Pizza Quinoa Bites

As we continue to learn and practice cooking in the kitchen, we gain experience and confidence to make changes in recipes that suit our tastebuds or changes based on the ingredients you have at hand. Sometimes we don’t always have the ingredients we need for a specific recipe, so we might have to play around with what we have to see what works. With these Pizza Quinoa Bites, you can play around with the seasonings or the fillings to suit your taste preferences! If you like it spicy, you can add some chilli flakes to the quinoa. If you prefer a different filling, try experimenting and see how it turns out! Remember that kitchen safety rules always apply!

Recipe adapted from: chocolate covered katie

Makes 8 to 10 Pizza Bites

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup cooked quinoa (about 1/3 cup dry quinoa)

  • 1 cup canned pinto beans

  • 1/4 cup tomato sauce

  • 2 tsp dry basil

  • 1/2 tsp onion powder

  • 1/2 tsp garlic powder

  • 1/2 tsp salt*

  • 1 tsp sugar*

  • 12-15 cubes of mozzarella cheese

Equipment:

  • Fine mesh colander

  • Saucepan

  • Cutting board

  • Knife

  • Measuring cups and spoons

  • Baking sheet

  • Parchment paper

  • Oven

*Not included in your bag

 

Directions:

Cook Quinoa:

  1. Rinse the quinoa: Pour the quinoa into a fine mesh colander and rinse under running water for at least 30 seconds. Drain well. This step removes any bitterness on the outside of the quinoa.

  2. Combine the rinsed quinoa and 2 parts water in a saucepan (for 1/3 cup of dry quinoa, add 2/3 cup of water). Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat, then decrease the heat a bit to maintain a gentle simmer. Cook until the quinoa has absorbed all of the water, about 10 to 20 minutes (small amounts of quinoa will be ready closer to 10 minutes; larger amounts between 15 to 20). Reduce heat as time goes on to maintain a gentle simmer.

  3. Remove the pot from heat, cover, and let the quinoa steam for 5 minutes. This step gives the quinoa time to pop open into little curlicues, so it’s nice and fluffy. Remove the lid and fluff the quinoa with a fork. Season with salt, to taste, unless you’re proceeding with another recipe as written.

Make quinoa bites:

  1. Cut cheese into 2cm cubes, and set aside.

  2. Preheat oven to 350F and grease a baking sheet well or like with parchment paper, then set aside.

  3. In a medium bowl, mash the beans with a fork completely. Stir in cooked quinoa, tomato sauce, basil, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and sugar.

  4. Roll into balls, then take a piece of cheese and push it into the middle before sealing the ball back up.

  5. Place the balls onto the baking tray and bake for 35 minutes. For a crispy outer shell, feel free to broil a minute at the end.

Fun Fact! Quinoa is pronounced 'Keen-wah'. It is actually a seed and must be washed before cooking to remove a compound called saponins, that have a bitter flavour.

 

Nutrition Fact: Quinoa contains all 9 essential amino acids that humans cannot make, and must be consumed through food!

 

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