A quinoa breakfast bowl made with homemade strawberry milk and served with fresh berries and almonds. Easy and delicious too!
For many of us, breakfast is the hardest meal of the day. I mean in reality it's probably one of the easiest meals to physically make, but being creative, different, interesting and flavorful isn't something that usually happens. At least for the majority.
Let me guess. You're just like me and your breakfast looks similar almost every morning.
Maybe it's a smoothie, a bowl of oatmeal, a juice or even some eggs and toast. And if you don't eat the same thing almost every day, I bet you're rotating through a set three or four. And I totally get it; it's hard to push yourself to come up with something new and different when all you're trying to do is get out the door.
Why? Because mornings are stressful and breakfast needs to be fast. You're trying to get your day started as quickly as possible, while still getting something to eat, and it yet seems totally unrealistic to get up half an hour early just to make sure you have enough time for a fabulous breakfast. Which is exactly where this quinoa breakfast bowl comes into the picture!
How to Make Quinoa for Breakfast
In my opinion, quinoa is a great breakfast ingredient. What I love about it is that you can jazz it up for whatever you're in the mood for.
There are three main ways to add quinoa to your breakfast:
- cooked quinoa
- quinoa flakes
- quinoa flour
Today we're using cooked quinoa to act as our “cereal” and then topping it with fresh fruit, almonds, and some homemade strawberry milk. If you're using one of the other two, try my 90-Second Blueberry Breakfast Quinoa or my Quinoa Flour Pancakes.
What I love about quinoa is its versatility. There's really no end to the ways you can use it!
How to make Strawberry Milk
The real secret behind this recipe? The milk.
I've always been a cereal fan. It's what I grew up on and still to this day is one of my all-time favorite comfort foods. And while breakfast cereal is totally delicious, I've found a way to take it up a notch without doing anything crazy. Instead of using plain almond milk, I've started making fruit infused milk instead. And I gotta tell you, it's totally rocking my world!
This recipe is for strawberry infused milk, which is just four ingredients and tastes incredible. All you're going to need to make it is:
- hemp seeds
- water
- strawberries (fresh or frozen)
- maple syrup
Add all those ingredients to the blender, blend it up until smooth and in a matter of seconds you've got strawberry milk! It's the perfect addition to our quinoa breakfast bowl.
An Easy Quinoa Breakfast Bowl
I've gotten comments before that this recipe is too simple, but I'm a firm believer that recipes don't have to be complicated to be good. Especially when it comes to breakfast. The easier your breakfast is to make, the quicker you can get it on the table and get on with your day.
So here's what we're doing with these breakfast bowls…
- We're starting with our cooked and cooled quinoa
- Then we're topping it with fresh berries
- And some sliced almonds for a little crunch
- Finishing it off with our strawberry milk
Sure it's easy, but it's also delicious!
An Easy Meal Prep Breakfast Idea
Aside from being easy to make, these breakfast bowls are also meal-prep friendly. That means you can make a batch of the quinoa and milk on a Sunday and enjoy this type of meal all week long.
Want to change things up? Awesome! Feel free to change up your toppings, stir in some spices (cinnamon or cacao would be awesome), or even make a different flavor of milk.
With so many ways to customize your quinoa breakfast bowl, you can change things up throughout the week! Make sure to come back and share your fun quinoa breakfast creations with the rest of us…I'm dying to know what you're waking up with!
Other Breakfast Recipes Using Quinoa
- Triple Berry Breakfast Quinoa Bake
- Chai Spiced Breakfast Quinoa
- Quinoa Power Breakfast Bowls
- 5-Minute Savory Breakfast Quinoa
- High Protein Carrot Cake Chia Pudding
- Quinoa Breakfast Tacos with Butternut Squash
Strawberry Infused Quinoa Breakfast Cereal
Ingredients
for the strawberry milk
- 1/4 cup hemp seeds
- 3/4 cup water
- 1 cup strawberries (fresh or frozen)
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- 2 cups cooked quinoa any variety
- 4 strawberries
- 1/4 cup blueberries
- 2 tablespoons sliced almonds
Instructions
- Add the 4 milk ingredients into a high-powered blender. Blend on high until smooth and creamy (will be the consistency of milk). Set aside.
- Place quinoa in a bowl, pour milk over and sprinkle on toppings.
- Enjoy immediately with a warm cup of tea or coffee!
Video
Nutrition
Is it just me, or did anyone else find this to be an insane ratio of liquid to quinoa? The second time I made it, I did half the amount of strawberry milk and it was still a lot.
When I looked up the nutrition for each item and added it I didn’t get anywhere near 20g of protein per serving. Are you sure this isn’t for both servings?
You could add protein powder to the milk to pack in more protein
This looks amazing! How long will the strawberry milk last?
It will last up to a week in the fridge 🙂
OMG!!This is so delicious! Was feeling like I was in a rut,rinse and repeat. Lol. This recipe is a game changer! Absolutely yummy!
Never thought of eating quinoa for breakfast going to try it ..thank you for sharing:)
This looks really good. Any suggestions as to how I can get the protein higher, a minimum of 30 grams per serving?
You could add protein powder to the milk mix or if you consume dairy you could swap the water for a protein milk, like Fairlife. You could also add chia seeds, hemp seeds or peanut butter to your bowl to up the protein. I hope that helps!
I really enjoyed this! We added chia, blueberries and the almonds. I did have to add a tad more maple for my own liking but I’ll definitely make again and try some variations. Thanks!
Made this last week for breakfast and it was really good! I enjoyed the strawberry hemp milk and it definitely satisfied me. Trying the chai quinoa this week. Thanks for the awesome recipes!
So glad you enjoyed it!
Dear Alyssa,
I’m about to try your strawberry quinoa breakfast bowl and had bought the ingredients last night. But I questioned the # of calories. You have it as being 493 calories for one serving but I figured out it is 369. I didn’t figure out the carbs. I’m on a diet so it was important that I had an accurate count. How did you come up with 493? Here’s how I broke it down:
1/8 cup hemp seeds 225
1/2 cup strawberries 27
2 strawberries 8
1/8 cup blueberries 10.5
1 tb. sliced almonds 43
1/2 tb maple syrup 26
1 cup cooked quinoa 222
Total calories 369
Pamela
My program pulls them automatically! Here’s what I have: https://www.dropbox.com/s/ho4mlv1f7qsajw3/Screen%20Shot%202020-08-31%20at%2010.04.37%20PM.png?dl=0
Trying this today! Yum and so easy!
Can’t wait to hear how it goes!
This looks awesome! Does the strawberry “milk” keep well overnight? I live in an apartment with roommates and I don’t like using the blender too early in the morning. Thank you and I can’t wait to try this!
Yes, definitely!
Can I substitute the water and cashews for 1 cup of almond milk?
Absolutely!
Made this today with leftover coconut milk quinoa and was delicious. I heated the quinoa and the milk was cold. Thanks!
Sounds amazing! xx
Would this freeze well? I’m going on a trip and looking to make this ahead, freeze that thaw and serve.
I haven’t tried freezing it, so I’m not sure! I would say your best bet is to go with an overnight oat/quinoa recipe 🙂
Do you have the calories, fats, carbs and proteins for this recipe?
I haven’t calculated that yet, but you can use this tool instead: https://www.caloriecount.com/cc/recipe_analysis.php
Quinoa Halwa
Ingredients
½ cup Queens Quinoa 100% Quinoa Flour
2 tablespoon Ghee
4 to 5 tablespoon sugar/ jiggery
1 cup water
Chopped almonds, Cashews and raisins
½ teaspoon Cardamom powder
Preparation
Heat Ghee in a PAN
Add 100 % Quinoa Flour
Sauté till the flour changes its color to little less than brown.
Keep the flame on med-low as this tends to burn easily if put on a high
flame. Keep an eye on it and keep stirring
Add sugar and still keep stirring till the ghee leaves the sides
Add cardamom powder
Garnish with more cashews and raisins and serve hot
I was having plain porridge every morning for lunch because it was quick and easy for me to eat at work and didn’t have a strong smell which is important as I work on reception. I recently discovered I am intolerant to oats & cows milk so I had to change my breakfasts, and this is what I came up with…
Every Sunday evening I make a large bowl of quinoa, with it I mix in raisins (to make it sweeter), cashews, pecans, pine nuts, chia seeds and flaxseed and dish them into 5 different containers. I have a carton of coconut milk at work which I pour into the bowl and then put in the microwave for a minute and a half. Sometimes I add a sliced banana if it is a gym day.
It is perfect but I have the same concoction every day! I am looking forward to trying this one out, get some extra flavours in. I also have some small cartons of strawberry coconut milk at home!
I haven’t tried quinoa for breakfast but I think you guys convinced me! This looks so light and delicious. I love the idea.
This looks so delicious, there is no better way to start the day! Thanks for sharing your beautiful and delicious recipes!
Quinoa is my latest fad, thanks for sharing your awesome creations!
I guess I should jump on the quinoa band wagon. I’ve never actually made the stuff before. (you can gasp, I understand!) I grew up with hot cereal for breakfast most mornings – this would just be an extension of that hot cereal love for me. Great idea to use the fruit milk. Yum! 🙂
What a great idea to serve quinoa for breakfast! Can’t wait to try this, it looks so healthy and colorful
oooh, this sounds incredible! this is the second reference to strawberry milk I have seen today, I guess I better get on it! 🙂
This is totally up my alley! I always have some quinoa in the fridge just waiting to be used. I’d love it for lunch too 🙂
The strawberry milk sounds so good, the milk is always my favorite part of a bowl of cereal when it picks up all the flavors 🙂
Not only does strawberry milk sound like it’ll taste great, but I love making my foods odd, bright colors 🙂 Great idea.
I agree, for some reason breakfast is my least favourite meal to cook. But I also think it has something to do with not wanting to take blog pictures so early in the morning! 🙂
This is the second time in 2 weeks I have seen quinoa for breakfast. I really really really need to give this a try. LOVE this!
Looks delicious Alyssa! And your secret “milk” makes the combinations endless. Love how versatile this recipe is!
What a great looking breakfast! I have eggs most days but I’m getting a little bored with the same old thing, I’m going to pin this to try it out, thanks! 🙂
Wow, so healthy and looks amazing! Thanks for your wonderful blog!
I love eating quinoa as a cold cereal. I do have a questions though – where do you find your goji berries? I could only find them in one small local health food store near me and they were over $10 for a very small container of them. I would love to try them, but I can’t imagine doling out that much money for a couple handfuls of dried fruit!!
It’s true, goji berries are definitely super expensive. If you live in the US and have a store like TJ Maxx, Marhshalls or HomeGoods, you might be surprised to actually find speciality items like that there. If not, you can also try to get them online where they might be cheaper. I do think they’re worth it though 🙂
Pro tip (just kidding, I found this out while living abroad in China!): Check asian grocery stores! Goji berries super cheap there.
Hi, how to prepare quinoa and keep it for a week supply?
I do make oatmeal and normally can keep for 4 days.
Simply make a big batch – maybe 2 cups at a time – and keep it in the fridge. Heat it up as needed 🙂 Enjoy!
First off, the strawberry infused cashew milk is just brilliant! This morning I added chia seeds, walnuts, a some gluten free oats and it was delicious! Thanks for the continually awesome ideas!!!
Will definitely be trying this!
This intrigues me.
sounds amazing. Making it this morning. Thanks loads