Savory Quinoa Breakfast Muffins - Guest Post for Vijitha @ Spices and Aroma

When I moved from Bangalore to California, the one thing I knew I would miss were my friends. I have a bunch of those. Bubbly, cheerful and happy, always there for me, always make me smile and even scolds me when I am wrong. They rocked my life. I feel lucky, really lucky that even though we stay miles apart and we don’t get to talk often, things didn’t change even a bit. We easily start off from where we left, effortlessly.

I also feel extremely blessed to make few such friends here in California, friends I can count on for life. Vijitha, author of the blog Spices and Aroma, is one such friend. I call her Vijji (yeah with a double ‘j’), that’s just me! We like to tease each other, pull each other’s leg, crack silly jokes and when we meet, we yap non-stop for hours with subjects that swing from food to blogging to shopping to life and back to food.

When she requested me to share a recipe for her readers, the first thing that came in my mind was Quinoa. She likes to eat healthy organic food and her two year son, who I like to call ‘dude’ cause he kind of looks like a dude already, has a savory tooth. That kiddo can eat spice like nobody else. He sips water in between and comes running for another bite. Give him something sweet and he would run away. So, a savory quinoa muffin with greens hidden in it was my first choice and she happily approved it.

Preparing the muffin batter takes no time but cooking quinoa will take about 15 minutes or so. It’s best to prepare the quinoa in advance, probably the night before. I added spinach and peas but feel free to improvise with your choice of greens or vegetables. I also added feta cheese for a slight tangy taste, though mozzarella or cedar would work great too! These savory muffins are best for busy weekday breakfast; pick a couple every morning as you rush out of the door.   As much as I love a sweet blueberry muffin, I can never resist freshly baked savory muffins. It’s comforting!

This time, I had the privilege to let the host taste the dish. I baked a batch for Vijji and she loved it, including her husband and her kid. I believe, when a two year old approves anything that has veggies in it, it’s gotta be good!

Savory Quinoa Breakfast Muffins – Guest Post for Vijitha @ Spices and Aroma

Kankana Saxena

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Servings 12 to 15 muffins, depending on the size of muffin pan.

Ingredients

 

1x2x3x

• 1- cup quinoa
• 1 egg
• ¼ cup oil
• ¼ cup milk
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1½- teaspoon baking powder
• 1- teaspoon salt
• ½ cup peas
• ½ cup spinach (roughly chopped)
• 1 zucchini (grated)
• ¼ cup crumbled feta cheese

Instructions

 

• In a pan, mix quinoa with 1½ cup water. Bring it to a boil and then let it simmer until the water is completely absorbed. This should take about 15 minutes. Once done, take it off heat, cover the pan and let it rest for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, fluff it with a fork and let it cool to room temperature before you mix it to the muffin batter.
• Pre heat the oven to 350F and line the muffin pan with parchment paper or cupcake liners.
• In a bowl, whisk eggs. Then add oil, milk and whisk again.
• In a separate bowl, whisk flour with baking powder, salt and mix the cooled cooked quinoa to it.
• Now, pour flour mixture to the egg mixture and mix using a wooden spoon. Do not whisk or over mix. Add peas, spinach, zucchini, and feta and give it a mix.
• Spoon the batter to prepared muffin pan. Bake it for 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean when poked right in the center.

Notes

Do not over mix the batter. It will make the muffins rough and dry.
The muffins will stay good for at least a week in an airtight jar. Just heat them in a microwave when you are ready to eat.

Nutrition

Serving: 12to 15 muffins, depending on the size of muffin pan.