I love eating yogurt for breakfast or a snack, but I always add some sort of granola or nuts to give it texture. These puffed quinoa clusters are delicious and add great crunch to my morning yogurt. Plus, quinoa is a complete protein that consists of all nine essential amino acids, which makes it a great breakfast or snack option.
When put over heat, dry quinoa actually pops like popcorn. It doesn’t go through as much of a change appearance wise (it looks almost the same) but it develops a much lighter and crunchier texture. I also find that it’s easier to digest if I puff it before using it in these puffed quinoa clusters or granola.
- ½ cup dry uncooked quinoa (I used white but you could use any style you prefer)
- ½ cup shredded unsweetened coconut
- 1/3 cup rolled oats
- 1 egg white
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons coconut sugar
Preheat the oven to 250 degrees.
Start by puffing the quinoa. Think of it like making popcorn. Place the dry quinoa in a small saucepan over low heat and wait to hear the quinoa start to pop. You’ll hear it pop just like popcorn! Shake the pan occasionally to keep the quinoa from burning. Continue to cook over low heat until you hear the popping start to slow down to a couple of pops per second. The whole process should take about 5-10 minutes.
Remove the pan from the heat and add in the shredded coconut, rolled oats, and salt. You’ll notice that the coconut immediately becomes fragrant when it hits the hot puffed quinoa.
In a separate bowl, whisk the egg white until frothy. Add in the dry ingredients and mix to combine so the egg white completely coats everything. Next add in the coconut sugar and stir so that everything gets a nice even distribution of the coconut sugar.
Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment paper. I used the silicone baking mat but if you’re using parchment paper you may want to spray it lightly with cooking spray.
Spread the quinoa mixture into one even layer that’s about half an inch thick. You don’t want to spread it too thin or you won’t end up with puffed quinoa clusters after it bakes.
Bake the puffed quinoa clusters at 250 degrees for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and let everything cool completely. Do not mess with it until it’s cool. Once everything is cool, you can break it up to create the puffed quinoa clusters in the size that you want.
These puffed quinoa clusters are great as cereal, as a snack, or as a crunchy topping for yogurt!