Healthy Sweet Potato Quinoa Bites

Name: Healthy Sweet Potato Quinoa Bites
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 40 min
Ingredients: 1 cup leftover mashed sweet potato (cold); 1 cup cooked quinoa (cold); 1/2 cup grated cheese; olive oil cooking spray

Jump to Recipe

These 3 ingredient healthy Sweet Potato Quinoa Bites take just 10 minutes to prepare and are oven-baked to perfection - ready to eat in just 40 minutes!

A quick, easy and nutritious on-the-go snack or light meal (approved by the fussiest of toddlers!).

Golden Sweet Potato & Quinoa Bites in a metal serving dish with handles.

Are you looking for a kid-approved snack that's also healthy and nutritious?

Well, these Sweet Potato & Quinoa Bites are always a winner in my house.

Serve them warm or cold... they're perfectly delicious on their own or with a sauce to dip in, with crispy pita bread, in a wrap, with a salad or veggies on the side... the options are endless.

These little quinoa patties are ideal for toddlers and babies as the sweet potato adds a much loved sweetness, while the cheese makes them extra tasty.

Smuggling some veggies into kids meals is made SO easy with sweet potato. I like to keep Sweet Potato and Tuna Patties and Cheesy Quinoa, Zucchini and Sweet Potato Fritters on high rotation for light snacks and dinners.

Bulk them out with a salad for dinner, or enjoy as a light snack with a dipping sauce. The choice is yours!

A hand holding a quinoa bite that has been half dipped in a hummus dip.

Why You're Going To Love This Recipe

These bite-sized sweet potato patties are a simple and nutritious snack food for little ones, or a tasty finger food option served with a spicy dip for everyone to enjoy.

A great way to make a meal out of left over mashed sweet potato!
An inexpensive snack food that everyone loves! There's only three main ingredients required for these healthy Quinoa and Sweet Potato Bites - and they're all budget friendly ones. Win, win...
Quinoa is known as a superfood these days, being a complete protein - meaning that it contains all nine essential amino acids that our bodies can't make on their own. Plus quinoa is loaded with protein and fibre as well!
Great for tiny fingers - lets face it, learning to feed yourself is messy toddler business - but nevertheless necessary. These cheesy little bites, full of goodness, are a great way to start!
Oven baked - no messy oils to fry in, or splatters to clean up....
They freeze well - pop a batch away in the freezer to have a meal on hand for busy days, or never be stuck for a quick toddler meal when you can just grab a couple out.

A close up of crispy crunchy sweet potato bites.

What You Need

Sweet Potato and Quinoa Bites are great for dipping. Take your pick with hummus, aioli, BBQ sauce, spicy capsisum dip or whatever takes your fancy!

Note: Scroll to the recipe card at the bottom for the ingredients quantities and full detailed method!

Sweet potato - cold left-over mashed sweet potato is what you want to use here. If it is warm, it is much harder for the bites to hold together. The most common type of sweet potato used in Australia is the gold or red variety.
Quinoa - cooked and cooled in the refrigerator.
Cheese - a grated tasty cheese always adds so much flavour! I like to grate my own tasty cheese, but you can use store bought shredded tasty cheese as well.
Olive oil - just for a light spray over the sweet potato bites when baking.

The three ingredients - sweet potato, quinoa and cheese, in individual bowls.

Equipment Required

As long as you have a bowl to mix in, a baking tray and an oven, you're good to go!

Step By Step Instructions

Note: Scroll to the recipe card at the bottom for the ingredients quantities and full detailed method!

Step 1 - Preheat & Prepare

Preheat your oven to 200 degrees Celsius (fan forced).

Line a baking tray with baking paper.

Step 2 - Mix The Ingredients

Place the mashed sweet potato, cooked quinoa and grated tasty cheese in to a bowl.

Cold mashed sweet potato, cooked quinoa and grated cheese in a bowl.

Mix ingredients well to combine.

The ingredients mixed together with a spoon in a clear glass bowl.

Step 3 - Shape & Bake

Using a tablespoon, take spoonfuls of mixture, shape into a small patties and place on the lined baking tray. Lightly spray with an olive oil cooking spray.

Small round patties shaped and placed on a lined baking tray.

Bake for 15 minutes, then turn the bites over and spray lightly again with olive oil. Bake for another 15 minutes until crispy and golden.

One golden crispy bite broken in half to show colour and texture.

Expert Tips

Make sure the mashed sweet potato and cooked quinoa are cold before using them - it makes them hold together better and so much easier to shape into little mini bites!
My preference is to use tasty cheese that I grate myself, rather than pre-purchased shredded tasty cheese, as freshly grated doesn't have any additives (used to stop shredded cheese from lumping together), but really its a matter of preference and of course, convenience.
To make 1 cup of quinoa you will need to cook approximately ½ cup according to the packet instructions.
You can use a combination of sweet potato and pumpkin mash if preferred.
If serving as tapas, you can add some extra herbs and spices if you like. Try a little morrocan seasoning, some chopped coriander or basil, or some chilli flakes!
Store in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.
Reheat on a lined baking tray in the oven, or in an airfryer. You can also reheat in a microwave, but they will lose their crispiness.
Freeze in an airtight container for up to 3 months.

FAQs

How do you pronounce quinoa?

It is pronouced as KEEN-wah!

What is quinoa, and why is it good for you?

Quinoa is an ancient South American grain that was largely ignored for centuries, and now considered a 'superfood'.
Technically its not a 'grain', as its a seed from the Chenopodium quinoa plant, but it's referred to as a grain because it’s similar in nutrients and eaten the same way as cereal grains.
It's also gluten free, and comes in the colours of red, black and white.
Unlike some plant proteins, quinoa is a complete protein, meaning that it contains all nine essential amino acids that our bodies cannot make on their own, PLUS it contains plenty of fibre. Superfood - tick!

Can I freeze sweet potato quinoa bites?

Sure can! Just lay them between sheets of baking paper in an airtight container to freeze, and that way you can just grab a couple when needed for a toddlers meal. Quinoa bites can be frozen for up to 3 months.

Want more healthy, meat-free, veggie smuggling foods?

WANT EVEN MORE DELICIOUS RECIPES? Subscribe to my newsletter or follow along on Facebook or Instagram. And if you love baking, then please come and join my Facebook cooking club group or subscribe to my YouTube channel.