These Quinoa Breakfast Muffins are the perfect make ahead breakfast recipe! Gluten-free, vegan, and refined sugar free, this is a muffin you can feel good about.
em>I'm really happy to have Ricki Heller from RickiHeller.com. I've been following Ricki's work for over a year now, and know you will enjoy her inventive allergy friendly recipes as much as I do!
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Hi Everyone!
I’m thrilled for Wendy and her whole family as they welcome their daughter to the family, and happy to be standing in today on Cooking Quinoa.
When Wendy asked if I’d contribute a guest post while she tends to her new little one, it was a no brainer for me. I love all things quinoa, so of course I jumped right on it!
Another thing I love is breakfast. It is, hands down, my favorite meal (and I don’t let little details like the time of day get in the way of my enjoyment; breakfast in the afternoon, or breakfast in the evening—they’re all just fine by me, too).
For years, I attempted to perfect a breakfast muffin that contained whole cooked grains, but I found it virtually impossible to attain a perfect texture that way. Somehow, even though they tasted great, my quinoa-filled muffins always came out too moist. While my two dogs were thrilled at the results (they got lots of extra tidbits in their dinner bowls for a few weeks), eventually I just gave up and put the project to rest.
Well, about a year ago, I began to experiment with psyllium in my baked goods—and everything changed! Have you tried psyllium? It’s a seed with properties similar to flax or chia, and is used as a binder for gluten-free baked goods. Yet psyllium holds them together so much better once baked. I tried these muffins again with psyllium as the binder, and was totally delighted to see how well they came out! Moist, yes, but not wet; firm and solid, but with a delicate crumb that you expect from a morning muffin. And they’re infused with fragrant spices and subtly sweet apple, too. Yum!
I hope you give these a try. They’re great slathered with almond butter or jam, and work well wrapped and packed into a lunch or for an on-the-go snack. And the combination of apple, quinoa, and cardamonm works spectacularly well here.
Thanks, Wendy, and I can’t wait to “meet” your new little one!
Quinoa Breakfast Muffins
Apple Quinoa Breakfast Muffins
Ingredients
- 2 whole medium sweet apples cored and grated, with or without skin (about 2 cups UNpacked grated apple)
- ⅔ cup coconut sugar or use brown sugar
- ⅓ cup sunflower oil or other light-tasting
- 2 cups cooked quinoa
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 2 tsp apple cider vinegar
- ¼ cup coarsely chopped pecans
- ¼ cup raisins or goji berries
- 1 Tbsp ground flax seeds
- ¼ cup unsweetened almond milk or milk of choice
- 1 cup Ricki’s All Purpose Gluten-Free Flour Mix or other all purpose GF flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ⅛ tsp fine sea salt
- 1 tsp Chinese 5-Spice Powder or use cinnamon
- 1 Tbsp whole psyllium husks
- ½ cup gluten-free rolled oats not instant or quick-cook
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F. Line 10 muffin tins with paper or silicone liners, or spray with nonstick spray.
- In a large bowl, stir together the apples, coconut sugar, oil, quinoa, vanilla, apple cider vinegar, pecans, raisins and flax seeds to allow the coconut sugar to begin to dissolve.
- Sift the all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and 5-Spice powder over the wet mixture. Add the psyllium husks and oats and stir everything just to combine.
- Using a large ice cream scoop or ⅓ cup measuring cup, heap the mixture into the muffin cups, filling them quite full (they will not rise any more while baking, so make the tops as high as you can). The mixture may seem as if it’s not sticking together enough, but don’t worry; it will become more cohesive as it bakes.
- Bake in preheated oven for 35-40 minutes, rotating the pans about halfway through baking, until a tester inserted in a center muffin comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing to a cooling rack. Allow to cool completely before eating (the muffins will be more fragile while warm, but will hold together fine once cool). Makes 10 muffins. May be frozen.
Notes
Nutrition
Ricki is the author of the popular food blog, RickiHeller.com, where she provides gluten-free, egg-free, dairy-free, refined sugar-free recipes; tips and ideas for living a low glycemic (anti-candida) lifestyle; and occasional contributions from her two lab-border collie cross dogs. Her new cookbook, Naturally Sweet & Gluten-Free: Allergy-Friendly Vegan Desserts: 100 Recipes Without Gluten, Dairy, Eggs, or Refined Sugar
, will be released this October.
Shannon Graham
Oh I can already smell these!