cheddar chipotle quinoa bites

August 13, 2012


Lately, this has been a go-to snack for #1 and I. I love quinoa. It has such a great, nutty flavor and it is much more filling than other grains.

I first saw quinoa bites on, where else, Pinterest and decided to try it. I looked through my boards, but I don't see the original recipe that inspired me. How did I not pin it? Well if I come across it again I will include the link in this post.



Updated: I am almost positive that this was my inspiration.

Cooking the quinoa
First thing with quinoa is to rinse it. I rinse it at least three times. Quinoa has saponin on it that can make it very bitter. Not the flavor we are going for. So I rinse it in a fine mesh colander. To cook the quinoa I just use my rice cooker. The only difference is that instead of using 1 cup of quinoa and putting water in up to the 1 cup line, I put in water up to the 2 cup line. However much quinoa you use, use double the amount of water. The instructions are also on the package.

Making the bites
The great thing about these is that you can vary the ingredients depending on what you like. The following are kind of a southwest flavored bite, but you can just as easily create Italian flavored, Indian flavored, Asian flavored, you get the idea. I think the key is to have a binding agent, egg, and then put in enough spices and flavoring. A couple times I skimped on the spices and they came out a bit bland.

Ingredients:
2 cups cooked quinoa
2 eggs
~ 1/4 cup shredded cheddar
~1 Tbsp sour cream or plain yogurt
3-4 jalapeno wheels - diced
1 chipotle in sauce - finely diced
1 tsp cumin
salt to taste

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350. Grease a mini muffin pan. They tend to stick, so I even grease a non-stick pan. Mix all ingredients in a bowl until well incorporated. Spoon mixture into mini muffin pan. Bake for 25 minutes, until sides are slightly browned. You want them to come out crispy and if they are slightly undercooked, it is difficult to get them out of the pan (and the pan will take forever to clean!)

under-cooked
You can serve them with a sauce if you would like. We just eat them as is.