I just returned from Los Angeles and truly wished this Breakfast Quinoa was waiting for me on a counter this morning. I made this recipe and took pictures last week and am making again tonight. I had to send kids to school/daycare with emergency Costco’s cheese pizza and at least all organic packaged snacks and baby food pouches I brought from attending the ShiftCon. I’m staring at these photos and they are very refreshing compared to the collagen diluted in water and protein shakes I have consumed today. Grocery store attack is happening tonight. I hope my washer is also ready to what it is about to see and smell.
Anyways…I have tried to make sweet breakfast quinoa before without much success. It is SO nice to have something different rather than oatmeal, muffin or yogurt + granola for breakfast (I’m not a huge fan of eggs). Especially, if this warm breakfast is waiting for you on a countertop in the morning. Yes, you can turn it on at 10PM and it won’t burn by 6AM (I think 7AM is safe too considering you have a smoke alarm). If you have programmable small slow cooker – good for you (do they exist?!). If you are like me, I use a good old timer and a very simple tiny slow cooker from Walmart, like this one.
The way I made breakfast quinoa this time was fantastic!!! Before I have made it simply with almond milk and didn’t give quinoa a rinse. Nah, wasn’t good. You gotta give quinoa a good rinse to remove saponins – coating that makes quinoa bitter. Then my neighbour told me about quinoa porridge she had at one of the restaurants on Vancouver Island (which is very famous for farm to table, non-GMO and organic food) and hers had coconut milk and brown sugar. I used canned coconut milk which adds a lot of flavour and creaminess, and raw local honey instead of brown sugar.
This breakfast quinoa was filling – just the way breakfast should be! All of the fruit toppings, except bananas, were frozen. I can’t afford to buy fresh off-season organic berries but I can afford a kitchen remodel. OK, let’s just say everyone has their own priorities.:) Any nuts go well: walnuts, pecans, pistachios, almonds etc. We drizzled honey and added milk to the bowl. The idea is to cook breakfast quinoa in a slow cooker and add toppings in a bowl. You could even make ready-to-go containers for up to a few days. Kids ate my quinoa porridge! I added vanilla and cinnamon on top of mine too.
More Healthy Breakfast Recipes to Try
- Instant Pot steel cut oats – mind blowing how you don’t have to watch your oatmeal any more.
- Overnight oatmeal – perfect for meal prep and summer.
- Healthy brown rice pudding with creamy yogurt and lots of fresh or frozen berries.
- Also check out my other 35 healthy breakfast ideas.
Enjoy and please stop eating doughnuts and Starbucks muffins for breakfast (you know who you are). 🙂
Slow Cooker Breakfast Quinoa
Ingredients
- 1 cup quinoa uncooked
- 2 cups water
- 1 cup canned coconut milk full fat
- 2 tbsp maple syrup or raw honey
- 1/4 tsp salt
- Splash of any milk optional
- Toppings of choice like nuts berries, fruit, honey, vanilla extract, cinnamon
Instructions
- Place quinoa in a fine mesh colander and rinse very well under cold running water, for about a minute.
- Add rinsed quinoa, water, coconut milk, maple syrup and salt to a small slow cooker and cover with a lid. Cook on Low for 8 hours. Serve hot with a splash of milk and toppings of choice.
Store: Refrigerate in a glass airtight container for up to 5 days.
Recipes and images are a copyright of ifoodreal.com
Hello! I was wondering if you can use regular whole milk or almond milk?
Probably almond but not regular milk as it will burn. Use about 2 cups.
Looks great, but I don’t have a slow cooker, can I just make this on the stove top like regular quinoa?
Yes, of course.
Im looking forward to trying this for breakfast tomorrow. I am allrgic to egges and have to find other options for a good protein healthy breakfast.
Enjoy.:) This would be good for me this week too, getting tired of oats now.
Hi! Thanks for the recipe! I had doubled mine and it was creamy within 4hrs in the crock pot. This is what I had from Aldi. Still turned out great. Prefroze in 2cup portions. I liked it with sugar, banana, chocolate. Also cherry, vanilla, sugar, almonds. Last combo was leftover apple pie filling. Definitely a keeper!!! Great change up from Cream of Wheat!!
Oops picture wont load. I had bought Super Grains organic from Aldi. A blend of buckwheat, millet, quinoa. Totally awesome!!!?
Hi Susan. There is no option to add an image but I know the blend you are talking about. I love it! I love blended grains and seeds. Enjoy!
I made this last night on a whim, and even with seriously OLD quinoa, it was delicious! I only had low-fat coconut milk, but I used 2 cups of that and 1 cup of water. Add cinnamon and a banana, and YUM!
Thank you for posting! I can’t wait to make it again using different ingredients!
Can quinoa get old? I don’t think anything happens to it like ever haha.
very nice tahnx olena
Very nice. Will try this with millet.
Oh, I grew up eating millet for breakfast. Should work just like quinoa. We also had buckwheat with milk, sugar and butter often. Not thick but rather runny.
Quinoa for breakfast and sweet? Really cool! Thanks for the recipe 🙂 Pinned!
Thank you, Rami!
Very nice thank you olena
You are welcome! Did you make it yet?
I’ve never had quinoa as a sweet recipe, but this makes me wanna try it! Beautiful photos!
Awe, thank you! Funny I always feel like my photos should and could better!!!
I agree, it is so nice having something other than oats or eggs for breakfast! I LOVE breakfast but at the same time it can get so repetitive. This looks absolutely delicious!!!
Breakfasts are hard. Healthy breakfasts, I mean. You gotta plan in advance otherwise I will end up eating toast. And I try not to eat bread much which is going well by making breakfasts like this quinoa. I pack lunches in the morning too and they are usually big hot lunches, so to make breakfast on top is overwhelming. So, I try to plan my breakfasts ahead. Thanks for stopping by.