Sweet Potato Quinoa Cakes with Blackberry Salsa.
I thought they might rank up there with my husband’s lack of sleeves on shirts, biting into an unsuspecting fennel seed (haaaate) on my pizza, the googly eye that the Target cashier gave me when I purchased three neon bras from the junior section and anything – and I do mean ANYTHING – that requires me to have patience.
But I was wrong. I’m in lust.
A few nights ago it dawned on me that we hadn’t eaten potatoes – like, regular Idaho’s or russets or whatever – in ages. No idea why, other than pure lazi-and-forgetfulness. So I was absolutely craving them, and more specifically I wanted mashed potato pancakes cooked in bacon grease and delivered to me on a warm plate with a few dipping sauces while I stayed firmly planted on the couch.
That didn’t happen.
Wah! Life is sooooo unfair.
THIS is what happened though. Messy hands.
I had two lonely sweet potatoes left, a container of cooked quinoa ready to go for breakfast, and I wondered what the heck would come of combining the two with some cheese and bread crumbs and herbs and stuff. And patting them into little cakes for a dinner side. Oh and topping them with fruit salsa! Because I am clearly incapable of going one week without cutting some fruit into little cubes, combining it with onion, lime and cilantro and proclaiming it the best salsa on Earth. Again.
The sweet and the savory, the warm and the cool, all combined with fluffy cakes that possess a tiny bit of quinoa chew might just be my new favorite side dish. For now anyway. And maybe tomorrow. I mean it’s not like I’m fickle or anything.
Sweet Potato Quinoa Cakes
[adapted from Heidi Swanson]
makes 4 cakes, is super easily multiplied
1 medium sweet potato (about 6 oz), peeled and chopped
1/2 red onion, diced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup cooked quinoa
1/4 cup whole wheat bread crumbs
1/4 cup finely grated parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
1 large egg, lightly beaten
Heat a large skillet over medium-low heat and add 1/2 tablespoons olive oil. Add in sweet potato, onion, 1/4 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper, stir, cover and cook for 10-12 minutes, or until potato is soft. Remove lid and add garlic, cooking for 30 seconds.
Transfer potato mixture to a large bowl (slightly mashing potato with a fork) and add quinoa, breadcrumbs, cheese, herbs, remaining salt and pepper and mix well. Once combined, add in egg, then mix until moistened. Using your hands to bring it together, form four equally-sized patties. Heat the same skillet over medium heat and add olive oil. Add cakes and cook for 3-4 minutes per side, or until golden brown. Serve with blackberry salsa!
Blackberry Salsa
1 pint fresh blackberries, chopped
1/2 red onion, finely diced
1/2 jalapeno, finely diced
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
the juice of 1 lime
salt and pepper to taste
Combine all ingredients together in a bowl and mix.
I totally think these should be cooked in bacon grease too… I was fresh out. Sad day.
246 Comments on “Sweet Potato Quinoa Cakes with Blackberry Salsa.”
Adding this one to my ever-growing list of recipes to make from your blog! I am a sucker for anything with quinoa in it!
I detest potatoes, but LOVE sweet potatoes.. this is an amazing idea!! I’ve got to make these! Plus sweet potatoes totally count as a vegetable, but taste like dessert, that’s a win in my book!
LOVE these!
This is such a great idea, I will put my quinoa to some good use this weekend! By the way, I made your croissants during the weekend!! They turned out amazing, as all of you recipes taht I have tried! I actually ended up chilling the dough for only 4.5 hours not 6 as you but they were very delicious, so flaky and buttery!! I took pictures of the dough, but not of the actual croissants they were gone so quickly and they tasted so good they I ended inhaling them and did’t care anymore for pictures!
Those look delicious! I don’t think I’ve ever seen a blackberry salsa–must try!
Yum!
xo Jennifer
http://seekingstyleblog.wordpress.com
Thanks! I will be adapting this to gf :)
Oh yeah, these look like my kind of cakes….
Oh holy smokes. I am making these TONIGHT. They look amazing! Thanks for the great recipe!!
Oh my word, this looks good. GHAH!!
Yum!! I have been meaning to make quinoa into a “cake”, but I am glad I haven’t yet. LOVE the sweet potatoes in these!
I CANNOT wait to make this. Sweet potatoes and quinoa are probably my two favorite foods. This is amazing.
I’m sorry but the whole time I read this post, I was subconsciously comparing baloney and bologna. Then you said blackberry salsa and all I can think about is savory waffles. I think your blog makes me ADD. In a good way!
As soon as you posted this, I couldn’t stop thinking about it. We made it for dinner tonight and it was spectacular! We were out of fresh herbs, so we used a tsp each of dried basil and cilantro and it still worked great!
wish you could ship these to us ;) yum!!
HATE when I bite into fennel!
HATE it when I bite into fennel
How is it that my mouth literally just watered once I got to the blackberry salsa topped pic?! Goodness graciousssssssssssss this looks good. PLEASE WRITE A COOKBOOK. Like yesterday. K thanks ;)
i have been wanting to make sweet potato quinoa cakes because I love the ones at WF’s so much. Yours look great adn I can’t wait to give them a try!
Perfection!
Does quinoa taste like rice? i never tried one but im planning to since i saw heidi’s. but i’m scared.
I’m not sure how to describe the taste… I guess it is somewhat like rice, but it’s definitely a little more chewy than rice.
This is a great idea! Only I’m trying to avoid wheat products and I live in France, where I don’t think they sell gluten-free breadcrumbs. So I’m going to try substituting the wholewheat breadcrumbs with almond meal, and perhaps add an additional egg if I need more of a binding factor. I like this recipe because it seems to also have a low-glycemic load, so thanks for that! Your recipes always look, and I love it when you include those that don’t spike my blood sugar.
wow, this looks delicious! but let me ask you, what are the breadcrumbs good for? can i substitute it with something gluten-free that would have the same effect than breadcrumbs?
I’m not sure if you can just leave them out as they help bind the cakes together, but you could use gluten free breadcrumbs.
I used cornmeal instead, and it worked fine.
Wow, these are really pretty for potato cakes. Not that I expect potato cakes to be pretty in order to eat them, but pretty food is nice, too. I would never have thought of adding a blackberry salsa, but it looks so good!
What a creative idea! These look really good and also healthy =) I’ve been trying to find more uses for my quinoa this is at the top of my list.
This was an amazing meal! Thank you! :)
Very creative! You are a kitchen genius and I’m seriously taking notes…
Can these be served cold or at room temperature? I was thinking about making them for a BBQ.
I haven’t tried them cold… I think at room temp they will still be good!
I thought the veggie was butternut squash in the photo (of which I have one laying around wondering what to do with it.) Perhaps I could add some of that in with the sweet potato? YES! Thanks for the always amazing ideas.
I made these last night and they were SO good. The blackberry salsa really is a showstopper.
They look like veggie burgers and so nutritious. :)
A sweet potato cake recipe? Count me in! I am saving this right now :)
Well, you had me at neon bras. ;-) But anything with sweet potatoes gets my attention too, so will def be trying this. And I like the butternut squash suggestion above also, since I like those even more than sweet potatoes.
Oh man! Oh man! I want these now! Beautiful pics and food!
You RAN OUT of bacon grease?? That’s the saddest thing I’ve heard today. Feel free to come by and borrow a cupful, I have an entire coffee can full in the fridge. My mom always kept hers by the stove but I don’t cook with it very often yet somehow I can’t waste it. Love all that you do, seeing How Sweet It Is pop up in my inbox makes my day!!
Mmmmm. Mmmmm. Mmmm.
Made these for dinner and all I can say is -thank god I doubled the recipe (meaning: leftovers for tomorrow!!!) so good. So so so good!
My dad doesn’t even like sweet potatoes and he loved these!
Also – I was actually scared of the fruit salsa (I’m new to fruit salsas) but come on!! So delicious. Can’t imagine them without it. And the colour -amazing!
Another hit! Fish burgers with watermelon salsa lined up for tomorrow’s dinner (with leftover sweet potato cakes). Two fruit salsas on one plate! (and yes – I am afraid of the watermelon salsa too!)
Love this post – so much so that I’m featuring it in this week’s Food Fetish Friday series (with a link-back and attribution). I hope you have no objections and I’m always inspired by your creations… Thanks so much for sharing.
Look beautiful, and yummy!! will definitely be trying these thanks!!
I made these last night and they were amazing. The only switch I made is that I used gluten free bread crumbs. They held together so well (hard with veggie burgers/cakes) and were so meaty. Very nice job. Definitely a keeper :)
Pingback: Creative Recipes Featuring Fruit
Wow. Your blog is beautiful. The photos are gorgeous and the recipes are unique. You’ve got a new fan ;)
Yum! These remind me of my sweet potato and cranberry quinoa patties. They take a little work but they’re so delicious and totally worth it. Definitely pinning/stumbling/bookmarking this recipe (yes – all of them!) and once blackberries are in season here I will be making it for sure. :)
Looks great – adding this to my diet food list. Quinoa & sweet potato = super healthy :)
These were delicious cakes. Normally quinoa turns out so dry when done in an application like this but the sweet potato holds the moisture well. Also I substituted blueberry for blackberry (it’s what was avaialble). I’m surprised it turned out so well.
OMG – these are delicious!! For real, they are super easy to make…the only change that I made was I added 1 TBSP of sugar to the salsa because the blackberries were a tad bid tart yet. Definitely will be making these again!! TRY THESE, you will *not* be disappointed! ♥♥♥♥
yummm.
Dear Gosh these look stunning. Just… stunning!!
Would love to try these!! Any ideas for ways to sub out the cheese and egg for the vegen brethren?
Pingback: Creative Recipes Featuring Fruit | Healthy Eating | Free Tips and Information
stunning recipe!