Using quinoa in the Thermomix® as a granola base only works if it is cooked first. Mixed in raw, it turns rock hard after baking. We cook the quinoa for 10 minutes at 90°C with water, cinnamon and cocoa before it goes onto the baking tray with the nuts. This activates the starch and makes the granola crispy rather than grainy after baking.
This recipe comes from Mix dich schlank, developed with nutrition expert Dr Regina Rosskopf. It contains no added sugar and delivers just 9 g of carbohydrates per serving.
Low Carb Quinoa Granola with the Thermomix®
Ingredients 0 / 9 ✓
- 60 g white quinoa
- 1/2 vanilla pod
- 30 g chia seeds
- 50 g blanched almonds
- 50 g macadamia nuts
- 160 g water
- 2 pinches ground cinnamon
- 15 g cocoa powder (unsweetened)
- 15 g virgin coconut oil
Instructions 0 / 8
-
1
Rinse the quinoa.
Place the quinoa in a fine sieve, rinse thoroughly under cold running water and leave to drain well.
-
2
Mix vanilla and chia seeds.
Slit the vanilla pod lengthways and scrape out the seeds. Add the chia seeds and vanilla seeds to the mixing bowl and chop for 20 sec / speed 10, then set aside.
-
3
Chop almonds and macadamia nuts.
Add the almonds and macadamia nuts to the mixing bowl, chop for 5 sec / speed 6 and set aside.
-
4
Cook the quinoa.
Add the quinoa, water, cinnamon and cocoa powder to the mixing bowl and simmer for 10 min / 90°C / speed 1.
-
5
Preheat the oven.
Preheat the oven to 160°C (fan 140°C, gas mark 1-2) and line the baking tray with baking paper.
-
6
Combine the ingredients.
Add the coconut oil, chia seeds and nuts to the mixing bowl and mix for 30 sec / speed 3.
-
7
Bake.
Spread the mixture evenly on the baking paper and bake on the middle shelf for 20 to 30 minutes. Check regularly as the granola can burn quickly.
-
8
Store the granola.
Leave the granola to cool completely, then crumble it apart and store in an airtight container.
Tip: If you like your granola sweet, you can sweeten it to taste after baking with an erythritol-stevia blend or pure erythritol.
Nutrition per serving
Why the quinoa must be cooked first
Quinoa has a hard outer shell that does not open during baking. Mixed in raw, the granola stays rock hard after 30 minutes at 160°C and tastes bitter. We therefore cook the quinoa with water at 90°C on speed 1 before combining it with the other ingredients. Those 10 minutes are enough for the grains to absorb the liquid and bind the starch. After baking, the granola becomes crispy rather than grainy.
We add the coconut oil only after cooking. At 90°C the oil would coat the quinoa too heavily and prevent it from absorbing water. Only once the grains have swollen does the oil go into the mixing bowl, where it develops the toasted flavour during baking.
Pulverise the chia seeds, do not leave them whole
We grind the chia seeds with the vanilla seeds to a powder at speed 10 for 20 seconds. Whole chia seeds would stay hard during baking and crunch between the teeth. Ground to a powder, they distribute evenly through the mixture and absorb extra moisture. This holds the granola together after baking and stops it from crumbling to dust.
We scrape the vanilla seeds from the half pod and blend them directly with the chia seeds. This spreads the flavour evenly through every portion. Vanilla extract or vanilla sugar do not work here because they contain alcohol or sugar.
160°C fan on the middle shelf
We bake the granola at 160°C conventional or 140°C fan on the middle shelf. It is important to spread the mixture thinly on the baking paper. Thicker patches stay moist inside while the edges are already darkening. We smooth the mixture with the spatula so the depth is even throughout.
After 20 minutes we check for the first time. The granola should be golden brown, not dark. It burns quickly because the cocoa absorbs heat more strongly than pale ingredients. Better to take it out 5 minutes early than to leave it in too long. The granola firms up further as it cools.
Chop the almonds and macadamias roughly
We chop the nuts for 5 seconds at speed 6. This gives coarse pieces, not fine splinters. Chopped too finely, the granola bakes into a compact slab that is hard to break apart. Coarse pieces give texture and make the granola lighter.
Macadamia nuts are high in fat and give the granola a creamier bite. You can also use hazelnuts or walnuts, but macadamias have fewer carbohydrates and suit the low-carb approach better. Almonds alone would be too dry.
Leave to cool and break apart
We leave the granola to cool completely on the tray. Warm, it is still soft and cannot be broken apart. After 30 minutes at room temperature we break it by hand into rough pieces. Crumbled too finely it becomes powdery. We want clusters, not crumbs.
Stored in an airtight tin, the granola keeps for 2 to 3 weeks. If it softens, bake it again for 10 minutes at 140°C and leave to cool. That brings the crunch back.
If you like your granola sweet, you can sweeten it after cooling with an erythritol-stevia blend or pure erythritol. Sweetening before baking does not work because erythritol crystallises under heat.
If you prefer classic oat-based muesli, try our Bircher muesli.
