Summary This work evaluated the combined influence of cold plasma pretreatment and germination on phytic acid, GABA, γ‐oryzanol, phenolics, antioxidant activity, in vitro starch digestibility and texture characteristics of brown rice cakes. The contents of GABA, total γ‐oryzanol, total phenolics, total flavonoids, individual phenolic acid, individual flavonoid and antioxidant activity in germinated brown rice cake with cold plasma pretreatment (CGRC) were significantly higher than those in white rice cake (WRC) and brown rice cake (BRC), and the phytic acid content of CGRC was lower than that in BRC. Compared with WRC and BRC, CGRC had the highest content of resistant starch and the lowest starch in vitro digestibility. Additionally, the textural characteristics of CGRC were enhanced with lower hardness and higher elasticity compared to WRC and BRC. The combination of cold plasma pretreatment and germination may be the prospective approach for enhancing the nutritional quality and textural properties of brown rice cakes. The combined effect of cold plasma pretreatment and germination on brown rice cakes.