This recipe is a perfect example of a disaster turned success. I was making stir fry for a group of friends when the first batch of rice I made came out super sticky, which isn’t great for stir fry. So I made another batch and again, sticky. That’s why I realized I was using SUSHI RICE for the stir fry. Yup, even veteran cooks have their stupid moments sometimes. I ended up making a batch of regular rice, but I was stuck with about 4 cups of uber sticky sushi rice. Well, after eating some I still had a bunch left, so I decided to see if I could make some kind of rice cake dish out of the remaining sushi rice. So I did, and..it came out great, on the first try, too!

These vegan rice cakes are perfect as a side dish, to eat with a big green salad, some beans, or to have as a snack or appetizer! They are sooo simple to make, and are very versatile, as you can add different ingredients in to the mix. The sushi rice was a perfect staple for the rice cakes, as they stuck together perfectly, even when crammed with a bunch of zucchini and onions!

So…let us begin!

Makes 8 rice cakes

You will need:

• 2 cups cooked sushi rice (make sure it’s sushi rice, as you want it to be sticky!)
• 1 1/2 cups grated zucchini
• 1/2 cup thinly diced onion
• 1 chia egg (1 tablespoon chia seeds with 3 tablespoons water)
• 2 tablespoons coconut oil
• 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
• 1 tsp turmeric
• salt and pepper to taste

Step 1: 

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Prepare your chia egg in a cup, and set aside to thicken

If your rice isn’t cooked, cook according to the package instructions and set aside to cool a bit. Remember that 1 cup raw rice usually comes to about 2-3 cups cooked rice, as most rice can triple in size.

Once the rice is cooked, add to a large mixing bowl. Grate the zucchini, dice up the onion into small pieces, and add to the rice bowl, along with the rest of the ingredients. Mix together thoroughly, making sure to get rid of any rice clumps in the bowl.

Step 2:

Line a baking tray with parchment paper or foil, grease your hands, and then start forming the rice cakes. You can make them small or large. I formed rice cakes out of a whole handful of the rice mixture! Once your cakes are formed, put them on your baking tray to put in the oven:

Step 3:

Bake your rice cakes for 25-30 minutes, depending on how crispy you want them. I personally LOVE crispy rice, so I baked them for 25 minutes, then turned on my broiler and broiled them for another 10. Keep in mind that all broilers are different, so if you you want to broil your cakes too, be sure to keep an eye on them or they can burn easily.

Once the cakes are cooked, they will start to look golden brown…or golden yellow/orange, actually, because if you added turmeric in them they will take on a slight yellow/orange color.

And that’s it! Your cakes are ready for eating! Serve as a snack with some fresh tomatoes like I did, or you can eat them as a side with a big green salad, or pour some beans over them for a juicy, saucy meal!

These rice cakes are so simple and so tasty! I fed them to all my carnivorous friends and they ate them up, didn’t even question if they were vegan or not! The cakes can be made salt and oil-free too, you can omit the salt altogether, and substitute the coconut oil for an extra chia egg, they’re that healthy and versatile!

Enjoy!