I tried quinoa for the first time almost three years ago, and it quickly became a staple in my house. I love making a large portion of it on Sundays to use it throughout the week either mixed in meals or as a side dish. I’ve cooked and seasoned it many different ways, and I’m constantly experimenting with it coming up with new recipes.
Why Quinoa is a super food: Quinoa is a seed that’s jam packed with protein. It’s rich in soluble and insoluble dietary fiber, calcium, potassium, iron, copper, manganese, and magnesium, B-complex vitamins, folate, vitamin A and a boatload of antioxidants including lutein, carotene and crypto-xanthin making it an incredibly nutritious and hearty food choice.
I’ve often wondered about cooking Quinoa in the crock pot, and better yet, turning it into breakfast. I love oatmeal, but sometimes a girl just needs to switch it up a bit. So, I decided to take a recipe that I’ve used for oatmeal, alter a bit and instead of using steal cut oats, use quinoa instead.
Here is my recipe for Crock Pot Breakfast Quinoa
- • 1 cup uncooked quinoa
- • 3 cups milk (I used unsweetened almond milk)
- • 2 green apple peeled and diced
- • 1/2 cup of golden raisins
- • 2 tsp cinnamon
- • 1 tsp ginger
- • 1 tsp cloves
- • 2 tbsp pure vanilla extract
- • Coconut oil spray
- • 1 tsp of Maple Syrup (optional)
- Spray your crock pot with coconut oil.
- Throw all ingredients in (except maple syrup) and stir until well mixed.
- Cook on low overnight for 6 hours and wake up with breakfast ready for you and the family. I find cooking it much longer than 6 hours in my crock pot is too much.
- Let cool for about 30 minutes before serving and add 1 tsp of maple syrup or honey per serving.
- If you don’t want to cook it overnight, you can cook it on high for about 2-3 hours.
I love waking up to the fall-like aromas of cinnamon, apple and vanilla slow cooking in the crock pot. On most mornings, a breakfast that’s already cooked and ready to be eaten is a huge life saver, especially being a busy mom. This came out absolutely delicious, and even my husband who was very skeptical when I told him what I was making, loves it. If you try it, I hope you enjoy it just as much as we did, and feel free to let me know what you think.
Here’s to a happy and healthy week ahead 🙂
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