Growing up, I ate a lot of boxed cereal for breakfast. (Or anytime of day for that matter.) It was a staple of my youth. I remember my grandpa eating oatmeal, but I don’t remember eating much hot cereal myself. Moving out on my own, I discovered that I loved eating hot cereal. It’s delicious, comforting, and cozy. I felt more nourished after eating it, compared to cold cereal. Not to mention it is much more economical than cold cereal, and healthier to boot!

These days, my husband, son, and I usually enjoy hot cereal for breakfast at least once a week. We had enjoyed quinoa with meals for years, but adding some fruit and making it sweet was new to me. When I discovered that quinoa made a delicious hot cereal, I was delighted! If you’ve been wondering which gluten-free grains would make a good hot cereal, I hope you will give quinoa a try! Even if you are not eating specifically “gluten-free” in your household, it could add some fun variety to your current repertoire, and it’s also super nutritious.

I usually like a bit more protein to start the day than hot cereal provides, especially when there’s plenty of physical labor ahead, so oftentimes I’ll make a small batch of scrambled eggs to have on the side. Or if we have any bacon, we’ll have a few slices of that instead, it’s a delicious treat alongside the hot cereal.

The nice thing about quinoa is that it cooks quickly, and is easy to make. With many grains, it is recommended to soak them first, but not with quinoa. So, while with many grains I soak them before cooking, I don’t have to plan ahead with quinoa- which is nice. If I want to make quinoa hot cereal that morning, I simply rinse the quinoa and get it cooking right away.

For every cup of quinoa, I like to use 2 cups of liquid to cook it in. You are going to notice that this is not an “exact” recipe, just the basic framework. You can boil your liquid, and then add your quinoa, or put both in the pot at the same time. Either way, once the liquid and quinoa mixture are boiling, reduce your heat and simmer for 10 – 20 minutes. The quinoa will absorb the liquid and fluff up, and you can tell when it’s done by tasting it.

My favorite trick for a super creamy, extra delicious hot cereal, is to use coconut milk for the cooking liquid. It tastes amazing! It also adds some healthy fat to the meal, and makes it even more nourishing. I’ve used coconut milk for part of the liquid, using water for the rest, and I’ve also made batches with all coconut milk. To me, the higher the percentage of coconut milk, the tastier it is! If you try it, let me know that you think!

Now for the other additions… when it’s apple season and we have an abundance of apples on hand, I’ve made batches of the quinoa hot cereal with fresh apples, and cinnamon. Most of the time, though, we make it with dried fruit, and that’s our favorite way to do it. Most years we dehydrate fruit, and it’s a great way for us to use it up. We love to add dried currants, apples, plums, and whatever else we have on hand. We’ve also cut up homemade fruit leather and added that in, and it was great. My stepmom gifted us some dried pears she made from their pear tree, and that made for the most delicious addition to our hot cereal!

When adding dried fruit, we like to add that at the beginning. It will soften as it cooks, and plump up. We also love to add shredded coconut, and add that at the beginning too. (We’re all about the coconut around here.) You know what else is delicious in there? Some crystallized ginger! Yum! We always add cinnamon too, it’s a favorite. When serving, we love a dab of coconut oil or butter on top. Then I hold that warm bowl of hot cereal in my hands, and savor every bite!

If you give this a try, let us know what you think. And of course we’d love to hear your favorite additions!

Enjoy!!