I know, I know. You probably read the title and thought to yourself there is no way quinoa can be a tasty breakfast. But hear me out. Quinoa, although a great grain to use as a dinner side, can also hold its own as a sweeter breakfast meal. I actually originally made this recipe so that vegan friends who were visiting for the weekend had a breakfast option. (Vegans have a tough time when it comes to breakfast! Oatmeal, quinoa, fruit. I think that’s about it…) Anyways, I wasn’t expecting much. But it was so tasty I made a batch for my breakfasts all week. That’s right, it even reheats nicely!
I found this recipe on Budget Bytes and made some minor changes. Check out her original recipe here.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup quinoa
- 1 1/2 cups apple cider
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon allspice
- 1 medium apple (I used Fuji)
- 1/2 cup dried fruit/nut mixture
Quinoa should be rinsed before cooking. A mesh wire sieve would be best because quinoa is pretty small. If you don’t have a mesh sieve, you can kind of slosh it carefully around in a bowl. You want to run water over the quinoa in the sieve for a good 1-2 minutes.
Add the washed quinoa, apple cider, salt, cinnamon, and allspice to a medium pot.
Bring to a boil. Allow to simmer for 15 minutes.
Remove from heat, cover, and let stand for 10 minutes.
While waiting, chop your apple and measure out your nut/dried fruit mixture. Fluff the quinoa with a fork and add the chopped apple and nut/dried fruit mixture. Stir to combine and serve.
The texture of quinoa is actually really nice in a breakfast dish. The apple cider adds a nice sweetness and I loved the salty and sweet bites of nuts and dried fruit.
You can eat this immediately, or allow it to cool and refrigerate it the night before. When ready to eat, just heat it up and stir. I also like mine with a little bit of vanilla almond milk 🙂
- 1 cup quinoa
- 1 1/2 cups apple cider
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon allspice
- 1 medium apple (I used Fuji)
- 1/2 cup dried fruit/nut mixture
- Quinoa should be rinsed before cooking. A mesh wire sieve would be best because quinoa is pretty small. If you don’t have a mesh sieve, you can kind of slosh it carefully around in a bowl. You want to run water over the quinoa in the sieve for a good 1-2 minutes.
- Add the washed quinoa, apple cider, salt, cinnamon, and allspice to a medium pot.
- Bring to a boil. Allow to simmer for 15 minutes.
- Remove from heat, cover, and let stand for 10 minutes.
- While waiting, chop your apple and measure out your nut/dried fruit mixture.
- Fluff the quinoa with a fork and add the chopped apple and nut/dried fruit mixture.
- Stir to combine and serve.
As the “vegan friend” this recipe was originally made for I’ve got to give it 5 enthusiastic stars! I’d never had quinoa for breakfast before, so it was a treat to learn about a new (and nice and easy) vegan breakfast food to get me away from my typical breakfasts of English muffins, rice cakes, oatmeal, and soy yogurt! There was a nice sweetness that wasn’t overpowering and nuts and apples gave a satisfying crunch. I’ll be happy to visit and force you to cook another awesome vegan meal any time!
This just made my WEEK 🙂 I’d be happy to vegan it up any time with you!