Cauliflower, Potato and Quinoa Patties

Cauliflower, Potato and Quinoa Patties
Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times
Total Time
1 hour
Rating
4(268)
Notes
Read community notes

Cauliflower is a great vegetable to use in a burger, because it breaks down nicely so that it can be mashed along with potatoes to form a burger that stays together. I have always loved seasoning this vegetable with Indian spices, which is what I do here, with Aleppo pepper thrown into the mix. Black quinoa contributes texture, color and protein. Sriracha sauce is the perfect “ketchup” for this burger.

Featured in: Cauliflower: Marinated, Mashed and Smashed

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Ingredients

Yield:9 to 12 patties, depending on size
  • 3cups finely minced cauliflower (about 12 ounces, or ½ medium cauliflower)
  • salt to taste
  • pounds potatoes, scrubbed, peeled if desired and quartered
  • ½cup chopped cilantro
  • 2teaspoons toasted cumin seeds, lightly crushed in a mortar and pestle
  • 2teaspoons nigella seeds
  • 1teaspoon garam masala
  • ½teaspoon Aleppo pepper or mild chili powder
  • Freshly ground black pepper to taste
  • ½cup cooked black quinoa
  • 1cup mixed black and white sesame seeds
  • ¼cup grapeseed oil
  • Sriracha sauce for serving
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (8 servings)

262 calories; 17 grams fat; 2 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 5 grams monounsaturated fat; 9 grams polyunsaturated fat; 25 grams carbohydrates; 6 grams dietary fiber; 2 grams sugars; 7 grams protein; 385 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Steam potatoes over 1 inch of boiling water until tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and mash with a fork. The skins will break up in the mash.

  2. Step 2

    Line steamer with cheesecloth and place cauliflower on cheesecloth so the small pieces don’t fall through. Steam 5 to 6 minutes, until very tender. Remove from heat and stir into potatoes. Add remaining ingredients except sesame seeds and oil. Season generously with salt, combine well, taste and adjust seasonings.

  3. Step 3

    Place sesame seeds in a wide bowl. Scoop out about ⅓ cup of cauliflower-potato mixture and roll into a ball (moisten your hands to prevent sticking). Roll in the seeds, then gently flatten into a patty shape. Place on a plate or sheet pan and continue to shape all of the patties. If you have time, refrigerate for 1 hour or longer (I have made these with no problem without refrigerating first).

  4. Step 4

    When you are ready to cook, place a rack over a sheet pan and cover the rack with paper towels. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large, heavy nonstick frying pan over high heat. When pan is hot, swirl to coat with oil. Turn heat down to medium. Place 3 to 5 patties in the pan (do not crowd), and cook until well browned on one side, 3 to 4 minutes. Turn and brown for 3 to 4 more minutes. Remove to rack. Heat remaining oil in the pan and cook remaining patties. Remove paper towels from underneath patties and keep them warm in a low oven until ready to serve. Serve topped with Sriracha, with a salad on the side.

Tips
  • To obtain the finely chopped florets, cut very thin slices across the florets with a chef’s knife and the small pieces will come off.
  • These are very convenient, because you can form them and keep them refrigerated for up to 2 days, or cook them all the way through and keep them refrigerated for 2 or 3 days. Reheat on a baking sheet in a low oven for 10 to 15 minutes. The patties freeze well. Thaw completely before reheating.

Ratings

4 out of 5
268 user ratings
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Cooking Notes

Great recipe! Love that I can make ahead of time and refrigerate until ready to cook. I substituted sweet potatoes for the red potatoes and it's delicious!

Adding an egg to bind is really helpful, suggest you do that. I served the patties with optional crispy bacon topping. Really goes well together if you dont mind meat.

Meh. Decent flavor and nice crunchy coating. However, the inside texture remains mushy, and ruins the "burger" experience. I experimented with lengthening the cooking time (and even baking the patties) but had no luck in improving the texture.

I am making these tonight for dinner though i qas unable to bind them like a more conventional veggie burger where you add bread crumbs and egg or flaxseed. The mext time it might be convenient to dry out the cauliflower. Mincing for me is finely chopped and that is what i did but too mushy. It lacks a bit of flavor so i added a fennel bulb and onion sofrito.....

We tried this and it’s tasty. Substituted Italian parsley for cilantro and might make it spicier next time. It’s more like falafel than anything and it was best served like that - with hummus, avocado, pickle, etc. - in a lettuce wrap.

This was fine, but significantly lacking in flavor. I recommend adding additional spices as you see fit--I would probably double the spice blend here. I even tried making part of the batch with sweet potatoes and it was still surprisingly bland. The patties do fall apart incredibly easy - if you don't mind if they aren't vegan, I suggest adding an egg to help bind. Overall we thought these were just okay, I probably will not make them again.

I added sauteed shallots and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Just needed a little something more. The particular blend of garam masala that I used was too strong - would substitute with a more generic curry powder next time

Really needs an egg to keep it together

This was fine, but significantly lacking in flavor. I recommend adding additional spices as you see fit--I would probably double the spice blend here. I even tried making part of the batch with sweet potatoes and it was still surprisingly bland. The patties do fall apart incredibly easy - if you don't mind if they aren't vegan, I suggest adding an egg to help bind. Overall we thought these were just okay, I probably will not make them again.

Adding an egg to bind is really helpful, suggest you do that. I served the patties with optional crispy bacon topping. Really goes well together if you dont mind meat.

We tried this and it’s tasty. Substituted Italian parsley for cilantro and might make it spicier next time. It’s more like falafel than anything and it was best served like that - with hummus, avocado, pickle, etc. - in a lettuce wrap.

I had to make these into pork and cauliflower dumplings! Impossible to hold.

I am making these tonight for dinner though i qas unable to bind them like a more conventional veggie burger where you add bread crumbs and egg or flaxseed. The mext time it might be convenient to dry out the cauliflower. Mincing for me is finely chopped and that is what i did but too mushy. It lacks a bit of flavor so i added a fennel bulb and onion sofrito.....

Meh. Decent flavor and nice crunchy coating. However, the inside texture remains mushy, and ruins the "burger" experience. I experimented with lengthening the cooking time (and even baking the patties) but had no luck in improving the texture.

These tasted good, but they did not hold together at all. I kept rereading the recipe to see if I had missed the binder, but I didn't. I would try them again, but since I'm not vegan, I will probably add an egg to bind. I think they'd also benefit from an egg wash before coating with the sesame seeds, as these also tended to fall off. I think these would be great with eggs for breakfast.

Great recipe! Love that I can make ahead of time and refrigerate until ready to cook. I substituted sweet potatoes for the red potatoes and it's delicious!

Good, interesting. Can make ahead of time and put in fridge until ready to cook.

Good, interesting. Can make ahead of time and then refrigerate until ready to cook.

Great! I use the patties as side dish to a grilled fish.I replaced the cauliflower with chopped kale, and added a dash of home made Old Bay spice blend for more flavor. My guests LOVED it and I will do it a again. The patties were very flavorful and crispy.
Easy and fun to make.

Keep cooked quinoa in fridge. Would not steam the cauliflower. It cooks when you fry patties. .A bamboo steamer has 2 sparts... put the potatoes on bottom, then tcauliflower on top. Bamboo steamers can also steam fish, shrimp or chicken and the bamboo does not have a metallic flavor. Also can reheating food like leftover fish, rice, or whatever you do not want to fry up again. if t food is sticky or gooey or may slip through the bamboo slots, put in parchment paper on bottom, then food

I spiced this up a bit then served it with a cucumber-yogurt side. It was very good, but took longer (by at least 40 minutes) and used too many pots and pans for my busy-mommy threshold. Not sure if I'll make this again.

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