It’s Monday, which means it is Meatless Monday recipe time. This week, I made a super easy breakfast featuring quinoa. I had tons of leftover quinoa and no idea what to do with it. I didn’t want to do the usual throw-it-in-a-stirfry routine, but I was kind of stumped. I knew I wanted something sweet so I threw a few things together, and this was the result.
I wasn’t sure how it would turn out but to my surprise, it was amazing! The taste reminds me of French toast but it has the slight crunch of quinoa. You can make these with or without the maple syrup, depending on your sweet tooth. I personally like them without the maple syrup and a generous dollop of Sarah’s cinnamon honey peanut butter instead. They’re a great pre-workout snack with around 145 calories, 7g of protein, 3g of fiber, and 21g of carbs per square (without the maple syrup added). ***EDIT: I calculated the initial nutrition content via caloriecounter however, when I calculated using livestrong, I got a completely different profile of 74 calories, 9 carbs, 1.5 fiber, and 4g protein without the syrup. I’m guessing the livestrong is more accurate but calculate using whatever you make it with 
I’ve got another busy week on deck including a fun photoshoot, more recipe development, and some other fun things I will share later. Time to get a large cup of coffee and get going!
Cinnamon Quinoa Breakfast Bake
Yields: 12 squares
2 ½ cups cooked quinoa, cooled
4 eggs, beaten
1/3 cup vanilla soy milk
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 Tbsp. cinnamon
1/3 cup maple syrup (note: you can leave this out, it just won’t be very sweet)
1. Preheat oven to 375F and place quinoa in a large mixing bowl. Line an 8×8 baking pan with lightly greased parchment.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together eggs, soy milk, vanilla extract, and cinnamon until thoroughly combined. Add maple syrup, if using and whisk.
3. Add egg mixture to cooked and cooled quinoa. Stir with a large spoon to combine. Pour into baking dish and spread around to ensure that it’s even.
4. Bake for 20-25 minutes until set and golden.
5. Using parchment, remove bake from pan as soon as possible so that it doesn’t steam.
6. Cool completely and cut into squares. Serve with a dollop of nut butter.
Tagged: baked quinoa, cinnamon, egg, meatless monday, quinoa, vegetarian
I'm Gabby. A 24 year old gluten-free kitchen explorer, Crossfitter, and freelance recipe developer and food photographer sharing my life one recipe, workout, and photo at a time. 
That looks SO good! I’ve never thought of making a sweet dish with quinoa!
Thanks! I rarely make sweet quinoa dishes but they are so good. Quinoa is such a versatile grain…or seed.
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This looks really good, I wonder if it’s possible to just use egg whites, and unsweetened almond milk instead of vanilla soy milk, or maybe the vanilla unsweetened almond milk…either way with out the maple sugar this looks healthy
Thanks for sharing.
I would think both of those substitutions should be fine. Using all egg whites instead of whole eggs just may give you a different texture. You could also use all egg whites and add a tablespoon or two of melted coconut oil to help bind them together if needed. If you try it out, please report back!
My first try at this recipe came out of the oven just 5 minutes ago an it’s already going fast! I substituted the maple syrup with a tablespoon of agave syrup. I like how it is only slightly sweet.
Thank you for sharing this recipe.
So glad you like it!
Can this be kept for a few days?
Yes, it should keep for a couple days when refrigerated.
is it 2 1/2 cups of dry quinoa? or 2 1/2 cups cooked?
Cooked!
Oops! Just made this recipe but used 2.5 cups uncooked quinoa. Should have read the instructions better.
This sounds like a great recipe for morning teas at work. Can they be sliced and frozen individually? Otherwise how long do they last in the fridge?
I’m not sure about freezing but they last about 5 days in the fridge!
I’m making these tonight. Withy the additions of toasted almonds & dried cranberries and less maple syrup and some agave. Can’t wait!
Yum! Those sound like great additions!
What is the quinoa amount dry/not cooked?
1 cup.
I would love to make these! If I can’t eat dairy, what could I sub for the eggs? Are they purely just to bind it together? If so, would applesauce work do you think? Thanks!
I’m not sure, as I haven’t tried it, but I you do, let me know how it turns out!
Made this tonight with a few modifications:
**Added a half stick of cinnamon to the cooking water for the quinoa – it added a nice scent to them while they were cooking.
**One cup dry quinoa did not yield 2.5 cups cooked for me – so I added a heaped half cup of gluten free oats.
**Added a half cup of chopped apple, and about a third cup of chopped pecans.
**Since I had more volume, had to use a bigger pan.
**Used almond milk instead of soy (friend I made them for can’t have soy)
**They took about an hour+ to bake till the top was browned – lots of moisture with the apples in there!
Sooo —- we really liked them!!! We tried them warm, and they were really nice and chewy, and the bits of apple added little bursts of sweetness. My husband (shockingly) loved them!! Friend and I did not think they were sweet enough, so would probably add something to sweeten them up next time. She suggested eating them with some apricot preserves on top — YUM!!!
I think this is a great base for so many variations!!! I will make them again — and maybe try blueberries and almonds next time. Thanks for a great inspiration recipe!
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My son is allergic to egg. Do you think I could sub out egg with pumpkin? I use that for baking muffins, etc.
Thanks for this yummy recipe!
Possibly – you may need to add a “flax egg” or another binder. Good luck!
Hey. I just wanted to let you know that I featured this on my blog today. I would love it if you could check it out
Mint Stuff I’ve Seen 28
- Adele @ Mammy Made
I just made this and it did not turn out in the sense that when the directions say to put them into squares well mine were still soft and I even put them in for twice the amount of time and turn the oven on to 425. They are not bars and are not dark like pic shown. Where did I go wrong?
Oh no! I’m not sure – it’s hard to say, maybe too much moisture?
Can I make this in a loaf pan?
I would recommend keeping it in a thinner pan, it probably will not hold together well in a loaf pan.
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When I made it, there was far too much moisture. It turned out like a baked custard, even though I cooked it for 15 minutes longer.
Mine too! And mine is still in the oven! It’s been baking for about 40 minutes now!!
Great way to use up leftover quinoa! I made this (I was almost out of eggs, so I used 2 eggs & subbed flax blended with water for the other two, used almond milk instead of soy, and subbed agave for the maple syrup), and it came out great. I have been eating it for breakfast topped with strawberries. Yummy!
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