Cheesy Artichoke-Spinach Quinoa Cakes with Lemon-Caper Sauce

Loaded with artichokes, spinach and parmesan cheese, these quinoa cakes are reminiscent of everyone’s favorite Spinach-Artichoke dip! Perfect to serve as a main course for Meatless Monday or as a side dish with roasted chicken, pork or fish. Leftover quinoa never tasted so good!

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again…trash day is a bit depressing with the amount of leftover food I have to chuck. I feel guilty every single Tuesday as I clean out the refrigerator. For some reason, I’m the only person in the house willing to reheat leftovers for lunch the next day or even dinner a couple of days later. I don’t get it….what could be more convenient than taking out a container with a complete meal (not even frozen!), hitting a few buttons and sitting down minutes later to a wonderful, home cooked meal! I can dig it.

Unfortunately, they don’t dig it and that’s how we end up with the tallest pile of garbage in the neighborhood on trash day. I refuse to be the reason we run out of Earth because our landfills are overflowing. And so….I’ve been using our leftovers in a lot of recipes.

I ALWAYS make waaaaay too much quinoa when I plan to serve it as a side. Because of this, we eat a lot of quinoa salads like my Blueberry Feta Quinoa Salad. But again, the family gets tired of the same recipe after one meal so I had to get creative and think of other ways to revamp my quinoa. That’s when I came up with these Cheesy Artichoke-Spinach Quinoa Cakes with Lemon-Caper Sauce. They taste just like my favorite party dip….just with a crispy quinoa crust! And the quinoa cakes were a hit….we ate them for lunch with a green salad, I had one for breakfast with a fried egg on top (DO THIS!!!) and we had them as a side with roasted chicken.

These would have been my go-to lunch if I still worked outside the home….they are incredibly portable and I see them sitting perfectly on top of those cute little slider buns everyone loves! Spread a little of the Lemon-Caper Sauce on the bun, top with some lettuce and you have the perfect, mini, vegetarian burger.

Cheesy Artichoke-Spinach Quinoa Cakes with Lemon-Caper Sauce

Makes 6 cakes

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 shallots, chopped fine

2 cloves of garlic, minced

6 ounces frozen artichoke hearts, thawed

1 1/2 cups packed fresh baby spinach

2 cups cooked quinoa

1 cup grated parmesan cheese

1 teaspoon dried oregano

3 tablespoons mayonnaise

1 large egg, lightly beaten

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon fresh ground pepper

1/4 cup low-fat plain greek yogurt (I use Chobani)

juice and zest of half a lemon

1 teaspoon capers, drained and chopped

salt and pepper

In a medium skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the shallots to the pan and cook until softened. Add the garlic stirring for 1 minute and then add the artichokes and spinach. Continue cooking until the spinach is wilted and the artichokes are warmed through. Remove the skillet from the heat and allow to cool to room temperature.

In a large bowl, combine the artichoke-spinach mixture with the quinoa, cheese, oregano, mayonnaise, egg, salt and pepper. Gently mix the ingredients together until everything is incorporated. Using your hands form the mixture into 6 equal size cakes.

Coat the skillet with cooking spray and heat over medium-low heat. Add 3 of the cakes to the pan and cook until golden brown, approximately 3-4 minutes. Turn the cakes over and continue cooking until golden, an additional 4-5 minutes. Transfer to a serving platter and repeat with the remaining cakes.

For the sauce, whisk together the yogurt, lemon zest, juice and capers. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Serve immediately.

Note: Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.