Quinoa and Blueberry Muffin
intro
Lightly sweet, protein-packed muffins with nutty quinoa and bursts of juicy fresh blueberries, perfect for portable, satisfying summer bites.
Ingredients
Steps
Cook and cool quinoa
Bring 160 ml (2/3 cup) of water to a rolling boil over medium-high heat, add the rinsed 60g (1/3 cup) uncooked quinoa, reduce heat to the lowest setting, cover the saucepan, and simmer for 15 minutes until all water is fully absorbed. Fluff the cooked quinoa with a fork, then spread it in a thin layer on a small plate to cool to room temperature for 10 minutes, yielding approximately 170g (1 cup) of fluffy cooked quinoa.
Preheat oven and prep tin
Preheat your oven to 190°C (375°F) and adjust the oven rack to the middle position. Line a 12-cup standard muffin tin with paper baking liners, or lightly coat the inside of each cup with non-stick cooking spray to prevent sticking.
Combine dry ingredients
In a large 3L mixing bowl, add 120g (1 cup) all-purpose flour, 40g (1/2 cup) rolled oats, 2 tsp baking powder, 1/4 tsp baking soda, 1 tsp ground cinnamon, and 1/2 tsp fine sea salt. Whisk the ingredients for 30 seconds until fully evenly combined, breaking up any small clumps of flour or cinnamon.
Whisk wet ingredients
In a separate medium 1.5L bowl, crack 1 room-temperature large egg and whisk lightly for 20 seconds until beaten. Add 170g (3/4 cup) plain whole-milk Greek yogurt, 120ml (1/2 cup) whole milk, 80ml (1/3 cup) pure maple syrup, 57g (1/4 cup) cooled melted unsalted butter, and 1 tsp vanilla extract. Whisk for 45 seconds until the mixture is completely smooth with no visible lumps of yogurt.
Fold batter and add-ins
Pour the entire wet ingredient mixture into the large bowl of dry ingredients. Use a flexible rubber spatula to gently fold the batter for 10-12 strokes, just until no dry flour streaks remain—do not overmix. Fold in the fully cooled cooked quinoa until evenly distributed, then gently fold in 115g (3/4 cup) of the fresh blueberries, taking care not to burst the berry skins.
Portion and top batter
Use a 60ml (1/4 cup) cookie scoop or measuring cup to portion the batter evenly into the prepared muffin tin cups, filling each cup exactly 2/3 full to prevent overflow during baking. Sprinkle the remaining 35g (1/4 cup) of fresh blueberries evenly over the top of each batter portion for a bright, juicy baked top.
Bake and cool muffins
Place the muffin tin on the middle oven rack and bake for 20-22 minutes at 190°C (375°F), until the muffin tops are domed and golden brown, and a wooden toothpick inserted into the center of a middle muffin comes out with 1-2 moist crumbs (no wet batter). Remove the tin from the oven, let muffins rest in the tin for 5 minutes, then transfer them to a wire cooling rack to cool for 10 additional minutes before serving.
Tips
2.To prevent blueberries from sinking to the bottom of the muffins during baking, toss all blueberries in 1 teaspoon of all-purpose flour before folding them into the batter.
3.Store fully cooled muffins in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days, or wrap individual muffins in plastic wrap and freeze for up to 3 months for quick grab-and-go breakfasts.
OMG these are a total game changer! I made them for my kids’ after-school snack this week and they gobbled them up in 2 days. I love that the quinoa adds a little extra protein so I don’t feel like I’m just feeding them empty sugar carbs. The blueberries burst so nicely in every bite, SO fluffy and SO good I could barely believe they had quinoa in them! 10/10 will be making these for our next soccer team potluck too.
Perfect for weekly meal prep! I batch made these on Sunday and they held up all week in the fridge, even froze half for busy mornings when I’m running out the door to the gym. I swapped half the sugar for maple syrup to cut down on refined sugar and they still tasted amazing. Super easy recipe even for someone who burns toast half the time tbh.
Brought these to my office potluck yesterday and everyone was asking for the recipe! I added a little lemon zest to the batter like I do with most blueberry muffins and it paired so perfectly with the nutty quinoa. Only note is I had to add 5 extra minutes of bake time because my oven runs a little cool, but that’s standard for me.
Wait a second, is there a gluten-free flour swap that works well for these? I have celiac so I can’t do regular all-purpose, but these look so fluffy and good I’m dying to make them for my Saturday brunch with friends. Fingers crossed they turn out as good as everyone says!
Super easy recipe even with my tiny dorm oven! I didn’t have fresh blueberries so I used frozen (thawed them first and patted them dry like my mom taught me) and they still slapped. Only thing is I forgot to add salt and they were a little bland, oops, my bad. Still good though, will make again and not skip the salt lmao.
These are not sweet enough for my taste? I followed the recipe exactly but they tasted more like a savory quinoa bite than a muffin. Maybe I messed up the sugar measurement? I used regular granulated sugar like it said.
Made these this morning with my 7 year old and it was such an easy recipe for her to help with! She loved stirring in the blueberries and sprinkling a little turbinado sugar on top before baking. They came out so fluffy and warm, we ate two each right out of the oven with a little butter. Yum!
Solid vegan swap here if anyone is curious! I used flax eggs instead of regular eggs, oat milk instead of dairy, and coconut oil instead of butter, and they came out so light and tasty. Didn’t even miss the animal products, the quinoa gives such a nice nutty depth. Will be adding these to my regular weekend bake rotation.
I wanted to love these but mine came out really mushy in the middle? I cooked them for the full 45 minutes but the toothpick never came out clean, even after adding 10 extra minutes. Maybe I overmixed the batter? I’ll give it another shot next week because the flavor was actually really good when I ate the edges, just the centers were off.