These homemade vegetable bites make a great snack or meal for kids and adults alike. The bite-sized treats are packed with nutrients, so you won’t feel guilty about eating them or giving them to your kids! This recipe makes a lot, but they can easily be frozen and saved for another day.
Vegetable Quinoa Bites with Basil Essential Oil
Servings: About 5–8; makes 60 mini muffins | Time: 45–60 minutes | Difficulty: Easy
Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 cups cooked quinoa
- 1/2 head of cauliflower, grated
- 2 carrots, grated
- 1 medium zucchini, grated
- 1 medium red potato, grated
- 1 cup cheddar cheese, grated
- 4 eggs
- 1/2 cup cornmeal
- 1/4 cup coconut flour (or 3/4 cup all-purpose flour)
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1 tsp ground mustard
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1–2 drops basil essential oil
Instructions:
- Cook quinoa (see notes below). Meanwhile grate vegetables and cheese.
- Mix together the grated vegetables in a large bowl. Place handfuls of the mixture in a clean kitchen cloth or paper towel, and squeeze out the extra liquid. Mix in cooked quinoa and cheese with the vegetables.
- Place all other ingredients (starting with the eggs) in a separate bowl, and whisk until smooth.
- Combine the egg mixture into the vegetable mixture. Stir to combine.
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Grease a mini muffin tin. (Note: If you don’t have a tin, you can shape them into balls or patties instead.)
- Use a tablespoon measuring spoon to scoop the mixture into the muffin tins, and press down until firmly packed in.
- Bake for 15–20 minutes or until brown at the edges.
- Enjoy these bites alone or with ketchup, avocado, sour cream, or your favorite topping or sauce.
Note: To cook quinoa on the stove, add 3/4 cup quinoa and 3/4 cup water to a small pot. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Once boiling, change the temperature to medium-low heat, and let simmer until most if not all of the water is gone. This will take about 15–20 minutes.
To cook quinoa in the pressure cooker, add 3/4 cup quinoa and 1 1/2 cups water to the pressure cooker. Cook for 7 minutes on high pressure.