Low-Calorie Baked Red Quinoa and Zucchini Patties
This week, Noam Bachar (an Israeli nutritionist) and I decided to start a 21-day challenge: get ourselves back on track with a structured eating plan and workouts at home.
When we're home all day and our usual routines have disappeared, it helps to create a little structure—even if we have to make it up ourselves:
Get up in the morning, work out at a set time, and eat meals on a regular schedule.
That way, we can make this uncertain stretch work for us and maybe even reach goals we've never managed to make time for.
We've posted our daily meal plan here, and you're welcome to follow along and join us. Use it as a starting point or put together a new plan tailored to you.
Reach out to Noam directly through her Instagram and tell her Haggai sent you. :)
For me, one clear upside of this whole situation is having to cook at home a lot more.
We get to control how much fat and sugar goes into our food. (Let's ignore the never-ending pile of dishes for a minute.)
As part of getting back into a healthy eating routine, try baking these protein-rich, low-carb quinoa and zucchini patties.
They've got a great protein-to-carb ratio.
You can make them the protein source in your lunch, for example.
Add a whole grain or an oven-roasted sweet potato to the plate, and you've got a complete, nourishing meal.
About These Red Quinoa and Zucchini Patties
The base is red quinoa, zucchini, and soy flour.
I used red quinoa instead of the usual white quinoa simply because that's what I had in my kitchen. White quinoa works, too. Just remember that red quinoa takes longer to cook.
Grated zucchini adds volume without adding many calories.
You can swap it for eggplant salad, cooked broccoli, or frozen peas that you've cooked.
If calories aren't your main concern, grated sweet potato or regular potato will work, too. Either way, it'll be delicious.
I used soy flour both for extra protein and to hold the patties together. Chickpea flour or lentil flour can replace it, though the protein, carb, and fat amounts will change.
Whole-sesame tahini adds some welcome healthy fat and also helps bind the mixture. You can use almond butter instead.
To keep the patties a little more tender, I added half a teaspoon of baking powder. It's optional. Skip it if you like—but don't come back and tell me your patties turned into little bricks. 🙂
The spices are just my suggestion. Feel free to go your own way.
Nutrition Facts:
Per red quinoa and zucchini patty, from a batch of 30. (The weight of each patty will vary depending on how much water the quinoa absorbs during cooking.)
- 50 calories
- 4 g protein
- 5 g carbohydrates
- 1.5 g fat
Red Quinoa and Zucchini Patties
Tender, protein-rich, and low in calories
Ingredients
- 1 cup uncooked red quinoa 170 g (6 oz)
- 1 cup soy flour 150 g (5.3 oz)
- 1 zucchini, grated
- 1/3 cup tahini 45 g (1.6 oz)
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 garlic clove, crushed
- juice of half a lemon
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Instructions
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Rinse the quinoa in a strainer under plenty of running water for about 2–3 minutes.
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Transfer to a deep saucepan, add 3 cups of water, and cook for about half an hour, until the quinoa is tender.
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Preheat the oven to 170°C (340°F).
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Drain off some of the liquid and transfer the quinoa to a deep mixing bowl. It shouldn't be completely dry—leave a little cooking water in the mixture.
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Add the grated zucchini, soy flour, tahini, and remaining ingredients. Mix well until evenly combined and sticky.
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With wet hands, shape the mixture into patties about the size of a ping-pong ball and place on a lined baking sheet.
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Bake for about half an hour, until lightly browned.
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Remove from the oven and let cool. The patties will firm up and hold together better as they cool.
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Dig in and enjoy!
Recipe Video
