Still on a high after the success of my Apple-Pecan Quinoa Muffins I practically ran to the Whole Foods near my office at lunch the next day to pick up quinoa flour, rainbow quinoa (Per Patty’s suggestion) and other seeds, grains and flours that I was determined to start baking with. It’s not that I’ve decided to go the healthy route 100%–I’ve got Nutella sitting on the counter waiting to be used this morning–but I’ve been enjoying adding healthier choices to my baking rotation. My husband is a huge snacker and if I know I’m giving him better options when hunger pangs strike, I feel like I’m being a more considerate partner. He’s trying to lose five more pounds before an upcoming trip and I know better than to think that the cravings for dough in the morning and something sweet after dinner will stop. So at 8 pm that evening, I turned on the oven and rummaged through the pantry and fridge to see what I could pair the quinoa with this time.
It was inevitable that I would end up using blueberries–I’ve got bags of them in my freezer. A tall glass of Blueberry-Banana-Spinach Smoothie has been my go-to breakfast for a few weeks now and I’ve even found myself craving it as a post-dinner treat. Choosing the fruit was easy.
My reservations were in trying to decide if using double-quinoa in muffins would be a good idea. I was fueled by the wonderful texture that the cooked quinoa lent to the Apple-Pecan muffins but would adding quinoa flour to the mix be overkill? I untied my bag of flour and was struck by its intense aroma and guessed that this would translate to taste, as well. Using my last muffin recipe as a base, I swapped out some ingredients and decided to take baby steps by using just 1/2 cup of quinoa flour.
The muffins were itty-bitty. I used my 1/3-cup muffin pan and you can see the baked muffins barely rose above the rim of the cupcake liners. I need to understand better how using other flours affects the rise of baked goods so just keep that in mind if you try these.
The results? These muffins were ultra-moist and soft but with the added texture from the cooked quinoa. As for taste, I tested one right out of the oven and just as I thought, the quinoa flavor was quite prominent. It’s not a problem if one is a quinoa fan but I had mixed feelings. However, I tried one again the following morning and the taste was completely different. The quinoa flavor mellowed considerably, much closer to the taste of a traditional blueberry muffin. My husband, my target audience, was happy. When I gave him a taste right out of the oven the night before the muffin was rejected but when I got up the following morning and found two empty cupcake liners next to his cup of tea (and a half-eaten muffin in his hand), I knew he’d changed his mind. He mumbled something like, “they’re much, much better this morning”. Take note if you try these.
Note: I was happy with these but being a gluten-free flour newbie, I will continue to experiment with other flours and grains.
Blueberry Quinoa Muffins
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup whole wheat flour or your flour of choice
- 1/2 cup quinoa flour or use another gluten-free flour
- 1 cup cooked quinoa
- 1/2 cup lightly-packed brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 egg
- 2/3 cup milk I used nonfat
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 1 heaping cup frozen blueberries you can use fresh
Instructions
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Preheat your oven to 400°F. Lightly grease a 12-muffin tin (or use cupcake liners; I used a 1/3 cup muffin tin) and set aside.
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Whisk together the whole wheat flour, quinoa flour, brown sugar, salt, and baking soda in a large bowl then stir in the cooked quinoa.
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In a separate bowl combine the oil, milk and egg then stir into the dry ingredients.
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Fold in the blueberries and spoon the batter into the muffin tin.
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Bake for about 21 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on a wire rack before serving.
Wow..whole wheat, Quinoa..blueberries and what a cute healthy muffin! Pinning it…
These look just scrumptious. I just polished off a bowl of granola with chia seeds and quinoa. It was so very good! And I can’t wait to try adding quinoa to more of my baked products. This is an inspiring post, for sure! Thank you for sharing!
Hi Jean,
Hehe, I guess your hubby really did love these:) I’m really enjoying all of your quinoa recipes. I really enjoy the taste but haven’t backed with it yet, nor used the flour. These are definitely a better choice then the normal white flour ones I bake. Have a great weekend:)
Quinoa in baked goods works so, so well! And I have a ton of Michigan bluberries I hand-picked myself that these are waiting to be used in 🙂
Blueberry muffins are my favorite! I love your muffin liners, too cute!
Can you use all whole wheat flour instead of the quinoa flour?
Hi Elli, yes. I used all whole wheat flour in my Apple-Pecan muffins. 🙂
Can you use all quinoa flour to make them gluten free?
Hi, Clare. I haven’t tried making them with purely quinoa flour. Since I used cooked quinoa here, too, I was afraid of the taste being too overpowering. I also think that using strictly quinoa flour would require the adjusting of the liquid ingredients. Maybe if you reduce the amount of the cooked quinoa you can use 100% quinoa?
How interesting that the muffins taste differently right after it’s baked and the next day. I think I heard that pound cake tastes better the following day, but not sure if all the baked goods have the same effect. Well, usually if something baked in my kitchen, which is so rare, majority will be consumed immediately. I have a hard time leaving some for the next day saying “eat while it’s hot/warm!” I’d eat yours quickly because your muffins are healthy and it’s okay to eat a lot. 😀 Blueberry + quinoa sounds delicious combo! Have a great weekend Jean!
I love blueberry muffins and I love quinoa, but have just never thought to put them together! I bet the texture is amazing! What a fabulous pairing. And your photography is just STUNNING! : )
Hi Jean! How interesting that the flavors of your blueberry quinoa muffins mellowed over night and tasted better the next morning and thanks for mentioning me in your post, very kind;-) With Fall and holiday baking season right around the corner, and knowing how we-bakers- look forward to that time of year- you are so right to consider healthy options for our baked goods. I wish Mr. L&A all the best luck trying to take off those pesky 5 extra pounds, believe me I know how he feels;-)
Jean – I am SO impressed that you are so inspired by quinoa. These muffins look absolutely divine especially with the addition of the blueberry. Loved your notes on the flavor the next day. Hope your weekend is great!!! 🙂
Jean-this is a wonderful GF treat. I just love quinoa and would really like to experiment with it in baking. I like how you say the flavor was better the next day. Although, I would really love to eat these warm for breakfast with my favorite jam:)
I had no idea quinoa had a flour, makes sense though. I will have to be on the look out for it. I love the cooked quinoa too. I bet these are super filling for breakfast. Perfect!
Yum!! I love these! I now need to find quinoa flour!
Jean, I am so happy that you explained all of the fine details about these muffins. I love the taste of quinoa ~ so both the flour and the cooked quinoa would be in favor. Interesting that the flavor mellowed too. Beautiful muffins!
What great idea to put quinoa in these muffins, and interesting that they taste different the next day. Thanks for sharing this lovely recipe.
I’m so happy to read your comments. About a year ago I made a quick bread (sweet) with quinoa flour and yes, the taste was very prominent and we all decided we didn’t like it. Unfortunately, no on tried it the 2nd days so I have no idea how it tasted then. I think we just pitched the bread then and there. I’m going to try the quinoa flour again and I’m a huge quinoa fan. I’m very new to the gluten free world, but have been eager to try new bread recipes. Thanks Jean! I’m going to try this for my dance girls!!
thanks for the additional notes Jean. I just bought my first bag of quinoa flour and I’m so excited to bake with it.
These muffins look great, a perfect breakfast treat
I am a huge quinoa fan but have not experimented with quinoa flour as of yet. Nice to know it mellowed a bit and your hubby got an enjoyable treat 🙂 I probably would have been good with the stronger flavor as well, but it is about balance I guess, so you never know. Well actually I do now 😉 They look wonderful and I will have to pick some of this flour on the next WF trip 🙂
What a lovely way to use quinoa. It was my daughter who introduced me to quinoa. We only eat it dressed like couscous or bulgur wheat but this is certainly something to try. Great recipe, Jean.
Hi Im in the middle of baking these muffins and I realized you said to combine the oil, milk and egg. But nowhere in the ingredients does it list oil. How much should I use?
Please answer quickly if you can because as I said, I’m in the middle of baking them. Thank you!
Abi, my apologies for that. It’s 1/4 cup of vegetable oil. It was the same amount as in the Apple-Pecan muffins but I goofed when I cut and pasted the ingredients. Hope it worked out!
This is inspiring me… I needed to make some kind of “breakfast bread” for an upcoming brunch at church. Think I’ll shock a few people, but… I’m bringing Quinoa Muffins!
Hi! I am excited to try out your recipe. Just a quick question… can i grind quinoa to make flour? Thanks so much!
Hi, Diane. Gee, I’m not sure about that. I’m new to using cooked quinoa and quinoa flour in baked goods. I’ll have to check on that. If you try it, please let me know how it goes. Thanks for dropping by. 🙂
I haven’t tried these yet, but did read somewhere that you should toast quinoa flour in the oven on a low temp before you use it (if you can’t buy it already toasted). Supposedly it helps get rid of the strong grassy flavor. Sorry I don’t have the link, but if you google it, I’m sure you will find it. Can’t wait to try your recipe!
Emily, thanks so much for your email. I’ve never come across that tip before but now I’m anxious to try it, thank you! Will report on results when I do this with another batch of muffins. Thank you!!! 🙂
My boyfriend and I stopped in to give these cupcakes a try haha I really ♥ cupcakes and this one ROCKS! 😀
Just made these and they are excellent straight out of the oven. I have been baking with quinoa for a while now and have always washed the grains three times before using. It is a tip I found online and seems to stop any strong, unpleasant taste. I didn’t have any milk so used almond milk instead – I also added chia seeds which adds an extra layer of texture.
Thanks so much for your feedback on my blueberry quinoa muffins. So glad you liked the recipe and I really appreciate the tip about rinsing three times before using. I’ll be doing that from now on–the chia seeds are a nice touch, too. 🙂
Made these tonight to eat this week for breakfasts on the go. I don’t have a great deal of time in the morning and these will be perfect to get me fueled up for the day! They are definitely not sweet, except for the blueberries. Before I made them, I thought that the texture might be weird but it was actually quite nice! I would definitely make these again- thanks for the great recipe! See the picture below!
https://fbcdn-sphotos-a-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/t1.0-9/10246306_10202502559420318_9029138444402073953_n.jpg
Emily, the link didn’t work but I’m so glad you tried this recipe and liked it. Thanks so much for the feedback!!!
I made them again and replaced the blueberries with banana and walnuts- they came out amazing!
I love your substitutions, Emily. Bananas (and nuts) are awesome with baked goods. Thanks so much for coming back to let me know. 🙂
I made these last week and can’t rave enough about them! This is my very first ever recipe review and I had to write to say thank you! I am recently dairy/wheat/yeast/soy free (trying to do low histamine also) and have wanted something quick and easy for breakfast. These were perfect! I used all gluten free flour and rice milk and they were perfect! I froze them and would pop them in my bag on my way to work and eat them still partially frozen – felt like eating a treat! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU! I’m off to look at more of your recipes now 🙂
Jill, it was so nice to see your comment. Thanks for trying out my recipe and I’m so glad you liked it! I hope you find more recipes here that suit your diet and if you need help searching at all, just let me know. Thanks again. 🙂