These veggie-packed curried millet cakes make a fun, unexpected, and delicious vegetarian dinner! From The Complete Vegetarian Cookbook.
I don’t know about you, but I’ve spent a lot of time trying to get quinoa to stick together to form cohesive patties. With eggs, without eggs… I’ve made countless variations, some more successful than others, but now I have just one word: millet.
What is millet?
If you’ve never cooked millet before, you’re going to love it. One of my favorite grains, millet has a delicious nutty flavor and versatile texture. Depending on what water:grain ratio you use while cooking it, it can become a fluffy couscous-like grain or a creamy millet porridge. Like brown rice, it’s a naturally gluten-free grain, so even if you’re gluten-free, you can enjoy these yummy millet cakes!
After making them a few times, these little guys have become one of my favorite millet recipes. Luckily for me, millet is sticker than quinoa, so they bind together really easily. They’re packed with carrots, spinach, and fresh herbs and spiced with curry and garlic. This recipe is so flavorful and foolproof… as it should be since it comes from America’s Test Kitchen’s new book: The Complete Vegetarian Cookbook.
Millet Cake Recipe Variations
Because I knew this millet recipe was well-tested, I messed with it. I knew many of you would ask how to make the cakes vegan, so I tried them 2 ways. In half, I followed the recipe and used an egg and yogurt to bind the patties. In the other half, I used flaxseed and almond milk to veganize them. Guess what – both ways worked! The sticky millet was enough to bind the cakes together, with or without eggs, so it’s easy to make this recipe vegan and gluten-free.
I didn’t follow one other instruction: I baked my millet patties instead of pan frying them as was recommended. We loved them baked, so I can only imagine that pan frying them would make them extra tasty.
So back to the book – you’re going to want this one in your kitchen. Inside, you’ll find over 700 recipes, vegetable cooking tips, ingredient explanations, step-by-step chopping how-to’s, and more. It’s a great resource for vegetarians or anyone who just wants to incorporate more meatless meals into their lives. Many of the recipes are also vegan and gluten-free. Buy it here!
Looking for more millet recipes?
Try this tabbouleh, this millet salad, or this stuffed squash next!
Millet Cakes with Carrots & Spinach
- 1 cup millet, rinsed
- 2 cups water
- salt and pepper
- 3 teaspoons olive oil
- 1 shallot, minced
- 6 ounces (6 cups) baby spinach, chopped
- 2 carrots, peeled and shredded
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 teaspoons curry powder
- ¼ cup plain yogurt (vegan version: ¼ cup + 1 tablespoon almond milk)
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten (vegan version: ¼ cup ground flaxseed)
- 2 tablespoons minced cilantro
- any sauce or chutney you like - I topped mine with greek yogurt, mixed with salt, pepper, chile flakes and a squeeze of lime, or use this recipe and make a similar vegan version.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Combine the millet, water, and ½ teaspoon salt in medium saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer until grains are tender and liquid is absorbed, 15 to 20 minutes. Turn off the heat, let millet sit, covered, for 10 minutes; transfer to a large bowl.
- Heat 1 tablespoon oil in 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Add the shallot and cook until softened, about 3 minutes. Stir in the spinach and carrots and cook until the spinach wilts, about 2 minutes. Stir in the garlic, curry powder, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Transfer the mixture to the bowl with millet.
- Add the yogurt, egg, (or flax + almond milk) and cilantro into the millet mixture and fold until well combined. Use a ⅓ cup measuring cup to scoop the mixture, then form into a ½-inch-thick cake, and place on prepared sheet. Repeat. Refrigerate cakes until chilled and firm, about 30 minutes. (15 minutes for the vegan version).
- Drizzle the cakes with olive oil and bake 25-30 minutes or until the edges are crispy and cakes are cooked through.
Recipe is from America’s Test Kitchen’s new book: The Complete Vegetarian Cookbook, and is re-printed with permission.
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Hi there, I had the same issue trying to making quinoa sticky. If you add 1/4 cup amaranth per 1 cup of quinoa, it does the trick. and holds together like rice. The water for amaranth is 1:1 so 2 cups water for the 1 cup of quinoa and 1/4 cup of water for the amaranth. If you need more stickiness, increase to 1/3 cup of amaranth. Combinations of quinoa, amaranth and millet are also very nice and keep well several days in the fridge.
Made this last night! Only change was a small reduction in spinach, and instead I added one shredded turnip. Just to add a bit more variety to the veggies. I probably should have squeezed all the moisture from the turnip before mixing in. The cakes didn’t hold together super well and didn’t brown/crisp at the edges, even though I cooked for 33 minutes, and upped the heat to 400 for the last few minutes to try and bake out the moisture. Still delicious! Thank you for sharing this recipe.
Hi Tracie, I’m glad you enjoyed them!
Thanks so much for this great recipe! I wonder if millet would work as a pizza base.? Anyone tried that?
Love this receipe, but it requires several pans, etc., my kitchen is always a mess after making it, but they are delicious!
I’m glad you enjoy them!
Can I use millet flakes?
Hi Sara, no, I would definitely use just regular millet. Hope that helps!
Correct me if I’m misreading this: When you say to add the egg and yogurt into the mixture, then form the cakes and refrigerate, does this mean that the egg is uncooked?
Nevermind. I realized that I did not read the last step that involves actually cooking them 😛
🙂 Hope you enjoy the cakes!
Truly delicious!
My husband detests strong odors, curry in particular, so had to jack up the exhaust fan for this batch, but it was so good! Will just use a different spice next time. Any suggestions?
Hi Carol, a mix of dried cumin and coriander would be delicious! I’d do 1/2 teaspoon each since cumin can be bold in flavor. Should be less aromatic though 🙂
Glad you liked them!
I made the millet cakes today, and we loved them!
Since I often make vegetable patties, I have a few suggestions. For easier portioning I use a 1/4 cup scoop (smaller patties are less fragile). Placed on a panko sprinkled cutting board, the cakes can be easier transferred to the skillet, since they don’t stick. The panko also adds a nice crunch. Refrigerating the cakes for at least 1/2 hour before frying keeps them from falling apart.
Cilantro looses much of its taste when cooked – next time I would rather use parsley or basil.
I made these last night and the whole family loved them! I think I’ll try for another egg next time since they crumbled a bit while pan frying. This tasted good even before making them into cakes as well so that’ll be something to try when the toddler masters silverware. 😉
Vegetarian chili is my favorite meatless meal.
I just tried these, and they fell apart in the pan! Any suggestions?! They’re super yummy though 🙂
oh no! hmm, you could try more flax (or an egg if you eat eggs). Did you bake them or pan fry? (baking is a little easier because they can set before it’s time to flip).
could you specify the type of millet?
So hard to choose a favorite! I often make a spicy black bean taco filling – great for dinner, and equally good reheated with a poached egg on top for breakfast. A question about the millet cakes: when baking rather than frying, do you still chill them in the fridge before cooking?
Meatless meals, hmmmm so many!!! Vegetarian meals are not only healthy but also a conscious decision we have made over the years due to the suffering of animals. The best texture and taste that we love to replace meat with is mushrooms. My new favourite meal is Vegetarian Quiche packed with veggies and made with Phylo pastry.
My favorite meatless meal is eggs nested in toasts, though not containing veggies, it’s simple and satisfying. Thanks for the post and giveaway!
All of our meals are meatless, but our current favorite is probably a vegan Chipotle Mac & Cheese with roasted broccolini! It is from the Post Punk Kitchen website (and I make it with broccolini rather than brussel sprouts since our kids aren’t a fan of brussels).
Chickpea salad or the roast beet salad from it’s all good.
My favorite vegetarian meal is Tempeh Orzilla from The Post Punk Kitchen blog. It is the perfect combo of sweet and savory with a great mix of spices.
My favorite is ATK’s veggie burgers. I love them because they were one of my first successful experiments with vegetarian cooking and made me realize that vegetarian food good be delicious, hearty, and satisfying.
Favorite meatless meal-vegetable soup made with veggies just harvested from my garden.