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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I have a black bean soup that I make about 2x a month that is delicious! I love vegetarian dinners and this cookbook looks great!!!!
My favorite vegetarian meal is scrabbled eggs with fresh veggies.
My favorite vegetarian meal is seasoned black beans, fluffy brown cilantro / lime rice, and avocado. Maybe some sour cream for good measure. 🙂
My favorite meatless meal is any variation of rice and beans with sautéed kale! I’m a college student so this is a super easy, quick and inexpensive meal!
Any sort of chickpea curry is my absolute favorite. Also, you can never go wrong with breakfast for dinner. This cookbook looks AMAZING and I would love to add it to my collection.
Both my boyfriend and I go absolutely crazy for ricotta stuffed shells 🙂
Millet and I have just gotten to know each other…and I like her a lot. I made some black bean and millet burgers that were tasty. These little cakes look very tasty indeed!! Can’t wait to try!! xx
I don’t ever comment on these types of things, but that cookbook looks too amazing to pass up the opportunity! I also love your blog, and my roommates and I use it daily for cooking inspiration. While none of us are strictly vegetarian, we eat mostly meatless meals. One of my favorites is from a Portland-based magazine called Kinfolk. They published a cookbook a few years ago, and their sweet potato quinoa burgers are amazing. They take a really long time to make, though, so they are more of a treat than a staple in our cooking rotation. You should try them! Maybe you can create a shorter version. We normally put them on whole-wheat english muffins with some melted cheese on top 🙂
ha, thanks for commenting! I love Kinfolk – I’ve never tried their veggie burger but I’ll have to check it out 🙂
As a vegetarian, all my meals are meatless, but my favorites have to be your fig arugula pizza with pistachio pesto, and anything falafel-related!
Can’t wait to try these millet cakes. Adding them to my recipes for this week’s dinners!
These look so yummy! I discovered millet pretty recently (made a pilaf with millet & kale) and can see why it’d work so well for veggie patties. As for a favorite meal… everything I eat is meatless so it’s hard to pick a favorite! That cookbook looks great though!
Roasted veggies and grains <3
Wow, looks really gorgeous! Would you like to check my latest experiment – delicious fried chicken with sesame seeds: http://gymjunkiesgirl.com/2015/02/23/delicious-fried-chicken-with-sesame-seeds-in-40-min/ It took me only 40 min! 🙂
My favorite go-to meatless meal that I make all of the time for company is a lentil meatloaf. Everyone loves it and whoever tries it always asks for the recipe!
My favorite meatless recipe is actually a riff on one of yours! I roast a big batch of veggies and chickpeas along with some garlic. Sometimes I use oregano as you suggested. But, just as often, I go with herbes de provence. It’s super quick and easy and I can make large batches and freeze individual servings in pyrex to thaw and take to work as needed. Thanks for all the inspiration! These millet cakes look delicious.
My favorite meatless meal is ratatouille. Thanks and really enjoy your blog!
I love my vegan pesto. Just made it last night! Lots of basil, cashews, garlic, nutritional yeast, sea salt and olive/avocado oil. YUM! This cookbook would do well in our home 🙂
I love my vegan pesto. Just made it last night! Lots of basil, cashews, garlic, nutritional yeast, sea salt and olive/avocado oil. YUM! This cookbook would do well in our home 🙂
Fav is… Nachos loaded w black beans, avocado, cilantro, romaine, tomatoes, salsa and sourcream plus cheese for the non vegan. Don’t have Nachos? Load up some brown rice or quinoa w the same toppings. Copyright Mexico, 1969. All rights reserved.
My favorite meatless meal is usually the last meal I ate! I gravitate to things that are simple, complete meals…oh and, anything with pasta!
my favorite vegetarian dishes is roasted eggplant involtini. The recipie I use is cooks illustrated. Delicious!