Baby Chard and Brown Rice Fritters

The weekend if finally here.  I’m so ready for it.  This week has been non-stop running around, working, and all that other stuff we all have to take care of each week.  I put my garden in on Monday.  Finally.  I bought the seedlings for myself as a Mother’s Day present.  I took Monday off from working so I could pull out the massive amounts of overgrown weeds and last year’s plants I never pulled out…yeah.  It would have been much easier to do that last Fall.  But I dug out the my four kale plants–the roots were approximately 18-inches under ground and about 4-inches in diameter.  No joke.  Oh, I could go on and on about how good I am at planting and weeding and how when it turns cold out, I run out of steam and neglect the garden until Spring.  In any case, I’m feeling good about my garden and my lovely container garden.  And I feel even better about my new favorite quick meal, Baby Chard and Brown Rice Fritters.  Make that quick, healthy meal.

I know these pictures aren’t the greatest.  They’re a bit blurry and they don’t show how every bite is loaded with healthy chard and brown rice.  Or how there’s just enough fresh garlic and salt.  And they don’t show one of my favorite ways to eat them–with homemade marinara sauce.  These are nothing more the humble, unassuming, unattractive rice fritters that taste great hot out of the cast iron skillet when they burn your finger tips and the roof of your mouth.  (But you just can’t resist)  They taste great at room temperature as you’re running out the door to run errands.

Confession:  I’ve made double batches of these just so I can eat them for dinner that night, breakfast and lunch the next day.

That’s how good these ugly duckling brown rice fritters are.  So, you should make them.  You should make them soon.  You might even make extra rice just so you have an excuse to make them.   Because you’ll love them and your kids might even gobble them right up and ask for seconds like mine did.  (And try not to be offended when your youngest asks to eat them with ketchup.  She eats everything with ketchup right now.)

Sometimes when I make plain rice fritters (pre-chard, that is) I would add shredded cheese because that’s how my kids love them best.  You can totally do that too!  I just left it out of this recipe.  Add about 1/2 cup of your favorite shredded cheese–mozzarella, parmesan, Swiss, asiago, or whatever you’ve got will be great.

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Baby Chard and Brown Rice Fritters

A great way to use up leftover rice and eat your leafy greens at the same time. Eat them as a snack, side, or main dish.

  • Total Time: 30 mins
  • Yield: 10 1x

Ingredients

Units Scale
  • 2 cups chopped baby chard (kale would be great too)
  • 2 cups cooked brown rice, cold or at room temperature
  • 1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes, diced (optional)
  • 1/4 cup fresh herbs, chopped (oregano, parsley, and basil)
  • 2 cloves fresh garlic, finely minced
  • 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon sea salt (use more if the rice wasn’t salted)
  • 56 large eggs, beaten
  • olive oil, for frying

Instructions

  1. Mix chard, brown rice, sun-dried tomatoes, herbs, garlic and salt together in a large bowl. Stir in the eggs, adding the extra egg if needed so the mixture isn’t too dry.
  2. Heat a large, 12-inch non-stick or cast iron skillet over medium high heat. Add enough olive oil to coat the bottom. Spoon out three or four 1/2 cup scoops of the mixture and flatten slightly. (I used a 4-ounce ice cream scoop for this and it was perfect.) Let the fritters cook for 3 minutes on the first side, or until golden brown and cooked around the edges. Flip and cook an additional 3-4 minutes on the second side. Repeat with the rest of the fritter batter. Keep warm until ready to serve.
  3. Serve warm or at room temperature.
  • Author: Lindsey Johnson
  • Prep Time: 20 mins
  • Cook Time: 10 mins
  • Category: Side, main
  • Cuisine: American

 

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136 Comments

  1. This is the second of your recipes that I have made (the first being cilantro citrus chicken) and both were easy to make, healthy, and delicious! I’m trying to eat more vegetarian meals, as well as clean eating, and I’m so glad I stumbled on your blog! Please keep the recipes coming, I’m going through your archives to see what I can make next :)

    1. Hi Xenia! You could try using ground chia or flax seeds mixed with water – 1 Tbsp. ground seeds plus 3 Tbsp. water, let sit for a few minutes to form a gel, then mix together. You could also try using some flour (GF or regular) and adding some water to form almost a “batter.” I have added a bit of flour into my fritters before, but it was with eggs too, so I’m not 100% sure that will work. If you can find a good egg replacer, like Ener-G, you could probably use that too. Let me know how it goes!

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