When the biggest card-carrying carnivore takes a bite of a vegan patty and says, “Really good, hon,” you know you have a recipe winner. The carnivore is my husband, by the way, and he is not always easy to win over with my healthy, meatless meals.
If you have a man (or woman) in your life who prefers a big hunk of meat in the center of his plate at dinner time, but you’d like to incorporate more meatless meals into your rotation, give these vegan quinoa patties a try. With black beans and quinoa, they are packed with protein and nutrients.
The flavors are bright and summery with fresh basil and lime. They are lightly fried in oil to get a nice sear on the outside which makes a perfect crispy exterior. Topped with sliced avocado and a spritz of fresh lime juice, the patties are hearty and filling, yet light enough for these hot, summer days.
If you have a little one, you can use some of the mixture to make nuggets instead of patties like I did for Meghan. They are easy to pick up and eat just like chicken nuggets. I served Meghan’s with ketchup, but feel free to serve them with your kids’ favorite dipping sauce.
Quinoa patties with black beans and corn
These Quinoa Patties with Black Beans and Corn are the BEST vegan patties ever. They hold together well and are full of flavor. Quinoa+Black Beans=tons of protein. Easy, clean-eating recipe.
- Prep Time: 10
- Cook Time: 20
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 8 patties 1x
- Category: main meal
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 1 cup quinoa, rinsed and drained/dried well
- 2 cups water
- 8–10 basil leaves, chopped
- 1 1/2 cup cooked black beans (or 1-15 ounce can, drained and rinsed)
- 1 cup frozen corn kernels, thawed
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
- 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 cup cornmeal
- grapeseed oil, for frying (or oil of choice)
- avocado slices (optional)
- lime wedges (optional)
Instructions
- Put the quinoa and water in a pot and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and cover. Cook until the water is absorbed, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat and allow the quinoa to cool slightly.
- To the cooled quinoa, add the basil leaves, black beans, corn, salt, a few turns of freshly ground black pepper, lime juice, and garlic powder. Mix well. Then, with a potato masher, mash the mixture together. Slowly add the cornmeal until you have a stiff mixture.
- Cover a large skillet pan with a thin layer of oil and heat the oil over medium high heat. Form the mixture into 2″ balls (smaller for nuggets). Flatten the balls and fry in the oil 3-4 minutes per side.
- Serve with avocado slices and lime wedges, if desired. Enjoy!
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 pattie
- Calories: 116
- Sugar: 1.75g
- Sodium: 148mg
- Fat: 1.8g
- Carbohydrates: 22.2g
- Protein: 4.9g
Keywords: vegan burgers
Healthy Living Playbook!
Julie H. of Spinach and Sprinkles says
July 5, 2012 at 10:42 amI think this is one I could make for the husband and he would be pleased with— he just got his wisdom teeth out though so I’ll have to wait a week or so to give this a try. He has loved every recipe I’ve made of yours so far- I’m sure this one will be no different!
Maryea says
July 8, 2012 at 8:11 amOh, it makes me so happy to hear your husband has enjoyed my recipes. 🙂 It’s easy to please the health-oriented blogging crowd, but it’s more of a challenge to please the “normal” eaters out there. Ha ha!
Kathryn says
July 5, 2012 at 3:51 pmThese look WONDERFUL. Great vegetarian protein option, and hopefully something that both my husband and toddler will love. I already know I’ll love them. Thanks for the great idea.
Leigh Anne says
July 5, 2012 at 5:52 pmYummy! I’ve been looking for a recipe like this so I’m gonna give these a go as soon as I get more quinoa 😉
Maryea says
July 8, 2012 at 8:09 amLet me know how you like them!
Candy @ Healthy in Candy Land says
July 5, 2012 at 6:14 pmA veggie burger recipe that doesn’t use flour to hold everything together! Yay! I think the next best thing about this recipe is that I almost always have all of the ingredients on hand so it can be a last minute dinner decision. Awesome!
Maryea says
July 8, 2012 at 8:08 amYeah, that’s kind of what it was for me. I love when last-minute-pantry-type dinners turn out well! 🙂
Lee says
July 5, 2012 at 7:26 pmI definitely have a man like that in my life!
Heidi @ Food Doodles says
July 5, 2012 at 7:34 pmYummy! You and I must be on the same wavelength! I have a ton of quinoa in the fridge and I was going to make some kind of patties like these today but my little one didn’t sleep so well so I put it off till tomorrow. The basil and lime in these sounds amazing. And the black beans, yummy! Too bad I used up the last of the corn I had on hand. I love how crispy quinoa can get when it’s cooked like this, now I really can’t wait to experiment with something similar to these in my kitchen tomorrow 😀
Chelsea @ Chelsea's Lovelys says
July 7, 2012 at 11:03 pmWow, these look delish! I can’t wait to try these out and see what the hubby says! What a good idea and recipe – thanks for sharing!
Maryea says
July 8, 2012 at 8:07 amYou’re welcome! I’d love to hear what your husband thinks. 🙂
Leigh Anne says
July 16, 2012 at 11:01 pmI’m back with my review! I made these for myself on a night when the rest of the fam was having taco salad. And, I don’t have any fresh basil, so I made mine “Mexican” instead. I added a bit of chili powder and ate it over lettuce with avocado & salsa……they were sooo yummy! Hubby (chief carnivore & also cattle rancher/farmer) tried some and said they were “pretty good”……amazing! He thought my spice additions were a bit bland, but he likes things spicy. I think some cumin & oregano would add some more flavor. After dinner I cooked up the rest to have for my lunches this week….perfect! Oh yeah, I didn’t read the recipe fully in my haste and couldn’t for the life of my figure out how you got the patties to stick together…….I forgot to smash them w/ the potato masher….duh! So much easier after that! Thanks for they yummy & healthy recipe!
Also, do you grow you own herbs? I’ve been wanting to start some in containers indoors, but I wasn’t sure if that would work well?? I’m a good cook/seamstress but my green thumb is brown….haha!
Maryea says
July 20, 2012 at 8:43 pmThanks for coming back to let me know what you thought! No, I don’t grow my own herbs, but I do get a lot of basil and parsley in my CSA box right now. Someday I’ll grow my own. 🙂
Maryea says
July 20, 2012 at 8:44 pmOh, and I do think that growing herbs in containers works. I just know nothing about it. I’m like you–my green thumb is brown! I somehow managed to kill the plant Meghan gave me for Mother’s Day. 🙁
Marifer says
January 23, 2013 at 7:13 pmAfter looking on pinterest for vegan quinoa patties, i found this recipe and i loved it!!!
I replace the conrmeal with rice flour and the corn with red bell pepper. My husdand and I love the flavor and were really easy to make. I used them for burgers and the rest are for tomorrow’s dinner.
Maryea says
January 24, 2013 at 10:52 amI’m glad you liked it! Thanks for commenting and letting me know. 🙂
Chris says
January 25, 2013 at 7:36 amMade these last night after the snow and cold sapped my resolve to go to the grocery store. Had everything on hand except the cornmeal (bread crumbs did the trick). They were really tasty! I had used bottled lime juice in the mixture, but wished I had some fresh lime to squeeze over the top of the patties, I think it would have made them perfect! I mashed the beans first to make sure they got good and mashy then added everything else.
I’ve bookmarked a bunch more of your recipes. I’m not a huge health fiend and there are no diet restrictions in my household, but I do appreciate real food and not relying on meat for protein every day. I have big plans to try one of your recipes each week (can’t wait to try some of your sweets!) Thanks and have a good weekend!
Maryea says
January 25, 2013 at 10:04 amI’m glad you liked these–thanks for taking the time to comment and let me know. I’m excited to hear you’re planning on trying one of my recipes each week, too. 🙂
lynnell says
April 6, 2018 at 8:51 pmthis was terrible. flavour was fine. but one how do you get it to mash? is there a trick to doing this?
2) it never got stiff and it didnt stick together.
I feel like to reviews are all by other vegan bloggers to pump this up.
Maryea says
April 7, 2018 at 5:41 pmI’m not sure why you would have trouble mashing it. Once the quinoa is cooked, you mash it with a potato masher along with the black beans, corn, and seasoning. Then, you add the cornmeal and that makes it stiff. None of the reviews are actually from bloggers, just readers who tried and liked the recipe. I’m sorry it didn’t work out for you.
Sean Embree says
May 1, 2018 at 9:32 pmTastes great. But fell apart In the pan . It kind of stuck to my hands when making patties. Any ideas .? I tried to dry the ingredients. More cornmeal ?
Maryea says
May 5, 2018 at 8:01 amIf they felt wet, then yes, more cornmeal would be helpful. You do have to be quite careful when turning them, as they are delicate. They shouldn’t totally fall apart, though.