Cheesy Veggie Quinoa Bites

1/23/18

Cheesy Veggie Quinoa Bites make delicious, healthy after school snacks or simple gluten free appetizers. Easy to make and the recipe can be customized to whatever you have on hand in the fridge! It’s hard to find quinoa recipes for kids, but these quinoa bites are the perfect healthy snack or side dish recipe with plenty of vegetables, whole grains, and protein. My kids couldn’t keep their fingers off of this easy muffin tin recipe.

This post was written several years ago, but it all still holds true, except my big guys is now in second grade and the little one will be off to Kindergarten in the fall. I thank everyone close to me – my friends and family – and those whom I have never met before that read my blog, make my recipes, and allow me to keep doing a job a love, building a business of my own, while being able to have the flexibility to be there for my family. Thank you all!

2015 is a year of change here at Cupcakes & Kale Chips. Honestly, I keep wondering if my readers notice and care, but, you know, I’ve gotta do what I’ve gotta do. I started this blog as a hobby, but I discovered a passion and a world of opportunities. To keep it going, it costs money. So I started taking some paying gigs to offset the costs. Then I realized that this could actually become a real job, and while I am blessed that I don’t have to work, I’ve gotten to the point where I need something else to give me a true feeling of personal satisfaction, and I want to help ensure the security of my family should, God forbid, something awful happen.

People like what I do – readers make my recipes! I get asked to contribute to sites, and speak at conferences, giving me a sense of fulfillment. As a former straight A student (no lie, I think the only B’s I ever got were in gym and handwriting) who then went on to a successful career with a big pharma company, after several years away from having these types of tangible measures of success, this is important to me, and makes me a better person, a happier person. And, therefore, a better, happier mom.

Plus, The Bug is off to Kindergarten in the fall. The little dude wakes up every morning asking to go to school, but I’m still working from home. So, I don’t have to drop them off at 7am and then not see them again until 6pm, which is what would have happened if I had never left my former career to be a stay-at-home mom. For me, this is the best of all possible worlds.

They go to school between 8:30 and 9, then I pick them up after nap and snack, around 3pm to 4pm. Sometimes we come home, sometimes we are off to karate, or meeting Daddy for dinner, or getting haircuts, or whatever. They’re happy, I’m happy, and we enjoy our mornings and evenings together. Tonight we had a crazy newspaper snowball fight – it was awesome!

And as I always say, all moms and parents have to make the choices that are the best for themselves and their families.

So yes, you are seeing some more sponsored posts. You are seeing affiliate links and you’ll probably start seeing shopping lists. If you click on those to head over to Amazon and then, while you’re there, you happen to buy anything, not just the product I linked to, I’ll make a little commission. It doesn’t cost you anything, don’t worry! As I make these changes, I hope you’ll continue to support me and follow along.

Cheesy Veggie Quinoa Bites are the ultimate reflection of what I do here on Cupcakes & Kale Chips.

Whether I am making a recipe for a client, finally writing down something I’ve made over and over again like Worcestershire Sauce Cast Iron Cube Steaks, putting a creative twist on a classic like the Shepherd’s Pie Loaded Baked Potatoes everyone loves, or, like this recipe, randomly throwing something together and realizing that I NEED to share the recipe with all of you, my recipes reflect how I cook for my family.

How to Make Cheesy Quinoa Bites with Vegetables

Cheesy Veggie Quinoa Bites were born from two hungry little boys and me staring into the fridge at containers of leftovers. Now, my boys aren’t fans of just eating quinoa straight up. I have to be a quinoa ninja, so in this case, I went with two surefire bets – adding cheese and making it into finger food. Of course, I also had to add the leftover vegetables I had in the fridge too. And it was a total success! I had to stop them from polishing off the whole batch just so I could grab some photos. Heck, I had to stop myself too!

And as I said, this was literally invented because I had leftovers in the fridge, along with my usual giant stash of Cabot cheese. So I make it with a mixture of broccoli, carrots, and cauliflower for the photos. In the video you’ll see peas and carrots. You can even get a little more fancy and make Cheesy Spinach Artichoke Quinoa Bites. It’s totally your choice, so use whatever you have on hand, or whatever you are trying to sneak past your kids. I won’t tell. It’ll be our little secret!

If your kids are like mine, they’ll want to dip those Cheesy Veggie Quinoa Bites…

• Homemade Ketchup
• Greek Yogurt Ranch Dip
• Healthy Honey Mustard Dip
• Cucumber Dill Yogurt Dip

Another cheesy way to get the kids to eat their veggies is this Slow-Cooker Broccoli Cheddar Soup from Wine and Glue. Or how about some Cauliflower Pizza Crust from Princess Pinky Girl? And another sneaky quinoa finger food are these Quinoa Buffalo Bites from Wonky Wonderful.

A couple of things you may need to make this recipe:

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Cheesy Veggie Quinoa Bites Recipe

It can be hard to find quinoa recipes for kids. But when you add plenty of cheese and turn them into crispy finger food, you can be sure the little ones will gobble them up. Make them as an easy vegetarian lunch recipe, or a side dish or snack.

Print Recipe

4.5 from 6 votes

Cheesy Veggie Quinoa Bites

Veggies, protein and whole grains packed into fun, cheesy tots perfect for little fingers to grab and munch on!

Prep Time10 mins

Cook Time20 mins

Total Time30 mins

Course: Appetizer, Side Dish, Snack

Cuisine: American

Servings: 6

Calories: 143kcal

Author: Brianne Izzo, Cupcakes & Kale Chips

Ingredients

• 1 cup cooked quinoa , cooled
• 4 ounces cheddar cheese , shredded (about 1 cup)
• 1 cup vegetables , chopped and cooked {steamed, roasted, etc}
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 egg

Instructions

• Preheat your oven to 350°F. Spray a mini muffin tin with cooking spray or oil.
• Add all of the ingredients to a bowl and mix until thoroughly combined.
• Divide the mixture evenly between the cups of the mini muffin tin, and press down to pack it in firmly.
• Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until golden brown and crispy.
• If you do not finish them, store leftovers in the refrigerator.

Nutrition

Calories: 143kcal | Carbohydrates: 10g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 47mg | Sodium: 337mg | Potassium: 145mg | Fiber: 2g | Vitamin A: 1770IU | Vitamin C: 3.1mg | Calcium: 153mg | Iron: 1mg

Enjoy!