Cheesy Sun Dried Tomato Quinoa Cakes

These Italian inspired Cheesy Sun Dried Tomato Quinoa Cakes are full of delicious flavor that anyone will enjoy.  Those who are a little hesitant to try the ancient quinoa grain (well, really it's a seed) will quickly fall in love with these cheesy delights.  Sun dried tomato has a flavor that everyone will love and paired with the Mozzarella Daiya, these little cakes resemble any cheese based Italian dish.  Corn and basil add a hint of fresh sweetness and for those who like the heat, I've added a pinch of red pepper flakes to wake up the senses!

Yields 8 to 12 cakes

Ingredients:

2 cups cooked quinoa

3 flax eggs  (1 tbsp. freshly ground flax seed + 1/4 cup water for each egg)

1 tbsp. corn (I use frozen organoc corn)

2 tbsp. fresh basil, chopped

1/4 cup sun dried tomatos, soaked 20 minutes, drained and chopped, reserve soaking water

1/4 cup Daiya Mozzarella Shreds

1 tbsp. nutritional yeast

1/4 tsp. Himalayan salt or sea salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

pinch dried red pepper flakes (optional)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350℉

1.  In a small bowl, using the soaking water from sun dried tomatoes, mix water with ground flax, whip, set aside.

2.  In a medium bowl, add the quinoa, flax eggs, corn, basil, sun dried tomato, mozzarella, nutritional yeast, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes.  Mix well.

3. With slightly wet hands, scoop up a small amount of quinoa mixture to create the desired size of cake.  Cupping hands, start by forming mixture into a ball like shape then flatten with the palm of your hands to create cake.   Yield amount will vary depending on size of cake.

4.  Repeat until all the quinoa mixture is gone.

5.  Place a sheet of parchment paper onto a cookie sheet.  Place quinoa cakes on sheet and place in oven for 20 minutes.  Flip cakes and bake for an additional 10 minutes or until quinoa is golden and cheese is melted and gooey.  Allow to cool before enjoying.  I served mine with some Perfect Pesto but you can also serve alongside tomato soup, salad, or simply enjoy the quinoa cakes on their own!

* For a party, make these little cakes into bite sized balls that are easy to grab and pop in your mouth!!

✌ YUM