This orange and persimmon quinoa porridge is full of plant protein and iron. It provides over 24 g of protein and 9 mg of iron which makes it a great way to start a chilly winter morning. Plus, it’s also a good alternative when you just don’t want to have yet another oatmeal bowl.
I know what you’re thinking. Quinoa is a savory ingredient and it’s great in buddha bowls, as a rice alternative served with curries and stews or in a salad – but as a porridge? For breakfast?? Yeah… I was thinking the same.
Initially, I was very skeptical because I love my good old oat porridge – so why now change it? Well, I was actually researching some good plant-based sources of iron for my blog post Iron on a Vegan Diet – How to Get Enough and quinoa is one of them. I wanted to create a meal that is high in iron to go along with that blog post and came up with a quinoa and black bean Buddha bowl which you can find in last week’s post.
But then I thought – no… this is too easy. Most of those plant-based iron sources are rather savory ingredients. So, of course, I can create a lunch dish. But what about a sweet breakfast recipe? That will be a little bit more challenging. So that’s how I decided to try and make a porridge with quinoa. And it actually turned out really good and I’m definitely making it more often now.
At first, I was afraid that the quinoa would not become soft enough. Because in salads it usually adds a nice crunch but we don’t really want that in our porridge… or do we? To my surprise, the quinoa made for a perfect porridge!
If you cook it long enough and with some plant-based milk, it becomes very creamy and tender but not too mushy. I found that the trick is to not let the liquid evaporate completely. Rather, leave a little bit of plant-based milk in the saucepan. Or better, add some more to your bowl on top of your quinoa.
This orange quinoa porridge might be a great alternative for people who do not fancy oatmeal too much. Oat porridge can have quite a mushy consistency that I know not everyone likes. This quinoa porridge is still creamy yet the quinoa doesn’t fall apart like oats usually do.
The fresh orange juice gives this quinoa porridge a nice, subtle sweetness which I really enjoyed. But I think there are so many more variations to try! Here are a few ideas:
-Quinoa mixed with chocolate powder and maca powder topped with a sliced banana and cacao nibs
-Quinoa mixed with mango puree and topped with fresh fruits
-Quinoa mixed with peanut butter topped with some sliced banana
This recipe was republished with permission from Sarah’s Vegan Guide.
This post was last modified on December 15, 2020 7:30 am