Start your day with a bowl of healthy quinoa porridge with fresh fruit and nuts! This is a very easy and quick to make breakfast that will keep you full until lunchtime.
Breakfast Quinoa Porridge Bowl
Quinoa is a very healthy superfood, it’s a seed (not a grain!) that we all need to eat more of. It’s packed with plant-based protein, minerals, and nutrients. So if you’re getting bored of oatmeal for breakfast every morning, then quinoa porridge is a must try!
This porridge is perfect for meal prep, make a large batch and have it in the mornings throughout the week. All you’ll have to do is add milk, and your favorite toppings and you’re good to go!
Enjoy quinoa for lunch or dinner too with my garlic shrimp quinoa recipe.
What is Quinoa
Quinoa is a seed, not a grain that comes in 3 varieties; white, red, and black. It got very popular in the past decade or so and became one of our healthiest pantry items, and has a nutty taste. Quinoa is packed with plant-based protein, iron, magnesium, and fiber, and it’s really easy to cook.
Add it to your buddha bowls, salads, porridge, to replace rice, to make veggie cakes, and more!
I have a full tutorial on how to cook fluffy quinoa every time, so make sure to check it out.
How to Cook Quinoa
Quinoa can be bitter sometimes, and to get rid of the bitterness of the saponin (natural coating), always remember to rinse the quinoa under running water before cooking. Because quinoa seeds are so small, use a fine sieve to rinse it.
The rule of thumb is 1 cup of quinoa needs 1 and half cups of water. So it’s a 1:1.5 ratio, and yields 3 cups of cooked quinoa (about 6 portions).
To a saucepan, add water and bring to a boil. When it starts boiling, add the quinoa and turn down the heat to the lowest setting possible, then leave it to cook covered for 15 minutes.
Remove from heat, and let it rest for 5 more minutes covered. And finally, remove the lid and fluff with a fork!
You can also cook quinoa in the Instant Pot, I have the recipe for you if you prefer to use the pressure cooker instead of cooking it over the stovetop.
How to Make Quinoa Porridge
To make quinoa porridge, combine about half a cup of quinoa with 1 cup or less of milk in a bowl. You can sweeten it with maple syrup or your favorite sweetener, and top with fresh fruit, seeds, and nuts.
I like to keep a container with cooked quinoa in my fridge that I cook on the weekend, to enjoy throughout the week and I often cook quinoa when I do meal prep then use it to make quinoa porridge, add it to salads, buddha bowls, etc.
Frequently Asked Questions
1 cup of quinoa takes 20 minutes to cook from start to finish.
Quinoa has a mild nutty flavor, to get rid of the bitterness always make sure to rinse it before cooking to remove the saponin (natural coating). If you intend to use it in a salad, or as a savory side, then cook it in vegetable stock or broth instead of just water.
Quinoa is not a carb, it’s a seed packed with protein but it’s not low in carb.
Yes, quinoa is gluten-free but make sure that the package says that it’s GF certified and it’s 100% quinoa.
For more healthy breakfast ideas, check out my buckwheat porridge recipe (my favorite breakfast!), creamy cornmeal porridge, and peanut butter granola.
Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest!
Quinoa Porridge Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup cooked quinoa ¼ cup uncooked
- 1 ½ cups (360 ml) almond milk or your favorite milk
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon maple syrup
Toppings
- fresh fruit
- nuts
- seeds
- peanut or almond butter
Instructions
- To make quinoa porridge, combine about half a cup of quinoa with 1 cup or less of milk in a bowl.
- Flavor it with vanilla extract and sweeten it with maple syrup or your favorite sweetener. Top with fresh fruit, seeds, and nuts and serve.
Notes:
- Nutrition values are calculated for a portion sweetened but without any toppings.
Nutrition Information
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.
© Little Sunny Kitchen
Laurie says
I just made this for breakfast. For me, I used 1 cup quinoa and 1 cup milk, and it was way too soupy. Next time, I’ll use 1 cup quinoa and 1/2 cup milk. I also added sliced strawberries, a few chopped walnuts, and stevia to sweeten, along with the recommended vanilla. It’s really good. I’ve made a quinoa breakfast bowl in the past, and used cottage cheese instead of milk. That’s really good, too!
Little Sunny Kitchen says
Thanks, Laurie! I’m glad you enjoyed the review and your substitutions sound great!
Kelsie says
I made this recipe, but I added protein powder and used honey, instead of maple syrup. It turned out amazing with these additions.
Tricia says
Hi Diana-Do you cook the quinoa in the milk? It seems like it would be pretty soupy if you use 1/2 c cooked quinoa to 1 1/2 cup of milk. I tried this and only used about 1/3 c of milk to achieve the porridge consistency. Maybe I did something wrong?
putonyourcakepants says
I’ve never tried having quinoa for breakfast, but this sounds really healthy and yummy! A nice alternative to oatmeal 🙂
Diana Sh says
Quinoa porridge is one of my favourite foods to have for breakfast! I usually either eat oatmeal or quinoa porridge with fresh fruits, honey/maple syrup/agave nectar, nuts and seeds! Give it a try, you will like it 🙂 And thanks for stopping by!
Anonymous says
Tried this and loved it! Thank you 🙂