The sweeter side of QUINOA

We've shared a few savory quinoa dishes on our blog to date - such as Southwestern Quinoa Patties, Red Quinoa & Black Bean Salad, and Meatless Meatballs. I personally love that all three are very different in taste, texture, and appearance.  But did you know that quinoa also has a sweet side?  

I found a recipe for a banana quinoa breakfast bake that looked appealing and sounded easy to make.  I didn't have the ramekins it called for, so I made them into muffins.  Wow.  These muffins are unbelievably moist, super hearty, and have all the benefits of quinoa while being sweetened with fruit.  I call these my Anytime muffins because they're great for breakfast, as a snack, or even as dessert!  

Make a batch of 12 and try 'em out!  We love them served warm and smeared with peanut butter (or jelly), or at room temp as a snack in the car.  

Adapted from Cooking Quinoa: 

Quinoa (Anytime) Muffins

3/4 cup whole wheat flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
Pinch of salt
Pinch of baking soda
1 cup cooked quinoa, cooled
1 cup banana, mashed 
1/2 cup applesauce
1/3 cup non-dairy milk
2 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 355 degrees.  Grab a 12-cup muffin pan and line with paper cups or coat with non-stick spray (not necessary with silicone pan).

In a large bowl, combine your dry ingredients: flour, powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, baking soda, and quinoa.

In a smaller bowl, combine the wet ingredients: banana, applesauce, almond milk, and vanilla.  

Add wet to dry and stir to combine.

Using a medium/large ice cream scoop, fill muffins approximately 3/4" high.

Bake for 20-25 minutes until slightly golden.  

Allow to sit and cool for 15 minutes to set.  The outside will be firm to the touch, while the inside will be soft and chewy.  

Notes:

• 1 cup cooked quinoa is approximately 1/4 cup dry.  I often take 1 cup dry and make a big batch of quinoa to use in various ways, such as tossed in a salad, added to oatmeal, or for these muffins.  Simply store cooked quinoa in the fridge for up to a week.
• These can be made gluten free by swapping the flour with gluten free flour
• 1 cup mashed banana is approximately 2 large bananas.  Use ripe bananas - they're sweeter!
• These have a natural sweetness from the banana and applesauce, but you can certainly incorporate a little honey or maple syrup into the wet ingredients if you like a sweeter muffin.
• For my last batch, I actually used 1/2 cup of canned pumpkin in place of the applesauce because I ran out.  It needed to bake for an additional 7-10 minutes, but the result was a beautiful auburn color with a hint of pumpkin taste. 
• And these muffins don't crumble!  Great for car snacking or when the peeps can't sit still to eat. 
• Store these muffins in the fridge for up to a week.  They are also freezer friendly.