Black Bean Fritters With Quinoa
This website uses affiliate links which may earn commission for purchases made at no additional cost to you.
We love these Black Bean Fritters With Quinoa over a bed of lettuce and served with a side of sweet potato fries!
I love recipes that can be served as a baby-led weaning recipe, but also to the whole family, like my 20-Minute Green Pea Pasta or Protein Pizza.
These Black Bean Fritters can easily be customized to fit your family’s needs Maybe you serve them on a burger bun, maybe you cut the fritter itself in half for your 1-year-old, or maybe you serve some black beans, corn, and quinoa all separately (not in fritter form) to your 4-year-old.
*This post was originally published on August 22, 2020, and updated on June 22, 2023.
Black Bean Fritter Ingredients
Cooked quinoa – I actually don’t like quinoa and therefore have to find ways to mask it in my meals. These quinoa fritters help do just that. If you have leftover quinoa after making a batch, I love using Soupercubes BPA-Free Silicone Freezer Trays.
Black beans – I love making my own homemade black beans in my Instant Pot, but you can also use a can of black beans, just drain and rinse them first.
Spinach – I love adding spinach because you can’t taste it and it’s a nice way to get veggies in for both your kids and yourself!
Shredded cheddar cheese – The cheese adds a lovely flavor to the fritters.
Corn kernels – You can use frozen or cooked fresh kernels. If you’re using frozen kernels, you’ll want to thaw them. I simply cook them in water in the microwave for about a minute (see recipe card notes*).
Egg – The egg helps the fritters bind together.
Salt – To balance out the flavor.
Olive oil – To coat the pan and prevent the fritters from sticking.
How to Make Black Bean Fritters
STEP 1 – Process ingredients
In a food processor, blend all ingredients except for the olive oil.
STEP 3 – Cook the fritters
Heat a large pan or a griddle over medium heat and add olive oil to coat.
Use a spoon to scoop a spoonful of the bean mixture out and use your hands to mold them into a fritter, about the size of your palm.
Drop the fritter carefully onto the pan, using a spatula to flatten the fritter slightly. Repeat with the rest of the mixture.
Cook the fritters for about 7 minutes on this side or until golden brown. Spay the uncooked tops of the fritters with vegetable oil spray and flip. Cook for approximately 5 minutes on this side, or until golden brown.
What to Serve With Black Bean Fritters
- Salad or serve over a bed of lettuce
- Sweet potato or regular fries
- Guacamole/avocado
- Burger bun
Tips on Serving Black Bean Fritters to Kids
If your family is anything like mine, you have some picky, opinionated little eaters. Here are some suggestions for how you can serve these quinoa fritters to your whole family:
- Baby-led weaning: serve just the fritter in an age-appropriate size and include a side of guacamole or avocado
- Young (picky) child:
- Serve the fritter in a burger bun with a side of Halo & Cleaver (no sugar added) ketchup, french fries, and avocado.
- Serve the fritter with a side of rice and guacamole.
- Before blending the ingredients to make the fritters, reserve some black beans, quinoa, shredded cheese, and corn, and serve each ingredient separately on your child’s plate.
- Adults: serve fritters over a bed of lettuce with a side of fries (we love sweet potato fries!), guacamole/avocado, and your favorite burger toppings.
Meal Prep Tip
If you’re anything like me, you have a bag of quinoa in your pantry right now that you bought with the intention of being healthy, but every time you look at it when meal planning, you cringe at the sight of it. “Blahh, (gag), nope, not eating that.”
In this case, it’s a good thing you’ve been neglecting that bag of quinoa. It means you don’t have to go out and buy it. Though quinoa is expensive compared to regular rice, a little goes a long way. I believe this is because quinoa likes to annoyingly let us know that it is healthy and thriving, obnoxiously telling us that though each see is so tiny, it can grow rapidly and take over at any moment.
I would recommend making a batch of quinoa over the weekend so you have it ready to go. Quinoa takes about 15 minutes or so to make. If you still have some time, you could make these fritters in advance so dinner/some lunches are ready to go for the week.
If you have extra quinoa, I recommend either using it in other meals that week or freezing the leftovers in my favorite BPA-Free Silicone Soupercubes Freezer Trays (I like using the 2-cup tray for this!).
How to Store
Fridge: Store in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Freezer: Store cooked fritters in a freezer-safe container/bag with small pieces of parchment paper in between each fritter to prevent them from sticking together.
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links to products that I use and love and that may be helpful to you in making this recipe!
More Easy Dinners
Black Bean and Cheese Taquitos
Creamy Roasted Red Pepper Rigatoni
Sheet Pan Gnocchi With Roasted Zucchini and Chickpeas
Easy Vegetarian Mexican Lasagna
DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE? LEAVE A COMMENT/RATING BELOW TO HELP OTHERS FIND IT, TOO!
If you tried these Black Bean Fritters or any other recipe on the blog, let me know how you liked it by leaving a comment/rating below! Thank you so much!
Be sure to follow along on Pinterest, Instagram, and Facebook for even more deliciousness!
Black Bean Fritters
Ingredients
- 1 cup cooked quinoa
- 1 can black beans drained and rinsed
- Handful spinach
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- ½ cup corn kernels, (frozen or fresh cooked kernels, if frozen see notes*)
- 1 egg
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon olive oil, (for the pan)
Instructions
- In a food processor, blend all ingredients except for the olive oil.
- Heat a large pan or a griddle over medium heat and add olive oil to coat.
- Use a spoon to scoop a spoonful of the bean mixture out and use your hands to mold them into a fritter, about the size of your palm.
- Drop the fritter carefully onto the pan, using a spatula to flatten the fritter slightly. Repeat with the rest of the mixture.
- Cook the fritters for about 7 minutes on this side or until golden brown. Spay the uncooked tops of the fritters with vegetable oil spray and flip. Cook for approximately 5 minutes on this side, or until golden brown.