Rice pudding with a generous dose of cinnamon on top has always been one of my favorite desserts. There’s really nothing like it for me. Growing up, my mom would say something like, “Guess what we have for dessert,” in this sort of secretive voice and then we’d get all giddy.
I was craving the rice pudding of my youth the other day so I went over to the ever-inspiring, Cannelle et Vanille because I figured, with her Spanish (well, Basque) heritage she’d more then likely have a pretty authentic recipe. And she did. BUT, what she also had was a similar recipe using quinoa instead. Immediately, I had to make it.
I absolutely love quinoa. And I also happen to love it on the sweeter side too (in soy milk with fruit and nuts for breakfast is the best), so quinoa pudding with strawberries and pistachios sounded pretty awesome to me. Though I adapted the recipe slightly not to include cream and added a little water and cinnamon.
The process was very similar to making rice pudding actually. And if you’ve never done that, then you’ll find the process very similar to making rice or any other grain.
The main difference being that you cook the quinoa in a combination of milk, vanilla, sugar, cinnamon and a pinch of salt instead of water. The milk will periodically get that layer of skin across the top, but just fold it back and stir it in. Another thing to remember is that milk will froth up and boil over with the quickness so make sure to keep your eye on it because burning milk smells like a turd. I let the quinoa simmer partially covered and on low heat for about 30 minutes, giving it the occasional whisk.
Just let the quinoa do its thing until it’s nice and soft. Then let it cool to firm up a bit more. Kind of resembles tapioca actually.
Strawberries are so in season right now so I definitely suggest chopping some fresh ones up to add on top, along with pistachios. And I’ll bet this would also be great with some banana all mashed up in there instead of strawberries…have to try that next time for sure.
And there you have it, quinoa pudding – the “super food” version of my favorite childhood delicacy. Seriously fabulous.
Recipe
Coop/prep time: 35 mins. Serves 4. I used unsalted pistachios, but salted are fine too. Be sure to remove from heat when done to avoid any milk burning on the bottom of the pot. Sub with almond or coconut milk for non-dairy option.You need:
- 3 cups whole milk (sub with almond, or coconut milk)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla or one vanilla bean
- 1/4 cup sugar
- pinch of salt
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/6 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 cup quinoa
- a few diced strawberries
- chopped pistachios
Directions
- Place the quinoa in a strainer and rinse with cold water for a few seconds.
- Combine the milk, water, sugar, salt, cinnamon and vanilla in a medium saucepan and bring to a simmer. Add the quinoa and stir. Reduce heat to medium low, partially cover (about 3/4 of the way) and cook for about 30 minutes, stirring every few minutes to avoid sticking. If skin starts to form across top of milk, just stir it back in.
- If you find that your pudding seems a bit dry and the quinoa is still hard, just add a splash more milk and water and cook totally covered for a few more minutes.
- Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature or cold in the fridge. Spoon pudding into bowls and top with chopped strawberries and pistachios.
35 Comments
your blog is amazing!
since now, i follow you!
I’m so happy to have found your blog, it’s charming!
Thanks, Hannah. And wow, now I am delighted by your blog too!
I love rice pudding! My host mother in Spain made it for me – it was the first time I’d ever had it. I begged for the recipe, which is slightly different from this (lemon rind in the milk, for example), but I’m SO making this over the weekend!! I’ve been looking for ways to integrate quinoa into my diet, too. Thank you so much!
Simple, delicious. Thank you!
I made this for dessert tonight. It was delicious. I used skim milk instead of whole milk and no one noticed! Thanks.
The pudding looks fabulous! Great photos! Glad I found your site!
I’ve discovered your blog thanks to Hannah from honey&jam and it’s truly lovely! I have to try this quinoa pudding. I also love rice pudding and never tried making quinoa sweet. Looks delicious.
Love the idea of quinoa for breakfast! Will this keep well overnight if I make it ahead??
It sure will – it’ll stay good for days!
this recipe looks divine. my family are big rice pudding eaters and i’m constantly looking for healthier versions of their recipes! i cannot wait to try this out!
oh and by the way, your blog is a treat! thanks!
I just cooked some of this up tonight. Wow. Ah-MAZING! Thank you so much for this wonderful recipe! It’s a new sweet staple in my house for sure.
Yup, this was quite good. I usually have savoury quinoa, so it was a nice switch. I wish pudding worked with low-fat milk. Oh well, good treat.
Actually, a friend made it with low fat milk and told me it was pretty good. Just not as creamy. I’d stick with the whole though.
do you think it would produce the same results if i substituted coconut milk for whole milk?misie
Well that sounds just fantastic! Will it work though? Hm, I THINK if you were to use regular (not the reduced fat) coconut milk it could work. Make sure you really shake up the can first so there’s no separation. Try it with the same proportions I have in the recipe and see what happens. I’m not positive about this, but I am very curious so let me know if you try it. You could also top it with some shaved coconut…
Making this as I type…it smells delicious! I’m using whole-fat soymilk though instead, since I’m vegan. I hope it turns out, I LOVE quinoa and have tons of quinoa recipes on my own blog, but have never tried going sweet instead of savory. Thanks!
I just made it with the coconut milk – I also used agave nectar instead of sugar – I think it’s quite fantastic – the only issue I’m running into is it’s taking much longer to cook – the quinoa is still “chewy.” I plan to let it cook a bit longer – I have a feeling I will not be disappointed. Thanks for sharing this recipe.
hmm.. never had it before… time to try some
just made this! so so good! made it with unsweetened vanilla almond milk though. i could eat it for every meal.
xo
I love your blog!
However, I made this tonight and it was so different from the pudding pictured! I think my quinoa soaked up almost all the milk, when spooning it up it is just 99% quinoa with a slight milk color. And the quinoa is still chewy!! Do you think if I added a cup or two more of milk and cooked it a bit longer, it would help?
Also, I’m at a super high altitude, if that changes anything.
Hi Kathryn!
Hm, I’m thinking of a couple things:
Did you rinse your quinoa well before cooking? Also, did you let it cook uncovered or maybe stir it too often? That would have dried it out for sure. Yea, I’d just add like 1/2 cup more milk and 1/4 cup more water and cook it totally covered on a very low simmer until the quinoa is cooked through. Stir it while cooking only a couple times to make sure it doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan.
Let me know if that helps!
The “Print recipe” function on this page is not functioning. All that prints is “Quinoa Pudding”. I am recently introduced to this site, thanks for all your time and effort. The “Super Kale Salad” raw is a blessing and will put kale on my list every week and in my garden ASAP. Am looking forward to trying many of the recipes and sharing with family and friends. XOX
Donna – Hi. Glad you’re enjoying the recipes! That kale salad is my favorite.
I just printed the quinoa pudding recipe without any problem. Maybe it’s a printer or page set up issue on your end?
this looks amazing, your photos totally sell that dish! I was searching in quinoa pudding, since I wasn’t sure if there were adaptable recipes out there using quinoa in a dessert or sweet breakfast. I’m going to try using coconut cream (Kara brand – in a box) or almond milk, and stevia to sweeten, leaving out the fruit for now. I’m back on a candida-type diet, and there are so little alternatives for sweet cravings. I’ve done basmati rice puddings in the past with fresh ground cardamon and coconut milk or almond milk instead of the dairy, and I think I can adapt any of the rice pudding recipes to suit quinoa – which I just found out is actually a seed rather than a grain. Yay!
What a wonderful idea! I must definitely try this in lieu of rice pudding some time.
gabi! just discovered your blog and i absolutely adore it. a yogi friend is planning to write a recipe for my own food blog on vegan and mexican-inspired arroz con leche, and the quinoa spin is such a delicious inspiration. thanks for sharing!
Some questions: Firstly can the quinoa be cooked first then used in the recipe. Next- I used to make rice pudding all the time when my boys were young, I have a really good recipe for this, can I use it and just substitute the same amount of quinoa for the rice? Next-My rice pudding recipe calls for baking it in a water bath, in the oven. Can I do this with the quinoa? I am thinking I can but wanted to know your thoughts.
Thanking you for the information,
Nana
Hi Nana,
1. If you’re planning on cooking the quinoa, I’d only partially cook it rather than the entire way. Just to prevent it getting to soggy or mushy.
2. I would definitely attempt the quinoa substitute in your other recipe. It should work, but you may find you need to adjust the liquid. Give it a try and see what happens.
3. I’ve never baked quinoa in a water bath in the oven, however, I don’t see why it wouldn’t work. You’ll probably want to keep it covered though. Use foil or a heat safe lid.
I hope this helps. Sometimes it’s just a matter of trial and error with these things!
Making this as we speak, but I think I may have botched it. I used 2 cups of whole milk and one cup of unsweetened soy milk and it doesn’t seem to be setting at all :(. Any advice?
Courtney,
Oh no! I’m sure you’ve already finished making this and it either came out or didn’t for you…I sure hope it did though!
What did you mean by it “not setting”? Was it too mushy or not cooking through all the way? Quinoa can take longer to cook than regular rice so I hope that’s all it was. I mention in the recipe cooking it partially covered and adding more liquid if needed. That usually does the trick. If you can give me some more details, I’d love to offer some more advice for the next time :)
What a beautiful blog! This is exactly the recipe I was looking for, looks amazing, thanks!
I too had toomuch Quinoa and not enough liquid and wonder if I cooked it too fast?
Hello Ren,
When you say too much quinoa, do you mean it was not cooked through? If so, I’d say there probably wasn’t enough liquid in the ratio. Did you cook it on low and covered?
Hi, this recipe looks delicious! This batch will be the second. Last time the quinoa came out a bit too chewy so I added more water and milk from the start. 10 more minutes til it comes off the stove, can’t wait.
Hope I did better this time.