Recipe: $2.89 | Per Bite: $0.19 | Yield: ~15 bites
By popular demand, cheesy broccoli quinoa bites are finally here! They’re fast, flavorful, and great for both adults and kiddos. I’d definitely recommend them for an at-home cooking project if you get sick of baking sweet treats.
We all know cheese and broccoli is a match made in heaven, and these quinoa broccoli bites are no exception!
Have you ever made something and thought, “damn I think my picky eater / spouse / client will enjoy this,” despite it containing foreign things like green foods and quinoa? If not, be prepared. This is that something.
Back when I did food & nutrition at a preschool, I was always surprised by how many kids liked quinoa, so I paired it with other crowd favorites – cheese and broccoli – and formed them into these great little bites for afternoon snack.
I haven’t worked there in almost 2 years, but these keep popping up in our kitchen whenever I have leftover quinoa.
How to Make Cheesy Quinoa Broccoli Bites
- Pulse ingredients in food processor (reserving some un-pulsed cooked quinoa to mix in afterwards).
- Scoop into bite-size balls and gently press them together before dropping them on to the baking tray. (I gently press the scoop into the heel of my hand.)
- Bake on 375ºF for 20 minutes. (I use the smallest size scooper of this set.)
- That’s it!
You can change things up by using whatever cheese you like – I’ve used cheddar, mozzarella, and cheddar jack in the past.
I love to make these a little spicy, personally, by adding about 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes, but if you’re sharing these with young kiddos, you probably want to either skip the red pepper flakes all together, or only add a pinch.
Enjoy these cheesy broccoli quinoa bites at room temperature or slightly warmer. They’re still good cold, but I like them best when you knock the chill off a bit.
Toss these in your bento boxes for a delicious treat!
Paleo: Nope, not this time! But they are gluten-free.
Vegetarian: Yep!
PIN THIS RECIPE FOR LATER!
Cheesy Broccoli-Quinoa Bites
- Prep Time: 5
- Cook Time: 20
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 20 1x
Description
Cheesy Broccoli Quinoa Bites are the perfect treat for bento boxes and snacks, and for serving with snack-style meals!
Ingredients
- 1 cup steamed or frozen broccoli florets (or 3/4 cup riced broccoli)
- 1.5 cups cooked quinoa
- 1/2 cup finely shredded Parmesan cheese, about 0.6 oz (more or less to taste – can also sub with cheddar) – I use this microplane for my Parmesan!
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- salt, pepper, red pepper flakes to taste (can start with 1/4 teaspoon and increase to taste)
- optional: 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375ºF.
- Pulse the broccoli florets in the food processor until minced and “rice-like.” (Skip this step if using riced broccoli.)
- Add remaining ingredients, reserving about 1/2 cup quinoa. Pulse until it begins to get just a bit sticky and a paste-like consistency is reached. Stir in the remaining quinoa. (Optional: you can pulse all quinoa together, but saving some to mix in later just provides a nicer consistency in the final product.)
- Scoop into round balls using a cookie scoop, pressing gently before releasing from the scoop. Or press into a greased mini muffin tin. If the quinoa balls aren’t sticking together, place half the mixture back into the food processor and process a bit more.
- Bake on 375ºF for 20 minutes. Enjoy warm or cold!
Notes
I usually use frozen broccoli florets. You can measure out a cup and then blitz them in the food processor.
Keeping some of the quinoa unprocessed preserves the texture, resulting in a lighter quinoa bite. This is optional – you can pulse all of it if that’s easier!
To increase protein: stir in 2-4 Tablespoons of hemp seeds before forming into bites!
Recipe makes 15 bites using a small size cookie scoop or 24 bites using a mini muffin pan.
Nutrition label is per 1 bite using a cookie scoop.
