This Cranberry White Chocolate Quinoa Bowl is the perfect way to start your morning. This bowl features pillow soft quinoa, mixed with a tart cranberry sauce and vanilla almond milk, topped with hemp seeds, almonds, white chocolate and a splash of maple syrup.
Sweet, tart, crunchy, creamy, yummy. This quinoa bowl is delicious hot or cold. 🙂
What I love about this quinoa breakfast bowl is that it feels like you’re having dessert for breakfast. Just 1 tablespoon of white chocolate brightens up the sweetness and sophistication factor of this bowl.
Plus, quinoa and hemp seeds are great sources of plant-based protein. 1/2 cup of quinoa packs about 4 grams of protein and 1 tablespoon of hemp seeds adds another 3 grams. And, let’s not forget our superfood friends, cranberries, which are an excellent source of antioxidants.
Yet another perk of this breakfast bowl is that it is super quick to whip up. The pressure cooker takes quinoa from meh to amazing in literally 1 minute! And the cranberry sauce is just 3 ingredients and takes about 3 minutes to cook. #winning
So who is ready to give this Cranberry White Chocolate Quinoa Bowl a try? (hint: you do!).
Jump to Recipe
Step 1: Cook the Quinoa
If you don’t already have cooked quinoa on hand, you’re going to need to make a quick batch. It is really simple and super fast using the pressure cooker.
Rinse the quinoa in a fine mesh colander or strainer. This will remove any residue from the grains, making them extra fluffy when cooked.
Transfer the rinsed quinoa to your pressure cooker. Combine with 1 cup of vanilla unsweetened almond milk and 1/2 cup of water. Add a pinch of salt. Stir to combine.
Put the lid on your pressure cooker. Make sure your vent valve is facing sealing. Press the “Pressure Cook” button and set the timer for 1 minute. It will take a few minutes for the pressure to build up and just 1 minute after that to cook!
Once the timer goes off on the pressure cooker, your quinoa is ready. If time permits, allow the steam to vent naturally, rather than using the vent valve. It should only take a few minutes to vent and it results in fluffier quinoa. If you’re in a hurry, go ahead and flip the vent valve to venting to release the pressure.
Fluff the quinoa with a spatula. Set aside.
Step 2: Make Cranberry Sauce
While the quinoa is cooking, make the cranberry sauce.
In a small sauce pan, combine 3/4 cup of fresh cranberries with 3 tablespoons of water and 1 tablespoon of maple syrup. Make sure you removed any rotten or mushy cranberries beforehand.
Heat the cranberries covered over medium high heat. The cranberries will soften and rupture after about 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from heat. Use a wooden spoon to break up the berries and skins. You’ll have a lumpy, jam-like sauce once you’ve broken up the berries. Set aside.
Step 3: Create Quinoa Bowls
Now we are ready to put together our quinoa breakfast bowls.
For cold breakfast bowls:
Ladle 1/2 cup of quinoa into a bowl. Top with cranberry sauce and 1/2 cup of cold vanilla almond milk. Mix in 1/4 teaspoon of vanilla extract. Mix together.
Top with 1 tablespoon of hemp seeds, 1 tablespoon of chopped white chocolate, and 2 tablespoons of chopped almonds. Drizzle with 2 teaspoons of maple syrup, if desired.
For hot breakfast bowls:
I generally prefer these bowls cold. But if you prefer warm breakfast bowls, transfer 1/2 cup of quinoa to the small saucepan with the cranberry sauce. Add 1/2 cup of almond milk and 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract. Stir to combine. Cook on medium low heat for 2 to 3 minutes, or until quinoa mixture is warm.
Transfer the warm quinoa mixture to a bowl. Top with 1 tablespoon of hemp seeds, 1 tablespoon of chopped white chocolate, and 2 tablespoons of chopped almonds. Drizzle with 2 teaspoons of maple syrup, if desired.
You can modify the sweetness of these breakfast bowls to your liking by omitting the maple syrup drizzle (for a more savory bowl) or by including 2 teaspoons of maple syrup (for a sweeter bowl). The white chocolate in this bowl is very sweet, so it won’t take much extra maple syrup to get to your desired sweetness, but add what tastes good to you! 🙂
We hope you enjoyed this Cranberry White Chocolate Quinoa Bowl. Let us know what you think in the comments and be sure to tag us in your Instagram creations @sticksscratchkitchen.
Be sure to check out our other breakfast treats:
- Cinnamon Zucchini Bread
- Chocolate Cherry Smoothie
- Chai Spiced Scones with Cinnamon Glaze
- Mint Chocolate Chip Smoothie
- Hearty Morning Harvest Muffins
Cranberry White Chocolate Quinoa Bowl
Ingredients
Quinoa
- 1 c uncooked quinoa
- 1 c vanilla unsweetened almond milk
- ½ c water
- pinch salt
Cranberry White Chocolate Quinoa Bowl
- ½ c cooked quinoa
- ¾ c raw cranberries
- 1 Tbsp + 2 tsp maple syrup, divided
- 3 Tbsp water
- ½ c vanilla unsweetened almond milk
- ¼ tsp vanilla extract
- 2 Tbsp almonds, chopped
- 1 Tbsp white chocolate, chopped (vegan)
- 1 Tbsp hemp seeds
Instructions
Quinoa
- Rinse quinoa in fine mesh colander. Transfer quinoa to pressure cooker. Combine quinoa with 1 cup almond milk, ½ cup water, and pinch of salt.
- Place the lid on the pressure cooker. Select Pressure Cook and set timer to 1 minute. Once timer goes off, let the pressure vent naturally. Once pressure is released (silver float valve is down), fluff quinoa with a spatula. Set aside.
Cranberry White Chocolate Quinoa Bowl
- Combine raw cranberries, 1 tablespoon maple syrup, and 3 tablespoons water in a small sauce pan. Heat cranberries over medium-high heat until berries begin to burst, about 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from heat and break apart berries and skins with wooden spoon. Set aside.
- For Cold Quinoa Bowl: Transfer ½ cup of cooked quinoa to a bowl. Mix in cranberry sauce, ½ cup almond milk, and ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract. Top with white chocolate, chopped almonds, and hemp seeds. Drizzle with remaining 2 teaspoons of maple syrup, if desired. For Hot Quinoa Bowl: Transfer 1/2 cup of quinoa to the small saucepan with cranberry sauce. Add ½ cup of almond milk and ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract. Stir to combine. Cook on medium low heat for 2 to 3 minutes, or until quinoa mixture is warm. Transfer the warm quinoa mixture to a bowl. Top with white chocolate, chopped almonds, and hemp seeds. Drizzle with remaining 2 teaspoons of maple syrup, if desired.
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