You bake these veggie-packed vegan potato cakes right in a muffin tin! They're a perfect side dish, snack, or lunch box staple.
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What I love about these vegan potato cakes is that not only are they packed with veggies, but they have some sneaky protein from the chickpea flour and flax meal that we are using as a binder. A serving of these potato cakes has six grams of protein!
I started making these for my kid's lunchbox when my son was in preschool. They make a great lunchbox addition!
You can also serve them as a side dish or just snack on them. I love to dip them in vegan mayo mixed with a little dijon mustard.
Ingredients and substitutions
- Yukon Gold or red potatoes - You want thin-skinned potatoes, so you won't have to peel them.
- olive oil - To saute. You can broth fry, if you want to make this oil-free.
- veggies - I'm using broccoli, carrots, and onion, but feel free to use an equivalent amount of your favorite minced veggies!
- garlic - Sautéed garlic gives these vegan potato cakes so much great flavor!
- chickpea flour and flax meal - These are your binders. You can use chia seeds in place of the flax meal, if you want to.
- yellow mustard - Adds moisture and tang!
- nutritional yeast - Adds cheesiness and helps thicken the mixture.
- onion powder - Gives these potato cakes a nice, umami flavor.
How to make vegan potato cakes
Preheat the oven to 450° F.
Now, cook your potatoes either on the stovetop or in the Instant Pot.
On the stove, combine the potatoes with enough water to cover in a pot. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer, covered, for 15 to 20 minutes, until they're fork-tender. Drain.
In the Instant Pot,combine the potatoes and ½ cup of water in the Instant Pot. Cook at high pressure for five minutes, then do a 10-minute natural release, then drain.
Meanwhile, in a frying pan, heat the oil on medium-high heat and cook the broccoli, carrots, onion, garlic, and salt until the veggies get soft, about five to seven minutes
Combine the veggie mixture with the drained potatoes and the remaining ingredients in a large bowl. Use a fork to mix everything together, mashing the potatoes, as you mix, until you have a thick, sticky dough.
Press the mixture into 12 lined muffin tins.
Bake for 25 minutes, and let the cakes cool for 10 minutes before serving.
Helpful tips
- Cook the veggies while the potatoes are cooking to save on total time.
- If you don't want to line your muffin tin, you can grease it really well instead. I like to line the pans, especially if I'm using these in a lunchbox, because the paper liners are perfect for lunch packing!
Serving, storage, and reheating directions
I tend to serve these alongside dishes that pair well with mashed potatoes. Here are some ideas for what to serve with your potato cakes:
When my kid was little, though, I'd fully serve him a couple of these as his whole meal. He loved them!
And, to be honest, I would eat a few as my lunch, too, when I was very hungry and too busy to make anything else to go with.
These potato cakes will keep for three to four days in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Let them cool completely before transferring to the storage container, though, because otherwise the inside of the container gets moist and icky from the steam.
There are tasty hot or cold, but if you want to reheat your leftovers, you have three options:
- Pan Frying: Pop a couple of potato cakes into a oiled frying pan on medium heat, flatten with a spatula, and brown each side for just a few minutes. YUM!
- Microwave: Place 1-2 potato cakes on a microwave-safe plate. Heat on high for 45-90 seconds, depending on the strength of your microwave.
- Toaster Oven: Place them on a piece of foil in the toaster oven, and bake at 350F for 5-10 minutes, until warmed through.
Frequently asked questions
In a conventional potato cake, egg is often doing that work. In a vegan recipe, though, you're not going to use egg. And there are three things that help bind these potato cakes together.
1. Potato starch is a natural binder, and when you mash a potato, you release some of that starch.
2. The second binder you're using here is flaxmeal. Normally, when you make a flax egg, you want to whisk the flax meal with water and let it sit to thicken. In this recipe, though, you can just mix the flax right into the batter, because the flax will soak up moisture from the batter as you blend it together.
3. Chickpea flour is also a great binder. It can go by other names: garbanzo bean flour, besan, or gram flour. Graham flour is not the same thing as gram flour, so it will not work in this recipe. Please do not substitute other flours in place of the chickpea flour, because your potato cakes will end up too soft.
*One important note: You must use flax meal. Do NOT use whole flax seeds for this recipe. Flax seeds do not soak up moisture, and they will not give you the binding power you need. I don't want your potato cakes to fall apart on you!
More vegan potato recipes
📖 Recipe
Vegan Potato Cakes
Ingredients
- 2 cups cubed Yukon Gold or red potatoes - 1" cubes
The Veggie Mixture
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 cup minced broccoli - (see note)
- ½ cup shredded carrots
- ½ cup minced onion
- 2 cloves garlic - minced
- ½ teaspoon salt
The Rest of the Ingredients
- ¼ cup chickpea flour - see note
- 2 tablespoons yellow mustard
- 2 tablespoons flax meal
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast - optional
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450° F.
Cook the Potatoes (2 options)
- On the stove: combine the potatoes with enough water to cover in a pot. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer, covered, for 15-20 minutes, until they're fork-tender. Drain.
- In the Instant Pot: combine the potatoes and ½ cup of water in the Instant Pot. Cook at high pressure for 5 minutes, then do a 10-minute natural release, then drain.
Make the Veggie Mixture
- In a frying pan, heat the oil on medium-high heat and cook the broccoli, carrots, onion, garlic, and salt until the veggies get soft, about 5-7 minutes
Make the Potato Cakes
- Combine the veggie mixture with the drained potatoes and the remaining ingredients in a large bowl. Use a fork to mix everything together, mashing the potatoes, as you mix, until you have a thick, sticky dough.
- Press the mixture into 12 lined muffin tins.
- Bake for 25 minutes, and let the cakes cool for 10 minutes before serving.
carol
I do not have any muffin tins. Can this recipe be made in an 8 x 8 glass Pyrex pan? if so, what temperature and how long would I need to bake it?
Becky Striepe
I'm so sorry to hear that! I have not tested it in other types of pans, so I'm not sure about the time and temperature adjustments. I'd hate to guess wrong and ruin your supper!
Lena
Really yummy. They turned out really tiny, so I will double the recipe next time for the same 12 cakes.
Becky Striepe
I am fully on board for doubling the recipe and am glad to hear it was a hit! Thank you for taking the time to come back and leave a rating and such a thoughtful comment, Lena!
Jes
Yes, yes, and yes please! Potato anything all day :) Hopefully Darrol will come around to broccoli soon; I mean, it's kindof the best :)
Becky Striepe
Haha I agree! What's weird about the broccoli thing is that he will eat other greens. He picks kale out of his pasta to eat first! Maybe it's a texture thing.