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Quinoa Brownies - Naturally Gluten Free


Bev's (MGCC) friend Dorothy passed on this Quinoa Brownie recipe to me that is delicious and considering the amazing nutritional value of Quinoa they are not just for those of us eating gluten-free !
Here is a link to a site itemizing the goodness of this seed.

I will give you Dorothy's recipe as it was given to me and then give you my version because I prefer to use the flour rather than cooking the seed.
The brownies are wonderfully light and fluffy and keep extremely well for several days - they would, of course also freeze well.
Eat them plain or  ice them.  Bake as a sheet cake or in round layers.... however you prefer !

Dorothy's Quinoa Brownie Recipe 

  • 2/3 cup quinoa 
  • 1 1/3 cup water 
  • 1/3 cup milk 
  • 4 eggs 
  • 1 tsp vanilla 
  • 3/4 cup butter (or marg) melted and cooled
  • 1 - 1 1/4 cup sugar 
  • 1/2 - 3/4 cup cocoa 
  • 1 1/2 tsp baking powder 
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda 
  • 1/2 tsp salt 
  1. Bring quinoa and water to a boil. Cover and cook for 10 min.  Turn off heat and leave on burner for 10 min. more. Fluff with a fork and cool. 
  2. Combine liquids, add quinoa and butter and blend till smooth in blender . 
  3. Whisk together dy ingredients and add to blender and mix well. 
  4. Pour into 2 greased round pans or 1 larger one. 
  5. Bake at 350 F. for 40-45 min. 
  6. Cool completely . 
  7. Serve as is , iced or as a base for a fruit-topped dessert. 
  8. You'll never guess that these have no flour!   
My Quinoa Flour Brownie Version 
  • 1 1/4 cup quinoa flour 
  • 1/2 cup milk 
  • 4 eggs 
  • 1 tsp vanilla 
  • 3/4 cup butter melted and cooled 
  • 1 - 1 1/4 cup sugar 
  • 1/2 - 3/4 cup cocoa 
  • 2 tsp baking powder 
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda 
  • 1/2 tsp salt 
  1. Melt butter in the microwave , add  cocoa and stir until perfectly smooth 
  2. Beat eggs, milk, vanilla in mixer 
  3. Add cocoa/butter and sugar
  4. Mix remaining dry ingredients  -- quinoa flour, baking power, baking soda and salt 
  5. Add dry ingredients  to liquids and beat until perfectly smooth.  
  6. Pour into desired pans....  two round cake pans or one 9 x 12 pan 
  7. Bake at 350 F for 40-45 minutes ....or until it tests done in centre (springs back when lightly touched with finger) 
  8. Enjoy ---   great with chocolate icing !   

28 comments:

  1. Great! Thank you so much! I'm trying to eat sans white flour and white sugar for a while (at least until Christmas!) and this might help me along.

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  2. Just wondering if you make your own quinoa flour from dry quinoa? If so, how do you make it?

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    1. Hi Allison ... I find the Quinoa flour readily available on grocery shelves so I have not ground my own, but a coffee grinder should do the job just fine!

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    2. Thanks Julie, I'll give that a try. These brownies look delicious!

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  3. Is Quinoa flour easy to get, or do I go to health food stores? The brownies look delicious. Could I use quinoa flour for baking other things, ie cookies, roll kuchen?

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    1. Cheryl, I find that Quinoa flour is easy to get, even in regular grocery stores..but for sure in health food stores. You can use Quinoa flour in other baking ... I'm going to try it in more recipes, but I find its best in 'sweet' baking. While the flavour of quinoa itself is great, it has a 'stand alone' taste which I don't care for in bread type recipes.

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  4. I just made these. I used apple sauce instead of the butter & about 2/3 c honey in place of the sugar. They are delicious. Cannot wait to serve them & see what everyone thinks.

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  5. Just made them today, and the kids approve! Even the hubby said he'd take some to work.

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  6. Thank you, Charlotte and Anonymous.. it is always nice to hear comments after trying the recipe ... Using apple sauce instead of butter is a great variation and healthier !

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  8. Hi Julie,
    Tried this last night (we had family with a celiac for supper) and used the original recipe was soft but extremely tasty. Will try your version to compare but were really impressed with the flavour!

    Thanks for sharing, it takes much of concern out of gluten free baking!!

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    1. Oh Lenora... I haven't tried the original recipe because I wondered about it being 'soft' .. .I'm thinking using the flour makes it more 'cake-like'. I love the texture of my flour version ... When you try it will you let me know what you think - which you like better?
      Thank you for taking the time with feed back ! it is appreciated !!

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  9. I'm not GF, but I do love quinoa and healthier desserts... I have to give this a try!!

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  10. Mmmmm so good! I made the ones with cooked quinoa, and used coconut oil instead of butter. So yummy! Will definitely make them again.

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  11. I am a Celiac and I did enjoy these brownies. I found them to be more cake-like, but nonetheless, they taste great and stay moist. I iced mine with chocolate butter icing, and stored them in the fridge in a covered container. I too love quinoa, and it has become a staple in my home.

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  12. Looking forward to trying these. My husband and two of my grands are gluten intolerant, so this will be great. Quinoa, because of it being a super-nutitional food, has become something we eat in some form several times a week. Thanks for the recipe!

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  13. Can I add melted dark chocolate instead of the powdered cocoa? How much would I add and would I reduce the milk quantity ?

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    1. Joluise .. I'm sure you could add melted dark chocolate instead of the butter and cocoa... but I'm not sure why you would want to ... The darker the chocolate the more cocoa is in it and of course 'fat' (butter)
      If you want to substitute the melted dark chocolate you would have to adjust the butter am't (much less butter) not the milk.

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  14. I am going to try this tomorrow - was going to tonight but only have about 1/2 c left of quinoa flour - but this looks awesome! I am going to try it this way - or I may reduce the butter and add some creamed coconut as a variation... this has got all kinds of possibilities! Thanks!

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  15. another question - if you use the original recipe - what is the texture like? I keep imagining it as awful lol - I love quinoa as a side, salad, part of an entree but dislike the texture in soups/stews/etc but then i don't like oatmeal, or barley either in cooked form (except cookies and beer lol) - am I better to stick with the second recipe?

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    1. I'm smiling ... "imagining it as awful" ... so did I, for the same reasons you mentioned! .. hence my variation. I have not tried the original recipe, but the second recipe did meet with my family's approval and requests for me to make it again, so I have 'stuck with it"

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    2. I was not sure about trying the first recipe either, for exactly the same reason...imagining it to be awful and with a weird texture. However I didn't have the flour, so gave it a try...and it was AMAZING!! I mixed it all in a food processor, so that was able to break the grains up a bit with mixing. I will at some point make the recipe with the flour, just to compare, but am very happy with the grain version...and will definitely be making it again very soon! If you haven't tried that version yet...it's time you try. ;)

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  16. While the current verdict is still out (because they are still cooling), the batter tasted awful! I'm not sure if it's just my taste buds or not. Anyhow, I just thought I'd point out that the sugar was left out of the instructions. I presumed they were to be added when the other (listed) dry ingredients were mixed together.

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    1. I'm smiling at your 'batter tasted awful'! I don't recommend judging most products by the batter -- except, of course, cookie dough !
      Yes.. the sugar could be included with the dry ingredients of with the cocoa/butter... I edited the recipe.. thanks for pointing out the error.

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  17. Can the quinoa flour be replaced with buckwheat flour or coconut flour??

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    1. You could try the buckwheat flour .. but I know the coconut flour would not work at all. You can never substitute coconut flour for another flour since coconut flour needs such a different ratio flour/liquid.
      If you want to use coconut flour why not use the Coconut flour brownie recipe on our blog. http://www.mennonitegirlscancook.ca/2008/09/coconut-flour-brownies-gluten-free.html

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    2. I replaced the quinoa flour with Bob's Red Mill All Purpose GF flour mix (equal parts). Turned out perfectly. Don't taste the batter and if you do, just remember, I warned you! I must say though, and this could be down to the flour I used but, the brownies were way more cake-like than brownie-like. Yummy all the same but not what I would classify as a brownie because they weren't dense enough.

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    3. Have tried the first recipe twice and loved them. The second time, I added 1 cup raw grated beets to the quinoa in the blender. No one noticed anything different and were amazed when I told them there was a cup of beets in the brownies. With the added beets they were a little more moist and needed about 5 min more baking time.
      Helen Penner

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