So I made a big batch of quinoa last week when I made the Quinoa Vegetable Soup and had a lot leftover. My friend Tricia had made quinoa muffins awhile back and I remembered that they tasted so good. The quinoa gave it a hearty texture and an almost nutty taste. I experimented with a few recipes and came across one that I really loved. The best thing about this is that I feel you can vary it with different add ins such as pumpkin, nuts, raisins or other fruit. I added mashed banana to one batch and my oldest daughter cannot get enough of them. She is normally the child who can eat more than the rest of the family combined because she is ALWAYS moving, but this morning she polished off three of these quinoa muffins in about five seconds flat.
I love muffins, but they have to be the right type. I remember in high school I used to bring a big bran muffin from Sara Lee for lunch everyday with yogurt and an orange. I thought I was being so healthy until many years later when we all learned that those muffins have about 700 calories each and probably similar numbers in grams of fat. So much for the “health” part of that lunch, but I sure did love the taste of that muffin. Not too sweet, hearty and dense. These are a little bit lighter in texture, not quite as dense, but the taste reminds me of my old bran muffin standby, but with a lot less calories and fat. These are great for breakfast or a snack anytime! So, next time you make the Quinoa Vegetable Soup or another recipe with quinoa, make a big batch and make some muffins!
Quinoa Muffins
1/2 cup canola oil
1 cup sugar minus two tablespoons (if adding banana, or something sweet, take out another two)
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
1/2 cup buttermilk or lowfat milk
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 cup cooked quinoa
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, mix oil and sugar, until well blended. Add vanilla, eggs and buttermilk. In a separate bowl, mix salt, baking powder and soda, flour and cinnamon. Add dry ingredients to wet. Stir and then stir in quinoa. Divide amongst a muffin pan sprayed with baking spray or lined with muffin liners. Bake for 20 minutes or until muffins have risen and toothpick comes out clean. Let cool for ten minutes, remove from pan and cool on cooling rack. Makes 16 muffins.
*Variations: add 3/4 mashed bananas, chopped apples or pureed pumpkin to wet ingredients. Or, add 1/2 cup chocolate chips, raisins or dried cranberries to mix after adding quinoa. You can also try 1/2 cup of any variety of nuts mixed in before quinoa as well.
** Spread muffins with peanut butter or cream cheese for a little extra added protein!
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