Maple sweetened puffed quinoa crumble studded with roasted macadamia nuts and candied ginger adds a spicy sweet tropical twist to your favorite tart & sweet yogurt bowl with blood orange supremes. Toss is over ice cream, pudding, or eat it by the handful as an addicting quick snack!
My tiny baby is turning one tomorrow, which I think officially expires the "I just had a baby" excuse from the arsenal of reasons why it took me a week to respond to your e-mail. While I still stink at e-mails, my goal of breakfast prep is alive and well. I wanted to create the perfect crunch to toss on top of yogurt. I've been throwing homemade cardamom granola over yogurt bowls all January, but this puffed quinoa crumble filled with macadamia nuts and candied ginger is my latest yogurt topping anthem.
The maple-sweetened crunch has creamy roasted macadamia nuts studded throughout with a spicy chewy ginger kick. Full disclosure, I'm also eating this stuff by the handful as a midday snack. As a topping for yogurt though, the tropical nuttiness of macadamia nuts pairs beautifully with the velvety tart plain yoghurt swirled with sweet oranges and minced ginger. The puffed quinoa crumble takes about 5 minutes to come together, so I anticipate many more batches, with variations to serve over their new strawberry & hibiscus and pear & cardamom flavors.
Mornings with this puffed quinoa crumble sprinkled over a bowl of orange & ginger yoghurt with fresh blood orange supremes are pretty great, save for the new phase of sassiness Zoella has entered. At just one year old, she's discovered that she can ruffle my feathers by tossing her yogurt on the floor, repeatedly, while staring me straight in eye AND SMILING as I sternly scold "no. don't do that."
The problem with her logic, though, is that she LOVES yogurt, so joke's on her*.
*I just have to calmly remind my grumpy self of this fact at 8am when I'm texting Lucas, "I'M LOSING IT ALREADY."
My parents are laughing right now. My dad's favorite story to tell is from my middle school years when both my mom and I would angrily call him at the same time, "Sarah/Mom is crazy - you have to do something about your daughter/wife!" The parallels are not lost on me and surely I deserve yogurt on the floor every morning as some kind of cosmic retribution. We are peas in a pod, so I'm anticipating approximately 17 more years of yogurt-covered floors.
In the meantime, you can find me practicing my do-not-react calming techniques over my own bowl of yogurt topped with puffed quinoa crumble.
Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup puffed quinoa cereal, Available in bulk at some groceries, the cereal aisle, or online
- ¼ cup chopped candied ginger, into ⅛-1/4 inch cubes
- ½ cup macadamia nuts, if roasted, skip the roasting step below
- ¼ cup pure maple syrup
- 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
- 1 pinch baking soda
- 1 pinch kosher salt
- yogurt
- Blood orange supremes
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat oven to 375°F.
- Place the puffed quinoa and candied ginger in a medium bowl and set aside.
- On a baking sheet, roast whole macadamia nuts until golden and fragrant, about 8-10 minutes. Coarsely chop.
- Add the macadamia nuts to the bowl with the quinoa and ginger. Toss and keep nearby.
- Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a silpat mat. Keep nearby.
- In a small saucepan, bring maple and brown sugar to boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Continue cooking, stirring, for 2-3 minutes until it foams up, gets dark and smells fragrant, but does not burn.
- Add the baking soda and salt and pour into the puffed quinoa bowl, tossing quickly to thoroughly coat the cereal. Spread the mixture onto the prepared baking sheet to cool completely. It should get crispy once it cools, but if it's not crispy enough for your taste, pop it in the oven at 375 for 5-10 minutes and let cool again!
- Serve over a bowl of yoghurt with blood orange supremes.
Marloes -
Can I use a healthier alternative instead of the brown sugar?
Aimee Mars -
Wow, you make breakfast look soooooo good! I haven't tried puffed quinoa yet, but your recipe is inspiring me to change that ASAP!
Bethany @ Athletic Avocado -
I love the variety of textures in this granola! It looks way crunchier than the normal oat blend. I could see myself crumbling this gourmet granola on my oatmeal!
Trina Smith -
There's pure genius in this! Can't wait to try! Thanks!
Carla -
1. You do NOT stink at emails.
2. You do NOT stink at crumbles.
3. Pairing the puffed quinoa with candied ginger? GENIUS.
April -
Such a wonderful idea. Another substitute for oats.
Karen @ The Food Charlatan -
So tell me again how to puff quinoa? ;)
PS. You're a mom now. Doesn't matter how long ago you had that kid, she will always be your best excuse.
Janet -
'Well-behaved women rarely make history' was kind of a mantra for me in the yogurty-floor-swabbing years. We need strong women with sassitude more than ever before, so bravo for creating one and feeding her so well, and my sympathies as you mop!
christine desroches -
Ooh this looks so good! I've been adding puffed quinoa to my granola for awhile, but I like this style without any oats at all. Those chewy ginger bits sound delicious.
Happy birthday to Zoella! Hoping for your sake that this sassy stage passes quick -- you just KNOW that she knows exactly what she's doing when she looks at you and smiles as she throws it on the floor. My niece did that too! <3
The Brunette's Tofu -
Lovely idea! I have to try this one :) Never tried quinoa on my bowls. Xoxo
Aysegul Sanford -
Happy birthday to that cutie pie. Please give her a big hug for me.
I'd take yogurt covered floors anytime for that kind of love. <3
I have never tried puffed quinoa, but I pinned this to try as soon as this crazy moving is over.
Much love to you and baby @minimenanix <3
Jessica Kelley -
Oh man, I'm excited to try these new flavors! If only they came all done up the way you presented it, I'd be in heaven. As soon as I can get my hands on the orange and ginger I'm making this yogurt bowl. But I might have to make those quinoa crumble before then because those clusters are insane!
Veronica Hernandez-Mena -
I can not wait to see my Grand Baby on Friday! Sarah I love your photos and this beautiful topping!