Turn your leftover quinoa into a delicious snack by making Quinoa Crispies at home, in four amazing flavors! Use for smoothie bowls, yogurt, salads and more!
Have you ever made a big batch of quinoa and put some in the fridge only to forget about it until 5 days later when it's a little questionable to eat? I personally despise throwing food away, but in all honesty, since I'm cooking for the site pretty much every day, I often find leftovers that were shoved in the back of my fridge that are definitely not okay to be eating.
But each time I have to dump that food in the garbage, I just want to kick myself for forgetting about it.
Well, today my friends, I have the solution to your unused quinoa needs! QUINOA CRISPIES!
You might remember a while back when I showed how to make quinoa crispies, but if you don't, let me quickly refresh your memory.
Quinoa crispies are cooked quinoa that has been baked until they dry out and turn crispy. They're an amazing topping for yogurt or smoothie bowls, can be added into granola and also taste great on top of salads. Basically, anything that could use a little crunch, quinoa crispies are what you need.
But my dilemma with quinoa crispies was this: plain old quinoa can get a little boring after a while!
So I decided to start adding flavors. I tested and tested and have finally come up with my four favorite ways to make quinoa crispies. And today we're gonna make em all!
The flavors we've got cooking today are:
- Chocolate
- Cinnamon Sugar
- Sriracha Lime
- Italian Herb
And luckily, all we really need to make quinoa crispies are quinoa, a baking sheet and an oven. Now let's go ahead and dive in!
Chocolate
My first variations were on the sweeter side because I love adding quinoa crispies to smoothie bowls and granolas. Since I often make chocolate smoothie bowls, chocolate was my first flavor and is still my favorite. It only uses three ingredients and reminds me of Coco Crispies but obviously way healthier. Of course, they're delicious on smoothie bowls and granola, but I also love adding them into my almond butter truffles for a little extra crunch!
To make these chocolate quinoa crispies, you will need:
- 1 cup cooked quinoa
- 1 – 2 teaspoons unsweetened cocoa/cacao powder
- 2 teaspoons maple syrup
Stir the quinoa, cacao powder and syrup into a large mixing bowl. Transfer to a baking sheet and bake at 350ºF for 25 – 30 minutes, stirring halfway through. Allow them to cool completely before storing.
Cinnamon Sugar
Second on my list is another spin on a fave junky cereal of mine: cinnamon toast crunch! At this point in my life I wouldn't go near that stuff with a 10-foot pole, but turning that flavor into quinoa crispies, bring it on! These little nuggets of sweetness are not only a lovely addition to breakfast, but they're also just really fun to snack on. I like to carry them around in purse and nibble on them as I get hungry 🙂
To make these cinnamon sugar quinoa crispies, you will need:
- 1 cup cooked quinoa
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon coconut sugar
Stir the quinoa, cinnamon and sugar into a large mixing bowl. Transfer to a baking sheet and bake at 350ºF for 20 minutes, stirring halfway through. Allow them to cool completely before storing.
Sriracha Lime
Now it's time to take things savory! Our third flavor is sriracha lime because…well it's sriracha and lime, and what sounds better than that!? This one I love on top of salads or sprinkled on a stir fry. It's not too spicy, but has a tiny kick with a nice mellow citrus flavor. It would also taste delicious on top of a tofu/egg scramble!
To make these sriracha lime quinoa crispies, you will need:
- 1 cup cooked quinoa
- 1 teaspoon sriracha sauce
- 1 teaspoon lime zest
- 1 teaspoon lime juice
Stir the quinoa, sriracha, lime zest and lime juice into a large mixing bowl. Transfer to a baking sheet and bake at 350ºF for 30 minutes, stirring halfway through. Allow them to cool completely before storing.
Italian Herb
And last but not least, we're rounding things out with another savory option that reminds me of the croutons we used to buy growing up. I love the Italian herb on top of salads, in particular, my favorite kale caesar salad, but it's also delicious sprinkled on top of pesto pasta or even my quinoa pizza!
To make these Italian herb quinoa crispies, you will need:
- 1 cup cooked quinoa
- 1 teaspoon Italian herb seasoning
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
Stir the quinoa, seasoning and salt into a large mixing bowl. Transfer to a baking sheet and bake at 350ºF for 20 minutes, stirring halfway through. Allow them to cool completely before storing.
Want to learn how to make plain quinoa crispies?
Watch this video!
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