Have you ever had a bowl of store-bought cereal in the morning and heard your stomach growl an hour later? That is because your cereal is probably low in protein, fiber, and overall nutrition. Most breakfast cereals are high in simple carbohydrates, fats, and loaded with added sugar. Even if you look at the nutrition label of a “healthy” cereal, you may be surprised to find that there is nothing healthy about it.
The complex super grain quinoa (pronounced keen-wa) is considered a complete protein, which is an outstanding source of essential amino acids. The fiber and slow-releasing carbs in quinoa will keep your stomach feeling feel, and your blood sugar stable so you won’t get that usual after cereal crash. Chia seeds add a dose of omega-3 and are loaded with both soluble and insoluble fiber.
Maple Quinoa Cereal
Makes 3 servings (1/2 cup each)
1 1/2 cups cooked quinoa
1 Tbsp chia seeds
2 Tbsp pure maple syrup
3/4 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a large bowl, combine all ingredients and mix together. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper (do not use wax paper. Trust me, I tried it and it failed!) and pour the batter onto the paper. Flatten smooth with a spatula until batter is a thin sheet (about ¼ inch thick). Bake for 25 minutes, flip (it’s ok if the sheet of quinoa breaks into smaller pieces at this time), and bake for 25 more minutes (about 50 total) to ensure that both sides are baked evenly. Remove from oven when cereal is slightly golden brown. Allow cereal to cool, and then break into small cereal sized flakes. Enjoy with almond milk and fresh berries or fruit!
kathy weygandt
March 31, 2012 at 2:53 pm (13 years ago)Hi Catherine,
Does the Quinoa cereal work with honey as well or just maple syrup?
Catherine
March 31, 2012 at 5:36 pm (13 years ago)I have not tried it with honey, but I assume it would work. Let me know if you give it a try!
Stephanie
March 31, 2012 at 9:05 pm (13 years ago)Just tried this- tastes so good and im dying to have it tomorrow morning with milk- thanks CC!
Catherine
March 31, 2012 at 10:06 pm (13 years ago)I can’t wait for you to try it! I couldn’t stop eating the batter last time I made it haha
Taylor
July 9, 2012 at 6:20 pm (12 years ago)I can’t make this recipe work for me! I just tried to make it twice! The first time, I had my oven at 375 as you said, and mine burnt to a crisp. (but was still soft!?!?) The second time I turned it down to 340, let it go 15 minutes, turned it, set the timer for an additional 15 minutes, and came back and the outer edges were really burnt… Well most of it was except the direct center. Any idea why I have such bad luck!?!?!
Catherine
July 9, 2012 at 7:35 pm (12 years ago)Hi Taylor! I’m sorry you’re having trouble baking the cereal 🙁 I have not encountered that problem before, although the edges do tend to cook pretty quick in my oven. You could try baking 2 small separate batches instead of one giant one. Maybe this would allow it to cook more evenly? Let me know! xo
Alanna
July 10, 2012 at 2:29 am (12 years ago)Hi Catherine,
I’d love to try this recipe but we can’t really get chia seeds over here in the UK (well, I’ve looked them up and they cost a fortune – set to change next year I hear!) so what other seed would you recommend as an alternative?
Thanks 🙂
Catherine
July 10, 2012 at 1:34 pm (12 years ago)Hi Alanna! I love that I have some readers from the UK, this is so exciting! You can omit the chia seeds completely. They aren’t 100% necessary and will not change the outcome of the cereal 🙂 They just add a little nutritional boost! Health & Happiness xo
Jillian
July 15, 2012 at 11:36 pm (12 years ago)This is a three serving recipe, do you store your extras any special way? And for how long do you think it would be good? I think it would take some convicing for my hubby to eat this (he’s a junk cereal eater…as in reese peanut butter puffs, lucky charms, honey combs, etc.) so I’ll be solo on this recipe for the first couple times.
Catherine
July 16, 2012 at 10:20 am (12 years ago)Hi Jillian! The cereal will last up to one week in a sealed container. I usually use the leftover servings as cereal for another morning, or on top of my yogurt like granola! xo
Misty
July 17, 2012 at 7:14 pm (12 years ago)Hi Catherine,
Now you’ve got readers in Hawaii 🙂 Is your cereal completely crunchy? Or just a bit chewy? I’ve tried making this four separate times and haven’t been able to get my cereal crunchy all the way through. The edges usually burn before the middle cooks. I use honey instead of maple syrup so I’m not quite sure if that’s making parts of the cereal cook faster.
Love your recipes by the way, thanks so much for sharing!
Catherine
July 17, 2012 at 11:50 pm (12 years ago)Hi Misty! The cereal should be crispy and easy to break, not chewy. Honey actually does burn really quickly, so that could be the problem. Sometimes things cook differently under different conditions i.e. humidity, altitude etc, so you could also try cooking the cereal at a lower temperature for a longer amount of time! Let me know how it turns out! Health & Happiness xo
Brandi
August 19, 2012 at 2:42 pm (12 years ago)Tip: I like my cereal crunchy so this batch right after it was cooked I took the cereal on the parchment paper and put it in the freezer for 5-10 minutes and vwala! Crunchy without burning!
Catherine
August 20, 2012 at 1:30 am (12 years ago)Such a great tip Brandi! xo
aislinn
February 25, 2013 at 2:49 pm (12 years ago)I made this for breakfast, but instead of maple syrup and chia seeds I added raspberries and mixed seeds. So yummy!
Catherine
February 25, 2013 at 3:53 pm (12 years ago)YUM! That sounds amazing, I’m going to have to give that a try! xo