Muesli is a rolled oat-based cereal created by a Swiss physician in the early 1900s. I was reminded of this tasty and easy-to-prepare cereal while I was looking through
a recipe notebook I used while apprenticing in various restaurants in my early culinary training. We used rolled oats, oat bran, wheat germ, and various nuts and seeds in the original recipe. I’ve updated the recipe and substituted quinoa flakes for the rolled oats for a grain-free version (but you can use rolled oats here as well); I’ve added hemp seeds and sweet spices as well. You can use whatever nuts or seeds you have on hand. Make this ahead of time, cool, and store it in a sealed container or a jar with a tight-fitting lid. Serve muesli soaked overnight in milk or plant-based milk for a softer cooked oatmeal-type consistency. If you like a crunchier texture, pour milk over cereal (or yogurt right before serving and top with any additional fruits or berries. A drizzle of honey or maple syrup is a nice addition if you like more sweetness.
Quinoa Muesli
Ingredients
- 2 cups quinoa flakes or subsitute for rolled oats
- 1/2 cup hemp seeds
- 1 cup pumpkin seeds or sliced almonds
- 1 cup coconut flakes, dried, unsweetened
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon, ground
- 1/2 teaspoon cardamom, ground
- pinch nutmeg, ground
- 1/2 teaspoon natural salt
- 3/4 cup raisins, dried cranberries, apricot bits or dried fruit of choice
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place sheet of parchment paper on a rimmed sheet pan and set aside
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In a mixing bowl combine quinoa flakes, hemp seeds, slivered almond, coconut flakes, cinnamon, cardamom, nut and salt and stir to combine.
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Place mixture on sheet pan, spreading it out on 3/4 of the pan. Place pumpkin seeds on remaining 1/4 of pan and spread out
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Place cereal mixture in oven and bake for 6 minutes, remove, stir mixture around and bake for an additional 6 minutes or until cereal is lightly toasted and pumpkin seeds are toasted.
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Remove from oven and sprinkle dried fruit on top, stir to combine.
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When cereal is cool store in an airtight container.