, chives, lime juice, olive oil, sesame oil, garlic, and chili flakes. You'll scoop the mixture by the quarter cup, form into patties, place on a pan, and bake for 30 to 40 minutes. The cakes come out of the oven crispy and golden on the outside and light and tender on the inside.
While the cakes are baking, you'll make the herbed brazil nut cream by adding soaked brazil nuts, water, chives, cilantro, garlic, lime juice, apple cider vinegar, and sea salt to a blender. The mixture takes a bit of scraping and several minutes to come together, but the result is a creamy, zesty, and tangy sauce that draws out the flavors in the quinoa-cauliflower cakes. Plus, brazil nuts are one of the few alkaline nuts, and they're packed with vitamin e, selenium, and thiamin.
I like to serve the cakes with a pretty smear of the herbed brazil nut cream and a lime wedge to spritz over top just before eating. They can also be served over a bed of greens or even on mini buns with the sauce spooned on top to make the perfect sliders.
Quinoa-Cauliflower Cakes with Herbed Brazil Nut Cream
Ingredients
For the Crispy Quinoa-Cauliflower Cakes
- 1 tablespoon chia seeds
- 3 tablespoons water
- 1 cup rolled oats
- ½ cup uncooked quinoa, cooked according to instructions
- 2 cups finely grated cauliflower(about ½ medium head of cauliflower)
- ¼ cup chopped chives
- 2 tablespoons lime juice
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ tablespoon toasted sesame oil
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- ¼ tsp crushed red pepper flakes
- ½ tsp sea salt
For the Herbed Brazil Nut Cream:
- ½ cup raw brazil nuts, soaked in hot water for 1 hour*
- ½ cup water
- 2 tablespoons chopped chives
- 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
- 1 ½ tablespoons lime juice
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 garlic clove
- ¼ tsp sea salt
For Garnishing
- lime wedges
Instructions
To Make the Crispy Quinoa-Cauliflower Cakes
- Preheat oven to 400F.
- Add the chia seeds and water to a small bowl, and let stand for 10 minutes.
- Add the rolled oats to food processor, and process for 2-3 minutes or until you have a coarse flour.
- Add the chia egg, oat flour, cooked quinoa, grated cauliflower, chives, lime juice, olive oil, sesame oil, chili flakes, garlic, and sea salt to a bowl. Stir with a wooden spoon until just mixed.
- Line a baking pan with parchment paper or silpat. Use a ¼ measuring cup to scoop out the mixture. Gently form into a patty and place on baking pan (note: the mixture will be quite wet). Repeat.
- Bake the patties for 30-40 minutes or until golden-brown with crispy exteriors, flipping over halfway through baking (around 20-minute mark).
- Assemble with 3-4 patties per plate and a smear or drizzle of the herbed brazil nut cream. Serve with a lime wedge, and spritz with fresh lime juice before eating.
To Make the Herbed Brazil Nut Cream:
- Add all ingredients to a blender, and blend until smooth (about 4-5 minutes), stopping to scrape down sides as needed.
Notes
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oh all of this is so beautiful. i am in total love with that green smear of brazil nut cream! xo
Thanks, Lynsey! When I was making the brazil nut cream I was mesmerized by its pretty pale green shade, so I think you and I are speaking the same language on that one :)
Wow these looks amazing! I love the sound of the brazil nut cream I bet you could match it with loads of different meals!
Thanks so much, Jo! You're so right; the brazil nut cream could definitely be paired well with a variety of meals or even tossed into a salad as a dressing. It's quite versatile!
Amazing! I look forward to making these for family and friends. Thanks for sharing this wonderful recipe!
You're welcome, Robyn! I hope you and your family/friends enjoy them!
Gorgeous - they look perfectly crispy and delicious.
Thanks so much! I was pleasantly surprised by how crispy they got in the oven, and it's so much easier to bake them than stand over the stove flipping patties. I hope you're doing well!
this recipe is just gorgeous!
I do not fry but I like to wrap slightly chopped vegetables in foil and cook in slow cooker on low all day.
I mix and match and just walk away. I do whole potatoes with slit down the middle and have wonderful meals.
Amy burgers, which I am addicted to, are the only thing to cook on my mini griddle and I really love my laziness!
That brazil nut cream is blowing my mind, gorgeous! I don't really like the actual Brazil nuts, but in a cream slathered on those amazing cakes? SOLD!
I had a really hard time getting the mixture to come together (there was no way they were going to form those beautiful, round patties you had made) - so I ended up putting half the mixture in the food processor and processed till combined. This seemed to do the trick!
Overall though, delicious! The sesame oil is the perfect complement of flavour without being too overpowering! I don;t have brazil nuts, but will be making a cashew dipping sauce for them!
Thanks for the recipe - can't wait to try these out! Could you just clarify though - is the quinoa measurement the cooked or uncooked amount?
Thank you!
Great question, Aimee! Just updated the recipe, but that should be 1/2 cup uncooked quinoa (that gets cooked according to package instructions). Enjoy!
I hate to leave a negative review because I do appreciate all the effort that goes into these posts. But had I seen a review like mine, I wouldn’t have bothered with the recipe. Luckily, I tried it out before making it for the grandkids. The mixture was not wet. In fact, it was too dry to form patties. Perhaps my quinoa was too dry, I don’t know. I added veggie broth and chickpea flour which seemed to do the trick. I also added additional seasonings but it was still quite bland. Although I like lime, it did not seem to be a good complement to the flavor profile. Sorry!
Hi, Pam! I'm so sorry to hear you didn't enjoy the recipe and that the mixture was too dry to form. That definitely shouldn't be the case as the unbaked mixture tends to be on the wet side. Either way, I appreciate you taking the time to share your feedback and adjustments. I value honest feedback—makes the recipes (and me) stronger.
Thanks, Ashley. I may try it again. The flavor mellowed overnight. A served them topped with hummus and they were good. I like the texture so maybe I can tweak the seasoning. I live in Spain. Maybe the cauliflower is drier here?
Hi, Pam! Happy to hear you enjoyed them more the next day. I suppose it is possible the cauliflower is a bit drier in Spain! I'll keep this in mind the next time I make this and work to come up with adjustments for others who might have a similar issue. Thanks again for taking the time to share your feedback—means so much.