Air fryer quinoa patties
Crispy golden quinoa patties with feta, spinach and lemon, served with a dill yogurt sauce and a quick tomato cucumber salad.
- 60 min total
- 20 min hands-on
- Follow-a-recipe easy
- Serves 4
- About $3.07 a serving
- 410 calories
- Good the next day
- Vegetarian
Dolly says: Make the full amount. It’s just as good for lunch the next day.
Ingredients
For 4 servings.
- 1 cup quinoa, rinsed
- 3 large eggs
- ½ cup feta cheese, crumbled
- 2 cups baby spinach, finely chopped
- 3 stalks green onions, finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ cup panko breadcrumbs
- 1 lemon, zested and juiced
- ¾ cup plain Greek yogurt
- 1 tbsp fresh dill, chopped
- 1 cucumber, diced
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
From your pantry
- 1¾ cups water
- ½ tsp ground cumin
- ¾ tsp salt, divided
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- 2 tbsp olive oil
Each serving has about 410 calories, 20 g protein, 42 g carbs and 18 g fat, and costs about $3.07 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No feta cheese? Goat cheese works.
- No baby spinach? Kale or arugula works.
- No green onions? Chives work.
- No lemons? Limes work.
- No plain Greek yogurt? Plain yogurt or sour cream works.
- No cucumbers? English cucumbers or mini cucumbers work.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
Put the quinoa and water in a small and over high heat.
Saucepan. A saucepan is a pot with tall, straight sides and one long handle. It’s for things that need depth, like rice, sauces or a few boiled eggs.
How you’ll know: The food fills it about halfway, leaving room to bubble without spilling over.
Bring to a boil. It means heating a liquid on high until it’s fully boiling before you move on. A lid on the pot gets it there faster, which makes it a good moment to chop something.
How you’ll know: Big bubbles break all over the surface, and they keep coming when you lift the lid.
High heat
Cover, turn the heat to low and cook 15 minutes.
Low heatTimer: 15 min
Spread the quinoa on a plate and let it cool 10 minutes.
Timer: 10 min
Dolly’s tip: Hot quinoa would scramble the eggs, so let it cool until just warm.In a large bowl, mix the quinoa, eggs, feta, spinach, green onions, garlic, panko, lemon , cumin, ½ teaspoon salt and the pepper until it holds together when squeezed.
Zest. Zest is the thin, colored outer layer of citrus peel, rubbed off on the smallest holes of a grater. It holds the fruit’s fragrant oils, so it adds bright flavor without the sourness of juice.
How you’ll know: You see bright flecks and smell citrus right away; stop when you reach the white layer, which is bitter.
Shape into 12 patties about ½ inch thick and chill them 10 minutes so they hold together.
Timer: 10 min
Dolly’s tip: Wet hands keep the mix from sticking. If it’s too loose, add a spoonful more panko.the air fryer to 390°F. Brush the patties with the oil and air fry in one layer, in batches if needed, for 12 to 14 minutes, flipping halfway, until , and hot in the middle.
Preheat. Preheating means turning the oven on before you start, so it’s fully hot when the food goes in. Food that starts in a cold oven cooks unevenly and doesn’t brown the same.
How you’ll know: The oven beeps or its light clicks off, usually 10 to 15 minutes after you turn it on.
Golden brown. Golden brown is the color of good toast, somewhere between yellow and light brown. It means the outside is cooked and crisp but not burnt.
How you’ll know: It looks like toast and smells toasty; dark brown with a bitter smell means it went too far.
Crispy. Crispy means the outside is dry, firm and crunchy. It comes from high heat, a little oil and room in the pan, because crowded food steams and goes soft.
How you’ll know: It sounds crunchy when you tap or bite it, and it doesn’t flop when you lift it.
Timer: 13 min
Food safety: For the safest eggs, cook until the whites are fully set and the yolks begin to thicken. Dishes made with eggs are done at 160°F.
Stir the yogurt with the dill, a squeeze of lemon juice and of salt.
Pinch. A pinch is what you can hold between your thumb and two fingers, less than an eighth of a teaspoon. It’s a small, forgiving amount, so there’s no need to measure.
How you’ll know: It’s a light sprinkle you can barely see on the food, not a little pile.
the cucumber and tomatoes with the rest of the lemon juice and salt, and serve with the patties and yogurt sauce.
Toss. Tossing means gently lifting and turning food so everything gets coated, like pasta in sauce or vegetables in oil. It coats every piece evenly without mashing anything.
How you’ll know: Every piece looks glossy or evenly coated, with no dry spots hiding underneath.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
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