Breakfast Quinoa with fruit and nuts

Written by Becky

I once heard the quote, “Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like and prince, and dinner like a pauper.” Ever since then, I’ve been using this as a lovely excuse to eat more delectable breakfasts. When cereal used to rule my morning cravings, now I wake up wishing for whole grains with berries, thick sliced of toast with jam, bright green asparagus with hollandaise sauce, or a hearty bran muffin.

Inspired by Joy the Baker’s blog post on quinoa for breakfast, along with a few other articles, like this one from the New York Times, regarding grains for breakfast, I decided to try out some new recipes. I’ve been eating raw oats with sweetened almond milk, quinoa or wheat berries with fruit and milk, and nut toasts with berry yogurt cream.  I hope to share all of the recipes with you soon but for today I’m highlighting a favorite, quinoa.

Strangely enough, quinoa appears more grain-like but is more accurately part of the spinach, beet, and tumbleweed family. It is great for summer salads, stuffed in acorn squash or as a side dish mixed with black beans and corn but quinoa also makes an incredible breakfast food.  The possibilities are pretty endless for what you can add to quinoa for breakfast: dried fruit and nuts, toasted coconut, maple, brown sugar, agave, berries, or even a few pieces of dark chocolate.  Here is the basic recipe, feel free to improvise:

Quinoa Breakfast
inspired by Joy the Baker, 2 servings

INGREDIENTS
1 cup quinoa (red or yellow)
1 3/4 cups water
pinch of salt
handful of nuts or coconut (chopped and toasted)
1/2 to 1 cup fresh fruit (I used mango)
agave or honey to drizzle on top
sweetened almond milk or skim milk

DIRECTIONS
Toast nuts and or coconut at 375 degrees for about 6 minutes.  Place quinoa and water in a medium pot over medium high heat until it starts to boil.  Turn the heat down, then let summer until the water is absorbed- about 15 minutes.

This can be enjoyed hot or cold. Right now I’m loving it cold with chilled milk. To serve, add a splash of milk, drizzle with agave, then top with fresh or dried fruit, nuts and coconut.

If you’d rather someone else be creative for you, here are a few recipes for breakfast quinoa that sounds pretty delicious:

Blackberry Cinnamon Quinoa by 101 Cookbooks
Rhubarb and Quinoa Breakfast Bowl by Mostly Eating
Pomegranate and Pumpkin Quinoa by Sprout and Pean
Orange Cinnamon Walnut Quinoa by Happy Healthy Mama
Quinoa with Wheat Germ and Berries by Judicial Peach
and my favorite recipes thus far: Quinoa with Mango, Almonds and Coconut by Joy the Baker

Also, check out this article in New York Times about eating quinoa for breakfast: King Among Grains.

Comments (11)

  1. I keep reading about using quinoa for breakfast, but have yet to try that. This looks like a great recipe to start with!

  2. YUM!! I love quiona and agree on the hearty breakfasts… i have eaten way less cereal these days (though I'm writing over a bowl this morning).
    can't wait to try some of these recipes!! Love you friend!

  3. I really love quinoa for breakfast, kamut and bulgur also make great grains for breakfast.

  4. I am going to try this! Would LOVE to know where to find the bowl. It is so pretty! Does anyone know the brand/pattern name?

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