This Protein Breakfast Bowl is super easy and great for meal prep. It's a healthy breakfast bowl packed with natural protein, quinoa, peanut butter and yogurt.
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What is a Protein Breakfast Bowl?
Quite simply it is a bowl that has healthy protein packed ingredients. Usually it will contain a protein, fat, carb and fiber. For a protein and carb, we use quinoa but oatmeal would work as well. A fat, in this case we used peanut butter but any nut butter will do. For a carb we used coconut yogurt because I was making it dairy free but this could also be a protein if you used greek yogurt. A fiber, I used blueberries but any fruit or even veggie will do.
I love how great quinoa is for meal prep, it's perfect in sweeter breakfast recipes like this Protein Breakfast Bowl and it's also great in savory dishes like my curry quinoa or my sweet potato quinoa salad. If you want a detailed post on How to Cook Quinoa perfectly so it's not soggy or bitter see my post about that.
Breakfast bowls are my favorite, I love putting some simple meal prepped ingredients, in this case it's quinoa, in a bowl with some fresh ingredients and having a super nutritious meal in minutes. It's great for a healthy breakfast or even lunch which is often when I enjoy it because it's so easy to assemble quickly, or have it meal prepped already.
I also love the neutral nutty flavor of quinoa, it goes great with extra protein like peanut butter (or any nut butter) and combines well with fresh ingredients like blueberries and yogurt.
I have mentioned this before in other posts, but I usually soak my quinoa overnight in some water in the fridge overnight and then drain + rinse it before cooking it. This helps a lot with digestion and unlocks the nutrition in the quinoa.
Why you will love this recipe
- Balanced: This Protein Breakfast Bowl has a perfect balance of fiber, protein and healthy fats.
- Delicious: This bowl is delicious, it perfectly hits the sweet and savory cravings in one bowl.
- Meal Prep Friendly: This Protein Breakfast Bowl is your best friend if you like to meal prep. Simply use individual containers and pre-assemble (fresh fruit only if doing this option) or prep each ingredient in individual containers for quick to assembly in the morning.
Other quinoa breakfast bowls you will love:
- Quinoa Breakfast Bowl Blackberry
- How to cook Quinoa
- Protein Quinoa Breakfast Bowl Strawberries and Cream
- Quinoa Breakfast Bowl
Ingredients
Be sure to take a look at the recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and quantities to make this Protein Breakfast Bowl.
- Quinoa: This is the main ingredient in this Protein Breakfast Bowl; it packs about 6 grams of protein per ¼ cup serving!
- Yogurt: For this Protein Breakfast Bowl I used coconut yogurt, so it's more for a taste/texture enhancement but you could use Greek yogurt for a high protein option.
- Blueberries: Sweetness, fiber and antioxidants.
- Maple Syrup: Natural sweetener, I used pure maple syrup so it still contains all its minerals and hasn't been stripped.
- Peanut Butter: Adds protein and fats to keep you full and obviously satisfied because who doesn't love peanut butter!
Variations
- Other Grains: You can substitute the quinoa for oatmeal, it will be a little less protein but still delicious and healthy. You can also use any color quinoa you like, white, black, red or tri color.
- Yogurt: Substitute the coconut yogurt with Greek yogurt or cottage cheese if you're not vegan or dairy free.
- Nut/Seed Butter: You can use any nut or seed butter you like best in this Protein Breakfast Bowl.
- Fruit: I love blueberries the most in this Protein Breakfast Bowl, but feel free to use any fruit you like best. Strawberries, raspberries, blackberries or banana would be delicious.
How to make this Protein Breakfast Bowl:
Step 1: Make the quinoa. Always rinse the quinoa in a fine mesh strainer. Then if you choose to soak the quinoa in water overnight for better digestion place in a bowl with water and place in the fridge overnight. Drain and rinse before cooking. Another option is use sprouted quinoa then cook according to package directions.
Step 2: If not soaking the quinoa, rinse in a fine mesh strainer and place in a pot to cook. Option 1 is to toast the quinoa for 1-2 minutes before adding the water, option 2 is to add the water and skip the toasting. You will be adding ½ cup of water for the cooking process.
Step 3: Bring water to a boil on medium heat, then reduce to low heat with the lid on but slightly cracked to allow steam to escape. Cook for 15 minutes, allow to cool and fluff with a fork.
Step 4: Add quinoa to a bowl, add in the maple syrup and mix it into the quinoa, add yogurt, peanut butter, berries and enjoy!
Expert Tips
- Digestion: A great tip to make this more digestible is soaking your quinoa the night before making it. This helps to unlock the nutrients and make them more absorbable by eliminating some of the phytic acid. You could also buy sprouted quinoa as well if you are into that, for me personally though it's cheaper to just soak them in water.
- Storage: You can use meal prep containers if you have them. You can assemble this Protein Breakfast Bowl in individual containers or simply store each ingredient in separate containers and assemble right before enjoying. Quinoa and yogurt keeps well in the fridge for about 4 days and the blueberries I used frozen so if you are using the meal prep containers it may be wise to use fresh blueberries instead of frozen otherwise it may get funky.
- Cooking Quinoa: Check out my post on How to Cook Quinoa for tips on how to make quinoa perfectly so it's not dry or soggy.
Recipe FAQs
I think so because it has healthy protein, fiber, and fat.
No, you could use greek yogurt or even cottage cheese if you are not dairy free.
More Quinoa Recipes
Protein Breakfast Bowl
Ingredients
- ½ cup non-dairy yogurt (I use plain unsweetened vanilla So Delicious brand or SILK Almond)
- ½ cup cooked quinoa (about ¼ cup dry, with ½ cup water)
- 1 tablespoon peanut butter
- 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
- Blueberries (fresh or frozen)
- Optional: other fruit to top with
Instructions
- Make the quinoa. Always rinse the quinoa in a fine mesh strainer. Then if you choose to soak the quinoa in water overnight for better digestion place in a bowl with water and place in the fridge overnight. Drain and rinse before cooking. Another option is use sprouted quinoa then cook according to package directions.
- If not soaking the quinoa, rinse in a fine mesh strainer and place in a pot to cook. Option 1 is to toast the quinoa for 1-2 minutes before adding the water, option 2 is to add the water and skip the toasting. You will be adding ½ cup of water for the cooking process.
- Bring water to a boil on medium heat, then reduce to low heat with the lid on but slightly cracked to allow steam to escape. Cook for 15 minutes, allow to cool and fluff with a fork.
- Add quinoa to a bowl, add in the maple syrup and mix it into the quinoa, add yogurt, peanut butter, berries and enjoy!
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