When I’m looking for an easy side dish, or meatless main dish, to serve with dinner, Tex Mex Rice Cakes are perfect. I always have these ingredients on hand so they come together quickly and the kids love foods they can pick up with their hands and dip into salsa, ketchup, or guacamole.

Tex Mex Rice Cakes recipe from weelicious.comPin

Hand a kid something they can eat with their little paws and you have an instant winner! Not only are these Tex Mex Rice Cakes easy to make with leftover brown rice, a great choice for vegetarians, but also great for toddlers! For this Rewind Wednesday I’m digging into the Weelicious archives to share a classic that’s just as popular with our family today as it was the first time we made it years ago.

Tex Mex Rice Cakes recipe from weelicious.comPin

Our family loves eating brown rice, so I always try to keep a big bowl of it in the refrigerator. It’s a nutritious, healthy and versatile base for so many dishes. On nights when I’m stumped as to what to make for dinner, I make these Tex-Mex Rice Cakes. Since I always have the rest of the ingredients on hand, it only takes me minutes to prepare. The best part is that I can make a few extra for Kenya’s school lunch the next day. I just pop a couple in his Lap Top Lunch Box and we’re both happy!

Tex Mex Rice Cakes recipe from weelicious.comPin

Watch this Tex Mex Rice Cakes video for how to make this simple yet tasty dish to add to your favorite dinners. Leftovers are great for packing in school lunch, or freezing for another day, too!

Tex Mex Rice Cakes recipe from weelicious.comPin

Tex Mex Rice Cakes

4 from 1 vote
Author: Catherine McCord
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 8 minutes
Total Time 18 minutes

Ingredients  

  • 1 cup cooked brown rice
  • 1/2 cup whole wheat bread crumbs
  • 1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese
  • 3/4 cup corn kernels
  • 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 tablespoons vegetable or canola oil for cooking

Instructions 

  • In a bowl, mix together the rice, bread crumbs, cheese, corn, cilantro and salt.
  • In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs, then add to the rice mixture and mix to combine well.
  • Measure 1/4 cup mixture at a time and shape into patties.
  • Heat a thin layer of oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the patties and cook for 2 minutes on each side, until golden brown.
  • To Freeze: Prepare the recipe through Step 3, place the patties in a single layer on a tray and freeze for 30 minutes, or until frozen through. Transfer to a zip top bag or other freezer safe container for up to 4 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge and follow the recipe directions starting with Step 4.

Nutrition

Calories: 70kcal | Carbohydrates: 7g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 5mg | Sodium: 135mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g
Did you make this recipe?Mention @Weelicious or tag #weelicious!

About the Author

Catherine is a mama of three. A Kentucky girl living in California. Here’s what I know: all kids can be great eaters and mealtime must be easy. I create simple, healthy recipes the whole family will love.

Comments

  1. Yes you can freeze them after cooking! Defrost overnight in the fridge, then rewarm in the oven or microwave before serving!

  2. can you prepare all steps cool and freeze. using this recipe for a toddler going to school. so I wanted to know if it could be cooked frozen then warmed up for lunch????

  3. So great to hear these were a hit! I hope your dinners with your son get easier and easier! Just keep offering foods and he’ll get there!

  4. I have hit the wall with my 18-month-old and dinner. Trying for months to get him to eat anything other than chicken nuggets and cream cheese. I can’t tell you how many ‘toddler friendly’ means I’ve made in the past month that have been met with shouts of ‘No!’ and being thrown violently on the floor. I was making this and I just kept thinking, “Why am I making this? My kid hates rice. He’s not going to eat this, there’s no way.”

    And then he ate it. He ate like, a lot of it. My husband and I were competely speechless. I never comment on the web, but I needed to say thank you, because I see lots of variations of this in our future!

  5. My little guy loves these! I sub browned ground chicken for the corn since he doesn’t care for corn and add any diced veggies that are in the fridge. Thanks for this idea!!! He gets meat, rice and veggies all in one (or two or three) patties.

  6. The egg helps everything stick together. I haven’t tested it in this recipe, but I have had success with the “flax egg” in the past. Mix 1 tablespoons ground flaxseeds with 3 tablespoons water. Let me know if you try it!

  7. My 2 year old ate 2 as a snack, before dinner! They are cheesy and chewy, very good 🙂

  8. Love that these can be easily converted to a gluten free recipe! I just homemade gluten free breadcrumbs in place of the whole wheat and my kids loved them! Will definitely be making these again!

  9. My son and I both loved these rice cakes. I did not have brown rice but I made them with white. I think brown rice makes them more ‘chewy’ and would probably be perfect for my teething toddler. I love that this recipe is so versatile. I did not have corn. I used a few chopped onions and red peppers instead. I’m gonna try them again with corn and arborio rice.

  10. Am I supposed to cook them before freezing them or freeze them first and wait to cook them until I need them?

  11. This was so tasty! I don’t have a very stocked kitchen but this was the perfect recipe for what I had. I spiced it up a bit by using mixed vegetables and adding cumin, chili powder, and dried minced onion. Serving it with sour cream was an excellent final touch. I am definitely bringing some in to work for lunch tomorrow! Thanks for the great idea!

  12. I have a silly question: if I want to freeze the rice cakes, should I freeze them before heating them? Or should I heat them first and then freeze them and then heat them again when I want to use them? Thanks so much!

  13. I could kill for a plate of brownies right now maybe I will go see if I have coco. This week we are etiang a little less meat and more veggies including PIZZA!

  14. Super easy and tasty! Made it with my leftover organic short grain brown rice. Added 1/2 c black beans, pinch of hungarian paprika and garlic powder. Turned out perfect. Thank you Catherine!

  15. These are so good! I used a tsp of dried sage and a tsp of cayenne pepper in place of the cilantro. I was out of brown rice, so I used white. Very tasty and extra yummy with a little chunky salsa on top.

  16. I just made these and instead of 1 cup of brown rice I used 1 cup of quinoa (out of curiosity) and they were sooooo delicious! I also added onion which gave it another layer of flavor, I’d highly suggest everyone try adding onion in it was so worth it.

  17. I had a tough time forming these into patties. The mixture was just too wet. So I baked them in a mini muffin tin and they were still delicious.

  18. these look delicious! what can i use instead of cheddar cheese? can i leave it out or use just mozerella shredded cheese?

  19. This recipe was amazing!!! Made it with my super picky daughter last night, with the addition of some peas, and she ate up two big patties.

    Thank you for all the great recipes! This is probably the 15th recipe I’ve tried and they are all perfect for a busy, health conscious family.

  20. This may be a silly question but is it one cup of rice that is cooked.. or cook 1 cup of rice? lol

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  23. OMG…I am in heaven!!! I just got started into cooking last week and I added onion, green peppers, ground chicken and black beans. WOW! Tasted like something from Chipotle. I loved it!!!!!!! Thank you for all of your recipes. YUM!!! My twin 3 year old girls loved them too!

  24. I can’t seem to find Whole Wheat Bread Crumbs in a store… I tried to make my own, but came out very hard even after being in food processor for a while, not crunchy at all.. Is there some specific bread I should use?

  25. These were uber tasty and so easy to make! I followed this recipe to a T, and I should note that the cakes can come apart easily. To help with forming the patties, I used my 1/4 c. measuring cup and popped it into the pan to cook. I pressed the patty gently w/ the back of my spatula and that seemed to help keep it from falling apart.

  26. Yum! I made these with a few changes–I used half oatmeal, half flour for the breadcrumbs and added green peppers, onions and garlic powder. They were delicious! I was hoping for leftovers, but every single one is gone!

  27. My two year old is chowing these down right now, I’m so excited!! I’m always looking for more lunch and dinner options for my picky eaters, so glad I tried these.

  28. i’ve been making these with leftover quinoa in place of the rice and they are unbelievable!

  29. I was just wondering what I could use in place of eggs, since 1 of my kids is allergic. Then I read Melissa’s post. I will try this with the flax seeds. Thank you Catherine and Melissa.

  30. I couldn’t believe it when my 20-month-old twins gobbled these up — they are usually super wary of anything new. I realized halfway through the recipe that we were out of eggs, so I used ground flax seeds soaked in water (2 TB flax, 6 TB water) and it worked great!

  31. I used half oatmeal, half flour in mine and they turned out great. I would think you could try half oatmeal, half gluten-free flour in place of the breadcrumbs.

  32. Making these tonight to go with the Weelicious crockpot BBQ chicken, which smells so good! I’m going to add some sauteed onion and red bell pepper to the patties…yum!

  33. i kept my hands moist while forming the balls to patties. It helped to keep them together also!

  34. These are so delicious! I just made them and my daughter loves them. I added some edamame just because I had it and it is so good!

  35. […] one of my favorite recipes sites for the little one is Weelicious. These Tex-Mex Rice Cakes are […]

  36. I agree with Lorrie. I washed my hands in between each one. I don’t have brown rice, unfortunately, but white worked just fine. My 6 and 1 year old LOVED them, and so did I!

  37. I made these this past weekend. They actually turned out really well (just like your pic) but they got really soggy after a awhile – what did I do wrong?!

  38. i made these for my extremely picky one year old and he LOVED them-i was completely shocked and so excited that he was eating something other than cheerios and crackers!

  39. I have never tried it but you would have to freeze them before you cook them and then allow to thaw and then pan sear them.

  40. I’ve made these a few times and they are unbelievably easy and delicious! Just made them last night for as an appetizer for a party (adults!) and everyone wanted the recipe.

  41. I added finely chopped chicken, green peppers, and a radish (just because I had it and needed to use it), and it turned out very well! They stuck together better once the bread had time to absorb the egg. I love all in one meals. Good idea 🙂

  42. I also had trouble getting patties to stay together. The thing that worked best for me was to just drop a lump of it into the pan and then press it into shape with a spatula, rather than trying to form them with my hands.

  43. You have to make sure you incorporate all your ingredients well. Did you use a small egg? I used a large regular size egg and it worked well. If your eggs are too small then just put in 2 eggs. The eggs really help in binding the ingredients and when you are shaping them, make sure you really shape them tightly.

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