Call us persnickety, but we generally disagree with the basic cooking instructions given on quinoa packages, which usually call for too much water, and might explain why you don’t like quinoa. See below for our favorite approach.
Recipe information
Yield
Makes 12
Ingredients
¾
1
1¼
1
1
2
¼
¼
1
½
1
1
Preparation
Step 1
Cook quinoa in a large pot of boiling salted water, stirring occasionally, until tender, 10–12 minutes. Drain well and return to pot. Cover and let steam 10 minutes. Pour off any condensed water, then let cool. Set aside ¼ cup cooked quinoa for topping muffins.
Step 2
Preheat oven to 375°. Coat a standard 12-cup muffin pan with nonstick spray (do not use muffin liners). Whisk flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and remaining 1 tsp. salt in a medium bowl.
Step 3
Mash bananas, honey, and brown sugar in another medium bowl, preferably with a potato masher, until sugar is dissolved and banana is completely mashed. Add egg and continue to mash until combined. Stir in oil and vanilla.
Step 4
Stir banana mixture into dry ingredients just until combined. Stir in blueberries and 2 cups quinoa. Divide batter among muffin cups. Sprinkle lightly with raw sugar and reserved ¼ cup quinoa.
Step 5
Bake muffins until tops are firm, just beginning to brown, and a tester inserted into muffins comes out clean, 30–40 minutes. Let cool slightly before serving.
Step 6
Do Ahead: Quinoa can be cooked 5 days ahead; cover and chill.
Leave a Review
Reviews (25)
Back to TopI used GF flour and substituted applesauce for the olive oil due to other reviews. These are alright, the Quinoa takes over, I think less might make this recipe better.
Anonymous
Rochester, NY
1/9/2023
These muffins are delicious, moist, and have a nice heartiness from the quinoa. I've made them a dozen times but using raisins instead of blueberries (easier and cheaper). I haven't had the olive oil issue that others are mentioning -- maybe they were using fancy olive oil. Occasionally I've swapped out the honey for additional brown sugar and not had an issue. They make a great breakfast treat for my kids that is slightly healthier than regular muffins.
Christina
Austin, TX
10/1/2022
great recipe. based on what others said I cut the oil down to 2T and added applesauce to make up the differece. I didn't have blueberries so used 80 grams of raisins. worked well. 2 bananas is vague . I weighed them and used about 175 grams which seemed to work well, just under 1 cup. very very ripe bananas
catherine
san francisco
7/14/2022
Liked it. Made it with strawberries and I did 1/4 cup olive oil and 1/4 canola oil.
Flowii
Québec!
8/14/2021
My family and I love these. Great flavor. Moist and light. Use a light olive oil and the flavor doesn’t overpower. Shared the recipe with friends who love them. It’s a healthy alternative to muffins that really are just small breakfast cakes.
Anonymous
Nashville, TN
4/3/2021
Hi, what's the temperature to bake the muffins?
Anonymous
Finland
12/16/2020
This turned out soo goood!! So easy for a newbie like me but still very delicious! I saw a comment about the olive oil taste being overpowering so I substituted it for a more flavorless vegetable oil and it turned out great!! Super happy with them and I'm looking forward to making more batches! :) Thanks Chris!
CynthiaLomad
Mexico
5/4/2020