Apple Cinnamon Breakfast Quinoa

A simple breakfast recipe, this Apple Cinnamon Breakfast Quinoa is a warm and comforting dish begging to be topped with fresh berries or your favorite chopped nuts. Thank you to ALDI for sponsoring this post! 

When it comes to breakfast in the winter months, I find myself gravitating away from my beloved smoothies and opting for warmer dishes. I like beginning my day with a hot cup of coffee so keeping the cozy feeling alive with a warm bowl of oatmeal or eggs is right in my wheelhouse. However, sometimes I’m in the mood to change things up from a traditional breakfast and gravitate toward something that feels a little different. When this happens, I’ll opt for something like my Pumpkin Paleo Oatmeal (made with ground flaxseed, egg whites and almond milk) or breakfast quinoa.

Yep, quinoa for breakfast! I’ve shared a few of my breakfast quinoa dishes on the blog over the years — often in my day-in-the-life style posts — but today I’m hoping those of you who share my affinity for a warm, comforting breakfast in the morning will enjoy my latest creation!

This bowl of cinnamon breakfast quinoa is made with simple ingredients, many of which you may already have on hand:

• Quinoa (I love ALDI’s Simply Nature Organic Quinoa – less than $4 for a pound!)
• Cinnamon + a pinch of salt
• Maple syrup (for a pop of natural sweetness)
• Unsweetened almond milk (Friendly Farms Unsweetened Almond Milk is the cheapest organic almond milk I’ve found. $2.50 a half gallon!)

I kept this apple cinnamon breakfast quinoa recipe intentionally simple — it comes together in less than 20 minutes — because I wanted a go-to breakfast quinoa recipe at my fingertips that would be easy to  customize and serve as the perfect base for all of my favorite toppings. What you usually like to put on your oatmeal? Berries? Crushed nuts? Add them to this apple cinnamon breakfast quinoa, too!

If you don’t already have everything you need to make this recipe, you can find it all at ALDI, a store you guys know I’ve used for our family’s grocery shopping for years. The prices are unreal, especially when it comes to organic food and produce (and organic baby food pouches!) and I am continually impressed with the expansion of their healthy food selection, clean ingredient products and organic goods. (They also have an entire line of vegetarian and vegan goods for my plant-based friends out there.) I turn to ALDI on a weekly basis for our healthy food needs and every time I walk away impressed with the low prices and quality of food I find at our local store. I swear ALDI is the only store that doesn’t make me want to weep when I see the cost of organic berries. Keep ’em coming, ALDI!!!

To make this recipe, I simply cooked quinoa in a bit of almond milk to give it a creamier base. Note: Adding cinnamon to the almond milk before it begins to cook is key for getting that fragrant cinnamon smell wafting through your kitchen as breakfast simmers away! And yes, it’s okay to begin salivating at this point. Cinnamon always does that to me, too.

Once the quinoa is cooked it should be nice and fluffy. This is when it’s time to show it some love and sweeten it up a bit with a drizzle of maple syrup and your favorite fresh berries. Pile on those toppings to amp up the flavor and texture of this apple cinnamon breakfast quinoa and make it your own!

Apple Cinnamon Breakfast Quinoa

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Apple Cinnamon Breakfast Quinoa

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• Author: Julie
• Prep Time: 5 minutes
• Cook Time: 18 minutes
• Total Time: 23 minutes
• Yield: 2 servings 1x
• Category: breakfast

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Description

A simple breakfast recipe, this Apple Cinnamon Breakfast Quinoa is a warm and comforting dish begging to be topped with fresh berries or your favorite chopped nuts.

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Ingredients

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• 1/2 cup Simply Nature Organic Quinoa
• Pinch of Stonemill Pink Himalayan Salt
• 1/4 teaspoon Simply Nature Organic Cinnamon
• 2 cups Friendly Farms Organic Unsweetened Almond Milk
• 1/2 apple, grated
• Specially Selected Pure Maple Syrup, to taste
• Optional toppings: Fresh berries, chopped nuts… even a sprinkle of chocolate chips!

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Instructions

1. Add quinoa, pink salt, cinnamon and 1 1/2 cups of almond milk to a saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat.
2. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover and allow quinoa to simmer until it’s nice and soft, approximately 15-18 minutes. (Note: Please keep an eye on the quinoa so the milk does not dissolve and it does not burn.)
3. Remove from the heat and stir in the grated apple.
4. Divide into two bowls, top with a drizzle of maple syrup and remaining almond milk. Stir.
5. Top with fresh berries and chopped nuts or desired toppings and enjoy.

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