SEVERAL of you have hit me up for a recipe for quinoa fritters. I mentioned them in an earlier post, and also seem to post them on Instagram pretty frequently. I LOVE that you guys want the recipe! But here’s the deal. Unless I am baking, I rarely actually use a recipe. It’s a dab of this and a scoop of that and just enough hot sauce to make my eyes water… But because so many of you asked me nicely, I’ve just made a batch and managed to pay attention to the ratios!

So one of my favorite things about quinoa fritters is that they can take on any flavor you want. I am going to give you the basic recipe – and then follow up with several flavor variations that I’ve already tried. But get crazy with them. The great thing about this variability is that it almost always works with what you already have on hand. Even on a boat, where sometimes all you have is a tired little dwindling array of dry goods. Trust me on that.

Flavor combinations

The batch I made today was Buffalo Veggie. I had hot wings the other day and they gave me WAY too much buffalo sauce and ranch dressing. Because they were in awful single-use plastic containers, I couldn’t bring myself to throw them out. And I knew I’d figure out some way to use the sauces.

When I was cooking the quinoa, I tossed in about 1/2 cup of freeze dried broccoli. Seasoning the quinoa while you are cooking it adds a tremendous amount of flavor. So I also added salt, pepper, turmeric, garlic, parsley, cilantro, celery seed and minced onion. I added the buffalo sauce (think Frank’s Hot Wing sauce) directly to the big bowl of cooked quinoa, egg and panko. I also added about 1 cup of shredded carrot and some feta. You can use blue cheese, but I think it’s gross and will deem you weird. I reserved the ranch for the dipping sauce.

Spinach Artichoke

Toss a small can of chopped artichoke hearts, some dry or fresh spinach (if you are fancy and have a freezer, you can use frozen, just make sure you drain it and squeeze out all of the liquid), parmesan and seasonings. Sometimes I also toss in diced sun-dried tomatoes. For the sauce I tend to either use a citrus or tomato aioli. (Aioli is basically mayonnaise, garlic and seasonings. For citrus, add some lemon, lime, orange – whatever. For tomato, add a wee bit of tomato paste.)

Italian

This flavor mostly comes from the herb selection – basil, oregano, thyme, etc. I also use diced sun-dried tomatoes, mushrooms and parmesan. Delicious dipped in some left-over spaghetti sauce.

Roasted Red Pepper

I chop up a small jar/can of roasted red peppers – but make sure they are very well drained. Too much liquid makes the fritters soggy/fall apart. But you can fix this with more bread crumbs, if necessary. Add some cheese – parmesan, mozzarella, feta all work well. Add some sharp cheddar, mustard powder and cayenne, and you have Pimento Cheese fritters! I like this one with a citrus aioli – it keeps the flavor light.

Asian

There is no shortage of cabbage in the Bahamas. Sometimes you just have to get crafty on how you use it. I shredded some along with carrots and whatever other veggies I had. Dices water chestnuts add a nice crunch. Toss in some soy sauce, Chinese mustard, garlic, ginger, etc. Great with Sweet Chili Garlic sauce or Peanut Sauce. Or just more Chinese mustard. Keep it easy, people.

I am sure there are several more I’ve made already, but these are the few that come to mind. Give it a try and let me know how it goes and if you have any delicious discoveries based on your own pantry!

About Author

Jennifer

Artist, food nerd, SUP/yoga enthusiast and travel obsessed blogger – chronicling the process of going from land to sea. Selling all of her worldly possessions so that she can set sail into the sunset with her husband and two dachshunds – searching for that next sunrise paddle. Follow along. It’ll be fun 🙂

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