Chocolate Chip Blueberry Breakfast Quinoa.
Thisssss is what we call a copout.
It’s incredibly similar to my favorite “normal” breakfast quinoa that I only recently shared, but this… has chocolate. Which in itself deserves it’s own post, of course.
Because look at those cute little chocolate chips getting’ all melty in that bowl!
Oh oh oh AND I did toast the quinoa first in coconut oil, which is a new thing I’m doing and totally loving. And this one time, I also swirled in some roasted blueberries that I had leftover from, um… margaritas. I’m just glad I repurposed them.
But I love it both ways: fresh blueberries for a burst and roasted for more flavor. I just can’t decide.
This whole breakfast is sort of an ode to my favorite breakfast as a kid, which was Quaker instant oatmeal. You know, the kind in that package? But I had to have two packages instead of one, and it had to be cooked in milk instead of water. And it had to be the PERFECT consistency, or else I would start all over. My favorite flavor was peaches and cream, but honestly? My actual favorite flavor was strawberries and cream, you could just never find it back then. It would randomly pop up in a variety pack and the rest of the choices would be horrific. But peaches and cream was always available, so I went with that.
I even ate those suckers dry. Yes, I totally ate dry packets of instant oatmeal. Which was like, instant oats and sugar and dehydrated fruit which I’m pretty sure were just apples with fake peach flavoring on them. So so so good though.
And sometimes? I still buy it. I buy it as a treat and eat it on the weekends, or on days when I’m feeling particularly nostalgic for childhood or home. And when I say home, I mean home that’s still only ten minutes away. But whatevs.
As I was walking through the cereal aisle the other day, I noticed the completely crazy range of flavors that oatmeal comes in now. If I had those choices? I’d go nutso. Like lose my fahreaking mind as a tween. Right there on the shelf sat chocolate chip instant oat packets… and I was sort of torn. I mean peaches and cream and strawberries and cream are one thing, but chocolate chips? I can just add my own. And saturate them in coconut milk.
So I did. Don’t mess with me man.
Chocolate Chip Blueberry Breakfast Quinoa
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup dry quinoa, rinsed and patted dry
- 1/2 tablespoons coconut oil
- 3/4 cup canned lite coconut milk + more for drizzling
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- a pinch of salt
- 1/4 cup mini chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup fresh blueberries
Instructions
- Heat a small saucepan over medium heat and coconut oil. Once melted, add in quinoa and shake the pan to coat, letting toast for 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Combine coconut milk, cinnamon and vanilla in the saucepan with quinoa and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, cover, and let cook for 15 minutes until quinoa can be fluffed with a fork.
- Divide quinoa into two bowls then sprinkle with chocolate chips. Let sit for 2-3 minutes so the chips get melty. Add in a few drizzles of coconut milk, then blueberries.
Notes
Did you make this recipe?
Be sure to follow @howsweeteats on instagram and tag #howsweeteats. You can also post a photo of your recipe to our facebook page.
I appreciate you so much!
Also good? Roasted strawberries stirred in. Dooooo it.
126 Comments on “Chocolate Chip Blueberry Breakfast Quinoa.”
YUM! Oh my gosh, I have to try breakfast quinoa! Also, I totally went through an instant oatmeal phase around the time I was 12 too.
I LOVE quinoa! This looks so delicious, Jessica, and I love the idea of adding roasted strawberries!
Not a copout to me! I only think of it as another delicious creation by YOU! :)
I love quinoa for breakfast! Everyone thinks I’m crazy but it’s so good! I love the blueberries and chocolate chips together! Yum!!!
I totally ate those packets without cooking them too. I would add just a little bit of milk, swirl it around, and go to town!
Now I want to add chocolate chips and blueberries to my oatmeal!
Everything is better with chocolate chips – especially quinoa! I want to try toasting my quinoa in coconut oil. That sounds pretty amazing.
PS – I used to love oatmeal packets as a kid too. Maple Brown Sugar (you know, the sweetest flavor they make) was my favorite. :)
The strawberries and cream would only come like 2 to a package of 12… Not cool.
Have you seen the s’mores flavor instant oatmeal? We could def make that ourselves but there’s something so good about theirs.
What!!! No!
That looks so so so good!!! Quinoa is like the sophisticated brother of the plain oatmeal :D
chocolate for breakfast sounds like winning to me.
I was just telling my friend the other day that quinoa is a great breakfast option. Love this grain so much!
I’m impressed that you liked oatmeal as a kid! I was all about the Eggos, Pop Tarts, and Cinnamon Toast Crunch.. all of which make me a little sick at the thought of now! I absolutely love the idea of toasting quinoa in the coconut oil first.. gonna have to try it!
Oh I was all about those too…
This looks awesome! Did you know you can freeze cooked quinoa? I always loved instant oatmeal too, I was an apple cinnamon girl. Had to be made with milk though–I agree with that!
ummm… WOW! Thank you, this looks delicious! I can’t wait to try it.
Christie ღ
I love the chewy texture of old fashioned and overnight oats so much now that I can’t stand instant anymore. Brown sugar / cinnamon was my favorite – I thought the fruity ones were gross!
I LOVE quinoa for breakfast! Such a perfect food! I love letting the kids pick there favorite toppings. Normally it has something to do with peanut butter and chocolate…I don’t blame them. I love this combination! Perfect way to start the day!
Are we sure your kids are not my kids? ;)
I LOVE quinoa, but have yet to have it for breakfast. I think I need to change that and do it with chocolate chips…..yeah!!
I haven’t had breakfast quinoa in forever- sounds delicious with your new additions! :)
Oh babay!! LOVE me some quinoa, but haven’t made it for breakfast yet…and with CHOCOLATE?! I’m there.
Dry packets of instant oatmeal – it’s breakfast on the go, isn’t it? ;-)
Wow. This looks incredible!
Okay, I have a totally stupid question…WHERE in the grocery store do you FIND quinoa? I feel completely stupid asking that but I’ve looked everywhere for it and have no clue if I’m even looking in the right section. *facepalm*
Seriously, though, this looks amazing. If only I could find quinoa… ;-)
Janabelle- I find mine in the gluten free section or you can stalk a worker and make them show you. :)
Trader Joe’s has it with the other grains they sell (kinda wedged with rice)
but, depending on where you live/the store you’re at, I would think it would be in grain aisle as well…
(if you do ask for help, remember it’s pronounced keen-wah! :))
Don’t feel stupid! In my local grocery store it is in the rice/bean aisle.
Thanks for the tips, ya’ll.
I’ve looked with the rice as well as with oats. Could be that quinoa hasn’t made it to the rural south yet. Or maybe I just need to try another store. Again, thanks! I’ll keep looking. If all else fails, I can try Amazon, right? :D
I WANT to love quinoa so bad… but the way it smells when cooking COMPLETELY revolts me. I’ve tried so hard, numerous times. I’ve rinsed it myself, bought the pre-rinsed kind, and even rinsed the pre-rinsed kind myself anyway. But that odor when it’s cooking, blarghhh… I can’t take it. So sad because I love stuff like barley and oatmeal and steel cut oats, etc.
Ahhh, so I still haven’t jumped on the quinoa bandwagon!! I’ve tried it a couple of times, and it may be due to my inability to cook rice/suuuuper low quality pots, but I could never get it to turn out right! It was just mush and gross and looked nothing like the deliciousness up there.
This kind of makes me want to try again, though!
Probably the stupidest question ever (sidenote: i read every. single. post. and never comment because I am a huge nerd and now my commenting debut is this pathetic question…ANXIETY INDUCING!). How do you rinse quinoa? All I have is a pasta strainer and the holes are too big (insert dirty joke here) to stop the quinoa from falling through. Suggestions from the master?
Buy a tiny, tiny mesh strainer! I have multiple and I love them so much – they are great for rinsing fruit and canned beans and things like that.
PS not dumb at all.
I totally ate them dry too, I thought I was the only one! I would pour the packet in my heat activated color-changing bowl, but never get to see the color change because I didn’t want to add water. I think you’re my long lost twin. I relate to sooooo much on this blog and probably even more of the real life behind-the-scenes. Sometimes it’s almost scary how much I can relate. You give voice to the thoughts in my head in a lighthearted perspective that encourages me to embrace my “me-ness” and just go with it. Thanks!
I am so glad you feel that way! So my wacky self is not alone. :)
@missy Omg! I had that color changing bowl too, which I had completely forgotten about until I just read your comment. I freaking loved that thing, I remember saving parts of the oatmeal boxes and mailing it in to get it. I used it so much that it changed colors permanently.
@jessica I used to eat oatmeal packets dry as kid too, all my friends would think I was weird.
I hated the bananas and cream flavor that came in the variety pack. Yuck!
I used to beg my mom to buy a multi-pack of those quaker oats just for certain flavors but then yes, the other flavors were horrific – every once in awhile she’d humor me and actually do it though!
Love the big blueberries in this (and the choc!)
I was also a big fan of the peaches and cream flavor and I too ate it dry out of the package! This breakfast quinoa sounds delicious, I can’t wait to try it.
I’ve never seen quinoa look so delicious!
My favorite thing is when I have plain, leftover quinoa in the fridge to use for breakfast. Maybe I should just start making it specifically FOR breakfast. Duh. Chocolate chips for the win!
I’ve always been a savoury quinoa kinda gal, but coconut and chocolate chips and berries?! I think I’m going to have to take the sweet route with quinoa very soon :-) Look ah-mazing!
I have been wanting to try quinoa for breakfast for a while now, I finally have an excuse to do it!
You totally make quinoa look gorgeous. I just can’t seem to get a taste for it, I still have a little bit in my package though, maybe with chocolate and blueberries I would like it!!!!
Gorgeous photos, as always!
It totally doesn’t matter that I’ve figured out how to make old fashioned oatmeal and breakfast quinoa and add all sorts of crazy delicious stuff to it, I still love those powdered packets. There shouldn’t even be directions for cooking those in water…totally flavorless. And the plain instant oatmeal is just horrendous. Where’s the fun of that?
Just curious…how do you roast strawberries? Just like roasting the blueberries?
Yep pretty much! Here are a few more detailed instructions: http://www.howsweeteats.com/2012/05/roasted-strawberry-brown-butter-pancakes/
Thanks! Can’t wait to try!
Those strawberries and cream packets were the best! I don’t think I’ve eaten that since I was around 10 years old…I might have to track some down to see if I still like it!
This quinoa looks excellent – I love, love, love chocolate and blueberries together, and this seems like a much healthier option than eating Trader Joe’s chocolate covered blueberries by the handful like I usually do!
I just bought the chocolate covered blueberries… expecting to take them down in one day.
Please keep the quinoa recipes coming! I have a huge box (massive bulk size box) and I am running out of ideas!!! Until then, I’ll just be eating this :)
O em geeeeeeeeeeeeee. Ok that was dramatic, but seriously how good is the blueberry + chocolate chip combo? Obsessed.
I want to try and roast raspberries, but Idk how I feel about it yet!
okay i’ve been obsessed with your breakfast quinoa lately…this just sounds like dessert. for breakfast.
i’ll take it!
I have still YET to try quinoa…I know, don’t hate me :( Looks delicious!
Ha! I used to LOVE eating dry oatmeal. Although, I’d usually just eat the sugary stuff on the bottom and leave the oats alone. Anything breakfast + chocolate HAS to be good.
this sounds so amazing!
I’m looking at you, weekend breakfast. Get ready for some chocolate and quinoa.
I have not ever had quinoa for breakfast yet. I feel like I’m the only one. Thank goodness for your encouraging breakfast quinoa posts to make me try it – especially when you add chocolate to it. How could I not try to make it now?!
I’ve only recently had quinoa for breakfast – had blueberries and candied walnuts in it and it was great. But I do love mini choc chips because of their cuteness.
Loved those oatmeal packets as a kid! Although I would cover mine in brown sugar..far more than anyone else would deem necessary.
This looks so good! Any way i can get chocolate in with breakfast, I’m happy. :-)
I love oatmeal in the morning but have never thought to try quinoa for breakfast. Use it all the time for dinner – just never occurred to me to move it to the morning. Thanks for the idea!
Everyone should eat chocolate for breakfast. Nice work!
Um, this looks like a perfectly acceptable future dinner. Just sayin’.
Just curious…how do u roast strawberries? Is it just like roasting the blueberries?
Oops! Just saw my previous comment & answer! Didn’t think my phone sent it thru this am! Thanks for the quick reply! Sounds delicious!
If it wasn’t for this post I would have never remembered that I have a giant thing of blueberries in my fridge that haven’t been touched and need to be eaten before I leave for camping this weekend! Eeeep!