If you’re like me and you batch cook a bunch of goodies over the weekend, then you may end up with a lot of extra cooked quinoa in your refrigerator. Or, if you’re like me, and you accidentally double (somehow?!) the amount of quinoa that you meant to cook, and end up with a large Pyrex container overflowing with quinoa – well, then take a page out of my book and turn your cooked quinoa into porridge.

I’m such an oatmeal/porridge girl and I usually eat it everyday without fail. Some days, I even eat oatmeal for dinner. No judgments. The creaminess, the texture, the nuttiness, the endless flavor combinations, the mind-numbing method of cooking – put oats in a pot with almond milk, cook, and done. What is there not to love about oats? Not to mention, oatmeal is like a big bowl of goodness – a warm hug on cold mornings, or evenings if you’re part of the oatmeal for dinner club like me.

Now that I’ve typed an incredible rendition on my love of oatmeal, I’m going to tell you to eat quinoa for breakfast instead…. because I made 7 pounds of it by accident.

With a heavy heart, I left my oats in their dark corner of the pantry shelf the other morning and turned to the heaping container of quinoa taking over an entire shelf of my refrigerator instead. Despite my strong oat-bias, I was able to concoct some sort of quinoa porridge creation with the addition of cinnamon and creamy homemade almond milk. Then, skeptically digging in, I was oh so pleasantly surprised by how delicious my little quinoa experiment turned out.

The quinoa, with the addition of almond milk, turned into a warm and rich porridge with the most perfect creamy texture. The addition of warm blueberry jam to the quinoa added an essential bright and fresh taste, while balancing out the earthiness of the quinoa. I was so shocked by this quinoa porridge’s deliciousness that I made it again – just to make sure it really tasted good. Then I made it again, and again, and again.

Suffice to say – I’ve totally been cheating on my daily oats. Go quinoa!

Quinoa Porridge with Warm Blueberry Jam

Serves 2

1 cup cooked quinoa
¾ cup unsweetened almond milk (add more if you want a creamer consistency)
1 tsp cinnamon
1 T raw honey

1 cup frozen blueberries
1 T lemon juice
1 tsp honey
1 T chia seeds

Method:

If your quinoa is not already cooked – please do that first. The ratio is usually 1 cup uncooked quinoa to 2 cups water. Bring quinoa and water to a boil then lower heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Fluff with a fork and remove from heat. Scoop out 1 cup of cooked quinoa to use for porridge.

In a small pot combine cooked quinoa, almond milk, cinnamon, and honey. Let quinoa warm over low heat while you prepare the blueberry jam, making sure to stir every so often.

In another small saucepot, add blueberries, lemon juice, and honey. Bring mixture to a boil then reduce heat to medium-low to let the blueberries simmer and break down. Using a fork, mash a bit of the blueberries to create a more liquid texture. Let simmer for 5 minutes then add in chia seeds, stirring to thoroughly combine. Allow blueberry mixture to thicken on the stove, over low heat, for about 8-10 minutes.

Divide quinoa porridge between two bowls. Once blueberry jam has thickened up to your desired consistency, (If you’d like it thicker, add in a bit more chia seeds) spoon mixture over quinoa porridge and swirl with a spoon. Top quinoa porridge with almonds, honey, nut butter, or any other fruit or seed. Enjoy!

Nourishing Notes:

-Swap out unsweetened almond milk with sweetened almond milk if you don’t have the unsweetened version on hand. Just omit raw honey in the porridge in this case so it’s not too sweet.
-Batch cooked amaranth? This recipe would also work well with 1 cup of cooked amaranth.
-Blueberries can easily be swapped with any other frozen fruit – I like blackberries and raspberries as well.