Mexican Quinoa Balls

Vegetarian quinoa balls perfect for baby led weaning or toddler lunches. You can add grated cheese to the recipe if desired, my son is dairy intolerant. This recipe is for a large batch which I freeze. You can easily halve or quarter the recipe.

• Ready In: 50 mins
• Serves: 24
• Yields: 72 1 T balls

Ingredients

• 2  cups  dry quinoa, rinsed well
• 4  cups water
• 1  cup  diced carrot, steamed until softened
• 1 1⁄2 cups frozen corn
• 4  eggs, beaten
• 1 (15 1/2ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1⁄2 cup cilantro, minced
• 1  teaspoon garlic powder
• 1⁄2 teaspoon salt (to taste)
• 1  teaspoon cumin
• 1  teaspoon chili powder (to taste)
• 2  tablespoons olive oil (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Combine quinoa and water in a medium pot. Bring to a boil and lower to a simmer. Cook until water is absorbed and quinoa has nearly tripled in size, approximately 15 minutes.
3. In a large mixing bowl combine quinoa, corn, carrots, beans cilantro & spices. Stir to combine and let cool until lukewarm, ~15 minutes. Taste seasonings and adjust, add cheese if using.
4. Stir eggs into mixture and mix well. Using a cookie scoop (mine is a 1 T scoop), place on lightly oiled cookie sheets. Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes until tops are golden brown and mixture is set. Check starting at 15 minutes-my oven runs slow.