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How to Make Veggie Cakes

Learn step by step instructions for how to make veggie cakes of all kinds. From the original veggie cake recipe to a superfood veggie cake recipe, you will find detailed instructions and helpful tips for making your own veggie cakes from scratch.

stack of veggie cakes with black background
How to Make Veggie Cakes

Veggie cakes are a tasty way to get more vegetables into your diet, especially if you have picky eaters. They are small enough for little hands and they make a great addition to your work lunches during the week.

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Veggie Cakes

To make our vegetable cakes, the first thing to do is prep the veggies. A food processor makes quick work of it and I highly recommend using one if you are making a batch. This is an easy vegetarian recipe you can make for dinner, or it can be served as a side dish.

grated broccoli in food processor

These veggie patties are kid-friendly and also picky eater approved. The carrots and corn provide a touch of sweetness to these cakes. The vegetables can be swapped out for something different to suit personal preferences.

Watch the video for step by step instructions from start to finish -> How to Make Veggie Cakes Video

How to make veggie cakes

I like to start with anything that requires extra time, like zucchini. As you can see in the photo below, I grated the zucchini for the vegetable fritters. It needs to drain before it can be used.

To do this, set a fine mesh colander inside of a bowl to catch the water. To help the process go quicker, set a small plate on top and weigh it down with a large can or something equally heavy to press the liquid out.

colander full of zucchini set inside metal bowl
draining zucchini

The most important helpful tip I can offer to anyone making veggie cakes for the first time is this: drain the vegetables really well. Don’t skimp on this step, you’ll regret it later.

Veggies like zucchini and spinach have quite a bit of liquid in them and if you don’t squeeze out as much moisture as possible, the veggie cakes will be mushy. Green vegetable cakes are delicious and made from nutrient-dense veggies, they just need to be squeezed dry first.

No one wants mushy vegetables. We want vegetable patties that have a crispy outside and tender inside.

4 veggie cakes stacked on top of each other
How to Make Veggie Cakes

Once you’ve drained and squeezed out the watery vegetables, it’s time to combine them with the rest of the veggies you have prepared. Then it gets mixed with egg, flour, cheese (if using), breadcrumb and seasonings. At this point, they are ready to cook.

Cooking vegetable patties

If you prefer to bake them instead of cooking them on the stovetop, you can bake them at 350°F for about 20 minutes until they are crispy and the vegetables have cooked through. A light dusting of breadcrumb on the outside will help them crisp up in the oven.

If you want to make them in the air fryer, check out this recipe for butternut squash fritters.

Veggie Cake Recipes

There are a handful of recipes on the blog for these little cakes made out of veggies. Here are a few more recipes to try. Make them your own! Try it as written, or try a few different add-ins or spices.

superfood veggie cakes for dinner divas weekly menu plan on a white platter
Superfood Veggie Cakes

Vegetarian Recipes

For anyone looking for Easy Vegetarian Recipes, you will find the top 25 vegetarian recipes from this blog in that post. Veggie cakes are a great option for a meatless meal.

You can customize them to your own personal tastes and the combinations are limitless. Make a new version every week and it would take you forever to run out of options.

Consider adding in beans, chickpeas, quinoa or herbs like scallions, parsley and dill to change the flavor and texture.

Vegetables for Breakfast

This is where I think most of us have a hard time working vegetables into our diet. We can grab a salad for lunch, sauté some greens for dinner, but getting in some extra nutrient dense food at breakfast isn’t always easy.

runny yolk over vegetable patty on white plate
veggies for breakfast

Top these vegetable cakes with an egg and you’re getting plenty of vitamins and protein to start your day and keep you full until lunchtime.

Helpful Tools for Making Veggie Cakes

  • 2 ounce scoop – makes uniform vegetable patties, so they all cook at the same time
  • Commercial sheet pans – heavy duty pans that won’t warp.
  • Cast iron pan – best for cooking veggie fritters.

Still looking for more? You can find additional recipes in my veggie cake e-book!

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How to make veggie cakes with an egg on top.

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Stack of veggie cakes with black background.

Veggie Cakes

Cheryl Bennett
Fluffy veggie cakes are a perfect side or Meatless Monday meal.
4.46 from 332 votes
Prep Time 1 hour
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 20 minutes
Course Veggie cake recipes
Cuisine American
Servings 30 cakes
Calories 109 kcal

Ingredients
  

  • 2 cups broccoli grated
  • 3 large zucchini grated and drained
  • 6 medium carrots peeled and grated
  • 1 onion diced and sautéed (optional)
  • 1 cup corn kernels
  • 4 large eggs
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp pepper
  • 1 tsp granulated garlic
  • 1/2 cup breadcrumbs I used panko
  • 1/2 cup flour
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese grated
  • 1 tsp. Cajun seasoning optional, if you like a little kick
  • oil for pan

Instructions
 

Prep the zucchini

  • Grate zucchini, sprinkle with 1 tsp salt, toss to combine.
  • Place a fine mesh strainer on top of / inside a large bowl. Add salted zucchini to strainer. Place a heavy bowl or plate on top of the zucchini to weigh it down. Liquid will drain from zucchini into bowl underneath.
  • Let it sit for AT LEAST 30 minutes, up to 1 hour. After it has drained, wrap it in a clean kitchen towel or a piece of cheesecloth and SQUEEZE! Even more water will come out, we want it as dry as possible!
  • Set the drained zucchini aside.

Make the Cakes

  • In a large bowl, mix flour, baking powder, pepper, granulated garlic or Cajun seasoning, if using, breadcrumb and cheese together. Add all the vegetables and toss to combine, making sure to break up the zucchini and coat everything with flour mixture.
  • Crack eggs into a small bowl, give a little whisk and pour over veggie mixture. Mix to THOROUGHLY combine.
  • Heat a sauté pan (skillet) over medium-high heat, add a drizzle of oil (a teaspoon or two) and swirl to coat the bottom of the pan.
  • Using a scoop (or a large spoon), drop mixture into the hot pan and flatten out with your fingers to form a patty.
  • Cook for 4 – 5 minutes on each side, turning down the heat if they begin to brown too quickly.
  • Remove from pan to a cooling rack placed inside a sheet pan, or a paper towel lined baking sheet.
  • Repeat until mixture is gone.

Video

Notes

Zucchini is very watery and needs to be drained well, otherwise your cakes will end up a soggy mess. It loses most of it's volume once it's drained (think spinach). You start out with a full pot and it cooks down to nothing.
To freeze: place squares of parchment paper between the cakes and wrap tightly in plastic wrap or slide into a zip-top freezer bag.
A cast iron skillet works the BEST, but any skillet will do!

Nutrition

Serving: 2gCalories: 109kcalCarbohydrates: 14gProtein: 5gFat: 4gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 52mgSodium: 537mgFiber: 2gSugar: 3g
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Thanks for stopping by! Have a delicious day 🙂

Questions? Send me an email, I’m happy to help. I’d love to send you weekly tips and recipes, so you can get updates about what’s happening in the kitchen!

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15 Comments

  1. So I made this with a few modifications. Added extra zuc, 2 extra carrots, and one yam. I added an extra egg for extra binding and touch more flour and 1/2 cup more cheese. The flavor came out wonderful, but they would not bind. So, I added two more eggs, but they still didn’t stick together. Is it possible I took too much liquid out? After prepping all the veggies, I laid them out on paper towels in flat sheets and pressed them. Once the veggies were pretty dry, I combined them with the rest of the ingredients and made my recipe.

    Tomorrow, I am making your tomato tart.

    1. Hi Emily! I’m glad you like the flavor! But, your modifications gave you trouble, so how can we fix that?
      Hmmm, not knowing the size of the vegetables, how well they were drained, etc. I’m not entirely sure.
      When you say it wouldn’t bind, was the mixture too dry? Could you pack it into a patty?

      1. I could create patties, but they fell apart while they were being cooked. My veggies were either shred size or crumbles. As far as dryness they were pretty dry.

        1. Ok, in your modifications to the recipe, you must’ve added too many veggies and/or removed too much liquid, or added too much flour. Try making the recipe as is so you can see the consistency of the mixture, that way when you want to change it up, you know what it should look like and you can adjust accordingly.
          If you were able to pack them nicely when you made them, maybe they would have held together being baked? You do have to be a little gentle when flipping them. My best advice would be to make the recipe as is just once before making changes, just so you know what it should look and feel like. I hope that helps!

  2. These sound delicious, one of the better veggie patty recipes I’ve come across and can’t wait to try making them. I would like to bake instead of frying them. What are the instructions for baking these veggie cakes?

    1. Hi B, here are the baking instructions from the post. Let me know how they turn out 🙂
      “If you prefer to bake them instead of cooking them on the stovetop, you can bake them at 350°F for about 20 minutes until they are crispy and the vegetables have cooked through. A light dusting of breadcrumb on the outside will help them crisp up in the oven.”

  3. The zucchini sounds like too much work for me as a brand new cook so I want to substitute it with another veggie. What measurement should I use in place of the zucchini since it isn’t listed in like cups or anything like that? I’ve never bought a zucchini before so I don’t know how big they are.

    1. Hi Samantha, you can swap out the zucchini for 2 – 3 cups of any veggie that you like. The only thing I would suggest is not to use a watery vegetable like spinach. Because, again, you’ll need to drain it. You could try additional broccoli or carrots to keep it simple, or maybe something like sweet potato.

    2. Hello – thanks for sharing the recipe, my patty turn really good so tasty.
      I dont follow the amount of the veggies from your recipe. I used two fresh carotts grated by hand very quick and one zucchini after grated put in paper towel squeeze it.
      Frozen corn and broccoli work good, I chopped the broccoli and squeeze little bit. 1 tsp mushroom powder ( bought from korean or asian supermarket ) I follow the rest ingredients. Thanks again.

  4. ❤️❤️❤️ your Veggie Cakes. Have made them several times and always on point !!! I have a suggestion for the people who are having issues with the Cakes falling apart: if you use 1/4 measuring cup to form your cakes their really shouldn’t be an issue. I have done this since day 1 of making these wonderful Veggie Cakes and don’t not make any adjustments. I do bake them in the oven.

    1. Thank you so much! I really appreciate the lovely comment and that’s a great tip for baking the veggie cakes! <3

    1. Hi Cari! I freeze them fully cooked, then reheat in the oven or on top of the stove to crisp them up a bit. You can reheat in the microwave, but they won’t be crispy.

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