Peruvian Quinoa Pancakes with Herbed Yogurt

About This Recipe

These pancakes draw on tortitas de quinua, a common Peruvian home dish that turns cooked quinoa into small savory patties bound with egg and cheese, pan-fried until the outside crisps while the inside stays tender. Quinoa has been a staple grain in the Andes for thousands of years, and using it in a pancake format rather than as a simple side is a familiar way Peruvian households stretch it into a fuller dish. Corn kernels folded into the batter add sweetness and texture, a nod to Peru's many native corn varieties, while queso fresco binds everything together and adds a mild, milky tang. Yogurt isn't a classical Peruvian pairing, but this recipe leans into it as a cooling, tangy counterpoint, blended with huacatay (Peruvian black mint) when available, or regular mint and cilantro as a substitute, giving the sauce a distinctly Andean herbal note. Pan-fried in a thin layer of oil until deeply golden on both sides, these make a satisfying savory breakfast or light lunch, especially served with a wedge of lime.

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 1.5 cupscooked quinoa(cooled)
• 2 largeeggs
• 0.5 cupcorn kernels(fresh or thawed frozen)
• 0.75 cupqueso fresco(crumbled)
• 3 tbspall-purpose flour
• 2scallions(finely chopped)
• 1 tspground cumin
• 0.5 tspfine sea salt
• 0.25 tspblack pepper
• 3 tbspvegetable oil(for frying)
• 0.75 cupplain yogurt
• 2 tbspfresh mint(chopped)
• 2 tbspfresh cilantro(chopped)
• 1 tbsplime juice
• 1lime(cut into wedges, for serving)

Instructions

1. 1

   Mix the batter

   Combine cooked quinoa, eggs, corn, queso fresco, flour, scallions, cumin, salt and pepper in a bowl. Mix until evenly combined; the batter should hold together when pressed.

2. 2

   Make the herbed yogurt

   Stir yogurt, mint, cilantro and lime juice together. Season with a pinch of salt and refrigerate until ready to serve.

3. 3

   Shape the pancakes

   Scoop about 1/4 cup of batter per pancake and flatten gently into a patty about 1cm thick.

4. 4

   Pan-fry

   Heat oil in a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Fry pancakes 3-4 minutes per side until deeply golden and crisp on the outside.

   Press down very gently once with the spatula after flipping — too much pressure squeezes out moisture and can make the pancakes fall apart.

5. 5

   Serve

   Serve warm, topped with the herbed yogurt sauce and lime wedges on the side.

Variations

• •

  Add finely diced red bell pepper to the batter for extra color and sweetness.

• •

  Swap queso fresco for feta if queso fresco isn't available — the tang is similar even though the texture differs slightly.

• •

  Make them smaller and serve as an appetizer with the yogurt sauce as a dip.

Storage

Refrigerate cooked pancakes up to 3 days. Reheat in a dry skillet over medium heat to re-crisp; store the yogurt sauce separately and add fresh, since it thins out if stored on top of the warm pancakes.

Frequently Asked Questions