Turn leftover quinoa into a protein-packed breakfast with this simple, seasonal 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 because 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.

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 if very similar.

Since it’s apple season I decided to make an apple cinnamon version with chopped apple chunks, a hefty sprinkle of cinnamon and vanilla. It’s basically the perfect breakfast option for August and September when you’re craving fall flavors, but it’s still too warm out for stove-top oats and/or cooked quinoa flakes. <– I don’t know about you but I’m not a huge fan of sweating while I eat breakfast. 😉

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.

Apple Cinnamon Overnight Quinoa

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• Author: Brittany Mullins
• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Total Time: 10 minutes
• Yield: 1

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Description

Use leftover cooked quinoa to make a healthy, portable breakfast! Studded with fresh apple chunks and spiced with ground cinnamon, this overnight quinoa is tasty, gluten-free and vegan.

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Ingredients

• 3/4 cup cooked red or white quinoa
• 1 cup unsweetened almond milk
• 1 Tablespoon chia seeds
• 1 Tablespoon vanilla protein powder (I used a plant-based protein powder)
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 apple, chopped
• 2–3 drops liquid stevia or 1 Tablespoon maple syrup (optional)

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Instructions

1. Place all ingredients in a container and stir to combine. Cover and let sit in the fridge at least 2 hours, but preferably overnight.
2. Remove from fridge, give the mixture a stir and enjoy!

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Notes

I used liquid vanilla stevia to sweeten up the mixture a bit. Maple syrup or another natural sweetener would work well too.

• Category: Breakfast
• Method: No Cook
• Cuisine: American

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 1
• Calories: 336
• Sugar: 9g
• Sodium: 242mg
• Fat: 9g
• Saturated Fat: 1g
• Carbohydrates: 49g
• Fiber: 14g
• Protein: 15g
• Cholesterol: 0mg

Keywords: apple cinnamon quinoa, breakfast quinoa

Have you tried red or black quinoa before? Did you notice any difference in the texture or cooking time? I keep saying I’m not ready for fall but this post really makes me want to go apple picking! Anyone else?