Quinoa Raisin Muffins
*From the archives, originally posted February, 2008
Hi guys! Still pregnant and sick (suppose I should be grateful!) … three more weeks and I’m in the second trimester! Think a happy thought for a “Feelin’-Good-Cooking-Dani” in trimester two!! In the meantime, I thought these muffins would be great for this time of year! Enjoy!!
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Batters up! Here is my first new recipe using Quinoa this month. I must say, quinoa is one of those ingredients that just has my wheels spinning… there are so many things you can do with it.
For some reason my mind keeps going toward sweets like muffins, cookies, and puddings but don’t worry, I’m determined to get some savory dishes in there as well. As a matter of fact, I’m thinking about making a Butternut Squash and Quinoa Frittata for dinner tonight… I’ll keep you guys posted.
Anyhow, my Quinoa and Raisin Muffins are kinda like a Bran Raisin Muffin, but instead of bran I used quinoa. Once the muffins cool the quinoa adds a great texture, it actually reminds me a little of the texture of corn muffin…SO GOOD!
I’m a texture girl, so the fact that these muffins have great texture and are nice and moist makes me one-happy-muffin-eatin’-camper:).
One thing to keep in mind with quinoa is that because it does have essential fatty acids in it, so cooked quinoa will begin to go rancid after about five days or so. So if you aren’t gonna be gobbling these muffins up right away be sure you pop them in the freezer if you want them to last!
On another note:
I’ve been going back and forth with the idea of providing a recipe analysis for my recipes. You see, calorie counting has never really worked for me - in my experience I have always found that trying to micromanage my diet has only resulted in the opposite of what I am trying to achieve - so it’s not exactly something that I promote, BUT I know that at the end of the day, “different strokes work for different folks”.
Now on the flip side I do think it is important to be aware of calories and have a basic understanding of what kind of foods are made up of what kind of calories, etc. So I’ve decided to add this feature to my site with the understanding that I am promoting becoming “Calorie Conscious” opposed to a “Calorie-Counting-Micro-Manager… deal?!
You’ll find the breakdown right at the end of the written recipe.
Quinoa Raisin Muffins
Yield: Makes 12 muffins
Ingredients:
- 2 cups of cooked quinoa
- ¼cup canola oil
- 2 cups of white whole wheat flour
- ½-3/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/3 cup raisins
- ¾ cup organic skim milk
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp vanilla
Directions:
Pre-heat oven to 350.
Combine oil, brown sugar, milk, egg, and vanilla in a large bowl.
In a separate bowl combine flour, baking powder and salt. Stir dry mixture into wet mixture and combine well.
Stir in quinoa and raisins and divide amongst 12 muffins tins that have been sprayed with cooking spay.
Cook for 25-30 minutes.
Nutritional Analysis
Serving Size: 1 muffin Calories: 206; Fat: 6.1g; Sat. Fat: .5g; Carbs: 34.5g; Fiber: 3g; Protein: 5.2g; Sugars: 11.6g
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I’m Dani, a Health Counselor, Weight Loss Coach, Fitness Enthusiast and Mom specializing in making simple, nourishing meals fun, fresh, and delish!
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OK! You convinced me. I HAVE to make these. I have never had quinoa, but I am very intrigued by its multi-recipe qualities.
Anticiplate – Yeah!! I can’t wait to hear what you think:)!
I like the sound of quinoa muffins. They look great. Bookmarked to try. I can’t wait to find out what the muffins texture is like.
Cool! You know how crazy I am about muffins so I can’t wait to start trying out some recipes using quinoa! I’ve been cooking with it quite a bit lately so I’m looking forward to this more recipes from you!
I’m so making a gfcf version of this asap!!! Oh look… and you broke down the WW points! You’re awesome.
What a great innovative idea! This is going on the “make soon” list!
Kevin – Hope you enjoy them!
Nicole – Can’t wait to see what you come up with! I have a handful of other quinoa recipes that I’ll be posting soon…stay tuned:)!
Jason – Sounds good, let me know how they come out…if they’re yummy, I can link them to my recipe for all the GFCF peeps out there:).
Christiane – Thanks…hope you enjoy em’!
First of all Thank u for doing quinoa all month. I really need this. I’m new to this and I could use all the wonderful recipes.
I made these muffins today and they’re delicious! I used rice flour instead of whole wheat for my gluten sensitivity, and also added some walnuts and cinnamon. My version has more fat due to the walnuts, but I just love a bit of crunch in my food. Please keep the Quinoa recipes coming, and thank you!
What an idea!! I’m the opposite, Quinoa has me thinking savory not sweet!
I’m addicted to healthy muffins, just love them! Quinoa is such a wonderful grain, I’m glad to see you cook/bake with it often. Have you ever tried quinoa flakes? The flakes have the texture and look of rolled oats, and you can utilize them in the exact same manner. Typically they can be found in the oatmeal section of the grocery. What’s nice is you don’t need to cook them first, just incorporate them into a recipe with the other dry ingredients. You can make quinoa brownies, quinoa cookies, etc..
LisaRene – I have never tried quinoa flakes…I am definitely going to look for them next time I am at the store. Thanks for the tip:).
My partner is a Traditional Chinese Medicine practitioner and acupuncturist: he got me onto quinoa; now I’m obsessed. I needed to branch out from risotto (quinotto?)/pilaf type dishes as that was all I was confident with. Am eating your quinoa muffins now – halved the quantities to make 6, used a little less sugar and added craisins, white choc bits, cinnamon and roughly crushed almonds. Not as OTT as it sounds! Yummm!
Jo in OZ – I must admit, the combination of craisins,white chocolate, cinnamon and nuts sounds SO good! I may just have to try that myself!! Thanks for sharing:).
Ooh, I just made these yesterday! Great recipe, love them!!
I’ve recently gotten into quinoa but I’ve never tried it when baking. Great recipe and thanks for the tip about quinoa going rancid – I had no idea!
Hi Dani,
I made an adapted version of this recipe last night and they turned out great! I had 1/2 can of pumpkin to use up, so instead of the oil and brown sugar, I used the pumpkin, about a 1/3 cup light agave nectar, and then threw in some cinnamon and about 6 stevia packets to sweeten it up. I also used unsweetened vanilla almond milk instead of skim milk. They came out very moist and hearty!
If the website I used is correct, these had about 170 calories, 1.5 grams fat, 4 grams fiber and 5 grams protein.
Thanks for the inspiration and I love your website!
Mary – Your version sounds d’lishes (and lighter than mine!!). I love adding pumpkin to anything, so I may just have to give your version a go!
I made these today- used 1 cup whole wheat flour and 1 cup all-purpose, then added a mashed banana, chopped walnuts and chocolate chips. The quinoa was still hot when I added it, it melted the chocolate chips. They turned out very yummy!
OMG! I’m so excited these came out amazing! I halved the recipe for fear that it would all go to waste but now I know better! I hate using oil in anything so I used applesauce instead, used Vanilla Almond milk, added 1/2tsp cinnamon, 1/2 whole wheat & 1/2 A.P. flour. Only thing I didn’t cut back on was the raisins…can’t have too many of those. The batter didn’t taste good when I tested it so at the last minute…on the last few muffins, I added some agave sweetener, didn’t make much difference in taste. I was just worried that the batter didn’t taste sweet at all. The raisins must help alot. You can taste the quinoa flavor but it’s mild and to me it screams “Healthy!”
I am so glad to have a recipe for a breakfast muffin that is healthy…NO oil! I can imagine shredded carrots & walnuts for sure…lots of ideas coming to me now that I know this is a keeper. Husband will want a chocolate version but I’m not sure how choc would go w/the quinoa flavor?
I don’t have a regular sized muffin pan…it’s small but not mini (holds 2tbs) not sure how I ended up with this size but it cooked in 20min exactly. Oops! I just ate 2 muffins already! Won’t be hungry for dinner I guess. I am loving your website and awesome healthy but not too weird recipes. Thanks!
These are great, Dani! I love the texture of quinoa in the muffins. The raisins are a sweet surprise. I should add more because your pictures seems to have a lot more than mine! Excellent recipe.
This sounds yummy. I will use coconut oil instead of canola and let go of the sugar. Ripe bananas always work. We don’t drink cows milk so will use almond milk. And whole wheat pastry flour . That makes everything so fluffy and light.
Thanks for posting. There is always leftover quinoa at my house.
Hope you feel better soon! Never tried baking with quinoa, will have to try this. I’ll be doing a post on brown rice soon and linking to your delicious sounding Quick Veggie Brown Rice.
These look amazing Dani!
Sending you good vibes for the next three weeks to quickly pass. I know all too well how the weeks seem to drag when your not feeling 100%.
I’m going to make these using the mini muffin tins so they are a better portion size for my daughter. Any idea how long I should bake them for?