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.”
I couldn’t wait to make these when I read the recipe. I made them monday. OMG are good!!!!!!!!!! Making them again this weekend. YUM!!!! I am going to make some fruit salsa and work my way down that list. Thanks for the yummy recipes. I am always on the lookout for a new quinoa recipe. This one is by far my favorite!!!!!! Thanks, Kim
recipe looks gorgeous and i love all the ingredients! but what are the black seeds in the picture of the cakes? is it just the quinoa? Thanks, cant wait to dig into your blog!
T
Yep it’s the quinoa – I used Trader Joe’s tricolor quinoa which has tan, red and black quinoa!
Is one enough per person? I can’t tell how big they are.
these look amazing! I make veggie burgers with quinoa all the time, but never thought to add sweet potato. Great idea.
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I love strawberry salsa! I’m going to have to try the sweet potatoes! Looks delicious. Thanks for ur idea!
I have tried so many of your recipes, including this one, and they never fail! My husband and I both look forward to eating your new creations! I have to say, I read a lot of cooking blogs and your’s is by far the most innovative and enjoyable to read. You’d be really great on your own tv show or with some cook books!
Thank you so much Laura!
Excellent, I followed recipe exactly, and quadrupled for a potluck….these were sooooo fantastic, and I felt so awesome serving them. Thank you so much! I appreciate you sharing this.
Just made this – it was absolutely delish. A lot of chopping, but worth it. Buy a rather large bunch of cilantro – you’ll need it. We plan to make these for our church small group dinner and at Christmas, and… in big batches….
Amazing. I didn’t have cilantro so I added fresh grated ginger. I also sautéed in coconut oil- the only thing better would have been the bacon grease :) They were to-die-for! Also, I just baked the sweet potatoes and stooped it out of the skin. Skipped the step of peeling and chopping!
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Terrific recipe. I used Molokai sweet potato, it’s purple inside, so the burgers were purple and very tasty!
i just made a delicious dinner! thank you for the great recipe! i only had frozen blackberries :( at home so i made blackberry chutney instead, it was still very flavourful. my only problem is that i can’t seem to find a quinoa brand that sells their product without dirt… so cleaning and rinsing took a bit longer… any suggestions?
I buy pre-rinsed quinoa at Sam’s Club.
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Wow, delicious! I made these for my toddler so I doubled the recipe but kept just 1/2 an onion, and I used garlic and herb breadcrumbs instead of adding the individual herbs. Even my husband, who hates sweet potato, loved them!
After buying all the other ingredients, I discovered that blackberries could suddenly not be found in all of my local grocery stores in Montreal. Wrong season, I guess. The solution? Mangos. Delicious!
I would also like to say… I LOVE THIS RECIPE. Made it tonight and it was delicious! tasted sorta like crab cakes…. only no crab (obviously) … i also used mangos instead of blueberries only because I had a mango that was about to go bad if I didnt use it…. DELISHHHHH!!! Once again thanks again… looking forward to snooping around this site and discovering more yummmies.
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Oh my gosh, these are absolutely amazing! I substituted blueberries, peaches, and strawberries because I didn’t have any blackberries on hand. I also served them on wilted spinach and had them as a meal. Yum!!! This is definitely a keeper :)
I just made these for lunch and it was amazingly delicious. Thank you so much for such a simple recipe. I paired mine with steaks marinated in BBQ sauce that I quickly pan fried. For anyone wondering, 1 is enough as a side or part of a full dish. 2 with 6oz of steak definitely filled me up.
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can these be reheated?
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Those look absolutely delish.
PS I am still giggling at the googley eye. :)
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This recipe turned out FABULOUSLY! Extremely flavourful and crisp. Thank you so much for posting it – the sweet potato Quinoa Cakes are going to be a new essential on my meal plans. Thanks so much!
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Just found this on Pinterest. This was DELISH!! I added a little cinnamon and nutmeg to the sweet potato. YUMMM! Thx!
I was googling something else entirely and this recipe came up….and I have BACON GREASE and a GINORMOUS yam and cooked quinoa. this is going to be lunch thanks for idea
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Just made these after finding them on Pinterest and they are amazing Did cajun catfish with these cakes and mango salsa thanks
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