Apple Cinnamon Overnight Quinoa

Published Aug 20, 2015, Updated Jan 10, 2022

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Turn leftover quinoa into a protein-packed breakfast with this simple apple cinnamon overnight quinoa recipe. It’s similar to overnight oats but made with quinoa and absolutely delicious!

Quinoa for breakfast?!? It’s a good thing, I promise! I’ve actually made quinoa overnight oats with quinoa flour before, but hadn’t ever tried making a version with plain quinoa.

I’ve thought about making overnight quinoa many times because we pretty much always have cooked quinoa in the fridge. The only reason I waited so long to try my hand at it is that I was a little worried that, unlike rolled oats, the cooked quinoa wouldn’t absorb much of the liquid and that I’d wake up to itty quinoa bits floating in almond milk. Although now that I think about it, that wouldn’t be a bad thing — just more like quinoa cereal and not what I was going for.

Two tall, narrow glass jars with apple cinnamon overnight quinoa. There are two spoons and some apple slices on the table.

To make sure much of the almond milk did get absorbed I added some chia seeds and protein powder to the mix. They worked perfectly and also give the breakfast an added boost of nutrition. If you like chia seed pudding you’ll like overnight quinoa because the texture is very similar.

Ingredients For Apple Cinnamon Overnight Quinoa

quinoa – dry, uncooked quinoa that has been rinsed. As you probably noticed, the quinoa in the photos is a lovely shade of red. That’s because I used Ancient Harvest’s Organic Inca Red Quinoa. Red and white quinoa are nutritionally the same, but I’ve found that red seems a bit more firm, holds its shape better and takes a bit longer to cook. It’s also really pretty — especially in quinoa parfaits or salads.
non-dairy milk – or water. I prefer to use unsweetened almond milk, but coconut milk or oat milk would also be delicious. Regular cow’s milk works too.
chia seeds – help soak up the liquid and give this breakfast quinoa a great texture.
vanilla protein powder – any vanilla protein powder works. My favorite brand is Nuzest which is plant-based and has a minimal, clean ingredient list. You can use my code eatingbirdfood for 15% off your order.
cinnamon and vanilla – to amp up the flavor!
apple – chopped apple chunks
maple syrup – my favorite natural sweetener! You can subsitute another liquid sweetner like stevia or monk fruit if you prefer.

A glass jar of overnight quinoa is in focus with a blurry glass in the background.

Is Quinoa Better Than Oatmeal?

If you’ve been reading EBF for a while, you already know that quinoa is one of my favorite grains (even though it’s actually a seed, I think of it as a grain). Not only is it high in protein, but the protein that it supplies is complete, meaning it includes all nine essential amino acids. Plus, it’s gluten free, which is perfect for those avoiding wheat and gluten.

I wouldn’t necessarily say it’s “better” than oatmeal because I think both grains are great! If I *had* to tell you what to eat, I’d tell you to eat a healthy mix of both.

This post is part of the Ancient Harvest Blogger Ambassador program. I receive free product and I am compensated for my work. As always, opinions are my own. Thank you for supporting the brands that make EBF possible.

More Quinoa Recipes

Apple Cinnamon Overnight Quinoa -- Turn leftover quinoa into a protein-packed breakfast with this simple, seasonal apple cinnamon overnight quinoa recipe that's gluten-free and vegan.

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